Bhanback

Umm.....I am new here, so excited to be planning a trip to the Fort in November, first time EVER Disney trip for my daughter, SIL, and three grandboys. 
This is my first post response, I know it seems to be an older post, but I live on Chincoteague Island and work on the wildlife refuge. 
The ponies on Assateague,Virginia side, are wild ponies. These are the ponies made famous in Marguerite Henry's children's books, Misty of Chincoteague, Stormy of Chincoteague, and Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague.  The management techniques used by the National Park Service in Maryland are very different from the methods used in Virginia. in Virginia, the wild pony herds are "owned" by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, but they live wild and free on Assateague under a "grazing permit" issues by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Yes, you may see some fences with the Virginia herd, but these are used to keep the pony herds from damaging environmentally sensitive areas or habitat needed for other wildlife. Also to keep a safe distance from the human visitors. Every year in Maryland, visitors are bitten or kicked and ponies get hit by cars, or get sick from being fed the contents of picnic baskets by well meaning but uneducated visitors. We try to keep that from happening in Virginia?! The pony herds have thousands of acres in which to roam. Which does make them difficult to see unless you are hiking or taking the bus tour. 
Anyway. Chincoteague Island is a wonderful place to stay for a week or a weekend, there are three nice campgrounds here, one of them is situated right on the Assateague Channel, overlooking the lighthouse and you can sometimes see some of the wild ponies grazing right from your campsite. It's kind of an old fashioned place, with ice cream parlors, great little local seafood restaraunt said, art galleries, good fishing, and of course the wildlife refuge. 
Sorry, I got a little excited when I saw my hometown mentioned here, but I do hope some of you may come and visit someday!