Fort Wilderness Cabins Full Review (long)

[TisBit]

Curious. We are booked in a DVC cabin the first week in December. Wondering what kind of coffee pot the new cabins have.

They have a combo keurig and pot. The cabin has both keurig pods and coffee/filters.

 

[EpcotQueen]

They have a combo keurig and pot. The cabin has both keurig pods and coffee/filters.

Thank you! Now I know what kind of coffee to bring. It’s great when you arrive in your own car. You can pack it to the top!

 

[nankim]

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.

View attachment 896027

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.

View attachment 896017View attachment 896018
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.

View attachment 896020
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.

View attachment 896019
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.


View attachment 896023View attachment 896025

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

Wondering about transportation? Every time we go to Hoop de doo it's a trek to get there on a bus?

 

[bama_ed]

Wondering about transportation? Every time we go to Hoop de doo it's a trek to get there on a bus?

Of course not. The cabin loops have 2 of the 3 internal bus loops of the Fort passing through them in both directions every couple minutes. Thus they have twice the level of service that the campers get.

My, my. Nice review, btw, OP.

I subscribe to a previous opinion that the CFW are "super studios" and not truly comparable to 1-BR in other DVC properties. So no W/D, just like a studio. And yes let's put a certain number of towels for the pool in a DVC closet to make sure that they are accounted (paid) for if they happen to walk off....

Since I have been going to FW for 20+ years (both campsites and cabins) I have an informed opinion that golf carts are an expensive convenience. Not necessary (certainly not with the extensive internal bus service) and the OP points out that golf carts have overwhelmed the Fort and torn up the infrastructure (mud, limited/terrible expanded parking, and reckless driving [not mentioned but a reality]). There are 3 bus stops conveniently located around the cabin loops within easy walking distance. Or, since many of you drive in to the WDW resort, you can park at your cabin and then choose to drive to your park-of-the-day if you want to. MK is most convenient to using Disney Transport with bus/bus or bus/boat (or walk/boat or walk/bus) and other parks clearly not.

The Fort has all the services (both for campsites and cabins) to support grocery deliveries from outside providers. And bell services for luggage, etc. Many campers ship items to the Fort a few days in advance of their arrival and I bet the Fort infrastructure can handle DVC 'similars' like they do for current cabin guests.

BTW the target audience for CFW (as has been stated on the DIS/DVC boards) are current cabin guests, many of whom return annually in large numbers with multiple people to stay and enjoy the outdoor atmosphere.

Is the dues/owners fees high for CFW? Sure, many of you point that out.

What's NOT pointed out is the low(er) point chart for stays during various times of the year (total annual cost to stay) = annual fees +prorated portion of points costs (per point per year). And as many of you have pointed out recently (and me in February), the R********** property is still alive and will likely be thrown into the 'trust' that CFW is in to dilute (reduce) the CFW current dues cost.

After all these considerations, if you don't like it, don't buy it. Or try it at 7 months (if you have that ability) or rent points to stay and see for yourself or pay the cash rate.

It's not a deluxe property (the cabins). For that matter, neither are any other DVC properties. For a deluxe stay, I would direct you to the Four Seasons property next to Fort Wilderness.

Bama Ed

 

[mac_tlc]

Good thorough review. My wife and I just left the Cabins this morning. We were able to snag a single night to try it out. We really liked it. The TV placement is curious, but there really is no other option. We loved driving the golf cart around looking at all the halloween decorations. My wife has mobility issues and the golf carts are much more than a convenience and makes the area so much more accessible.

We were not there long enough for the washer/dryer to be an issue, but we would probably only do 2 or 3 nights at a time. We will definitely stay there again and it looks like 7-month availability isn't too bad right now.


mac_tlc

 

[TisBit]

Of course not. The cabin loops have 2 of the 3 internal bus loops of the Fort passing through them in both directions every couple minutes. Thus they have twice the level of service that the campers get.

My, my. Nice review, btw, OP.

Just FYI, while we were there they only had two bus routes running. They had combined the Orange and Purple route together. So our bus service was not very convenient. It was about 20 minutes or so between busses. Also, there is no way to tell what the wait will be. I am sure if both routes were running it might have felt better.

Not sure if this is a permanent change with the busses or temporary. The old cabins were being taken and staged somewhere down the purple route (we watched several go down there) and the road is now closed to through traffic.

Thank you!

 

[TisBit]

Since I have been going to FW for 20+ years (both campsites and cabins) I have an informed opinion that golf carts are an expensive convenience. Not necessary (certainly not with the extensive internal bus service) and the OP points out that golf carts have overwhelmed the Fort and torn up the infrastructure (mud, limited/terrible expanded parking, and reckless driving [not mentioned but a reality]). There are 3 bus stops conveniently located around the cabin loops within easy walking distance. Or, since many of you drive in to the WDW resort, you can park at your cabin and then choose to drive to your park-of-the-day if you want to. MK is most convenient to using Disney Transport with bus/bus or bus/boat (or walk/boat or walk/bus) and other parks clearly not.

The golf cart issue I see, is yes it is an expensive "convenience" and not totally necessary. But, it is a major hindrance too. Even the Magic Kingdom transportation is the one of the worst without a golf cart. You only have the option of walking all they way to the settlement or you need to take a bus to a bus/boat. Which drastically increases your transportation time (and for rope droppers you need to account for all of that). Taking a car to a park for rope drop is not a great option, as they often don't open the parking lot, but internal transportation is running.

But, I think it is extremely bad form to not provide this "expensive convenience" or some type of big discount to make it not so expensive, to guest staying on points. If someone has bought into the DVC at Fort Wilderness and committed themselves to ownership, it should never appear that they can't afford to rent the cart because cost of ownership is too high. I know there are arguments against this, but I think it could quickly look that way and as expensive as the MF's are, throw in another $455 dollars a year to rent a cart for a one week stay. It just looks bad......

 

[zackiedawg]

I honestly wouldn't stay there without the cart - that went with the old cabins as well as the new DVC. I consider it a necessity - bus transportation is my least favorite type, so having to take two busses to most parks (the internal followed by the park bus) would really make my trip much more unpleasant.

With the cart, staying there is an utter joy. I love boating over to MK, and Contemporary/Wilderness Lodge, and driving the cart down to the beach and parking feet away is ultra-convenient - also coming back from the parks, it's nice to hop a cart right to your door vs more walking up long paths and hallways. Even dealing with busses when it's inevitable, taking the cart to the bus stop, and back again, makes it much more convenient.

I have always rented a cart when staying at the old cabins, and for my first stay at the new DVC in January, I already booked by cart for the trip. However, I fully agree with the sentiment that they should introduce some kind of DVC discount, or even consider including it as part of the DVC when staying on points...the point charts are so low, that I could see adding a few points a day to the stay to include the cart with the cabin.

 

[DVCPAT]

I honestly wouldn't stay there without the cart - that went with the old cabins as well as the new DVC. I consider it a necessity - bus transportation is my least favorite type, so having to take two busses to most parks (the internal followed by the park bus) would really make my trip much more unpleasant.

With the cart, staying there is an utter joy. I love boating over to MK, and Contemporary/Wilderness Lodge, and driving the cart down to the beach and parking feet away is ultra-convenient - also coming back from the parks, it's nice to hop a cart right to your door vs more walking up long paths and hallways. Even dealing with busses when it's inevitable, taking the cart to the bus stop, and back again, makes it much more convenient.

I have always rented a cart when staying at the old cabins, and for my first stay at the new DVC in January, I already booked by cart for the trip. However, I fully agree with the sentiment that they should introduce some kind of DVC discount, or even consider including it as part of the DVC when staying on points...the point charts are so low, that I could see adding a few points a day to the stay to include the cart with the cabin.

I agree 100%. The novelty of having a cart is a must have for us. I purposely bought free refill mugs for getting coffee at the trails end counter service every evening and took scenic route back to the cabin. Once Disney realizes carts make a major difference to the vacation experience, they would jack up the rental fees.
I was seriously considering an add on contract but I think the resale value might be better option in a few years.

 

[TisBit]

I agree 100%. The novelty of having a cart is a must have for us. I purposely bought free refill mugs for getting coffee at the trails end counter service every evening and took scenic route back to the cabin. Once Disney realizes carts make a major difference to the vacation experience, they would jack up the rental fees.
I was seriously considering an add on contract but I think the resale value might be better option in a few years.

A great point. Without a cart there is no food options onsite or a reason to get a refillable mug. Cause there is no where with parking you can use it.

I do wonder if the new DVC next to it will be more accessible with a car. But it would still be an extra expense.

 

[Polychrome]

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.

View attachment 896027

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.

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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.

View attachment 896020
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.

View attachment 896019
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.


View attachment 896023View attachment 896025

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

Thanks for the great review of the current situation with the cabins. You snapped a picture of the dog park ( deer park?)
We are staying there for the first time in about a month and are wondering what the dog situation is like there. We are bringing a crate for our dog for the cabin so we can leave her while we go for a meal. We just aren't sure if there seems to be lots of dogs around and if people are good about keeping them on a leash ( not a 20 foot long leash !) We aren't planning on doing the parks, maybe see the decorations at the different resorts.

Did you see a lot of dogs around during your trip?

 

[meekey7197]

We are here now and I while I don't have many complaints, I didn't Realize how much I would miss having a covered balcony. We are in the 2300 loop and the walk to the Wilderness pool doesn’t feel any longer than the walk from the far ends of Kidani to the pool (still no laundry at the wilderness pool)

It looks like 2200 is open now in addition to 2300 and 2500. They are currently working on 2400.

 

[TisBit]

Thanks for the great review of the current situation with the cabins. You snapped a picture of the dog park ( deer park?)
We are staying there for the first time in about a month and are wondering what the dog situation is like there. We are bringing a crate for our dog for the cabin so we can leave her while we go for a meal. We just aren't sure if there seems to be lots of dogs around and if people are good about keeping them on a leash ( not a 20 foot long leash !) We aren't planning on doing the parks, maybe see the decorations at the different resorts.

Did you see a lot of dogs around during your trip?

During our trip the weekend was pretty busy on our loop and the weekdays were pretty dead with lots of empty campsites. With that being said, there were a couple of cabins with dogs on our loop and they were pretty well behaved and on short leashes for walks. We did not have a golf cart, so we really didn't go around the campground much to see outside of the cabin loops, so our experience may not be as applicable. The dog (deer) park was on the yellow bus route as well, so we only went by it the one time that we drove around exploring the campground, it was pretty far out of the way for us.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Thanks for the review! Most of the ones I've seen assume you know all about FW already, so this "newbie" review was perfect for me.

We have debated giving the cabins a try. Lack of laundry isn't great, DW does like being able to easily do laundry during the trip. But not a deal-breaker because I don't feel like you're paying 1BR points.

But the golf cart thing... I've wondered if we'd be ok not getting one but it sounds like the experience wouldnt be nearly as nice. That extra out of pocket cost just to get around the resort would be tough to swallow.

We will probably give it a go as part of a split stay just out of curiosity, and we like trying different resorts. Would never own points though.

 

[Polychrome]

During our trip the weekend was pretty busy on our loop and the weekdays were pretty dead with lots of empty campsites. With that being said, there were a couple of cabins with dogs on our loop and they were pretty well behaved and on short leashes for walks. We did not have a golf cart, so we really didn't go around the campground much to see outside of the cabin loops, so our experience may not be as applicable. The dog (deer) park was on the yellow bus route as well, so we only went by it the one time that we drove around exploring the campground, it was pretty far out of the way for us.

Thank you for that info on your experience. We arrive on a Sunday and depart on a Saturday, so perhaps it will be more on the quiet side for us

 

[meekey7197]

Laundry is open at the wilderness pool! This is the DVC laundry room

 

[CarolynFH]

View attachment 898518View attachment 898519

Laundry is open at the wilderness pool! This is the DVC laundry room

Free of charge? Room key/MB/digital key on phone needed to enter?

 

[bama_ed]

Just FYI, while we were there they only had two bus routes running. They had combined the Orange and Purple route together. So our bus service was not very convenient. It was about 20 minutes or so between busses. Also, there is no way to tell what the wait will be. I am sure if both routes were running it might have felt better.

Not sure if this is a permanent change with the busses or temporary. The old cabins were being taken and staged somewhere down the purple route (we watched several go down there) and the road is now closed to through traffic.

Thank you!

That's a good point. Because of several loops being converted at one time, Disney might only operate one of the two bus lines through the cabin area due to overall reduced demand. I would think, though, that this will only be an issue during the conversion (into early next year?).

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

The golf cart issue I see, is yes it is an expensive "convenience" and not totally necessary. But, it is a major hindrance too. Even the Magic Kingdom transportation is the one of the worst without a golf cart. You only have the option of walking all they way to the settlement or you need to take a bus to a bus/boat. Which drastically increases your transportation time (and for rope droppers you need to account for all of that). Taking a car to a park for rope drop is not a great option, as they often don't open the parking lot, but internal transportation is running.

As a camper in the camping loops at FW, when travelling to MK we take the same internal bus and get there in time for rope drop. (internal bus/boat).

For the other parks not named MK, we DRIVE to those (which granted not everyone can do) but there is a higher percentage of Disney-transport-to-MK/drive-to-rest than using Disney transport to all. And the internal lots have been open at Ep and DHS (AK is a once-a-decade park for us) for rope drop.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

A great point. Without a cart there is no food options onsite or a reason to get a refillable mug. Cause there is no where with parking you can use it.

Disney has plans to build SOMETHING at the main pool Meadow area in the future. That decision is already in the works. Maybe a restaurant (mug refill area?).

Not sure about 'parking'. There is plenty of golf cart parking at Trails End area and the Meadow Pool area to get a mug refill. And the Meadow Trading Post has refills on coffee, (hot water) for tea and cocoa (have to ask). But if you mean 'car' parking, nope, very little and that's by design. Then again, can a member drive around Boardwalk Villas to get closer to a mug refill station?

Bama Ed