jjbescher

Great report! Thanks so much for posting.

How was the drive to/from?

The drive was not too bad. Other then the traffic form people looking at tornado damage it was not that bad.

Any notable stops along the way?

Not really.  I liked to stop at the Travel Centers, the TA's and even the Flying J's were nice.  Although the TA around exit 70 off I-95 was very busy, but I think that was because of the traffic.

Can I ask what you spent in gas?

We stopped about 4 times spending about $60 in gas.  So probably for the whole trip close to $500 or a little above.  My car was getting about 9 miles per gallon.

We've got two long trips planned this summer - one to the fort & another to WI. Between tolls, stops, and gas prices though, they're still in the reserved but not entirely definite yet stage...

Definitely understand.  I am doing the drive again in May, but this time my work is paying for the miles and I do not have to pull a trailer.

Jon - Great report, and great review section! (most of which I agree with :'() Hope you can get your pics up. Sounds like you all had a good time. I agree that there's NEVER enough time at the fort!  Any return trips planned?

No return trips planned to the fort.  However, that does not mean 1 will not come up.  However, I am coming down in a month to stay at the OMNI at Championshipgate, Boardwalk Villas, then the Beach Club Villas.  The OMNI is for work and then I added on the Boardwalk for a night.

jon

Does Steve have 6 seaters?  I dont think I know about him, I've only used Kenny and I loved him but he only has 4 seaters and generally sells out quickly on busy weekends.

I do not know if he has 6 seaters.  Here is his e-mail.  [email protected]

jon

Here is my review of the fort.

Check-in:

Since I arrived early, there was no one at the gates to check-in, so I parked at the gates and then walked into the lobby.  Very helpful and explained everything.  Even checked for me to make sure they knew I added on a day and that I would be on the same site.  Told me to come in on the day before I had to check-in for the other reservation.  Did that and no issues.

Site:

We were at site #347.  I think it was the only site that had no easy angle to back into.  It was about 1 site away from a walking path to the comfort station.  However, at night, you could barely see the entrance to comfort station.  No lights at the entrance, just about ⅔ way down the path.

The site was nice and we liked the location.  Big area behind, then the 200 Loop.  Wish we got a premium site with no sand.  Just too messy for me, but I do not like the beach because of the sand.  However, the dogs liked the sandy area, so I am mixed.  Definitely enough trees for shade.

I definitely liked the sink area at the site.  It made doing dishes a lot easier.  I have to remember a little table to put stuff on next time.

Golf Cart:

We got our golf cart from Steve.  He was great.  Delivered the cart to our site and picked it up from our site.  Very nice.  I would use him again.  I know everyone raves about Kenny, but I prefer to do stuff by e-mail, just makes my life easier and Kenny wanted me to call him.  My DD loved the GC and would definitely rent one again.  It takes way too long to get around without one.

Dog Park:

My dogs loved the dog park.  They are never on leash at home, except when we have to go someplace.  So for them to be couped up in the camper or even the little expen area that we have for them gets them stir crazy.  They enjoy walks, but love being off leash.  They definitely love playing Frisbee.  We ended up having to go during the hotter part of the day because my BC is a little too obsessive over her stuff so she will get into fights over her stuff.  Would like to see more shade and even the one of the watering stations over by where they have the picnic table.  However, them having water stations is great.  I loved all the Poop Bag spots that they have.  Although we always have them with us, it is nice to know that you are not far from getting one.

Comfort Station:

Although we have not camped at many private campgrounds, definitely the cleanest that we have been to.  I definitely did not have any issue showering or going to the restroom at these comfort stations.  A little pricey for the Washer and Dryer, especially since one of the dryers really did not dry.

The ice machine did not work the whole time I was there.  Although it was cheaper to get ice at the Settlement Trading Post, for those without GC, very inconvenient.

Pool:

The pool was definitely nice.  It was definitely very crowded on the weekends, but during the week it was very reasonable.  My DD loved the spray ground, but did not like it when the hard spray was on the steps.  Had to keep turning that part off.  Unfortunately parents do not make their kids follow rules and many of the older kids kept walking up the slide or running and almost knocking my daughter over.

The hot tub was warm, but not so hot.  Pool temperature a little chilly at first, but felt great.

Canoes:

We rented a canoe and took my DD out.  She did not know whether she liked it or not.  Very reasonably priced and although we were out for about 35 minutes or so, they still only charged us for 30 minutes.  I would not have complained if they charged me for the full hour.

Trading Post(Both Settlement and Meadows):

Although overpriced with most things, the ICE was not (At the Settlement).  It was 10 cents more then a 7-11 but the cost to go out and drive out to the 7-11 would have been more then the 10 cents.  It was also cheaper when you have an Annual Pass (10%), Premium Annual Pass (20%).  So after tax for me it was $2.48.  The people were very nice.  We even had one lady named Toby, give my DD her first Pin.  Did not want anything in return, was just being a typical Disney cast member and making the trip even more special for my DD.

Sing-a-long:

It was fun, but not as nice as the one they do at Hilton Head.  It was definitely nice to have Chip and Dale walk around and interact with everyone.

Trails End Dinner:

I thought one of the better buffets for the price.  You got the same food(meats and stuff) and you paid less then the other dinner buffets.  I paid more for lunch at some of the other restaurants, then I did for Dinner.

Trails End Takeout:

The Giddy Yap and Go was definitely worth the money.  We were able to eat leftovers and still had to throw some of the stuff out at the end.

Bus Transportation:

It seemed buses were coming all the time up and down the Yellow Route.  We did not have to wait long the one time we took the bus to the Outpost to catch a bus to DHS.  The buses to the parks seem to be hit or miss.  Sometimes the wait would be very little or we could be there for 20 minutes.  We saw a few buses from 1 park and then none for the others.

Playground:

The playground was definitely nice.  Just can not go down the slides when it is hot outside and the sun is beating down on them.  I guess that goes for all slides, not just the ones at Disney.

I think that covers everything.  We would definitely do it again.  I would like to have a bigger camper, not just for me, but for my dogs and we were very lucky with the weather.  Thanks for reading along.  Once again, hopefully pictures will come soon. Still need to find all the data cards and get some of the pictures off the phones.

1 week was definitely not long enough.  We could have stayed another week or even more.  I do not know if my dogs would have liked it.

So it looks like we left off on Thursday afternoon.  After the DW and DD got up we went to the pool again and then came back and I cooked Dinner on the grill.  We had Flank Steak with onions cooked on the grill.  We then started to clean up the area a little because we had a lot to pack up.

Friday was another Fort day/Downtown Disney day.  We woke up and hung out a little.  Took the dogs to the dog park and rode around on the golf cart.  We headed over to Downtown Disney to get some more lego's and a stuffed Pluto for my DW.  We like to eat at Fulton's Crab House for lunch because you get more options.  We still order from the Dinner Menu, but with the DVC lately, they have been given 30% off for lunch.  After Fulton's we finished our shopping and headed back to the fort.  Took my DD around the fort again on the Golf Cart, went to the pool and then cooked Brats for dinner.

On Saturday, I was meeting up with some families that are on the swim team I coach.  I coached two of the kids and we hung out and rode some rides at DHS.  We played Toy Story Mania and then went on Rock and Roller Coaster, then Tower of Terror.  The boy I coached (14) screamed like a 5 year old girl.  It was hilarious and made fun of him the whole time.  We then did the Backlot Tour and went and did Toy Story Mania again.  It was then time to head over to the Magic Kingdom.  Rode a couple of rides and then back to the fort.  Luckily my DW was back and was able to pick me up with the Golf Cart since she stayed at DHS so my DD could watch Disney Junior(Formerly Playhouse Disney) to see Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  We did a lot more packing and I took my DD on her last ride on the Golf Cart and she ended up falling asleep on me again.  The Golf Cart got picked up, I started to cook food as the families were coming over for Dinner.  Hot Dogs and Burgers, with onions, potatoes and chips.  Finished packing so the only left to do in the morning was hook up the camper and head out.

We left the fort by 6:30 and took over 12 hours because of traffic.  The tornadoes that came through NC, went over 95 so there were a lot of people slowing down to look at the damage caused by them.

Luckily all my immediate family and friends were all safe along with their houses.  I only know of 1 family that their house got damaged.  About a mile from my work you could see the destruction the tornadoes caused.  Sheet Metal and and holes in roofs.  It was awful and will take a while for people to rebuild.

Next up, hopefully tomorrow, will be my review of the fort.  Hopefully everyone enjoyed the report.  I also hope to get some more pictures up, but that may not make it till later in the week.

jon

Just got home.  Will take some time to unpack and get all the pictures off the multiple cameras.  Did not take as many pictures as I had hoped.

I will finish up my trip report and then give a review of the Fort itself.

Thanks,

jon

Yesterday we slept in as it was a fort day.  We got up and went to the pool.  Not crowded at all.  We also went canoeing.  The DD really did not like it because there was no place for her to go without feeling like she was going to fall in the water.

We came back to the site and had lunch and then took a nice long nap.  We started to get ready fro Chef Mickey's and headed over to the Contemporary.  We got to see all the characters, but probably would do breakfast instead of Dinner again.  The weather was nice outside so we were going to sleep with the windows open on the Camper, but my BC decided it was time ti bark at the Horse and Carriage that comes through every night and then to bark at something else.  So I had to shut the window, no unneeded barking.

Today (Thursday) we went to the Magic Kingdom and got everything done that we wanted by 11:00.  Extra Magic Hours is awesome.  We had lunch at Crystal Palace and then came back.  I wanted to take a nap, but my DD decided it was not time.  So I took her on the GC to go looping while I let my DW sleep.  I think less then 5 minutes into the ride my DD was asleep.

So I took her back to the camper, put her to bed and then took my dogs to the dog park since no other dogs were in it.  My BC is very possessive of her stuff, so no Frisbee when other dogs are in it.  Made sure they got water along with getting hosed down to cool them off.

Just cooking out tonight, Fulton's tomorrow for lunch and maybe the show at WWOS.

We are having a very good time.

jon

Tonight we decided to go to the pool again and hang out.  On the way back we got the Giddyap and Go.  We also decided to go to the settlement store to get ice and bug itch spray.  I think I will be a human bug bite by the end of the week.

I was expecting to have to use quarters and use the ice machine, but the settlement actually had bags of 10 lbs ice like you would buy at the store.  It was $2.59 which was only $.10 more then what I paid at 7-11 the other night.  With my 10% discount(annual Pass), it made it even less.  I know where I am going to get my ice the rest of the time.

After getting back and eating dinner we took the dogs to the dog park and the DD to the playground.  WHen we got back we had just enough time to make it to the campfire sing-a-long.  I was glad that we did.  My DD was clapping along and even gave Chip a HI-5.  I was so proud of her.  She was so shy around Mickey the other day, that it was nice to see her open up to character.  I hope it means she will open up when we go to Chef Mickey's tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a Fort day, most likely go look at the horses and go look more at TCD ranch.

Thanks everyone for reading along.

jon

There seems to be some construction going on.  With equipment and everything.  When we decide to go to the pool later on or even to the dog park, I will take to take some pictures.

The construction is located just past the dog park (coming from the 300/500 loop), just before the bridge.  They put up a fence yesterday night and were painting the fence today.  I saw some equipment behind it and some 2x4's.

MagicBus - I am thinking of going on Friday to go see the vex-robotics.  Will you be there at any certain time?  Would love to meet you.

jon

If you run out of things to do and want to rejuvenate your man card, hop over to WWOS and check out the VEX Robotic competition going on Thur, Fri, & Sat.

I'll be there starting Wed.

That is cool.  I think I already saw some of the competitors enjoying Disney.

jon

The campground seems empty.  As of right now there are only about 4 campers in view of our site.  The majority of them are empty.

We decided to go to the pool after we rested and DD had a blast again at the spray ground.  We came back and cooked burgers and dogs on the grill and are probably going to rest up for tomorrow.

If you have any specific pictures or questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to take the picture or answer the question.

jon

You wanted some pictures.  Here you go.  I hope to get more taken.

Site 347.

Some Pictures of our set-up.

The back of the set-up.

From the back of the site.

My Dd Getting her haircut.

The after picture with her certificate.

My DD driving the Golf Cart.

Saturday - Arrival Day/Set-up/DD First haircut

Thank you for your patience on this what is not so live trip report.  We have just been so busy.  My wife, DD and I headed to the Magic Kingdom.  We just missed the boat over and we had to wait till the next one.  Her Appointment was at 3:30 and they wanted us to be there by 3:20.  We were just boarding the next boat at 3:20, we were at the dock by 2:55.  We get to the Magic Kingdom and my wife takes my DD over to the Barber Shop while I get bags checked and deal with the stroller.

They were great.  They got her right in and gave her a bunch of stickers.  I was so proud of my DD for behaving herself.

After getting her haircut, we decided to go see how long the line were for Mickey and the Princesses.  Mickey was about 10 minutes total, while the princesses line seem to take forever.  Although my DD slept through getting her pictures with the princesses, she was also very shy with Mickey.

At that time we decided it was time to head back.  We ate at Trails End and had a very good dinner.  We then came back and went to the pool.  The crowds seem to go down a little and my DD had a blast at the sprayground.

The dogs seem to be having fun.  We have brought them to the dog park and had some nice walks with them.  They seem to behaving very well in the camper.

My DD loves the golf cart.  She likes to sit in it and pretend she is driving.

Sunday - Hollywood Studios - Friends come into town

Well this day did not start out so well.  On our way into Hollywood Studios, my DW accidentally tripped over the stroller and fell.  Well, she was also holding my DD and she tried to brace her, but my DD?s head nailed the concrete.  My DW grabbed her and rushed to First Aid.  They let her into First Aid before the park opened.  We are VERY lucky that the only thing that happened was my DD had a big bump on her head and my DW has some scrapes and bruises.

We rode Toy Story Mania and then we split up.  My DW and DD went to Disney Junior, she loves Jake, and they also went Little Mermaid.  I went to Rock and Roll Coaster, rode Toy Story Mania again and drew Tigger at Animation Academy.  It was more of an attempt to draw Tigger.

We ate lunch at the Brown Derby and then came back.  We had friends come into town that we met on a Disney Cruise back in ?05.  We played Dominoe?s cooked and the grill and drove around the campgrounds.

Monday - Animal Kingdom

This morning we got off to a slow start.  I think the driving and my DD being sick all last week finally caught up to us.  We decided to go back to sleep when the alarm went off.  We woke off and headed to Animal Kingdom.  I went to go ride Kali River Rapids while my DW and DD went to go to the petting zoo.  I rode the rapids 7 times and then using the Single Rider line, I rode Expedition Everest 3 times.  My DW and DD were going to see Nemo, but the train had issues from the animals and so they missed the show.  We ate at Yak and Yeti.  Food was very good, but way overpriced for the portions.  I will probably not eat there again.  We are not just hanging out at the campsite relaxing.  My DD is getting into everything that she can possibly can.

I am uploading pictures as we speak, so hopefully I will have some pictures up.  Have not taken much at the fort yet.  Hope to do that soon.

So far things are going great.  The extra tents we set up are a life saver.

More detailed report to hopefully come later this afternoon.  Some pictures of the site and set up also.

Jon

We finally arrived at 7:30 in the morning.  We got checked in and are at site 347.  It took close to 4 hours to unpack and get everything ready.  If you are not good at backing up, do jot accept this site.  Although it is close to the comfort station, took me about 15 minutes to back in.

My golf cart from Steve showed up.

I ended up plugging into the wrong power box.  It sounds like they disabled all the tree boxes.  However, when I showed up it was open and did not realize the other box was power.

Anyone at the fort, please feel free to stop by.  We will be heading to the Magic Kingdom in a not for my DD's first haircut.  We are going to get it cut at the Harmony Barber shop.

I will eventually post pictures after I take them and get my laptop up and going.

Jon

Pre-trip Report

This is our first big trip with the camper. We are leaving tonight and driving through the night. My wife, DD(18 Months) and I are packing up our Rpod 173T and heading down to Fort Wilderness Campground. We have taking a lot of weekend trips, but never a week long trip. We have tried multiple things to get the camper ready and to give us enough space so we are not on top of each other the whole time. We are also able to take our dogs, Daisy (Border Collie) and Scamp (Miniature Australian Shepard), with us for the first time to Disney.

We will be getting a cart from Steve from Golf & Electric Vehicles. The total cost from Saturday to Saturday is just under $240.

I will be as live as I can be and post pictures, but most likely will be using my phone(EVO) as my internet access. I will definitely post what campsite we are in.

Check-in April 9th

Check-out April 17th

We rooted our droids (we have original droids) so we can tether them.  As soon as my air card contract expires with sprint....bye bye sprint for my laptop

I was thinking of having my EVO rooted, but how does that effect things when they do software upgrades. Does it have to be re-rooted?

I rooted my EVO works great. Just cant except updates or it will mess it up.

One thing about Sprint and I do this all the time with my EVO.  I activate the Mobile Hotspot when I need to use it.  Then when I am done, I de-activate.  The only drawback is that you have to call Sprint to activate and de-activate it.  Once it is activated you can turn the option on and off on your phone.  This means you only get charged about $1/day.  I will be doing this when I leave for the Fort on Friday or on Saturday when I get to the fort.

Otherwise it is $29.99 a month.  It will cost me about $9 or $10 the whole time I am at the fort.

jon

I am wondering what the prices of the Hamburger and Hot Dog buns are.  I am leaving on Friday and would be nice to be able to buy some of the stuff there whether then drive it.

jon

I will start making sure we have everything on the 21st.  We have our last flyball weekend before we leave on April 8th to Disney.  We will be there for a full week.  It will be my DW, DD(18 Months) and my 2 Dogs in a little Rpod.  It will also be the longest trip (towing and length of stay) that we have taken.

I hope to everything packed the week before except food and clothes.  Everything else should already be in the camper.

I will have to put my dates in the calendar.

jon

I like to make sure mine is burnt all the way around, otherwise it is just a marshmallow.

jon

As a swim coach and someone who has been around the pool all of his life, I would agree with most posters.  Do not let a child go to the pool by themselves.  Always go in pairs or a bigger group.  A buddy system is great.

It is very hard for me to go to pools and just relax.  I am always looking around and about to yell at kids for doing stupid things, but I then remember it is not my job.  However, I will not hesitate to let a lifeguard know about it.  I have seen to many bad things happen at pools and beaches that letting your guard down for 1 second could mean life or death.

A few questions you have to ask yourself.

Would you let them go to the local park together? 

Would you let them go to the mall together? 

How good of swimmers are they?

There are probably others, but if you answer "no" to any of the first two, then the answer should be "no" about going to the pool.

jon

I agree that being flexible is the key.  If you do decide to do the parks, definitely do not plan to be at the park the whole day without going back and relaxing/napping.  When actually camping, make sure to bring sunscreen.  On hot days, try to stay in the air conditioned as much as possible or the shade if A/C is not available.

Make sure the babies are keeping hydrated.  When the little ones start to run around, they will not remember to drink juice or milk.

jon

Here are my two dogs.

Scamp (Miniature Australian Shepard) is on the left, Daisy (Border Collie) is on the right.

We do flyball with them.

jon

I have stayed at the new Treehouses.  If you have young kids, it may not be best place.  However, if you are used to the internal transportation at Fort Wilderness then you will be used to the transportation at the treehouses.

If you have any questions about the treehouses, please let me know.

jon