Fort Wilderness Campground is just one example of the many things to see and do at Disney World that do not involve entering the theme parks or spending vast amounts of money. The following article is an account of my family's recent trip to Disney World which started and ended at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground. With the exception of food and of course gas(petrol) for the car it was entirely free.
It was our son Charles' 16th birthday and we were looking for somewhere a little different to celebrate this special occasion. Charles loves to visit Disney World and after some discussion and a lot of input from the birthday boy we decided that Fort Wilderness campground would be just the place. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we have ever made.
After opening presents and eating lunch, we left home in the late afternoon and headed out on the two hour drive from North Redington Beach to Disney World. We arrived at the Fort Wilderness campgrounds around supper time and took a bus to the waterfront area. We had decided to have the birthday meal at the Trails End Buffet but, as this trip was a spur of the moment idea and we did not have advance reservations, we were not sure how long we would have to wait for a table. As it turned out, we need not have worried. We were seated within five minutes of our arrival.
The Trails End Buffet was great and the food, though not cheap, was outstanding. They even gave my son a strawberry shortcake with a candle and had everyone give him a birthday cheer.
After a delicious buffet meal we headed over to the horse barn to see the giant horses that pull the wagons, carriages, and trams throughout Disney World. We were the only ones there and spent a very pleasant half an hour visiting with these gentle giants.
On leaving the horse barn, we walked down to the boat docks. As we passed the Pioneer Hall, the performers for the Hoop Dee Doo musical review were on the porch, dressed in their costumes from the old West, waiting to make their entrance. On hearing that it was my son Charles' birthday they happily posed for pictures and clowned around with him and his younger sister Barbara(who refused to be left out). He had a ball!
After this excitement we caught a boat over to the Contemporary Hotel. Our timing was perfect as shortly after leaving the dock the Magic Kingdom fireworks display Wishes began. We had a perfect unobstructed view of the spectacular fireworks bursting in the night sky over the Magic Kingdom and best of all it was free!
We spent a little time exploring around the Contemporary Hotel before we caught a monorail to the Polynesian Resort where we enjoyed browsing around the shops before heading to the Kona Cafe for desserts and coffee. The Kona has an open dessert station where you can watch the pastry chef prepare the mouth watering creations that you are about to devour. This is a not to missed experience!
It was now 9:30pm and time to head back to home. We jumped on a monorail to the Magic Kingdom from where we took a ferry back to the Fort Wilderness campground. Once again our luck was in. The water based electrical parade was passing and we had a perfect close up view of the very entertaining light and music show.
From the boat dock we caught a bus back to the parking lot, hopped in the van, and headed back home. We arrived home around 1am and though very tired we were still talking excitedly about what a great time we had. We all agreed that it had been our most memorable trip to Disney World ever, and we never even set foot in any of the parks!!
The Fort Wilderness Campground has an amazing amount of free and cheap to enjoy attractions including fishing, walking and biking trails, horse riding, petting zoo, and much more. For a full list and explanation of everything Fort Wilderness Campground has to offer click here.
