Disney World has a LOT of hotels and you might have your favorites, but are you ignoring one of Disney World’s BEST and most unique hotels?
Fort Wilderness
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground is a HIGHLY-rated hotel. On Yelp, the campgrounds have 4 out of 5 stars and the cabins have 4.5 out of 5 stars! Still, a lot of folks might not consider staying at a cabin or campground. So, what makes this hotel so great?
The Recreation
The MAIN thing that makes Fort Wilderness stand out is the recreation! The hotel has a LOT of recreation options — more various than ANY. OTHER. Disney World hotel. That’s pretty wild when you consider it’s a value/moderate level.
Fort Wilderness
First up, the resort has Campfire nights that feature none other than Chip and Dale! Most resort hotels have campfire recreation options, but it’s not often that you have a regular character sighting outside of character dining.
Campfire Sing-A-Long
Like other hotels, there are rental options where you can snag bikes, fishing supplies, and boat rentals. BUT, this spot also has access to canoe and kayak rentals so you can have a watery afternoon! And, you can find sports courts around the property too with games like tennis, volleyball, basketball, shuffleboard, and tetherball!
Canoes
The main pool, Meadow Swimmin’ Pool, is currently mid-renovation but offers a corkscrew waterslide, whirlpool spa, and SNACK BAR. But would you believe it when we say that all that isn’t even PART of the most interesting recreation at the resort?
Work happening on the slide!
Fort Wilderness really stands OUT with some adventurous recreation options. If you love horses, this could be the resort for you. Tri Circle D Ranch is a great spot to visit to see horses, but you can also take Trail Rides for $55 per person and Carriage Rides for $55, and kiddos can take Pony Rides for $8 per person! Plus, though temporarily unavailable, this resort has also offered Wagon Rides and Sleigh Rides.
Tri Circle D Ranch
Speaking of Sleigh Rides, this resort also has a LOT of holiday fun during certain times of the year. Even better, it’s a bit of a tradition for guests at Fort Wilderness to decorate their golf carts, cabins, and campgrounds depending on when they visit!
Fort WIlderness Decorations
Oh, and did we mention ARCHERY!? You can learn to shoot a bow and arrow for $45 per person. If that’s not the coolest recreation offering at a Disney World hotel, we don’t know what is.
Archery
Finally, this resort offers the VERY unique Wilderness Backtrail Adventure. This two-hour experience is a SEGWAY TOUR around the resort with a knowledgeable Cast Member guide. How fun!
Click here to learn more about Tri Circle D Ranch!
The Accommodations and Cost
But the recreation isn’t the ONLY thing that makes this resort stand out, it also has very unique accommodations and more affordable costs than many other Disney World resorts.
©Disney
The cabins, which sleep SIX, range from $430 to $830 per night. That’s expensive, but when you consider that these private spots feature a full kitchen and plenty of room for your family, they seem pretty cheap! Compare the price to any other room with a full kitchen around Disney World and you’re looking at a pretty good value for this on-property room. Plus, you can pre-order to have your pantry filled with groceries when you arrive!
Fort Wilderness Cabin ©Disney
Though you might not traditionally consider camping the move in Disney World, the campgrounds at Fort Wilderness are NICE. All of them feature electricity and water and some of the premium campgrounds and spots for RVs even feature other amenities like sewer hookups and cable! The spots range from $90 to $300 depending on amenities and season.
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
AND, as the cherry on top, this resort is pet-friendly! The campgrounds and many of the cabins welcome your pups and the resort even has some amenities just for them! There’s an off-leash DOG PARK and pet walks!
Want to see more about camping in Disney World? Click here!
The Location
Fort Wilderness also has a very good location. It’s in the Magic Kingdom resort area with boat transportation DIRECTLY to Magic Kingdom. You might need to hop on an internal bus to get to the marina, but that’s still a pretty PRIME spot.
Boat Launch
Beyond that, the location on Seven Seas Lagoon means you also have views of the Electrical Water Pageant and Magic Kingdom fireworks if you find your way to the marina area!
To learn more about Magic Kingdom fireworks, click here!
The Dining
Finally, you know we have to mention it, we’re fans of the DINING at Fort Wilderness! Expect comfort food favorites from Trail’s End, Crockett’s Tavern, P and J’s Southern Takeout, and The Chuck Wagon.
Trail’s End Breakfast
AND, though it is currently unavailable, this resort is also home to the most popular dinner show in all of Disney World — Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue! Fried chicken and song and dance? Sign us up!
Click here to see more of Hoop Dee Doo!
The moral of the story is DON’T ignore Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground! Even if you’re not staying, a day spent experiencing the recreation there could be a great addition to your vacation! So, go shoot a bow and hop on a horse for your own wilderness fun. And, as always, keep an eye on DFB for the latest Disney World updates!
Want to see more about the pool renovation? Click here!
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Fort Wilderness is on Bay Lake, not the 7 Seas Lagoon. The boat pictured at the dock is the one that used to run to the Contemporary, which has been discontinued for years. The current boats, the Friendship series, run between Fort Wilderness and the Magic Kingdom, are significantly larger and are mostly enclosed.
I doubt you can see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from anywhere at Fort Wilderness.
Stayed in a cabin in October.
Price was ridiculous, plus had to rent a golf cart (more money) to get to the restaurant , stores and boat transportation. (No car parking!) bus system is beyond horrible.
For people with nice RV’s? Why not, but interestingly, it is the ONLY RV and campground place within reasonable distance of the parks. Does anyone spell conspiracy here?
Don’t get me wrong. It IS different, but for the cost of that cabin and the inconvenience and limited food options, never again.
…. And it’s one of the “opening day” resorts so it’s celebrating 50 years too! …it’s also one of Walt’s “must haves” when he first bought the swamp for the resort. He hired someone to travel the RV parks of America… this guy spent a year traveling to as many RV parks he could find in order to copy and paste the best ideas into fort wilderness. It’s got Walt’s fingerprints all over it.and is a “must stay” for sure!
Honestly, it’s my favorite resort! It’s so relaxing on rest days to just drive the golf cart around the grounds and see all the wildlife.
You can absolutely see the MK fireworks from the dock area and the Settlement.
You need to do your homework ahead of time to see if this is for you.
You don’t “have” to rent a golf cart. Just if you don’t like walking at all or waiting for the buses, which can take 20 minutes to arrive.
Have patience. Start 20 minutes earlier just in case. It’s definitely worth it.
We’re headed there in July. We don’t have a luxury RV, but it is nice, we travel in it for a month plus in a year. For us it is comfortable and feels like second home. The campground is one of the nicest you can find honestly.
You don’t need a golf cart, there’s the internal bus system. There’s a great trail system. Hiking 1-1.5 miles is good exercise. Our family has a 4-spot bike rack for the back of our trailer. Riding our bikes makes for transportation pretty much as fast as a golf cart.
The natural outdoors makes for a restful place to stay. For the most part the camping/RV crowd is friendly to be around.
If you are an urban dweller, who doesn’t like nature or exercise, who needs luxury accommodations and fine dining to make your vacation complete, then it isn’t for you.
There are companies that will rent an RV for you and set it up in your site, and continue to provide service during your stay, if you don’t have an RV yourself.
You definitely need a golf cart if you’re staying in a cabin, or one of many, MANY sites:
Would you like to go to the food service? Or the stores? Or get to the boat?
Are you going to wait 30 minutes for your bus to come, and 30 minutes to get back?
In the pouring rain!?
Fort Wilderness has sort of a cult following amount the RV crowd. Honestly, it is one of the most popular campgrounds in the country and pre-COVID, it was hard to get a site! It is also very expensive for a campground but comes with so many perks!
Most, not just a few, sites are full hook-up. You can take an internal bus system, but many people rent a golf cart. With so many people decorating their sites or even leaving little surprises (aka pixie dust) out for other at their sites, looping is a very popular activity. Many people come to Fort Wilderness and never go the parks!
We love DFB, but can tell by your reviews of Fort Wilderness, you are not campers! You should have a camper write the review. It’s a growing section of vacationers and is to not just the budget crowd!