TisBit
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2007
- Messages
- 2,411
So this is a comprehensive review of our stay at the DVC Cabins at Fort Wilderness September 6th-12th. It is long and I apologize for that, but figured it might be helpful to someone like us, that wanted to try them out but really had no clue about Fort Wilderness Campground or the new Cabins. For background, we have owned an RV in the past and are familiar with typical campground experiences, so I will try to give my best assessments of both the campground and then the experience of the DVC cabins.
First, for the campground itself, it is extremely nice and probably the largest and nicest campground I have ever stayed at. Each space is extremely large and usually has trees between campers/cabins, so they are pretty private as well. None of the crammed together campers/cabins that you find at most campgrounds these days. I will note, there are no campfires at the campground and it makes sense for the amount of trees and ground cover in the area. There is a grill at each spot, but just an FYI! As I said, the campground is very large, it is about 1.5 miles from the front to the back of the campground and there are semi lit paths the entire way through the campground. I say semi lit, because there are dark area’s, just so people are aware. I am used to the Disney paths that are extremely well lit, but with it being a campground, it all makes sense not to ruin the ambiance. There is also TONS of wildlife. Deer, turkeys, etc that we saw throughout our stay.
This comes to an important point. The campground is NOT car friendly at all. Basically, you can drive you’re your campsite and that is about it. We had debated if we wanted a car, golf cart or just to rely on Disney transportation. We normally ok with just Disney transportation, but decided to get a car (less than a golf cart) and I am glad we at least had that. The only places you can park a car other than your cabin is at the front of the resort where most of the busses pick up (not Magic Kingdom) and at the Meadows there are four 15 minute parking spots to run in the store, but they are usually full.
For how much it is not car friendly, it is extremely golf cart friendly. There is golf cart parking everywhere you may want to go. The front of the resort for the busses, the back of the resort for the MK bus or boats. The playground, the pools, the stores, the comfort stations (bathrooms, laundry rooms). Then, most people just like to drive around the campground all the time. Without a golf cart, you will most likely have a severe case of FOMO!
Ok, this brings us to the review of the DVC cabins themselves! We own at Saratoga Springs and Bay Lake Tower and have stayed at most of the DVC resorts (not Poly or Grand Floridian yet). If I had to describe what to compare the cabins to, I would say it would be most similar to Saratoga Springs for the size of the resort and then specifically the treehouse villas for ambiance around your cabin. Unlike Saratoga Springs, Fort Wilderness is not a “loop”, so there are no shortcuts across the campground, it is a straight line from the front to back, so it puts in perspective traveling throughout the resort.
The cabins are obviously brand new and so there are no complaints about the quality or specific issues with the cabin. Our cabin (2306) was near the end of the loop, putting us closer to the 2500 loop and bus stop. We did have some weird behaviors in our cabin, that I am not sure if it is present in all the cabins. First, whenever the compressor for the AC kicked on, the lights would dim or brighten. This could happen like 5-6 times an hour, it was odd, but didn’t bug us too much. This was reported, but we never saw maintenance come check anything. Second, there is an in wall dehumidifier that is between the hall sink and the bathroom and it was extremely loud. Like crazy loud, luckily it is not near the sleeping or sitting area’s, so again didn’t bug us too much. But, I will say all of our towels and the entire cabin felt very dry and comfortable. Talking to some guests in the older cabins, this didn’t seem to be the case and they had trouble getting towels to dry, etc.
For the layout of the cabins, I did do some research and it appears that Disney opted to try to keep the same general layout as the old cabins and sleeping arrangements. I think this might be a bit of a miss on their part. Because of the wall of windows on one side, it really limited the a layout for the living room. The couch (pull down sofa) is against the back wall of the cabin, but that put the massive TV right next to the couch and unless you sat sideways wasn’t enjoyable. Also, sleeping 6 people the only way to seat 6 people was at the table, which is fine, but again not necessarily comfortable. Since I was just my wife and I, we usually watched TV in the bedroom, which is rare for us at a Disney resort or at home.
OK, so the two biggest complaints I have seen on the boards about the cabins and I agree we were taken off guard on one of them. No towels at the pool. There are no towels at the pool and we ended up at the pool (quiet pool near the cabins) and didn’t feel like walking all the way back to get some. So we sucked it up, if we had a golf cart, not a big deal. After thinking about it (and grumbling) I get it, it’s a campground, towels at the pool will most likely end up in someone’s camper and gone forever (even if not on purpose) versus a hotel where they will be found by housekeeping later. Hopefully, Disney will recognize no one goes to the quiet pool except the cabins and they can get their towels back without an issue. But at a minimum, they should put some towels in the closet of the camper with a little information tent saying these are for the pool, super easy and customer friendly. Second, no washer and dryer. So not going to down the debate on this one too much, they aren’t there for whatever reason. The laundry room near the quiet pool was closed and from what we can tell had been closed since DVC opened. We did happen to find the door open one day and it looks like it is pretty much completely done and theme’d for DVC. We did not see the same “pay” kiosk the other laundry rooms had, so I am assuming this is to make laundry free to DVC at that specific room. My wife likes to do the laundry before we come home so she doesn’t have much there. So near the end of the trip, we did venture over the laundry room between the 1100 and 2100 loop. We parked our car in an empty campsite next to it (most of them were) and when we went in there was a pay kiosk, but it was “out of order” and all the machines were free. Again, I assume this might be because they were telling DVC guests to go to that laundry room, but not positive.
Construction Update, another big complaint. They are flying through the cabins, we were very surprised at how fast they were working. When we arrived it appeared that the 2200 loop outsides were completed and by the time we left most of the cabins were fully complete and final inspections happening. Three days before we left they had started pulling the old cabins out of 2400 loop and had probably 1/3 of them out before we left. About noise, I will say it is typical Disney, they start at least moving around early and working by 8 am the latest. We were pretty close to the main road, but honestly the noise wasn’t too bad for us. They do use UTV’s that are louder than the golf carts, but probably as loud as the busses for the most part, although one morning they were using an old school bus and that thing sounded like it was a tractor trailer!! It rained every afternoon we were there and by the time we left, it was a bit of a muddy mess where they were working. Didn’t impact us, just an observation.
So my overall impression, I am not going to try to compare it to other DVC resorts or if they are deluxe or not. I really debated this during our stay and reading on the boards other peoples thoughts. But Fort Wilderness and the old cabins on the Disney site are not classified as value/moderate/deluxe and are classified as a “campground”. But I did kind of run numbers of what it would cost to stay in the old cabins, compared to what it would cost to buy the new DVC cabins and the numbers seemed to work in the favor of someone who stayed the every year or most years. And I think this is exactly what and why they made them DVC to begin with. The issue I see with them, is if you are not used to the campground vibe and just different experience at Fort Wilderness you will probably struggle wanting to stay there.
I could even see our family enjoying the area and even returning, but I will say the biggest issue I see is the golf carts. I would have a hard time paying 20k plus maintenance fees, to then have to pay $500 every time I stayed there for a golf cart on top of that. I understand current guests are used to this, but I think it is huge issue that should be addressed. I think there are a number of ways to address it, from assigning a cart to the cabin and using dues for the upkeep, to even putting DVC wraps on the carts to use marketing money. At a bare minimum, there should be a significant discount and priority booking for DVC members who own and are staying on points. Having to book with DVC, then call the campground to reserve a cart is not good customer service for any DVC owner. I did write to DVC and explain this as well, the fact that a golf cart costs more than a rental car and incurring that cost on top of and ownership interest is not very appealing or a good look for DVC. I think it would be a massive selling point if the carts were included in the ownership, because right there you can say you are saving this money by buying versus renting. I
First, for the campground itself, it is extremely nice and probably the largest and nicest campground I have ever stayed at. Each space is extremely large and usually has trees between campers/cabins, so they are pretty private as well. None of the crammed together campers/cabins that you find at most campgrounds these days. I will note, there are no campfires at the campground and it makes sense for the amount of trees and ground cover in the area. There is a grill at each spot, but just an FYI! As I said, the campground is very large, it is about 1.5 miles from the front to the back of the campground and there are semi lit paths the entire way through the campground. I say semi lit, because there are dark area’s, just so people are aware. I am used to the Disney paths that are extremely well lit, but with it being a campground, it all makes sense not to ruin the ambiance. There is also TONS of wildlife. Deer, turkeys, etc that we saw throughout our stay.
This comes to an important point. The campground is NOT car friendly at all. Basically, you can drive you’re your campsite and that is about it. We had debated if we wanted a car, golf cart or just to rely on Disney transportation. We normally ok with just Disney transportation, but decided to get a car (less than a golf cart) and I am glad we at least had that. The only places you can park a car other than your cabin is at the front of the resort where most of the busses pick up (not Magic Kingdom) and at the Meadows there are four 15 minute parking spots to run in the store, but they are usually full.
For how much it is not car friendly, it is extremely golf cart friendly. There is golf cart parking everywhere you may want to go. The front of the resort for the busses, the back of the resort for the MK bus or boats. The playground, the pools, the stores, the comfort stations (bathrooms, laundry rooms). Then, most people just like to drive around the campground all the time. Without a golf cart, you will most likely have a severe case of FOMO!
Ok, this brings us to the review of the DVC cabins themselves! We own at Saratoga Springs and Bay Lake Tower and have stayed at most of the DVC resorts (not Poly or Grand Floridian yet). If I had to describe what to compare the cabins to, I would say it would be most similar to Saratoga Springs for the size of the resort and then specifically the treehouse villas for ambiance around your cabin. Unlike Saratoga Springs, Fort Wilderness is not a “loop”, so there are no shortcuts across the campground, it is a straight line from the front to back, so it puts in perspective traveling throughout the resort.
The cabins are obviously brand new and so there are no complaints about the quality or specific issues with the cabin. Our cabin (2306) was near the end of the loop, putting us closer to the 2500 loop and bus stop. We did have some weird behaviors in our cabin, that I am not sure if it is present in all the cabins. First, whenever the compressor for the AC kicked on, the lights would dim or brighten. This could happen like 5-6 times an hour, it was odd, but didn’t bug us too much. This was reported, but we never saw maintenance come check anything. Second, there is an in wall dehumidifier that is between the hall sink and the bathroom and it was extremely loud. Like crazy loud, luckily it is not near the sleeping or sitting area’s, so again didn’t bug us too much. But, I will say all of our towels and the entire cabin felt very dry and comfortable. Talking to some guests in the older cabins, this didn’t seem to be the case and they had trouble getting towels to dry, etc.
For the layout of the cabins, I did do some research and it appears that Disney opted to try to keep the same general layout as the old cabins and sleeping arrangements. I think this might be a bit of a miss on their part. Because of the wall of windows on one side, it really limited the a layout for the living room. The couch (pull down sofa) is against the back wall of the cabin, but that put the massive TV right next to the couch and unless you sat sideways wasn’t enjoyable. Also, sleeping 6 people the only way to seat 6 people was at the table, which is fine, but again not necessarily comfortable. Since I was just my wife and I, we usually watched TV in the bedroom, which is rare for us at a Disney resort or at home.
OK, so the two biggest complaints I have seen on the boards about the cabins and I agree we were taken off guard on one of them. No towels at the pool. There are no towels at the pool and we ended up at the pool (quiet pool near the cabins) and didn’t feel like walking all the way back to get some. So we sucked it up, if we had a golf cart, not a big deal. After thinking about it (and grumbling) I get it, it’s a campground, towels at the pool will most likely end up in someone’s camper and gone forever (even if not on purpose) versus a hotel where they will be found by housekeeping later. Hopefully, Disney will recognize no one goes to the quiet pool except the cabins and they can get their towels back without an issue. But at a minimum, they should put some towels in the closet of the camper with a little information tent saying these are for the pool, super easy and customer friendly. Second, no washer and dryer. So not going to down the debate on this one too much, they aren’t there for whatever reason. The laundry room near the quiet pool was closed and from what we can tell had been closed since DVC opened. We did happen to find the door open one day and it looks like it is pretty much completely done and theme’d for DVC. We did not see the same “pay” kiosk the other laundry rooms had, so I am assuming this is to make laundry free to DVC at that specific room. My wife likes to do the laundry before we come home so she doesn’t have much there. So near the end of the trip, we did venture over the laundry room between the 1100 and 2100 loop. We parked our car in an empty campsite next to it (most of them were) and when we went in there was a pay kiosk, but it was “out of order” and all the machines were free. Again, I assume this might be because they were telling DVC guests to go to that laundry room, but not positive.
Construction Update, another big complaint. They are flying through the cabins, we were very surprised at how fast they were working. When we arrived it appeared that the 2200 loop outsides were completed and by the time we left most of the cabins were fully complete and final inspections happening. Three days before we left they had started pulling the old cabins out of 2400 loop and had probably 1/3 of them out before we left. About noise, I will say it is typical Disney, they start at least moving around early and working by 8 am the latest. We were pretty close to the main road, but honestly the noise wasn’t too bad for us. They do use UTV’s that are louder than the golf carts, but probably as loud as the busses for the most part, although one morning they were using an old school bus and that thing sounded like it was a tractor trailer!! It rained every afternoon we were there and by the time we left, it was a bit of a muddy mess where they were working. Didn’t impact us, just an observation.
So my overall impression, I am not going to try to compare it to other DVC resorts or if they are deluxe or not. I really debated this during our stay and reading on the boards other peoples thoughts. But Fort Wilderness and the old cabins on the Disney site are not classified as value/moderate/deluxe and are classified as a “campground”. But I did kind of run numbers of what it would cost to stay in the old cabins, compared to what it would cost to buy the new DVC cabins and the numbers seemed to work in the favor of someone who stayed the every year or most years. And I think this is exactly what and why they made them DVC to begin with. The issue I see with them, is if you are not used to the campground vibe and just different experience at Fort Wilderness you will probably struggle wanting to stay there.
I could even see our family enjoying the area and even returning, but I will say the biggest issue I see is the golf carts. I would have a hard time paying 20k plus maintenance fees, to then have to pay $500 every time I stayed there for a golf cart on top of that. I understand current guests are used to this, but I think it is huge issue that should be addressed. I think there are a number of ways to address it, from assigning a cart to the cabin and using dues for the upkeep, to even putting DVC wraps on the carts to use marketing money. At a bare minimum, there should be a significant discount and priority booking for DVC members who own and are staying on points. Having to book with DVC, then call the campground to reserve a cart is not good customer service for any DVC owner. I did write to DVC and explain this as well, the fact that a golf cart costs more than a rental car and incurring that cost on top of and ownership interest is not very appealing or a good look for DVC. I think it would be a massive selling point if the carts were included in the ownership, because right there you can say you are saving this money by buying versus renting. I
