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Since this is the only affordable option to get the free dining plan (I'll never stay at an All Star again), I have some questions as I've NEVER read up on this place.
How's the bus service?
Any pool or waterslide? This is very important to the kids.
Dining?
Design/layout of the Cabins?
Bus service can be a little inconvenient though we never minded it. There is an internal bus system that will bring you to the outpost or to Pioneer Hall. From these two locations -depending on where you are going, you would transfer to either another bus or boat depending on your final destination.
There are a couple of pools. On one trip, we had a cabin right around the corner from the smaller pool which we liked and was very convenient. The larger poor is a bus ride away from the cabins but, to be hones, I don't remember if it has a slide or not.
On site dining is limited. Trail's End Restaurant is by Pioneer Hall and is a bus ride from the cabins. Typically, we ate some of our meals at this location and other meals at other resorts or in the parks. You will also have a full kitchen in the cabin.
Cabins have a full kitchen in the front including full time refrigerator, dish washer, utensils etc. A counter which doubles as eating space separates the kitchen from the living area. In the living room is a couch, tv, chair, small closet and Murphy bed which can be pulled down for sleeping in the evening.
A hallway leads to a full size bathroom and another bedroom in the rear. Some cabins are configured so that there are also bunk beds in the bedroom; others do not have the bunks.
There is a spot to park your car (if you have one) right out front and a deck you can relax on if you wish.
Many folks rent a golf cart to avoid the internal bus transport. We never did and got around just fine!!
We just camped at FW recently and they have a slide at the larger pool. The kids enjoyed it.
One downside to me is that there is no Quick Service at the campground.
We stayed at the cabins somewhere around 2004 for about 10 days when DS was 6.
Sleeping quarters were kind of cramped. The bedroom consisted of a double bed and a bunk bed, and the living room consisted of a murphy bed which pulled out of the wall. As Linda mentioned, there was one bathroom in between the living room/kitchen and the bedroom.
While we had brought plenty of food with us from home knowing that we would be cooking meals with the full kitchen (we had driven from Illinois that year), it was quite inconvenient not having a QS dining location at the resort, and you could not just walk to the TS location. If we were to stay at the cabins again, I would insist on renting a golf cart to get to the store, to the settlement and to the boat that transports you to the MK. Ambiance at the campground is great, but we did find the internal bus system to be a bit inconvenient for us.
The bus service is not completely horrible. While you do have to get to the Outpost (main entrance) for a park bus, if you're in the zone for bus timing, it's not any longer than getting out of Old Key West, if you're not in the bus zone there. On one campground stay our first few days were filled with long bus waits, but after that we were in sync somehow and usually walked up to a bus stop as the bus was coming along.
One trip we brought bikes - made getting around easy on non-rainy days. At the Outpost we locked our bikes, but at the Marina we just dumped in the sand, along with about two gazillion other bikes. One trip my sister reserved a golf cart. It was handy but you need to keep it plugged in. She rented it because her granddaughter was 2 years old and having it seemed to simplify a lot.
I thought there was a counter service place at the main pool? We have never used this. Another website has a menu dated September 2013 and the note that hours are variable. There is this from Intercot's resort info: "Meadow Pool Complex - Operates on a seasonal basis and may be closed during low occupancy. Signage will direct Guests to visit the Meadow Trading Post when the Snack Bar is closed. Range of Food: sandwiches, pizza, nachos, salads, fruit cups, sodas, candy, bottled water, beer, ice cream. Price range: $1.25 - $6.80."
We usually eat at Trail's End Kitchen Restaurant on every trip to WDW, regardless of where we're staying. KIds love the food there. Wilderness Lodge is a boat ride away and we've eaten there. As well as the QS at the Contemporary.
One year some of our family had a cabin in loop 2100 while we had a campsite in loop 1100. My teenage grandkids and I did walk to Trail's End and got there before my DH, our DD and her DH made it on the bus. It was a much shorter walk than the bus ride makes it seem.
The kitchen at the cabins is large. Very nice. Bathroom is reasonably sized (compared to the bedroom) - with all fixtures in one room. The bedroom is close with a double bed, nightstand and bunk beds taking up most of the space. Not a lot of storage. There is a dining table at one side of the living room, which is a nice size when the murphy bed, also double, is up. There was a nice sized deck with picnic table outside. We brought sandwiches back from Earl of Sandwich one day and ate out here.
You will get daily Mousekeeping at the cabins.
Jan
In hindsight I should explain this a bit further. While you are able to drive your vehicle to the cabin, you cannot drive your car throughout the campground. There are a few parking spots near the store but that is it.Quote:
Originally Posted by KylesMom
When we made our reservation for the cabins, we were not aware that we couldn't drive our car to the boat docks, Trails End, Hoop-de-Doo, etcetera. It was quite a shock when we arrived!
When we vacation we don't think of cooking but having a real kitchen was handy. At least one morning we cooked breakfast.
We also enjoyed the charcoal grill. An hour after we left he MK we had kids asleep or scampering while filet mignon and shrimp kabobs were on the grill while we shared a pitcher of Margaritas on the deck.
Fort Wilderness is a RESORT with many opportunities to enjoy your vacation.
I have to agree with previous posts. We did rent a golf cart, and used it everyday. We were on the dining plan, so not having a QS restaurant was very inconvenient for us. We usually sleep late and eat a late QS breakfast or early lunch at our resort before heading to the parks. We don't like to use our TS credits until dinner. Trails End had a good breakfast buffet, but we paid OOP for it because we didn't want to use our TS credits there.
Part we really liked was being able to but the three kids to bed in the back room and have the living :cloud9:room to ourselves at night.