Why Ft. Wilderness Campground Is Our Favorite

On our trips to Disney World we have stayed in Value Resorts, Moderate Resorts and even Off-site. We love them all for different reasons but our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE (for now) is hands down, the Cabins at Ft. Wilderness! I know what you may be thinking; “Why?”, “There are so many more options to choose from, why stay in the woods?”, “No thanks, I’m not camping on vacation.” I get it. I do. Before you mark it off your list of possibilities, let me try to convince you!


The Ft. Wilderness campground first popped up on our radar almost 10 years ago when, on our first visit, we headed out of a busy Magic Kingdom at closing time with HUNDREDS of other tired visitors and saw the boat lines vs. bus lines. While we registered the fact that there were places to stay a boat ride away from the MK, we didn’t think any more about it. Wow, cool boats, oh well, let’s get to the bus.


A couple of years later, we ate dinner at the Trail’s End Restaurant, even remarked on how neat the area was. Our daughter played on the playground while we waited for our reservation. The vibe was relaxing and friendly but we never explored much of the surroundings till we went back a third time a few years ago with my parents, niece and nephew.


On a hot crowded day in the park, we were heading back to our off-site lodgings for a break, when I remembered the Ft. Wilderness had a great shaded playground, wasn’t overly crowded and had things we wanted to check out. We (all 7 adults and kids) took the quick boat ride across the lake for a rest instead of driving back to our condo. We got some drinks and snacks, my parents sat in rocking chairs watching the kids run around and play on a nearly deserted playground then we went exploring. We walked around past the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and saw 3 live deer eating in a little grassy spot! Now, we live in a rural area and deer are not new to us, but seeing 3 deer within reaching distance in the Disney World Ft. Wilderness was pretty cool. The kids then went off to explore the stables. In the words of my dad, “I could just stay here the whole day”.
Now, on to our stay! In 2015, I started planning a trip for April 2016. One of my favorite sites for Disney Crowd and discount ticket info, Undercover Tourist, was just starting to offer HOTEL RESERVATIONS. What? Let me check it out. Browsing through the offerings, I came across the Cabins at Ft. Wilderness and the price was somewhere around 33% off the regular nightly cost. Let’s do it! We did and now we are hooked! The cabins (at the right price) may have ruined us for all other resorts.


What’s so great about it? I’ll tell you.

1. My family loves the outdoors. I am blessed with two nature loving kids and a husband that prefers to be outside when possible. The grounds at Ft. Wilderness are beautiful. We saw turkey, deer, rabbits. I was scared silly by two sneaky armadillos! We could have fished, or brought bikes. There was enough Disney theming that you knew you were on property but you could have been at any national park anywhere. Plenty to offer nature lovers.
2. The cabins were spacious, offering the biggest bathroom/shower of any resort we have stayed in and the kitchen allowed for keeping some groceries on hand for quick meals and snacks. We had plenty of room and never felt crowded.
3. The kids liked getting around on the golf cart we rented. My oldest was a bit bummed she couldn’t drive but I’m a stickler for rules.
4. The beach area! There is a little beach area where the boat to the MK picks you up. It turned out that this spot was responsible for one of my best Disney memories. (I’ll tell you later) It was also cool to head out on the golf cart after a certain toddler would not go to sleep, arrive at the beach thinking to let him run off some energy, and find you are just in time to watch fireworks from the Magic Kingdom and see the Electric Water Parade! So, two of my best Disney memories are here I guess.
5. The boat ride to and from the Magic Kingdom! There is just something about the early morning approach to the park that just gets me. We mainly used to boat as transportation to the parks. From the MK entrance, we could either get in line for busses to AK or HS or ride the monorail to Epcot. It was nothing to quit the parks for an afternoon break and head back for more fun later.
6. In my opinion, campers are the friendliest, most laid back park guests. I don’t know what it is but we never felt we were in competition to get on transportation or race other families for the best firework viewing area. As I am a “pack the most into our time here” kind of Disney World visitor, I appreciated that the FEEL of the place made me slow down and enjoy! Also, guests at Ft. Wilderness know how to decorate their space. As newbies, we were happy just looking at all the decked-out golf carts, campers and cabins. Next time we are bringing the bling!

We did not even get around to the campfire sing-along, s'mores and carriage rides. Or the archery classes and horseback rides! There is always next time. I know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea but if your family might be even remotely interested in a cabin stay, I cannot encourage you enough to try it out! You don’t know what you are missing.