Disney Fort Wilderness Resort Review (2022 UK GUESTS)

In this article we will covering a variety of things that will include rates, ratings, the theme, activities, and a variety of other bits of information in this Disney Fort Wilderness Resort review. We hope the information that we provide for you will help you make your decision making a little bit easier.

As a leading UK travel agent that books customers to every single on-site Disney hotel we have first-hand knowledge on every resort and what it can offer every family we send there. Hopefully this article will give you a better understanding on whether booking the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort for your Disney World holiday would be a good choice.

History Of Resort

This resort actually has a long history which began when they opened up on November 19^th, 1971. This will lead to a lot of exciting dates happening there that included:

• 1973 they opened the Fort Wilderness Railroad which is a steam train used for transportation by guests.

• 1974 the Pioneer Hall opened.

• 1976 the Fort Wilderness Kennel opened.

• 1985 Meadow Recreation Complex opened.

• Crockett’s Tavern at Fort Wilderness changes from a full service restaurant to a themed full service bar.

• 1997 began replacing the Wilderness homes with log cabins.

Resort Theme

In the true sense of the meaning of resort hotel, Fort Wilderness simply can’t be considered a hotel resort. Instead it’s basically considered to be the ultimate campground destination. The overall theme is nature, wilderness, wildlife, and camping. So, there really is no specific theme, except for nature.

Latest Refurbishment

The latest refurbishment of the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort was started  in May of this year. It was done at the Fort Wilderness beach. They added new beach chairs and benches under the trees. They are also adding new rope fencing near the waterfront by some of the beach chairs.

Category & Star Rating

What’s really unique about Disney Fort Wilderness Resort is that when it comes to categories, it falls into both a value resort and a moderate resort. This is because you have a choice between campsites and staying in log cabins.

When it comes to their star rating, the campsite part of the resort tend to on average receive a 4.5 star rating out of 5. As for the log cabins, on average they receive a 3.7 stars out of 5 stars by many who have stayed at this resort.

Location, Accessibility To Parks & Transportation

Disney Fort Wilderness Resort is huge coming in at 750 acres to explore. It also means it’s pretty far from all the theme parks that you’ll want to visit. About the only way to get out of the resort and get to the theme parks is through their bus system, which has quite a few bus stops spread out through the resort. A lot of people tend to end up renting a car to get where they need to go.

Within the resort there are walking trails to get around the resort or you can rent a bike or even a golf cart to get around the huge property. They do offer boats to get to the Magic Kingdom and to some of the other resorts.

Campsites & Cabins Rates & More

If you want to rough it by staying in a tent or have the luxury of staying in an RV, this resort should be able to cater to your needs here. Below are the different types of campsites guests can choose from:

• Tent or Pop Up Campsites

Sleeps up to ten people. Has room for a camper van and pop up tent plus two regular tents. Contains a concrete slab that is 10 feet by 25 feet.

• Full Hook-Up Campsites 

Sleeps up to ten people. There’s room for both an RV and a tent. Includes a 10 feet by 50 feet concrete slab. Offers full sewer hook-up.

• Preferred Campsites 

Sleeps up to ten people. Room for an RV and one smaller tent. Concrete slab is 10 feet by 45 feet. Sewer hook-up included. Is close to the resort marina.

• Premium Campsites 

Sleeps up to ten people. Room for a larger RV. Concrete slab is 18 feet by 60 feet. Sewer hook-up included.

• Premium Meadow Campsites

Sleeps up to ten people. Sewer hook-up included. Concrete slab is 18 feet by 60 feet. Room for a larger RV. Close to the Meadow Trading Post, Meadow Recreation Area, Bike Barn, and Campfire area.

All of the campsites include the following amenities:

• Picnic tables

• Charcoal grills

• Cold water tap

• TV

• Electrical hook-ups

• Free WiFi

• Privacy landscaping

For those who would rather not rough it, may prefer staying in one of their cabins they offer.

• Wilderness Cabins

Cabins sleep up to six adults. They all include one queen, one bunk bed, and one double sofa sleeper. Nice view of the woods. All of the cabins include: hair dryers, iron and ironing board, phone with voicemail, free WiFi, a kitchen with dishwasher, two cook top burners, fridge, convection microwave, coffee maker, and toaster.

Like all resorts anywhere, the rates for rooms are going to vary always depending upon the time of year one might be visiting. This is no different here with the rates for the campsites and cabins at Disney Fort Wilderness Resort.

• Tent or Pop-Up Campsites – £95 to £178.79

• Full Hook-Up Campsites – £114.10 to £217.42

• Preferred Campsites – £121.29 to £242.58

• Premium Campsites – £132.07 to £251.57

• Premium Meadow Campsites – £142.85 to £287.50

• Wilderness Cabins – £402.50 to £783.45

Note: There are no club level accommodations at the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort.

Dining At The Resort

Even though this resort may not have a huge list of places to dine at, they do offer some must eating experiences you’ll not want to miss. If you’re looking for a great evening cocktail, a never ending buffet of breakfast and dinner dishes, or just grab a sandwich on the go, Fort Wilderness will have something for everyone.

• Crockett’s Tavern

Here you can walk up to the window and order a great beverage or a bite to eat from a great Southern inspired menu filled with comfort food, you’ll find it here. Grab your food and drinks and then enjoy sitting in a comfy rocker on a charming Southern wrap around porch. Guests favorites are nachos and fried green tomatoes.

• Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue

Here you can enjoy a wonderfully hilarious musical show while you sit and enjoy crispy fried chicken or some BBQ ribs and even some homemade strawberry shortcake.

• Meadow Snack Bar

This is located at the feature pool where guests can enjoy their favorite beverage or grab a hot dog smothered with burgers, pizza, salads, and more.

• P & J’s Southern Takeout

This counter service offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Here you can enjoy french toast sticks and potato barrels, sandwiches, chicken, burgers, ribs, strawberry shortcake and more.

• Chuck Wagon Food Truck

Much like having a neighborhood BBQ, just much faster. Here you can enjoy corn dogs, corn dog nuggets, chicken, chicken nuggets, salads, beverages and more.

• Trails End Restaurant 

Here you’ll find a delicious buffet for both breakfast and dinner offering a variety of Southern comfort foods and American classics like burgers, hot dogs, pizza by the slice, and much more. Food is served in an old fashioned dining hall and are famous for their smoked brisket and eggs, pecan smoked brisket, hush puppies, skillet cornbread, and more Southern favorites.

Fort Wilderness Resort Amenities

They offer two pools called the Meadow Swimming Pool and the Wilderness Swimming Pool. The Meadow Swimming Pool is the feature pool and has a great corkscrew water slide, whirlpool spa, water playground and more. The Wilderness Swimming Pool is quieter and has a relaxing hot tub.

Some of the other amenities include:

• Campfire activities like sing a long events

• Movies Under the Stars

• Pony rides

• Horseback riding

• Two arcades

• Jogging and walking trails

• Volleyball courts

• Basketball courts

• Segway rentals

• Bike rentals

• Golf cart rentals

• The Meadow Trading Post

• The Settlement Trading Post

• The Wilderness Marina

• Wagon and carriage rides

• Archery

• Fishing

• Motorized boat rentals, canoes, and kayaks

What Families Will Enjoy Resort Most?

Unless you have really young children and you don’t like the great outdoors, this is not the place for you. However, if you have older children, including teens and you love camping and outdoor activities, you’ll love the place.

Other Properties Similar To This Resort

To be honest, there really no other Disney resorts that come close to being similar. The only other one might be the Animal Kingdom Lodge, however, this is a deluxe resort and not value/moderate.

Pros & Cons Of Staying At Fort Wilderness Resort

Here’s a list of what we see might be both pros and cons for staying at the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort:

• Pro – It is relative close to both the Magic Kingdom Park and the Magic Kingdom Resorts area.

• Con – It can take a while to walk or several bus transfers to get to where you might be staying on the property.

• Pro – The accommodations are unique compared to all the other resorts.

• Con – It’s not a luxurious resort.

• Pro – Tons of recreational activities to enjoy.

• Pro – Considered one of the most affordable resorts in terms of rates.

• Con – The property is just huge, 750 acres worth of exploring.

• Pro – Dogs are allowed.

• Pro – Campsites are fully equipped.

• Pro – Pretty good dining options including buying your own food and cooking exactly what you want.

Actual Reviews From TripAdvisor

Here are some actual reviews from those who have actually stayed at the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort:

Campsites:

 

“We stay at Fort Wilderness three times per year for a total of approximately 21 nights per year. We LOVE Fort Wilderness and all that it once offered. It is clear that Disney has been unable to recover from the COVID shutdown and it seems Fort Wilderness, in particular, is not a priority on the list of places to return to its glory. We took a “timeout” after leaving the campground during March of 2020 just as the COVID pandemic was closing down most venues. We didn’t return until thanksgiving 2021, hoping we allowed adequate time for WDW to recover. For the most part – the campground is great. They have food trucks down at the settlement which is a fantastic idea! The grounds are beautiful and the staff is friendly!

The issues we experienced are primarily with transportation and the lack of staff to accommodate guests at restaurants. Some of the other locations at the resort appeared well-staffed both in transportation and in the fine dining restaurants. We had amazing meals at California Grille (Contemporary) and the Boathouse (Disney Springs). We were greeted and seated on time for our reservations and treated with the “Disney” experience you pay a premium for.

(For comparison – We had a polar opposite experience at The Boardwalk… ie – walked up to the “pizza by the slice” location only to be told it would be 90 minutes for a slice. They were clearly without adequate staff – as were the other eateries at the Boardwalk.)
At Trails End we were seated 30 minutes late for our reservation for breakfast and the staff – while kind and courteous- seemed wholly inadequate to meet guests needs (despite the restaurant seating at about 70% of capacity). There is no boat service to the wilderness lodge nor the contemporary which makes it a bit more challenging to get to dining reservation on time or simply grab a drink at a nearby resort.

The bus service to fort Wilderness from Disney springs and Hollywood studios was embarrassing – we would watch the other resorts have 2-3 buses arrive/depart while we waited 30-45 minutes to see a single fort wilderness bus arrive.

It would be great to see corporate acknowledge what we’ve all known – fort wilderness is a gem! Don’t forget about us – remember to staff the Fort too!”

“We wanted to love this park. We drove our 45 foot camper 17 hours here, and we’re now going on 48 hours without water at our campsite. We attempted the bathhouses but they were so filthy (from being overcrowded and over-utilized). We were not offered solutions in the first 24 hours, and now they are offering a water truck to come around sites to fill up, but it will be hours until they can arrive and we can’t leave until they do. So we’ve missed an evening in the parks, thanks to this ridiculous plan. Do better, Fort Wilderness.

 

“Place is immaculate. Cast is super friendly. Original property that’s been updated nicely through it’s half century existence.

I chuckle at the 1 star reviews about the sites being too “small” for their rig. Not Disney’s fault you did not read the site dimensions and booked solely on price.
Was here for three weeks and sad to go.

Internal bus system is fine if you take the 10 seconds it requires to look at the map. (tip: EVERY color goes

to The Settlement and EVERY color goes to The Outpost)
Golf carts are super popular and you cannot expect to get one if you did not book same time as you did your site. Disney explains this pretty explicitly as does the countless online resources (blogs, instagram, youtube, etc.)

Yes, it is “expensive”. It’s Disney. I still believe the value is there and worth it, for now.
Bob “Paycheck” Chapek needs to go as CEO.”

Wilderness Cabins

“You can protect your valuables from staggered housekeeping days that you’re aware of but not from random cabin check ins which are conducted here. Having packed a ton for this trip it unfortunately took us until we returned home and fully unpacked 5 days later to accept that my high-end Sony headphones were taken from our Cabin, the last place I saw them and same day we saw a staff vehicle parked in our lot that was there for the cabin check in. According to Sophia of Disney Resorts Claims, 5 whole days from check out was a very long time to claim a loss and she was well programmed to blame me at all costs to save a couple hundred dollars despite the $1300+ it ran us to stay here for a couple nights and as I quote from her, “Disney Resorts accepts NO responsibility for theft by staff”. Also the floors were in need of a good mopping based on the how our feet looked and the rest of the place in need of a good cobweb dusting. Disney must be cutting costs in housekeeping and saving money on background checks based on this experience. EGREGIOUS for a higher tier Disney Resort. Disney resorts will get zero dollars from us going forward and they won’t feel it.”

“We went to Disney for my birthday and decided to stay at the cabins at Fort Wilderness. The cabins were very clean I will decorate it and very roomy for us there are three of us, however the sleeping arrangements could be improved upon. The bedroom has a queen bed pressed up against the wall and then the other bed in the room is 2 feet away and it is a bunk bed then there is a pull out couch in the living room. The sleeping arrangements are obviously for a single-family not any other kind of variation with more than two adults. We highly enjoyed the quiet pool and renting the golf cart to drive around and go looping the check out all the other different RVs and everything. It has a boat launch direct to the Magic Kingdom and a bus to every other Disney park or shopping center. All the Cast members we came in contact with we’re extremely friendly and very helpful. We will definitely be returning to stay at the cabins.”

“This was a good option for family of four kids and two adults!

A bit of a learning curve with a couple things:
Definitely book a golf cart
Don’t go here for relaxing pool time-too many people for one main pool.

What we liked:
Ability to cook meals-we brought groceries.
Walk right out your door to outside areas …sometimes feel claustrophobic in hotels and hotel corridors with my kids.
We drove to parks so very convenient to go right to your door.
It appears as most of the amenities are close to opening up.
Build in an extra day to enjoy the resort.”

Our Thoughts & Verdict

From what we’ve discovered, if you are looking for a resort that offers you nothing but “Disney Magic”, you more than likely will not want to spend time someplace that is all about nature and getting away from it all. You more than likely are going to want to stay at one of the other resorts that offer more of that Disney feel. It’s not that it’s a bad place, but if looking for the total Disney package, you should consider a different type of resort.

To help take the stress out of organising your Disney holiday, The House of Travel offers some excellent package holidays to Disney world Florida This ensures that you can enjoy your time here, with all of the planning in hand. After all, there’s no better way to explore Disney than by letting the experts take charge! Either give us a quick call on 0203 950 7371 or simply fill this quick form here for a call back request today.