Disney Fort Wilderness Campground

So traveling to Disney world rarely seems like a proposition in frugality, especially if you are going to stay on property to reap the Disney guest benefits.  One way to do it is to stay at the campground and CAMP!  I know some of you just stopped reading or maybe you will keep reading to see just how crazy I get.  Brace yourselves.  On our first trip to Disney after children we camped in a pop-up, without a bathroom or hot water.  We took this trip with an almost 3 year old and a 3 month old.  Yes we did! 

For frugal Disney trips, I highly recommend that families with young children take the kids before they turn 3 because they are FREE!  We repeated the trip to Disney Fort Wilderness Campground when our youngest was almost 3 as well.

Now for you non-campers, let me tell you about camping.  You have a choice about how you camp.  Nowadays, many people consider camping taking the HUGE RV to where ever they want to go and hooking up to all the creature comforts of home.  They have a full bathrooms and corian counters in some of these behemoths!  Some people like the smaller travel trailers with much of the home comforts on a smaller scale.  We, as a family, use a pop-up.  When I was pregnant with baby number two I put my foot down and said that I would no longer camp in a tent with two small children and two dogs!  A pop-up for the uninitiated is a tent on wheels!  There is a small table inside and foam mattresses.  We even have a sink with cold water.  Plus a small awning off the front which is just big enough to give you a dry place to stand if it is raining. Your final option is a tent and it can be a very viable and frugal option.  I do think I would avaoid the tent in July and August though...HOT.  We do have a AC unit on our pop-up!  I don't think the RV is a viable or frugal option!  When you factor in the price of gas and the initial outlay for the RV, plus the higher cost of a site with sewer and internet you really aren't saving any money.  Plus...where is the "camping" with all that!



Home sweet home

With a pop-up, we were able to stay on a "tent" site at Disney.  These sites have electric and water but no sewer and are limited to just tents and pop-ups so no generator noise either which makes it more campy.  The down side to these sites is that they are not very close to the activities, amenities and transportation at the campground.  The upside is that they are CHEAP!  Our first time staying at Fort Wilderness we stayed in loop 200 and we were right across from the bath house which was great with a child that still wasn't always 100% on potty training.  The next time we stayed at FW we asked on check in if they had any sites available closer to the boat launch.  We scored an fabulous site right next to everything!  Plus, they didn't charge us any extra so we still got the "tent" site price but we also got location, location, location!

We have also stayed at the Pop Century value resort at Disney (because it was cheaper!!! but that is another post) and we really prefer the resort of Fort Wilderness.  Why you ask?

Here are some of the great amenities that the campground offers:


View of the beach area from walkway

two pools  - one themed with waterslide and spash area plus snack bar
boat launch to the magic kingdom - yup, a ride to the rides!
full sit-down restauran that is on the dining plan.
hoop dee doo review
mickey's BBQ party
pony rides
fishing
playgrounds

Beach (to the right out of pic is the boat lanch to the Magic Kingdom)

pets allowed
walking trails
hayrides
carriage rides
paddle boats


Walkway from our loop to the trading post

beach front
outdoor movies
marshmallow roasting (at the movies)
archery
two trading posts (stores)
and so on and so on and so on...

In our opinion there is just sooo much to do here at the campground that is fun for the kids.  On one of our trips we even spent the day just wandering around exploring and playing.  I imagine the moderate and deluxe resorts have an equivalent number of amenities but they do not have an equivalent price!