Camping Disney Style - A Magical Must Do!
Like all families this year, we saw many of our planned vacations cancelled or delayed. Instead of going stir crazy, we hit the outdoors and spent much of the summer camping at various places. It was during one of our camping trips that we finally decided to combine the best of both our favorite worlds…camping at Disney!
Truthfully, it’s been a goal of ours to haul our 5th wheel down to Disney World, but we always managed to stay at their resorts. We went back and forth this year if we should go…but it wasn’t until one night around the campfire that that our son said that all he wanted for his 10th birthday was a trip to Disney!
With this in mind, my husband and I decided there was no better time than now to hook up the 5th wheel and head south.
As soon as I got home from our camping trip, I began to research Disney’s Fort Wilderness campground. This is a summary of what we learned— and ultimately experienced.
Campsite Options
We’ve always booked Walt Disney World resorts for our family, but this would be the first time to book and stay at Fort Wilderness.
Wow! I was pleasantly surprised at the different site options available. In typical Disney fashion, they offer something for every size RV as well as cabins and spots for tent camping.
Fort Wilderness offers four types of campsites: tent and pop-up sites, full hook-ups, preferred, and premium sites. They also have cabins available that accommodate up to 6 adults.
Each campsite reservation can include up to 10 adults and parking for 1 vehicle (yep, no additional charge for parking). Premium sites have a fully paved-pad while the others are partially paved near the front of the site with the rest of the site being gravel.
Due to the size of our 5th wheel, we chose a premium meadows site, and were not disappointed. It’s important to mention that amenities are truly an RVers dream! The resort’s includes wi-fi, clean comfort stations, laundry facilities, pools, and even on-site dining.
Campground Activities
Even with COVID-19 restrictions, there are still plenty of unique activities for campground guests. The campground offers bikes, canoes, and fishing poles to rent as well as panning for gems and archery.
If you’re willing to invest a little extra funds in your vacation, you can also enjoy magical extras like pony rides and trail rides with advanced reservations (and an upgraded fee). If you don’t want to ride, you still need to visit the new horse barn. It’s beautiful!
The campground resort has not one, but two amazing pools —Meadow Swimmin’ Pool and Wilderness Swimmin’ Pool. Our favorite, the Meadow Swimmin’ Pool is the main complex that includes a large swimming pool, waterslide, whirlpool spa, splash pad, and a central location.
When you are waterlogged, you can also enjoy poolside Disney Trivia, Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, and sidewalk chalk art.
Getting hungry? Swing by the nearby snack shack that serves food, drinks, and desserts.
Even without these extras, Fort Wilderness is a vacation all on its own!
The Beauty of Nature
The campgrounds are truly a “Great Outdoors” experience. We enjoyed all the wildlife and natural beauty surrounding us. The resort features a 2.5-mile nature and exercise trail where it’s not uncommon to run into a herd of deer or a family of raccoons scurrying across your path. With the parks closing early, we spent many evenings cooking dinner at the tent site giving us the opportunity to see magnificent sunsets across Bay Lake. The sky so beautiful it rivals pieces from the greatest artists in the world! It was the perfect end to a magical day.
We know that camping is not for every family, but for those with an affinity for nature, we can’t say enough how much fun it was to experience Disney from such a unique perspective. Our family will definitely frequent Fort Wilderness in the future.
And as a Wishes genie, I’m so excited to introduce other families to the same “Disney with a nature twist” experience!
By: Krista Smith, Wishes Genie
