DinDavie

There are so many campgrounds in Florida each catering to a specific crowd that it should be easy to find one that caters to young families.  Topsail Hill is the best in the state but it is a state park with a beach as its only attraction.  Tropical Palms just outside of the Disney World property on 192 is nice and has a pool and restaurant but it pails in comparision to the Fort itself.  KOAs tend to be family friendly with the exception of the one east of Orlando that has seasonals who stay a lifetime.  If you want to come south and explore South Florida may I suggest John Prince County Park in West Palm Beach and TY County Park, or CB Smith County Park in Broward County.  They are clean with large sites.  My favorite is Markham Park but it is a large park with a public firing range with the usual gunfire during the day.  It has a dog park an RC airfield, 100s of acres of open spaces and fishing at the edge of the everglades.  CB Smith has a water park but it is a separate charge and is packed on the weekends. 

I have not been back to the fort for a little over a year so when I checked in on May 2, the CM went through the usual list of rules and he included a new one.  He advised us that we could not set up perminent residence.  His words.  While I had not intention of doing so I still wonder how the nice folks with the castle set up under their fifth wheel and 4 golf carts stay for so long.  I don't want them to move or anything, I was just wondering.

The fences have barb wire on the top and seem to be in place to prevent anyone from fishing off the bridge or adjoining embankments.  The fence also surrounds a pump that is pumping water from the canal into Bay Lake.  I was there on May 2-7 and had heavy rains for the first two days.  I noticed the 1900 and 1700 loops were completely dry.  The 1900 loop normally has standing water in such weather.  The problem with the pump is that it is heard 24 hours a day on the 100, 200 and 300 loops.  You can guess were I camped.  329

I think the Fried Chicken is fantastic but the pizza is not.  The buffet always has a wide selection of things so you can't go wrong there but this time I will definitely try the bus roulette.

Found the Panchos but our plan B is to do a monorail Pub Crawl or drink our way around the hotels on the monorail system.  Do any of them have live entertainment?  I hope the Grand Floridain still has a band in the atrium at night.  Its been a while since I was there so maybe not.

This is supposed to be the dry season.  I'll be at the Fort May2-7 with rain predicted most of that time.  I guess I'll be searching for those panchos tomorrow.

I've had two pop ups and I loved them both.  My family has great memories of our trips.  As was mentioned before, they are the easiest to tow of any trailer and I kept mine in my garage at home so I did not have storage fees and the things looked like new when I traded them in.  The biggest  advantage to me of the pop up was that I was not sleeping on the ground anymore and I had an A/C.  Setting up and taking down was a chore but I was younger then.  I never fell out of one but I did have an incident where a wind storm picked up one of the beds off its support brackets but I just put them back in place and that was that.  I moved up to a TT because as I got older walking to the outhouse at 4AM lost its appeal and I liked my own Bathroom.  Then one night I had to set up and level the TT in the rain and within 2 years I bought a Class A gasser with a refrigerator, oven and automatic levelers.  That is how this stuff goes.  I encourage you to start your adventure with what ever is easiest for you to get into and let the rest come in time. 

I will be there cheering my daughter on as she does the Doopey Marathon and a Half Challenge.  The big challenge for me will be getting up early in the morning on two race days.  I think the Disney employee who thought this up is a genius.  You set up an event that does not require any ride or park attendants and is completed when the park is normally closed.  You see what 10's of thousands of people are willing to pay just to do an activity that they can do for free anywhere else.  You sell vendor space and get a name runner to conduct clinics at the All Sports complex.  Pure genius. Even your regular guests like me get to see a different part of the park that they normally wouldn't see at a different time of the day and want to come back to different parts of the park on other days.  Absolute genius. 

Yikes $9.50,  If it was 32 oz. and filled with Bud lite, maybe.

Hi Grumpy and Grandma

I'll be in the 300 loop from 10/10 thru 10/16/13.  Hope to see you and introduce myself.  Nice Super C by the way.

Wow What a set up.  You have to post your schedule when you are going to be at the fort so that more of use can schedule our vacation to coincide with yours and we can see your RV.  If this is going to be your first time at the fort you will create a sensation.  Get ready for some golf cart traffic jams in front of your unit.  If you can schedule your vacations around Halloween or Christmas you will see just how much other folks love to decorate.  I've seen LGB train set ups around their campsites and computer controlled light displays.  Please keep us up to date on your latest pictures. 

I agree that there is a big price difference BUT. If you get tired in the afternoon you can easily return to your camp site a take a nap and then be ready to go back later. If you get hot in the afternoon, you can go back and jump in the pool and go back for the fireworks. You can save money by eating your meals at camp because transportation from the resorts to the campground is much easier. The time you spend waiting for ground transportation or getting to and from your car in the parking lot and then driving through congested Kissimee will take away several hours of your resort time. I,ve stayed at the Kissimee KOA twice over the years and found it had all the charm of a grass lot. The restrooms and facilities are normally clean but it is crowded. Finally I suggest that you can further save some money but not going to a park one or two days and enjoying the Fort for the entire day. I've camped at the Fort twice a year for many years and can't tell you when was the last time I've gone to EPCOT. I general, everyone will have a much more pleasant time if you are not rushed to get on as many rides as possible before the shuttle comes to take you back to camp. JMO. You'll have a good time either way.

Something was mentioned about a range. Is it in the Orlando area and can anyone attend or is it a memebers only thing. While I am not political about my gun ownership, I do believe in being prepared with popular calibers and reliable manufacturers, for when the Zombies come.

Just thinking about the Fried Chicken and the Mac and Cheese is making me hungry. Its been my experience that some of the items are always on the menu but some of the side dishes and carved meats change by day of the week. Bottom line is you won't starve.

I have another story of DW help in an emergency. Our good friends just bought a new hybrid travel trailer and were towing it to DW fort Wilderness with an older Ford Explorer 2 dr with Firestone tires. You know where this is going. Just south of Kissimee a tire blew and the car and trailer spun out of control and landed upside down in a ditch. Nothing was salvagable from either vehicle. At the hospital my friend call FW and advised them they would not be able to make their reservation as most family members needed stitches. Disney sent a representative to the hospital, drove them to FW and put them in one of those cabins. They even sent over two pizza's from Trails end. My friend was so grateful that he extended his stay to recouperate and we all now make it to FW at least twice a year. Just not in an old Explorer with Firestone tires.

I can also tell you from personal experience that during Hurricane Andrew in 1991 the police department in Dade County was unable to find any vendor who could supply the department with food for on duty personnel. Remember all supply lines were out of service. On a wim a sergeant called DW and asked if the depatment could buy sandwiches. The next day trucks of food of all kinds were delivered to MDPD in DW trucks and the supplies continued for several days until normal supplies could be found. The police department never got a bill.

I just got back from staying in the 1900 loop and really liked the space between the camp sites. It's quiet the turkeys walk right through your site as if they own the place. If you have a golf cart you should have no problems with this location. Except if you come here in the summer. When in Florida and you find your camp site located in a Cypress Tree forrest it is usually because the area floods in the summer. 1700, 1800, and 1900 loops don't flood themselves as they are high enough but you can't step to far off the pad without getting your feet wet. Just sayin.

While it might be different if you are staying in a tent or canvas sided vehicle, the only noise you will hear is the fireworks at 10PM. I have been coming to FW for over 30 years with and without a dog and never had a negative experience with anything related to K9's. For some reason I think the dogs pick up on it being a happy place and they behave accordingly.