Fort Wilderness Cabins – Resort Review Disney World

For those not in the know, my husband is a Disney cast member. He’s an Imagineer. Anyway, this means he sometimes has to travel to Disney World to work on projects. And, I often tag along. Who wouldn’t want to spend 6 days touring the Disney World theme parks? Each visit we try to stay somewhere new. And this trip, we scored a week long stay at Fort Wilderness Cabins!

So full disclosure, the accommodation and park entry was totally free for me. I just paid for air fare and food. Yes, I know how lucky I am. But did you know there is a huge camping resort in Disney World? Whether you want to rough it in a tent at the campgrounds, life the RV life (with full hook-ups and laundry facilities) or opt for a cabin, then Fort Wilderness has you covered. For those wanting something a little less rural then the Wilderness Lodge (a deluxe resort) is just a few miles away.

Fort Wilderness Cabins

Fort Wilderness is classed as a moderate resort, compared to the deluxe resorts. However, bear in mind that prices can differ a lot from resort to resort and you get what you pay for. Meaning that the Fort Wilderness Cabins aren’t cheap. But, they sleep 6, and have a kitchen, lounge and dining area. Plus parking is right outside your door!

The convenience of having a kitchen cannot be overstated. Especially if anyone in your party has dietary restriction. The Fort Wildnerness Cabins are perfect for families. Because, if you’ve eaten at a Disney park or resort you’ll know for a family of 4+ that gets spendy really quick. There’s a reason they have the option for dining plan in their vacation budgeting. Having a car and being able to shop at a Walmart a 10 minute drive away means you can do Disney dining on a budget.

Reasons Why Fort Wilderness Cabins rock

The cabins at Fort Wilderness have a LOT of pros.

• Convenient Parking. You Park right outside your cabin. Great for those going outside of the resort to eat or shop.
• The cabins are secluded. No adjoining walls to hear the baby crying next door, or toilets flushing. This makes it great for night owls or early birds.
• It’s quiet! Most people staying here are here for the peace and quiet the resort offers. It is a nice contrast to the loud and crowd filled theme parks.
• Large living space with pull out sofa bed. Phone, big TV, cable and wi-fi all here too. So you can spend a day at the park, or just chill out at the resort. There are a lot of activities on resort.
• Dining area that seats 6, convenient as it sleeps 6. Having all the extra space felt luxurious. Plus I had somewhere to do yoga!

• There is a kitchen! It has a large fridge and freezer, a 2 burner stover and a combination microwave/oven. If you have food allergies then a Fort Wilderness Cabin is a great option to cook at “home”. Note: there is also a grill outside, and outdoor picnic area. We never used it, but for those that love to BBQ grab some charcoal and get grilling!
• The bathroom is spacious and well stocked with towels. The toiletries are in full size bottles with dispensers which is much better for the environment. Hair Dryer included.

• The bedroom sleeps 4 with a queen bed, and bunk beds. I am not a fan of beds up against a wall but for the two of us this worked. And, you know I tried both both bunk beds! The mattresses on the bunk beds were MUCH firmer Than the queen, and at 5’4″ it was a squeeze but comfortable. Another TV here as well as a closet, drawers, mirror, iron and ironing board, and safe

I know that some won’t consider a cabin as a vacation because you have to “cook and clean”. Well cooking is optional, and so is cleaning. The cabins have maid service daily! Yes, you read that right. Each day the place gets a makeover from the resort staff.

Know before you go

All in all everything you need for a great vacation. Whether you eat in, or eat out, or just simply prefer more space. However, the cabins aren’t without their faults either and I would be remiss not to include a couple of things we discovered you may want to prepare for!

• The kitchen has some basic equipment: cutlery, kettle, coffeemaker, toaster, plates, dishes etc. However, no cooking utensils. Yeah, we were slightly puzzled by that one. So either bring your own, prepare to pay inflated prices at the onsite store or drive to the dollarstore/walmart.
• For a family of 6 you’re gonna have to stagger showers because there is only one bathroom. I suggest switching am/pm otherwise add and extra hour to your morning.

Fort Wilderness Resort

As a whole the resort was great. If you love the outdoors, self catering and wildlife this place is for you! It has all the same facilities as a regular Disney World Resort, just spread out a little more. Honestly, I think it had the most stuff to do than any resort I’ve been to so far. With multiple pools, children’s play equipment, volleyball, basketball, tennis, campfire sing-a-longs, horse riding, running route and more. Heck it even has a dog park!

For those wanting to chill out like many of the resorts there is a beach with loungers. In fact, the beach, and the rocking chairs at the tavern, are great places to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks just across the lagoon. Update: On our last trip we also used the laundry rooms. AMAZING. We vowed that trip to only take carry on luggage moving forward and just do laundry every few days. The laundry rooms are all hooked up to an app, so you can get alerts when your laundry is done. Highly recommend!

Wilderness & Nature

As I mentioned, this is the resort for nature lovers. It has a stables on site with lots of horses, ponies and a donkey. The American wilderness is the big attraction. We saw so many critters. Wild deer roam around all over, and the squirrels are super friendly.

There are also lots of birds, including peacocks, and other critters. This includes caution warnings about snakes and gators. Personally, we’ve not seen either in the few trips we’ve had. Also, many of the RV campers can be seen walking their dogs.

Getting around

If the thought of being a large resort is a little daunting remember that there are buses circling the resort all day, everyday. So, getting to stores, restaurants and parks is super easy. Transport to Magic Kingdom is super easy as there is a boat leaving at the dock approximately every 15 minutes. There are also golf carts to rent.

For getting to the other parks, buses are available from the main outpost. Departure times are available to view on the My Disney Experience app. There is also a bus running all day from Fort Wilderness to the campground so more facilities and activities are just a bus ride away. Plus, the boat is also a great way to go the nearby Contemporary resorts

In all, we had a great trip. Staying at the Fort Wilderness cabins was a great experience. Highly recommend it. And yes, we’d stay there again for sure. Update: We have! January 2020 we stayed at Fort Wilderness again and loved it! For the convenience of having a kitchen this resort is our favorite so far!

Questions:

• Have you stayed at a Disney Resort before?
• Do you prefer self-catering or hotels for your vacation?
• Would you sleep in a bunk bed as an adult?