Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground

Jhbryaniv

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The line for Peter Pan will still be an hour long.
We have gone nearly every year for the last 7 years and I think we have only ridden that once. LOL

but we manage to do it's a small world at least twice per trip . . .

the favorite at disney though is probably the space rocket launch ride at Epcot. . . our daughter loves going on the more extreme version of that ride. LOL
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Jhbryaniv

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my appreciation for Disney (despite the crowds) increased after my last trip to Universal (where I will never go again). the insanity of rope drop at Universal is something I've never witnessed before. It's like opening the doors at Walmart on Black Friday when they've got the newest must-have-it item in stock. I was also actually assaulted by a stroller (with a child in it) at Universal. and the general attitude of the people is far, far different than it is at Disney.

I still have a difficult time with the huge crowds, and I don't think I could handle a full week (mentally, not physically).

Honestly, the Disney visits I've done would be enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life. But I have a really good friend who has a really complicated and difficult chronic medical condition and she loves Disney (all theme parks, really, but especially Disney). So I go to theme parks to spend time having fun with my friend.
disney people and universal people are a totally different type of person.

We went to Universal this past year for the first time. I enjoyed Universal more, but prefer disney . . . LOL Could also just be that I know Disney better and where the best places to avoid people are. . . and how to get there early, do "rope drop" and ride some of the popular rides as walk on 2-3 times before the crowds arrive. . .
 
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ctechbob

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Part of it could be that Disney is so bloody friggen expensive it weeds out a lot of the a-holes. Just a theory.

I too am more intolerant of crowds these days, but I can tolerate a 'mild' day at Disney, which is what we ran into this time.

It helps when you understand that, most of the time, the posted wait times are not true. Disney uses wait times to steer people through the park and there are some of them you can flat out ignore. We were tracking times this trip and found that in most cases, the actual times were from 50-60% of the posted times.

Our next 'Big' vacation is this fall on Cape San Blas where we've rented a private RV site for 8 days. I have to say. I am MASSIVELY looking forward to that trip and the downtime we'll have. So, we'll balance out the insanity of Disney with a super chill 'do nothing' vacation in a secluded spot where there aren't a bunch of kids.

I'm sure the world will probably end before then or gas will be unobtainable, since this is the first time in 10 years I've actually managed to take some vacation on a more regular basis than 1 week a year.
 

WingShot

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Have you been out to Disney Land? (Wondering if it is simple to get to from Colorado)
Disney Land almost 30 years ago! Nothing but good memories. The Princess and I don't have children, so we do Disney a little different than most.

My father lived out side of Ft. Myers for a while, we'd hit Disney World every few years.

My favorite ride in Orlando was the the Richard Petty Driving Experience! Is that still there? You had to drive past the track to get in the parking lot then.
 

Jhbryaniv

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Disney Land almost 30 years ago! Nothing but good memories. The Princess and I don't have children, so we do Disney a little different than most.

My father lived out side of Ft. Myers for a while, we'd hit Disney World every few years.

My favorite ride in Orlando was the the Richard Petty Driving Experience! Is that still there? You had to drive past the track to get in the parking lot then.
Looks like there is a petty experience in daytona...

https://www.drivepetty.com/#

I have to say, this is the ride I want to do the most right now . . . https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/tron-lightcycle-run/

@WingShot Where is that profile pic taken?
 


WingShot

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Looks like there is a petty experience in daytona...

https://www.drivepetty.com/#

I have to say, this is the ride I want to do the most right now . . . https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/tron-lightcycle-run/

@WingShot Where is that profile pic taken?
That Tron ride looks pretty cool! I've owned more motorcycles then trucks, so it's right up my alley. I remember the Back To The Future simulated roller coaster back in the day, the technology has come a long way.

That pic was taken on the way up to Mosquito Pass. Driving from Fairplay to Leadville, CO.
 

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Wow what a swanky campground - I had never heard of it. The boat to the resort sounds great. How far in advance did you need to reserve this? Just asking because if one wants to go to piddly ol' Yosemite (I say that in jest put your pitchforks away,) you need to wake up at midnight 90 days in advance to snag a campsite. When I went to the website for Ft. Wilderness it said they had nothing available and to check back!
 
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ctechbob

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We booked back in January. I suspect that availability comes and goes. I'm sure there's a site out there that will tell you when those are, but yes, super nice campground. Not cheap, but ~$100 a night these days isn't uncommon for a non-Disney site.

Tron

Rode it.

It's fast. And dark. Think space mountain on a motorcycle turned up to 11.

Although, if they don't do some work to Space Mountain, I won't be riding it anymore. The track is in rough shape and it just beats the shit out of you. I can't handle that anymore unless I want to be limping holding my back for a few days after.

I didn't get to ride the new Guardians coaster. I wasn't feeling 100% that day and coasters really take it out of me, plus I'd read that it can be a puke-fest, so I skipped it. Wife+Daughter reported it is cool as hell. I walked the queue with them and it was pretty cool looking all on its own.

--Edit--

A note on the boats.

You CAN use the boat to get to EPCOT in the morning from the campground, but the busses are faster.

Ride the boat to the Magic Kingdom (Only route they have from the campground these days)
Hop on the monorail to the ticketing and transportation center, get off, walk back around to the Epcot monorail.

We tried it one morning and the girls beat me by about 20 min. But I waited for at least 10 min for the boat, and they got right on the bus. So If I caught everything perfect and they had to wait, it probably would have swung the other way. I enjoyed my trip more though, I like riding the monorail and looking out over the site.

Also, they have the skyliner things up and running, so you can do some bussing and riding those if you choose, but you'd have to bus to one of the hotels and catch the buckets to wherever they go. They're a pretty cool network on their own, they have one line that goes around a corner.

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Jason B

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There is an RV resort in near my hometown, formally known as Cajun Palms, now Margaritaville since it was bought by Jimmy Buffet. It was rated as a top RV resort. Prices per night start at $45 up to $125, plus $15 per person for more than 4 people. It also has 'cabins' from $130 to $400 per night. Every weekend all sites are filled. It's top notch and top dollar and very popular. It's only a quarter mile off I-10 in Henderson, LA. Why people flock to this campground and pay this kind of money even with the interstate visible and audible from the site is beyond me. That's not camping.
 

Jhbryaniv

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There is an RV resort in near my hometown, formally known as Cajun Palms, now Margaritaville since it was bought by Jimmy Buffet. It was rated as a top RV resort. Prices per night start at $45 up to $125, plus $15 per person for more than 4 people. It also has 'cabins' from $130 to $400 per night. Every weekend all sites are filled. It's top notch and top dollar and very popular. It's only a quarter mile off I-10 in Henderson, LA. Why people flock to this campground and pay this kind of money even with the interstate visible and audible from the site is beyond me. That's not camping.
We have a cousin who rents a space for their camper in the keys every summer.

We went down one weekend, their neighbors were maybe 10 feet from them, and the golf carts with music blasting were driving around with drunks until the wee hours of the morning. F that.
 
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ctechbob

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We have a cousin who rents a space for their camper in the keys every summer.

We went down one weekend, their neighbors were maybe 10 feet from them, and the golf carts with music blasting were driving around with drunks until the wee hours of the morning. F that.

Yea, I don't get it either. We rented a place up in Blue Ridge that was about like that, although probably slightly quieter. I'd prefer to have some space and trees, it seems like all the new big develpoments are not that. Our San Blas site is fairly secluded though. There are two houses at the end of the road and it is 700 feet to the beach, but other than that, there's nothing else around.

And San Blas isn't a big college party town. Hell, its not much of a town at all, which suits me just fine.
 

Jhbryaniv

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Yea, I don't get it either. We rented a place up in Blue Ridge that was about like that, although probably slightly quieter. I'd prefer to have some space and trees, it seems like all the new big develpoments are not that. Our San Blas site is fairly secluded though. There are two houses at the end of the road and it is 700 feet to the beach, but other than that, there's nothing else around.

And San Blas isn't a big college party town. Hell, its not much of a town at all, which suits me just fine.
One of the big reasons were moving from south florida is to be able to get to places like winagahota profile Pic. I live ~3 miles to the beach, but it can take 45 minutes for me to get there.
 

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I have to say, this is the ride I want to do the most right now . . . https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/tron-lightcycle-run/

@WingShot Where is that profile pic taken?
My friend told me the Tron ride isn't that good.

The boat to the resort sounds great.
I took the boat from the park (I don't remember which park) to the campground in order to eat at the restaurant one evening. It was a nice boat ride that was very relaxing after a long day in the park. I'm not sure I'd want to rely on it to get to the park in the morning, though.

I didn't get to ride the new Guardians coaster. I wasn't feeling 100% that day and coasters really take it out of me, plus I'd read that it can be a puke-fest, so I skipped it. Wife+Daughter reported it is cool as hell. I walked the queue with them and it was pretty cool looking all on its own.
She says the Guardians ride is MUCH better.
 

carmigo

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Just back from a week long trip at the House of the Mouse in Florida. We tend to go every 5 years or so for a week, but this is the first time we've owned a camper so we drug the 26DJSE behind us and spent a week at the Fort Wilderness Campground.

A few notes.

The roads into the camp sites are NARROW. If you're not comfortable threading the needle to drive to and back into your camp site, you might want to look twice.

The campgound is what you would expect from Disney. Clean, well kept, well appointed, etc etc.

Transportation to the Magic Kingdom and the Monorail loop resorts is a snap, hop on a boat and you're there in 10 minutes. Very small lines to wait in, as opposed to waiting for what seems forever for the busses.

We didn't do much more to our site other than set out a couple chairs, we were off running pretty much from the get-go and were only back at the site to sleep, so we didn't drag everything we usually would out of the storage compartment.



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I was excited to lay eyes on the old school lexan fountain that they've put back in EPCOT, looks so much cooler than the water fountain without it, brings back memories of going to EPCOT in the early 80's when it was brand new.

And SpaceShip Earth's new RGB LEDS's are super cool as well. I never got a picture of any of the images they were showing on it. Far better than the stupid wand they had on it in the 2000's.

IMG_20230516_213128775_HDR.jpg
How did I not know this was a thing?? Anyway, Epcot is my favorite park. It's like a sort-of cheaper world tour, so I'm thankful for the cool pics. Hope you had fun!
 

carmigo

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We haven't done Disney in many years, but that sounds like a great way to go about it. EPCOT is always great, better then Disney World for us.

Thanks for the review.
Agreed. Disney is fun, but I feel like Epcot is for the adults. Really want some of the blue-cheese popcorn from future world right now... yum
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