Disney Fort Wilderness Campground: Is it Really An Affordable Alternative to Disney Resort Hotels?

Our first trip to Disney was nearly six years ago. My kids enjoyed pin trading, meeting the characters throughout the park and eating our way around the World Showcase. We loved our trip and the only thing we swore we’d do differently if we ever returned was to stay at one of the Disney resorts.

Since we planned to stay at Disney for only one night we wanted a hotel that would give us the most bang for our buck. Turned out, it wasn’t a hotel at all, but the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground, that fit that description.  

The cast member that checked us in was very friendly and helpful, just what I remembered from our previous Disney experience.

We found our site relatively easy and were mildly surprised by the size of the sites, which were much larger than I expected them to be. I also appreciated that each loop of campsites is located within close proximity to a comfort station that not only includes the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen at a campground, but also a laundry facility as well.

  

Our loop of campsites was located directly across from the pool and hot tub - that is open 24 hours a day. 

  

There are also volleyball nets, a playground and a small game room for campers.

 

The Meadow Trading Post sells souvenirs, basic food items that you may run out of and snack items.  

I was excited to find several penny pressing machines at various locations (the Meadow Trading Post, Settlement Trading Post, outside the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, and the Outpost Depot) throughout the campground. Don’t leave home without a stock pile of pennies and quarters!

In addition to scheduled crafts, activities and organized games, each night the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground welcomes special guests Chip ‘n Dale for a Campfire Sing-a-Long followed by a movie.  

The Sing-a-Long was really fun and upbeat and I couldn’t help but think of how much fun my kids would have had staying at the campground when they were younger!

They may be teenagers but they didn’t pass up their chance to have their picture taken with Chip! I appreciated that Chip ‘n Dale took the time to pass through each row of seats one by one to welcome each guest.

If you want to spend a bit more money you could take a horse drawn carriage or wagon ride. You could also purchase tickets for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. Or you could take advantage of more freebies on the property.  

The beach at the boat launch is the perfect spot to watch the Electrical Water Pageant and if you stick around afterward you’ll also be able to see the  firework display from the Magic Kingdom.

The video starts a little slow, but stick with it, it gets better.

Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Well, in all honesty I have to tell you that I am more than a little bit disappointed with the campground. I went to the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground expecting to see and hear a lot of  kids. I even thought I’d see some young children that were badly in need of a nap and  a bit cranky. I fully expected to put up with a bit of noise.  What I didn’t expect was to have loud, bawdy drunks beside us.

I know  Disney couldn’t predict that those guests were going to be such a disruption, but my husband was extremely disappointed by the way security handled things on each occasion.  

While my son and I were having the time of our lives at the Star Tours Meet-up, the rest of my family were being terrorized by the drunks next door. When I returned with the van at nearly 3 in the morning, we packed up our tent and headed out. Which is why we spent the rest of the night not in the tent, but in one of the cabins at the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground. I guess we could thank our neighbors for the upgrade.

The cute kitchen, dining room, and living area is fully stocked with dishes, pots, pans and dish towels. There is also a Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall, which is where my husband and I slept.

 

We gave the kids the bedroom and they were excited to see the folded Mickey towel that welcomed them. You can never be too old for those extra touches.

Though my husband still was not appeased, the kids and I were happy that we didn’t need to search for a hotel room in Orlando at 3 in the morning- or worse, sleep in our van! 

If you’re considering a trip to the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground, I suggest that if you think you’ll have any problems at all with your neighbors, call the Outpost early in the day and request a new campsite. My husband’s suggestion? If your neighbors give you as much grief as he had, skip Disney security and call the police. 

So, is the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground really an affordable alternative to the Disney resorts? Honestly, my opinion of Fort Wilderness drastically changed after hearing what my family put up with in my absence.  Yes, the campground definitely has some benefits, but so do a lot of other resorts.  Unless you are dead set on camping, or really can’t afford to stay at Disney any other way, I’d really think long and hard about tent camping at Fort Wilderness. We won’t do it again. Ever.

That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t welcome another night in a cabin though.

I know some of you have probably experienced the Disney Fort Wilderness campground, and I hope it was more pleasant. Why not leave a comment and share how much fun you had?

Star Tours Meet-Up at Walt Disney World: Through the Eyes of My Son

I’m a total Star Wars nerd and I’m not afraid to say it. I read the books. I watch the movies. I play the games. I guess it’s for those reasons that my mom chose me to go to the Star Tours Meet-up at Walt Disney World with her last week. What true Star Wars freak wouldn’t be excited to go?

  

When we arrived at Blizzard Beach we were standing around, listening to the DJ try to build excitement about the event and admiring his amazing Hummer. After getting our wrist bands, we listened to the other Star Wars freaks talk about Star Wars and finally boarded the busses that would transport us to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We waited for 45 minutes, watching all the other guests play with their iphones and wishing I had one before the driver finally entered the bus and we pulled away.

As we approached our destination, excitement in the bus began to build.  With spotlights circling overhead we stepped out of the bus backstage and onto a red carpet walkway, making our way through a white canvas tunnel with mist rising around us blocking our view of what lie ahead.  Stepping through the tunnel we were greeted to an out of this world reception of Star Wars characters, paparazzi and Disney officials welcoming us to the meet-up in grand Disney fashion. We felt like stars.      

We met Star Wars characters, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, the Ewoks, Stormtroopers,  Jawas, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Clone Troopers and Anakin.

 

We also met Mickey and Minnie who were dressed for the occasion.

  

  There was plenty to see on the way into the ride. C-3PO is the coolest.

We had a special guest, Greedo, on the ride with us. We rode the ride twice and it was amazing both times! Do you know that Star Tours has over 50 alternate endings? We traveled to the frozen world of Hoth on our first ride and to the underwater world of Naboo where we saw Jar Jar Binks another time.

We listened to some of the Imagineers discuss how they worked closely with Lucas Films to create an experience guests weren’t likely to forget.  

   

We also tried to eat ice cream from the Sundae bar but I was too excited to eat. 

 

My mom was selected to receive a special set of posters signed by the Disney artists- I’m not sure how many of those sets were passed out but I talked to one cast member who said it was rumored that Disney gave away 60 signed sets.

On the way out of the event I received a poster of my own. Pretty cool.

       

Thanks to Disney for a night I’m not likely to forget anytime soon!

A Brief Overview of Our Trip to the Happiest Place on Earth

Remember last week when I shared that my family was heading off on a Disney adventure with a Flat Traveler in tow? Well, I hope Stef from Educating Layton enjoyed our trip as much as we did! With the exception of one little snafu that still has my husband bent out of shape, we had a great time!

After getting a really late start which pretty much ensured we drive straight to Florida with no stops along the way, we finally arrived at Fort Wilderness around two, Thursday afternoon. We set up camp, freshened up and headed off to visit Downtown Disney. 

Our first stop was to Planet Hollywood. We even saw a famous person when we were leaving but none of us could remember his name.  We just knew we recognized him from some movie. Isn’t that funny?

 

After our meal that consisted of appetizers- because Planet Hollywood is expensive- (and this was a trip that we didn’t budget for)- we continued through Pleasure Island. The kids were excited to see the bikes in the Harley Davidson storefront. Pretty cool, huh?   

The Lego store was pretty cool, too! We loved the Lego sculptures that were outside and had no idea that a few of them had just been unveiled!

Back at the campground, we had a fun sing-a-long with Chip and Dale. I sooo would have loved to have stayed at the campground the first time we visited Disney. The kids would have absolutely loved it! 

Just when everyone else was settling down and ready for bed, Nickolaus and I were preparing to head out for the Disney Star Tours Meet-up.

 

We made our way to Blizzard Beach where we met the entourage of Star Wars fans and waited to board the busses to transport us to Hollywood Studios. I did have a nifty little video of the entire event on my Flip Video. Imagine my disgust when I experienced a glitch when I was downloading it to my computer and lost every bit of footage… Sigh…

I can say that I expected a big deal from Disney and I was NOT disappointed. I’ll share more on the Star Tours Meet-up tomorrow.

While my son and I were having a ball, my husband and other two children were being terrorized by the drunk and unruly neighbors back at the campsite. Which is why, the minute we returned to our campsite,  instead of falling onto the air mattress and fast asleep, I found myself helping to disassemble our tent (at nearly 3 a.m.) to leave the Happiest Place on Earth where clearly some guests beside us had taken that slogan to extremes.  Certainly not a fun way to end the evening.

Have you been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World? What did you enjoy most?

And the Winner Is……

Do you remember this post? The one where I begged for tips for free places to visit on our upcoming trip to Orlando?

Well, I have a WINNER!

Drum roll please….

Congratulations to Stef from Educating Layton! WooHoo! 

This is Stef’s tip:

Downtown Disney is FREE - AND you can go to the Lego store and build race cars w/ their legos for FREE to race other kids right outside under a covered area!

My family loved that tip because last time we visited Orlando, we skipped Downtown Disney so they aren’t about to miss out this time around! I’m not sure if the boys will build race cars, but you better believe we won’t miss a stop at the Lego Animation Store! 

Okay Stef, per the contest rules: 

You will have until Saturday, May 14th to email me a picture of your Flat Traveler (I only need a picture, I’ll even dress your traveler for the occasion).

Congratulations, Stef! You’re traveler will accompany us on the Star Tours ride before it’s even open to the public! How cool is that? Oh yeah, don’t forget that I’m going to pick up a little something for you there as well.  

Share Your Favorite FREE Orlando Attractions for a Chance to Win a Fun Prize

Last month, I offered to take one of my readers along on an Ohio Road Trip.  I thought it would be fun and I also wanted a bit of practice tweeting and blogging from the road before we hit the trails on our upcoming Road Trip 2011. Things went pretty well, and our traveler was very well behaved, so I’ve decided to do the same thing again. I will select one Flat Traveler to accompany my family on an impromptu trip to Florida.  Only this time I need YOUR help.

Last week, on Twitter, I noticed that Disney was offering a limited number of slots for a premiere of sorts to the grand opening of their newly revamped Star Tours attraction. My mind raced. My oldest son loves all things Star Wars- what a surprise that would be! He’d actually be able to experience the ride BEFORE it opened to the public! How often does that happen? But then I thought, “I’m sure I’m too late. This event is bound to have a ton of interest. It’s probably already full”.  I read the instructions twice and with bated breath and trembling fingers, typed and sent an email. And guess what? I was selected! WOO HOO! YIPPEE!

And then, realty set in. What the heck was I thinking? We can’t go to Disney World! It’s a ten hour drive from our house! We haven’t budgeted for this, my husband would have to miss work….but on the other hand,  it sounds like such an awesome event. And I was selected out of hundreds, if not thousands of responses. There are also other perks, just check out what the website says we should expect:

“Those in attendance will be among a group at our panel discussion with Walt Disney Imagineers. They’ll offer an insider’s look at Star Tours – The Adventures Continue and share some behind-the-scenes details about the experience. Fans will also have a chance to ask questions about the making-of the attraction and what it’s like to work on this project. There will also be a few surprises you won’t want to miss. “

After careful consideration, my husband and I have decided that we will indeed make the trip so my son and I (I’m only allowed one guest) can experience a Meet-Up Disney Style! Which is sure to be phenomenal, because after all, Disney does all things MAGICAL! 

Here’s where your help comes in. Try as we might, we just are not able to afford a one day Disney park ticket at this time ($87 each x 5, you do the math). We’d rather wait when we can make a trip of it and take advantage of the multi-day savings. With my jewelry sales, a planned garage sale, and our travel jar savings, we have enough money to cover gas and lodging, but that leaves almost zero left for entertainment. What free Orlando area attractions can you suggest for my family?

Fill out the form below and if my family decides your comment is the best, we’ll take you along as a Flat Traveler and pick up a little gift for you as a token of our appreciation. Now, who wants to play along?

Here are the rules:

1. Simply fill out the form below with your suggestion of something FREE to do in Orlando. 

2. This contest will end on Wednesday, May 11th at 6 p.m. 

3. My family will select a winner and we will announce the lucky person on Thursday, May 12th.

4. You will have until Saturday, May 14th to email me a picture of your Flat Traveler (I only need a picture, I’ll even dress your traveler for the occasion).

5. That’s it! Now leave me your Best Free Orlando Attraction.  

May the Force be with You!

Who Loves Tinkerbell?

Poppy and Petunia has featured one of my Etsy shop designs for their 10 Days to Disney contest where they feature hand crafted items with a Disney theme. The featured item with the most comments at the end of the 10 days will receive a gift from Poppy and Petunia’s trip to Disneyland. 

I’d love for you to head on over and take a peek at my Treasured Tinkerbell Necklace and if you feel so inclined, I wouldn’t be disappointed if you left a kind comment either. :)     

FREE Customizable Maps from Disney

Planning a visit Disney World anytime soon? If so, I have an awesome souvenir idea to share with you!

You can order FREE customizable maps highlighting your families favorite attractions and entertainment in each of the four parks, The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM and The Animal Kingdom.

This set of maps ( two maps, four parks, front and back) include a set of gold stickers which allow you to mark new favorites that you find on your visit.

You can design these maps and print them from your own computer or request to have them sent to your home free of charge. I would suggest the latter- the maps are large, the paper is thick and they are beautifully designed. Besides, it’s fun to receive mail from Disney! Just make sure you order your set of maps 4-6 weeks before you plan to arrive at Disney World. 

Get started creating your own customizable maps here.   

If you missed it, make sure you take a moment to learn about Disney’s Homeschool Days just around the corner, in January!    

Homeschool Days at Disney Parks and Resorts

Mark your calendars and start planning! The Happiest Place on Earth is hosting Homeschool Days on January 23rd through the 25th.  Disney World will offer a sneak peek of their upcoming nature film, African Cats at the Animal Kingdom Park, with additional Y.E.S. (Disney Youth Education Series) programs that you may choose to select for an additional fee.  Disneyland will also offer special programs for homeschool families. Follow this link to find out  more about this exciting offer!

A Few Fun Stops

I know my blog posts have been a bit nonexistent lately and I do apologize. My computer crashed a couple weeks ago and it took me some time to replace it. But, now that it’s here, I promise, I’ll get busy adding some more posts. In the meantime, if you’d like to find out where we’ve been the past few weeks, here are a few posts from my other blog:

Disney's Christmas Carol Train comes to Atlanta, GA

I have to admit, after our first experience in Atlanta, I swore I'd never step foot in the city again. Well, I know the Lord has a sense of humor, because it wasn't long before my husband’s job led us back to the very place I intended to avoid for the rest of my life. Though I wasn't initially excited, a friend challenged me to make the best of our visit by finding five really cool attractions to visit. Well, that was a challenge I was up for and when we returned, not only did I find some really awesome outings to go on with my family, but I also discovered some reasons to return ... again ... and again ... and again.... (read the entire post here)

What'll ya have, what'll ya have?

When we planned to visit Atlanta several months ago, I sent out a plea on one of the yahoo groups I belong to asking for some recommendations of what we should or could do in the city. One of the suggestions I received over and over was to eat at The Varsity, the world's largest drive-in restaurant. Though we planned to go several times, we just hadn't made it. Until today. And it was worth the wait. Visible as soon as you exit I-85, the famous red V icon beckons you. (read the entire post here)

The B-17 Aluminum Overcast

This past Tuesday we found out that an historic WWII plane would be flying into our area and would be open for tours for two days only. Having studied that time period last year in school, and having two boys that are particularly interested in historic war planes, my husband and I knew that this opportunity was not to be missed. Thankfully my husband had a short day of work already planned on Wednesday so we were able to view this fascinating marvel. On the short drive to the airfield, my boys were taking turns impressing us with their knowledge of the B-17’s. Were they excited? You bet! (read the entire post here)