There is something MAGICAL about being at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground! Add in spirit of the Holidays, a NEW scavenger hunt, a decorated golf cart parade, special holiday deco and activities, holiday movies around the campfire and sleigh rides and you cannot find a better time to visit!

Our goal is to take some of the research and planning out so you can wrap up your travel plans and get even MORE excited about your Disney vacation!

All decked out

No matter the time of year, Fort Wilderness guests will decorate their sites and it will always feel a bit like Christmas BUT visiting around the Holidays takes an on an EXTRA that you HAVE to experience! The amount of blow up characters is unreal, the exaggerated decked out sites is common and once the sun goes down, Fort Wilderness is transformed into a magical Christmas town full of parading golf carts, Christmas everything and even some gingerbread snow! If you want to compete in the decorating during this time of year? You will have to step it up!

Holiday Parade-Decorated golf carts

This is a pretty serious competition and one we will join in next time! People go all out to decorate their golf carts and get ready for a golf cart parade! This is no typical parade! People put a lot of time and efforts into transforming their carts into everything from a sleigh, a Disney cruise ship to a giant gingerbread house! The carts are judged and then in the evening, after a really fun Christmas party where you also get to put in your vote and they announce the winner!

Sleigh Rides

A fun way to add to your experience at the Fort is to take a “sleigh ride” on a horse driven carriage complete with sleigh bells. Its a great way to add something extra special to your agenda and a great way to parade through the campsites and look at all decorations.

Scavenger Hunt!

If you want to have fun evening, go on a scavenger hunt at the Fort! It is not sponsored by Disney but it will definitely make for an eventful evening! You can check out their Facebook group called, “Original Fort Wilderness Scavenger Hunts” to see the rules, see what others are hiding, post what you are hiding (also give clues), and let everything know when an item is found! Definitely give this one a try when you are there!

The Rig-How long is too long?

One of our stays at the Fort, we had our Grand Design Momentum Fifth Wheel which was 43 feet long and backing into our spot took awhile! A lot depends on the site you end up with and if its on a sharp curve, has fencing or in a more constricted area. Our Current rig is about 35 feet and backing in this time was a piece of cake! Which brings you to our next point…

Can you request a spot?

We have met people who request certain spots and are able to get those spots by asking when they call ahead. When we arrived at the Fort, we requested a loop and they DID give us several sites to choose from so we we went and even scoped them out before we picked our site! Which then brings us to our next point…

Which loop?

Each time we’ve stayed, we’ve been in the 1400 loop, which seems to be right in the middle of everything. The 1400 loop is “premium meadow” which is right next to the Sing-a-long Campfire, near the pool and if fairly close to the dog park.The sites have plenty of vegetation and most are spaced out well.

Getting Around

You will learn very quickly that golf carts are the main mode of transportation around the fort and IF you want to rent a golf cart while you are there during the holidays, we recommend you do it in advance as they sell out very quickly. We didn’t have one rented before hand and got on a wait list as soon as we arrived and thankfully we were able to score a rental for several of our days! Golf cart rentals are expensive but we feel worth it when you are already splurging on a Disney vacation. If you are looking to save money you could just grab a rental for a few of the days, when you will be sticking closer to camp.

The Fort has a super convenient internal bus system that can take you from place to place and up to the front so you can catch another bus to get to the theme parks and to Disney Springs and all of that is free.

Food at the Fort

We always enjoy ordering P & J’s Southern Takeout located at the back of the Fort. This visit, we enjoyed several food trucks that came for a few evenings each week! It really added a fun variety to our meals and we hope this is a new holiday tradition for Disney! Throughout the day, you can grab a light lunch or snack at the Meadow Snack Bar that is located at the swimming pool. Our favorite is the Mickey Mouse pretzel! Can’t go wrong there! In the evenings, there is a food truck that hangs out near the movie screen/ fire pit where you can grab dinner on the go, a cold beverage or s’mores supplies for the campfire all while you sit under the stars and enjoy the movie of the night!

What about the pups?

We always have our pups and they lovd it! Disney has a fantastic dog park. One for little dogs and one for big dogs. We like to have the place to ourselves when we take our pups potty and have never had a problem finding time do that when its not busy. There are PLENTY of sidewalks and walking paths. Your pups can be anywhere at the fort except in buildings.

Do you HAVE to visit the Parks?

Ryan would say, NO! But I say…why not? Fort Wilderness does have so much to offer and you could stay at the Fort for weeks with an unlimited selection of things to do. Since Disney was/is celebrating their 50th anniversary, I knew I wanted to visit Magic Kingdom and it did NOT disappoint! The holiday touches were magical! You could spend an entire vacation at the Fort and not step foot inside a theme park and you will still have an amazing and magical time!

Our two favorite ways to get to the parks from the Fort are to jump on a boat to get to MK, or take a bus for free!

In conclusion

We don’t think there’s anything more magical than a Holiday stay at Disney. It is well worth the long hours of planning and the extra splurge for vacation. I don’t know how Disney keeps doing it BUT we ALWAYS leave the Fort with magic in our hearts, exceptional memories and our next vacation already on our minds! We hope this blog gives you some great insight and sets you on the path to creating your Disney’s Fort Wilderness plans!