Disneyworld Ft Wilderness

artgpo · 12-30-2009, 05:44 AM

Has anyone been there and camped in a "Full Hook-Up Campsite"? These are the "regular" sites, not the preferred or premium. The reason for my question is that Disney says the sites are suitable for motorhomes and 5th wheels with some sites "10 x 60'". This concerns me because my Cruiser is more than 10' wide with the slides out.

gtoguy1967 · 12-30-2009, 08:17 AM

Ask one leg Lonnie, I think he might just be there now ? I'm just not sure what camp ground he goes to.

FB1965 · 12-30-2009, 09:31 AM

I've been there twice and the first time our site was nice and flat all around.The second time the site was about 10 ft wide and dropped off about 2 ft after that.We had enough room to put chairs out ,but it was tight.I let the slide stick out over the edge and had my tires close to the edge of the pad.Most sites if not all have a table and grill area in the back of the site which is wider that the 10 ft parking pad.There are lots of good spots.I think any thing close to the pool areashould bethe better ones,but than maybe not all of them.Rent a golf cart,that makes it so nice.I love that place put can't aford it every year.

Chuck N. Wined · 01-05-2010, 02:23 AM

Don was right! We just got back from Fort Wilderness. We stayed in the 1600 loop (site 1616). That is the area that you are talking about. These are the cheaper sites. None of the sitesat Fort are what I would callbig. The 10 X 60 is the size of the pad. The real problemis simply backing into the sites. Some of the sites are pretty easy to get into andothers are very difficult to darn near impossible. The sites are all on "loops" and the loopstight. The road on each loop is essentially a single lane circle. They are not perfect circles and so if you have a site that is on a tighter turn it can be very hard to negotiate. The site we had this time was like that. It was on the outside of a tight curve and there was a trash can on the opposite side that complicated things. The trash cans are half buried so you cannot simply move them out of the way. We have been there 3 times and we always "tour" the cg looking at the Christmas decorations and I have not seen any of the rv sites that looked like they couldn't physically hold a large camper even with slidesbut getting into them might not be possible. The trees and shrubs do not seem to be encroaching on the actual "pad". I have talked to a few people that have had to go back to the check in desk and tell them they simply could notget into the site they were assigned and they have assigned them a different one. Part of the problem with this cg is that the reservations are handled by the "hotel" people and not the folks in the cg. The hotel folks know nothing about rvs. The other issue is that very few of the people in the cg know anything about rvs because they are college kids. Not to bash them but they simply don't know anything about campers. They are very nice but not overly knowledgable about backing a 34' fifth wheel into a spot on the outside of a loop!None of the sites have much "grassy" area. The area is heavily treed by large pines and so grass doesn't grow well. Space for sitting around may be limited depending on your specific site but we have always had room to open the awning and put out the chairs underneath it. The hook ups are very nice. The water has 2 spigots and onehas a hose attached to it for rinsing out your sewerline. (I assume that is what it is forsince you can't attacha nozzle to it because the end is cut off.) There is cable at all the sites and the sewer hook-up is nice. The power posts all have 50, 30 and 20 amp outlets (at least all that I have seen) and there is a double 20 amp outlet at the edge of the driveway on the site number post. Very nice CG with lots of fun things to do. It is almost too bad it is at WDW because you could spend a lot of time just having fun in the CG.A golf cart is money well spent because there is no parking for your tow vehicle within the cg other than at your site or at the font office. I take that back, there are about 6 parking spots for cars/trucks at the meadows trading post (middle of the cg) but if you are going to the Magic Kingdom you will want to take the boat and you either walk, take the bus (you may have to wait) or take the golf cart to the marina. There is golf cart parking at every place within the cg. Also, we drive the truck to every park except the Magic Kingdom. The boat is by far the fastest way there but for every other park we drive. It is quicker than the Disney transportation and you don't have to wait for it. One more tip. If you are there for the rides at the parks... be at the park when it opens. They are the least crowded then. By 1:00pm the parks are getting crowded. We hit a park each morning then came back to the cg around 12:30 for lunch and "down time" thenwent toa park around dinner and stayed until 9:00 or so. If your'e at the cg you can take advantage of any "early magichours". This is when the park opens early for people staying "on property". These also help with avoiding big crowds. You sometimes need your resort id card to get in so make sure you take it with you those mornings. I have kind of rambled on herebut we have learned a lot in our trips there so if you have any questionsfeel free topm me.

Have a great trip!

Lonnie

fhenn · 01-05-2010, 04:46 AM

Dang Lonnie I did not know you knew that many words in a row

**Lloyd** · 01-05-2010, 06:16 AM

Ya, it's almost a book.

Chuck N. Wined · 01-05-2010, 06:35 AM

Yeh, sorry about that. I got a little long winded

. Must have been all the coffee this morning

!

Lonnie

JerseyBill · 01-05-2010, 06:46 AM

I agree withLonnie...it is a top notch park with tons of stuff to do. We have been there a few times as well and are already booked for late2010. The golf carts are great but are more expensive per day than your actual stay...bikes come in handy! You can walk to the Magic Kingdom boat fromloops 100 or 200...here is the CG Map.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/fortwilderness.htm

They also have a big holding area...in the past we have arrived very early, left the rig thereand headed to the park untilcheck in time. Also...book your trip EARLY. They get booked up fast...about 6 weeks ago we decided we were going to head to FL between Christmas and New Years, we planned on hitting the gulf coast but wanted to spend 1 day at Disney on the way down...DM called once a week (and a few times the day before we arrived) to check for availability for ONE RIG for ONE NIGHT and they had NOTHING!!! We wound up staying at the Tropical Palms in Kissammee about 3 miles away (which was very nice and very reasonably priced).

I wouldn't worry too much about the site width, it's Disney...Mickey will make it right!

spinella · 01-05-2010, 09:32 AM

lonnie please tell me you just copied and pasted all that info from a disney flyer...that would have taken my one finger 1 hour to type. good info, we hope to get there in a few years. my little one is only two and i want all three of my kids to enjoy.

Chuck N. Wined · 01-05-2010, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinella

lonnie please tell me you just copied and pasted all that info from a disney flyer.

Nope, I wrote that all by myself. "Did you hear that Mickey Mouse?" I will be waiting for my check to come in the mail! (or at least some "fast passes")

Lonnie

artgpo · 01-07-2010, 09:21 AM

Lonnie,

You went above and beyond on your very detailed review. It is so much appreciated!

Hopefully we will not get into one of those hard to back into loops you mention. I am no longer intimidated by the thought of having to back the Cruiser up but don't want to scare myself either.

We had no intention of going to WDW anytime soon but Disney is offering a good deal on tickets to active and retired military. The deal, while not as good as the one offered last year, was a major enticement to spend way more than what we'll save overall.

At least our grandchildren will have a good time.

I figure two nights on the road to get there and two nights back to San Antonio.

Virginia RVers · 01-07-2010, 10:03 AM

Dang Lonnie, That was very informative.. Man of many words..

We stayed at the KOA in Kissimee, and we enjoyed our visit the area. Not far from the front gate but you don't get the perks that Lonnie spoke. We did enjoy our trip. Good luck and make it one to remember.

baro · 01-10-2010, 03:51 AM

My wife, our 3 dogs and I spent 5 days there the week before Thanksgiving. It was one of the cleanest parks we had ever visited. We stayed in the next to last site (359?) in Loop 300. Plenty of room for our CT32GR and the awning. It was a "preferred" site and right next to the "doggie park". Wonderful experience and first time there without kids........... The only downside was the fireworks every evening sent our dogs scurrying back to the RV.

artgpo · 01-31-2010, 10:55 PM

Have any of your arrived before the magical 3 pm check-in time and gotten access to your site?

Chuck N. Wined · 02-01-2010, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artgpo

Have any of your arrived before the magical 3 pm check-in time and gotten access to your site?

Yes.

See, I can answer in one word.

Lonnie

csham · 02-01-2010, 01:05 AM

Lonnie, you maw have answered in one word, but you extended it to say that you could answer in one word. So, is that really a one word answer?

Chuck N. Wined · 02-01-2010, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csham

Lonnie, you maw have answered in one word, but you extended it to say that you could answer in one word. So, is that really a one word answer?

Dang it!!!!

artgpo · 03-25-2010, 07:11 AM

We camped at Fort Wilderness from March 14 - 19, five nights. We were assigned spot 211, a terrific location. Sure enough, this novice backer-upper got an inside loop back in spot. I got in perfectly the first try, however, being the anal person I am I decided I was too far to the right and needed to correct. After about 30 minutes of shuffling, cursing, having the help of three strangers and getting my son very angry with me I got to where I wanted to be.

FW is very nice and very clean. I do not think the restroom/laundry room rates a 10* from Trailer Life but the place is good if not pricey. We rented a golf cart to get around but if my wife's knees were better this expense would have been avoided.

From San Antonio to Disney we stopped a night each at the the Jellystone Park in Lake Charles, LA and Sunset King RV Resort in De Funiak Springs, FL. On the return to SA we stopped at the Pensacola RV Park in Pensacola, FL and the Gulf Coast RV Resort in Beaumont, TX. All four of these parks were very nice and I recommenf them all.

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