A friend of mine recently took his two children (ages 8 and 12) for a stay at Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. This wasn’t their first family vacation at Disney’s RV Mecca. In fact, they went last year. But here’s the amazing part…
What’s amazing is not that the kids begged for a return to the Land of Mickey. Rather, it’s that upon arrival, they begged NOT to leave the campground! Their parents happily agreed, enjoying a family vacation at Disney World without once entering the theme parks.
Fort Wilderness is one of the best managed campgrounds you’ll ever visit. It’s spotless, boasting asphalt clean enough for fine dining. There’s also a surprising amount of privacy here. Credit must go to the original designers who laid out the campsites with great foresight, and then followed through with lush landscaping. In fact, I daresay the campground design is superior to what we saw inside some of our national parks. Fort Wilderness makes Yellowstone’s Fishing Bridge seem like a Wal-Mart parking lot.
And yet, from any campsite, a myriad of activities are a short bike ride away. There are any number of things to do at Fort Wilderness that extend beyond the scope of today’s video. You can rent boats, kayaks, play tennis, parasail, horseshoes, shuffleboard, fish, or take a carriage ride.
There are a couple of restaurants on the property, at least one of which includes a large stuffed grizzly bear. There’s also the option of after dinner entertainment with Mickey’s seal of approval (the so-called Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue).
A few years ago, if you’d asked me to name the best ride at Walt Disney World, I probably would’ve chosen amongst several favorites. While you can make a strong case for an old school ride like Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the newcomers like the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster probably would’ve been my choice.
But after our recent stay at Fort Wilderness, I have to side with my friend’s children. The best ride at Disney World is people powered … and it has two wheels.
You nailed it ….. Ft.Wilderness is one of the best ways to do Disney. We’ve stayed on property at some of the WDW hotels but there is just something about the feeling and freedom you get at Ft. Wilderness. We have four kids and you can let them roam around on the bikes like I did as a kid …. it is one of the best kept Disney secrets. Did you do the Hoop Dee Doo Revue ?
Really enjoy the video blogs …. makes me want to hit the road everytime I watch one. How about putting together a top 10 favorite campground video …. or maybe your favorties parks by region.
Keep up the great work documenting your cross country adventures.
Chris
Wow! We were there at the same time, and we were in an Airstream too! Well, in an Airstream *motorhome*….lol….. you’re absolutely correct about Ft Wilderness being the best kept disney secret – it’s fabulous!!
Love the new video! Keep up the good work.
Sean,
if Disney isn’t paying for the great Disney promos…you need an agent!!! LOL
A friend of mine took his family to WDW and spent a week in Ft Wilderness. They went to the main park one day, Epcot another day and the rest of the time doing things around the campgrounds. The kids want to make Ft. Wilderness their annual “School’s Out’ vacation.
BTW…what model Crocs flip flop do you have? I can’t find my size (11W) on Amazon so I’m going to the Crocs site and pay full price. BUMMER!!
Ray
Ray, you are correct – I DO need an agent! Nope, Disney hasn’t paid me anything. Quite the reverse, if you know what I mean!
I think my Crocs are the Athens model. Sometimes they are tough to find in my size and preferred color, so we have to do a little hunting…