Camping in Mickey's back yard . . . WDW at half the cost and twice the fun
by - Written: Jan 01 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A great place to camp; would be fun to visit even without the theme parks!
Cons: Staying within a strict budget requires careful planning and coordination.
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| conradd's Full Review: Fort Wilderness Campground |
My first trip to WDW (1989) was timed to coincide with my son growing tall enough to qualify for a ride on the Big Mountain Thunder Railway. We stayed with relatives in a nearby town that trip and while it was fun, I wanted to concentrate on enjoying the theme parks during a return trip. However, as a graduate student, I needed to keep the cost down to a minimal level.
After being bumped from a Delta flight in March 1997, I received two complementary round-trip tickets. Knowing that WDW was my dream destination, I began planning a gala celebration for my son's 14th birthday in January 1998. Since I try not to use credit cards for fun stuff, I planned carefully and had the entire trip paid for by the time we left.
Even with free transportation, I realized that we needed to hold lodging costs to a minimum. After comparing Disney and non-Disney hotels, I realized that staying on-site had definite advantages. We didn't have to rent a car and were able to enter selected parks early on designated days. After comparing the various Disney lodging locations, I knew that we could afford a maximum of three nights in a budget resort hotel or eight nights in the Fort Wilderness Campground. We are experienced campers and have all necessary camping equipment. While the thought of flying our tent and other equipment across the country was daunting, the thought of a leisurely vacation with time to explore WDW attractions outside the theme parks was very attractive. I made Fort Wilderness reservations for eight nights at $35 a night.
Since we live in Oregon, the prospect of a warm Florida rain (anything short of a hurricane) was not a discouragement. And, since our visit was planned for mid-January, I knew that we wouldn't have to contend with crowds.
We arrived at the Orlando airport and had no trouble connecting with a transport company to take both of us and our equipment to Fort Wilderness. Once there, we checked in and received our blue guest cards and a Disney host gave us and our luggage a lift to our campsite, loading and unloading our belongings. He even refused a well-deserved tip. This is probably one of the few campgrounds where phone messages are delivered to your campsite. My family had no trouble sending birthday greetings to my son.
While we usually steer clear of commercial campgrounds, Fort Wilderness was a great place to stay. The sites are spacious, private (with shrubbery screens between spaces), and clean (Disney hosts vacuum the sites between guest visits). The bathrooms were cleaned several times a day and while I was usually the first one in the showers each morning, they appeared to be clean at any time of the day. We bought a wheeled Rubbermaid trunk (just fitting the airline luggage regulations) that held our tent, two inflatable air mattresses, bedding (sheets and blankets), a carpet for the tent floor, a roll-up table, folding chairs, a portable heater, alarm clock, and still had room for cooking equipment and clothing.
The extended stay allowed us to take a breather between theme park visits. Typically, we'd be first in line on early entry days, stay until the park closed, then sleep in the next day and visit Downtown Disney, play Fantasia mini-golf, rent a boat to explore the lake, or visit the resort hotels. On days when we "did" a theme park, we'd return to our campsite, change into swim suits, and catch a bus for a 5-minute trip back to the Wilderness Lodge where we refilled our come-back cups and my son enjoyed the pool while I soaked my tired feet in the hot tub. (The Fort Wilderness pool was unremarkable and there was no hot tub . . . although technically inter-resort pool hopping is prohibited, nobody questioned us.)
Having visited WDW previously, I knew that food would be a major expense. Since we were camping, I brought my camp stove and ice chest, planning to eat breakfast and some lunches in camp. This plan was thwarted slightly by an ambitious chipmunk who helped himself to my son's Cheerios and other snacks; however, the campground grocery store was well stocked and for many items, only slightly more expensive than off-site stores. We also purchased refillable mugs at the nearby Wilderness Lodge and stopped there each morning for tea and hot chocolate, and returned each afternoon and evening for a late night soft drink. We found that we were able to use the refillable mugs at all other Disney resorts as well.
Disney transportation ran from early morning until late at night. The bus drivers were very courteous . . . one even stopped his bus so that my son could take a closer look at an alligator climbing into a ditch. Another night, we decided to take a late night trip to Port Orleans for beignets, hot chocolate and cafe' au lait. We listened to the piano entertainment a bit too long and missed the last bus back to Fort Wilderness. We were standing in the bus stop trying to decide what to do when an off-duty driver driving his bus back to the transport center spotted us. He picked us up and delivered us to our camp site. (We wrote a nice letter of commendation to the Disney PR department on his behalf!)
While camping can be a bit of work, the benefits were worth it. Instead of an exhausting vacation where we tried to cram in every last minute of fun, we had time to explore the little nooks and crannies that make WDW so much fun. We visited with Disney hosts who were very happy to share suggestions for fun things to do and who made our comfort their priority. Even though we did everything we wanted to do, we stayed within a fairly tight budget. Most of all, we reconnected as a family. Next trip, we may stay in a WDW hotel (assuming I'm finished with grad school and am finally working somewhere). It may be an easier trip but I'm betting that it won't be as much fun as the week we spent camping in Mickey's back yard.
Recommended:
Yes
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