If I could choose any Disney Resort to stay at for a few days without visiting any of the Parks, I would choose Fort Wilderness. One of these days I am going to take Alyssa camping there, something I enjoyed throughout my entire childhood. In the meantime I'll have to settle for day visits. While there is still plenty to see and do, as day visitors we are not eligible to participate in any of the many organized activities they have throughout the day or take advantage of the awesome pool and toddler friendly water playground.
When we parked our car the first thing two year old Alyssa noticed is the horses. There is a stable right by the guest parking lot which is the meeting point for horseback rides. Horseback rides, however, have a minimum age of nine (and cost around $42 for a 30 min ride) so Alyssa was going to have to settle for just watching the ponies from afar instead until she is old enough to ride.
Once you park your car you have to board a bus to access the rest of Fort Wilderness Campground. Only golf carts and cars driven by people staying at the campsites are allowed to be driven past the main parking lot. That was fine with Alyssa because she really enjoyed the bus ride. The bus route we were on took us past the cabins (which you can stay in if you don't have a tent or camper) and around the perimeter of Fort Wilderness.
The bus ride to the back of the campground takes about ten minutes (give or take a little depending on how often the bus has to stop). We got off the bus at Settlement Depot, which is where many of the recreation activities for day guests are. Alyssa saw the horse stables and immediately headed over to investigate.
This area of the campground is home of Tri-Circle D Ranch, so there are plenty of horses and ponies to see. We started out by saying hello to the horses roaming around in their fenced-in pens and then went to visit the horses in the stables. The horses in the stables are the same ones you often see pulling the streetcars on Main Street at Magic Kingdom in the mornings. Inside the stable there is also a small room that has a lot of pictures and some displays and artifacts telling about the history of the horses at Disney World. There is also usually a friendly Cast Member or two wandering about taking care of the horses that is happy to answer any questions you might have. Sometimes you might even see a blacksmith at work. In the evenings these horses also often lead wagon or carriage rides around Fort Wilderness. The themed ones for the holidays such as the headless horseman carriage/hay ride they have at Halloween are extremely popular.
After we left the stable area we went into the "petting zoo." While it once was an actual petting zoo, it only has ponies now and you can no longer pet the animals. This is, however, the location of the pony rides. For $5 kids under 80 lbs can ride a pony led by mom or dad along the dirt paths of this little farm area. Alyssa got to ride a white pony named Herbie and enjoyed her ride a lot. When you finish your pony ride there is a hand washing station attached to the building.
Once our hands were washed we set out to explore some more. We decided to walk down the path that runs along the back side of Pioneer Hall. This path goes right past the location where Mickey's Backyard BBQ is held, which is a fun, seasonal, picnic style character meal. Alyssa had a great time collecting rocks and sticks as she walked along. There are also a few nature trails scattered around this area, one of which leads you all the way to Wilderness Lodge Resort and is a nice trip on a bicycle.
At the end of the path we made a right and walked over to the playground. This is the main playground at Fort Wilderness and has some swings and a bigger playground and a smaller playground for younger kids. Alyssa played on the equipment for a little while but it was very hot since it is not covered or shaded from the sun.
We were getting hungry so we headed up towards Pioneer Hall to eat. You can pack a picnic to save money and there are plenty of shaded picnic tables on the porch to eat it at but we decided to have a meal in the Trail's End Restaurant today. (There is also a more budget friendly take-out window that serves awesome fried chicken but it was not open this early in the day.)
Kid's meals at Trail's End are $8.59 and include a drink and dessert. You can also add an appetizer of a fruit cup or garden salad for $2.19. I knew Alyssa wouldn't eat much so I just got her the fruit cup and shared my own delicious fried chicken and waffle meal ($14.49) with her. There were only two other occupied tables in the restaurant so service was great and our meal was served very quickly. (I've found this to be the case every time I have dined here for a late breakfast or weekday lunch. It gets a little bit busier at dinnertime.)
Alyssa was getting restless by the time we finished our meal so I took her outside while her father paid the bill. Right outside the restaurant there are plenty of activities to keep kids busy. Alyssa had fun playing checkers, hula hoop, and horseshoe toss while I sat and watched from one of the relaxing rocking chairs on the porch.
There is also a small arcade on one side of the restaurant, which Alyssa visited with her daddy, and a very clean bathroom with a changing table. In the evening the popular Hoop Dee Doo Revue Dinner Show is held at Pioneer Hall so the area is a lot busier than the time of day we visited when it was pretty much deserted. I hope to return again soon to eat at Hoop Dee Doo because it was a favorite of mine as a child.Alyssa's daddy played a few games with her in the arcade and then she decided she wanted to take a boat ride.
We walked down to the beach area and let her play in the sand for a little bit. She really liked the tether ball. While you can not go swimming at this beach anymore there are plenty of chairs available for lounging in the sand and at night it is the perfect spot to watch the Electrical Water Pageant and the fireworks at Magic Kingdom.
The boat dock has many options for boat rentals available at different prices but we decided to go the free route today and just take the boat across the lake to the Magic Kingdom and back. When Alyssa is a little bit older we will rent one of the sea raycers and take her for a ride in that but for now she is content with just being on a boat piloted by someone else on a predetermined route.
We sat out on the back of the boat and had a wonderful ride across the lake to the Magic Kingdom. Alyssa enjoyed seeing the castle and the train station even if it was from afar. We debated getting off and taking a ride on the monorail around the loop before heading back to Fort Wilderness but Alyssa was starting to get sleepy so we decided to just stay on the boat and head back to the campground.
Once we docked back at Fort Wilderness we walked up the path and checked out the nearby store, the Settlement Trading Post. Settlement Trading Post sells Disney souvenirs but because it is a campground they also sell basic groceries and general necessities you might need during your stay. I bought Alyssa a cookie and let her enjoy it as I looked around the store a bit. This is one of two stores at Fort Wilderness. The other store, the Meadow Trading Post, offers a lot of similar stuff and is located right by the recreation area but because Alyssa was getting sleepy we did not make it over to the recreation area this trip.
Once we left the store we headed back to the bus depot to board a bus back to our car. We passed the Meadow Trading Post and Recreation Area on the way. If we had gotten off here we would've seen the Bike Barn, which not only rents bikes of all sizes but also canoes, kayaks, and fishing equipment. This is also where you will find Fort Wilderness' main pool, which is themed to an old swimming hole and has a wonderful kid's water playground right next to it. There are many organized activities held by the pool throughout the day but the pool, kid's pool, and organized activities are only open to guests staying at the campground.
In the evenings, however, they also have a movie and campfire program in this area that is free and open to everyone. You can bring your own marshmallows and other materials to make s'mores in a large fire pit or you can buy them there. Chip and Dale come to meet the guests at the campfire and participate in a very short show before the nightly, kid friendly movie starts. We will definitely have to bring Alyssa back to do this another evening because it is a lot of fun but she was exhausted from our afternoon activities so we decided she'd had enough for today and it was time to head home.
As you can see there is plenty to keep everyone busy during an afternoon at Fort Wilderness without spending too much. This campground is a hidden gem and I'm sure we'll be back again to visit soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment