Ft. Wilderness Cabins at Walt Disney World is a Moderate resort that features cabins that sleep up to 6 guests. It has a very rustic feel that is sure to please outdoor and adventure lovers.
Price: $400 to $574
Cabin Size: 12×42
Sleeps: 6 plus a baby under 3
Cabin count: 407
Features: Cabins are 12′ x 42′ and feature a wood deck outside with a picnic table and charcoal grill. The cabin has a double bed and bunk beds in the bedroom. The den has a murphy bed that will sleep 2. The kitchen is fully outfitted with everything you might need to cook during the week. There is a portable crib available for little ones.
Lobby: If you are staying in a cabin, you enter Reception Outpost and check in at the front desk. If you are staying at one of the campsites, you remain in your vehicle and check in at one of the drive up windows.
Settlement Trading Post – Located near Pioneer Hall and Trails End. Choose from a variety of gifts including: Housewares, hats and apparel. Take some treasure home as well.
Meadow Trading Post – Here you will find camping supplies, a deli, video rental, souvenirs, supplies, sporting goods, basic groceries and more. The campfire area is also located nearby.
Pioneer Hall – Here you will find souvenirs, supplies, sporting goods, basic groceries and more.
Food options: There are 2 restaurants, 2 dinner shows and snack bars. Crockett’s Tavern has beverages and snack foods like pizza. Trails End Restaurant is a sit down restaurant and also has the refillable mugs and a to go window where you can pick up pizzas and fried chicken. You can book dinner reservations at Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ.
Fort Wilderness Pavilion: This is home to Mickey’s Backyard BBQ located at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
You can also find a small assortment of groceries at the Settlement Trading Post and the Meadow Trading Post.
Pools: There are 2 pools. The main pool is located near the Meadow Trading Post. The Meadow Swimmin’ Pool has a water slide, hot tub and children’s play area.
The smaller pool is located near the cabins.
Playground: There are 4 playgrounds. They are located at Pioneer Hall, Meadow Recreation area, on the beach and at Creekside Meadow.
Official Dog Policies: Guests of this resort may bring their dogs for an additional $50/per night, limit 2 dogs per guest room.
Tri-Circle D Ranch is home to Cinderella’s Ponies and the majestic horses of Main Street, U.S.A. If you visit in the afternoon, you’ll see the same horses that you saw that morning in the parks!
You can also watch the blacksmith make and affix horseshoes, learn more about the Dragon Calliope that appeared in the Mickey Mouse Club Circus Parade in the 1950’s in Disneyland and even take a pony ride! Pony rides are daily from 10 am to 5 pm for kids 2 years of age, under 80 pounds and no taller than 48 inches. It is a cash only activity. You can also take a 45 minute Horseback Trail Ride (for guests 9 and up) or a 25 minute wagon ride or a 25 minute carriage ride.
Entertainment:
- Campfire with Chip and Dale nightly starting at 7 – 8 pm depending on season
- Horseback Riding
- Tennis
- Archery
- Petting Zoo
- Pony Rides
- Wagon Rides
- Carriage Rides
- Fishing
- Bicycle rental
- Vollyball
- Poolside party
- Poolside activities and crafts
- Arcade
- and more!
The Wilderness Back Trail Adventures tour is a Segway tour that can be booked by calling 407-WDW-TOUR. It is 2 hours long and you will receive 30 minutes of instructional time on the Segway before your tour begins.
If you are visit Ft. Wilderness at Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween or Christmas, you are in for a real treat!
Easter – Field Day Fun, Bingo and Easter Egg Hunts
Fourth of July – Hometown style parade put on by the guests where you can mark, drive decorated golf carts or ride decorated bikes in the parade. you must register ahead of time at the Outpost, Settlement or Meadow Trading Post.
Halloween – Book a Sleepy Hallowe Halloween Carriage Ride nightly in October. There is also a parade that guests can participate in, a camp site decorating contest and a Pet costume parade and contest.
Christmas – Participate in a camp site decorating contest. You can also book a sleigh ride nightly.
Transportation: You can take a boat to the Magic Kingdom or the Contemporary. You can take a bus to the other parks (excluding Magic Kingdom), Downtown Disney or Wilderness Lodge.
Golf carts are available to rent for $59 a day or you can bring your own golf cart.
Overnight parking is $19.
Distance from parks by bus:
- Animal Kingdom –7 miles
- Hollywood Studios –11 miles
- Epcot – 6 miles
- Magic Kingdom –2 miles
Featured Reviews:
We stayed at Ft. Wilderness in the Cabins on our January 2011 trip. The Cabins were the perfect size for our family and it really felt like home. It came with a full kitchen with everything you need to cook for your family. It also had these great bunk beds for the kids. And I loved that they loaded the dishwasher for us everyday.
The internal buses were not bad. We never had to wait a really long time to get around the fort, but you can rent a golf cart if you’d rather have that to zip around in. We rented one on our last day to go sight seeing.
My husband is in love with the resort and wants to stay there everytime we go to Disney. I was not a major fan of the boat to the Magic Kingdom. When it’s cold, that boat is miserable! If we stayed there again, I would take the boat to the contemporary early in the morning and then walk over to the Magic Kingdom. The first Magic Kingdom boat doesn’t run until 30 minutes before the park opens.
You might consider staying at the Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds.
Learn more about the Walt Disney World Resorts and contact Destinations in Florida to help you book your perfect resort.
Amy says
Loved this place. At the time of our visit, we had 4 & 6 y.o. boys and I was pregnant. The cabin was just the right size and I loved that there was a room with a door you could close for bed time and nap time. The bedroom had bunk beds and a double bed, so you could fit 4 people back there if you needed to. The bathroom had lots of counter space and was much bigger than i imagined. LOVED the nightly sing-a-longs with Chip & Dale and Disney movie on a big screen. Free, age-appropriate and right on site. Didn’t take adv. of the beach or pool (we went in Feb) but those are additional perks to have on site when WDW gets to be overwhelming for the little ones. Would Def. recommend!
Allison Brown says
We stayed at the Ft. Wilderness cabins in March 2010. This was our first trip to Disney and we had a large group (11 people). My sister and her family stayed at Port O Leans and my parents and my family (6 people) stayed at Ft. Wilderness. We loved the cabins! They were perfect for us. The living room had a pull-out sofa that easily went back up to allow more space when you needed it and the bedroom had a full-size bed and 2 bunk beds. The bathroom was nice and the kitchenette too. We had a short walk to where we caught the tram and never had a long wait time. We also could ride the tram to the post and get on the boat that took us right across to Magic Kingdom! My children loved the boat rides! Disney was fabulous in more ways than I can say… we truly enjoyed our stay and it was a “magical” time for my family. We’re already saving to go back!
Cody says
We love the Fort Wilderness cabins. As a child my family had a trailer and would stay at Fort Wilderness – so this gives me the ability to stay there without the trailer. Since we live in Florida and have annual passes, we are able to get discounted rates and go when the rates are cheapest (although they are still really expensive). The first time we went we brought our bikes; this made getting to and from the boat dock, movie and other things really quick and easy. The second time we brought our two month old at the time and the internal bus system worked great with not much of a wait; although it was a pain having to scrunch up the stroller to get on and off the bus.
My favorites in the campground are:
1. The Nightly movie & smores option
2. Seeing the Electric Water parade (which I noticed they did not post in their bulletin given to us, I had to specifically ask the time on)/fireworks
3. The easy access via boat to MK
4. A nice bike ride or walk along the trails you will easily find deer, bunnies, armadillos, ducks and more!
5. Having our own kitchen – the first day we got there, we go and get our groceries for the week and would plan to eat breakfast, a couple of dinners and some deli meat for the park. This way we had flexibility to eat in the parks some but not feel required to eat there or at the Campgrounds restuarants if we didn’t want to.
6. The suddle Disney spirit in the cabin (hidden mickeys in the comforter, the Disney soap/shampoo, the towels shaped like Animals peaking out the window as you come home for the day) and amazing accomodating staff.
7. The fact that you can chill with a beer out on the picnic table playing a game of dominoes and enjoy nature – and everyone else around you is relaxed and enjoy their stay also.
8. There is ample space between each of the cabins.
9. Low Noise levels especially compared to staying at Disney hotels.
Things I did not like:
1. Mosquito bites – be aware it can get really buggy at certain times of year
2. So many people (especially young teens) riding golf carts that would almost run us over on the trails.
3. The pools (surprised that they haven’t upgraded these yet).
Things that could go either way depending on the family:
1. For a family of 3, plenty of room but for larger families I think you might feel a bit cramped. When the murphy bed is down, it takes up the whole “living” room area. We ended up having our 2 month old sleep in the bottom bunk with lots of pillows to prop him up rather than opening up the pack and play b/c it have taken up the whole living room. Also, little room for luggage/unpacking.
2. This in NOT the Ritz Carlton – if you are the type that needs to be pampered – I don’t recommend this. If you are an outdoorsy kind of person who isn’t in a rush to be anywhere specific – this is the place to be!
3. Access to MK is GREAT. Access to the other parks – not so great since it can take a bit of time to wait for the internal bus and then wait for the external bus which then also stops at the Wilderness Lodge before going on to the destination.
We would definitely stay again – other than the price and the fact that we have dogs to board back at home. This is our “Special” place we try and stay at!
Carol says
It has been many years since we stayed there–it was in 1995 to be exact–but from these reviews it sounds as if it’s much the same. When we went, it was our family’s first trip to WDW; the family included my husband and me, two sons 12 and 8, and two daughters 11 and 5. It was the most economical choice for the 6 of us. We bought groceries and did some meals in the cabin, and it was especially handy for having a bit of breakfast before starting out, or for end-of-day snacks.
My husband’s viewpoint is that “nature is what you have to go through to get from one comfortable and interesting place to another,” and our older son takes after him, but even they enjoyed Fort Wilderness. I LOVED the boat ride to and from the Magic Kingdom!
Kelli says
We stayed there a long time ago–about 9 yrs :). There were 4 adults and one child in our party which made the size of the cabins perfect. My daughter and I slept on the murphy bed (which she thought was the coolest thing ever!) Having a full kitchen and a grill on the porch was wonderful. We also really enjoyed the campfire sing a long and movie. Our last night there we went down to the beach and watched the water parade. There is so much to do at this resort that you could easily spend a day or two without going to the parks.
Holly says
We LOVE Fort Wilderness! We found out this year that you can have up to 10 people stay on one RV site, which means you can have the RV and a tent in the back too! My parents took their RV down, and they bring their own golf cart. Rentals can be expensive! I flew down (I had free tickets from when my husband was bumped twice for business) and stayed in the RV with my parents. We always go in February, the campsites are only $68/night! It did end up being chilly there this year, but usually it’s very nice. My 2 yr. old son LOVED Chip and Dale! We had a nice 4 day stay, then flew back home while mom and dad drove home.
Amy says
LOVE the cabins!! We stayed there 3 years ago, and we had a party of 6 – my husband, myself, our two girls (ages 3 and 5 at the time we went), and my parents! We had one bedroom that consisted of one queen bed, and a set of bunk beds! There was also a murphy bed that folded out in the living room that my parents slept on that was quite comfy!! It is very cozy, and cute!
We always rode a boat over to MK, and took buses everywhere else. We did have to catch a bus within the resort to take us to the front, or main entrance of the resort to catch another bus to take us to the parks, but we never had to wait very long!
We ate at the resort restaurant the night we arrived and it was great! We also enjoyed campfire sing-alongs, and smores with Chip and Dale which my older daughter loved!! There is also a great show beside the restaurant. I believe it is the Hoopty do Revue, and it was a lot of fun too!! Something odd I remember that I loved was one day we went back in the middle of the day to take a nap because we were going to be up late for Mickey’s Not So Scarey Halloween Party, and I thought we’d never be able to fall asleep since it was daylight, BUT we pulled the curtains over the windows in the bedroom and it was super dark in the room so we all fell asleep quickly!!
There are also little stores where you can get snacks, and necessities – I remember we had to buy half gallons of milk there! Plus you have a full size refrigerator, and a complete kitchen! One evening we picked up hot dogs, buns, chips at the little store and had an inexpensive meal!!
We loved it and will definitely stay there again!!!
Tina says
Our family has stayed at the cabins numerous times. They are fantastic! one of the ways we saved $ was by sharing the cabin with my inlaws and splitting the cost.they are very spacious so this was easy. We also ate breafast in the room. with a full kitchen we made eggs, pancakes etc.. and they are fully furnished with dishes, pans etc..We brought coffee and brewed it every am in our pot that was also provided. We were also able to bring cases of water and capri sun for the kids. we froze them in the full sized freezer , threw them in a cooler to go to the parks. the capri suns act like ice packs and keep every thing cold. We were also able to rent a golf cart by splitting the cost and you can park your cart at the main stop. So when you get off the bus just hop on your cart and off to your room:) We were able to fit four medium sized adults and 2 kid in cart with no problems.
Sheila says
We stayed at Fort Wilderness a few years ago and Loved it! Our Family was happy not to have to go back to a hotel atmosphere but to a more home like atmosphere. We took Disney Transportation and If I recall correctly I believe that our longest wait was about 5 minutes. All of the Disney Staff were friendly and courteous(as usual), My biggest thing was that the dishes had been loaded annd the cabin was cleaned whenever we returned from our day in the park! I actually stumbled upon these accommodations by accident and I am so glad that I had! We loved the Family restraunt that they had(our daughter actually still has the picture that she colored while we were waiting for our dinner to arrive) and we were even able to participate in smores and a sing a long. We would so stay here again!
vanessa says
We LOVED the cabins at Ft. Wilderness! It was so comfortable and homey! We enjoyed Mickeys Backyard Bar B Que and movies and smores with Chip and Dale!! SO much fun!
Carrie E H says
We have stayed several time at the cabins and LOVE it. It is like a private home. Very quiet and peaceful! Great if you are bring older (grandparents) with you that don’t want to be in the parks all day.
Liz says
■Why did you choose this resort? We chose this resort because we had a party of 6 and also because I had a 1 year old and I needed the full kitchen.
■What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? We LOVED the cabins. We loved the theme and felt that it had tons of space. The bathroom was really large and we loved having the full kitchen and outdoor grill and picnic table. Mousekeeping was the better there than any of the other resorts we have stayed in. They came and personally introduced themselves and made sure we had more than we needed of everything. My son’s favorite was the bunk beds!
■What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? They have a great pool with an awesome waterslide. My favorite thing about this resort was the boat to Magic Kingdom.
■What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? We did not utilize the food court but I did buy some grocery items in the general store and they were twice the price they would be in a regualr grocery store.
■How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? The buses were ok. They were kind of confusing at first and also crowded because there was an Iron Man competition going on. Also we had a rude driver once but the bus to Wilderness Lodge was great.
■Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. I would stay here again because we drive down but I wouldn’t want to be at this resort without a car or a golf cart because of the size….golf carts are $60 a day!
Cindy says
We also loved this too. We tend to like to rent cabins if we can. Main reason with my son and his autism if her were to have a meltdown there are less people around and I don’t feel like we are bothering anyone. Also gives the kids a little more freedom not to have to be quiet. If they get rowdy and jump on the beds (which doesn’t happen often but hey it does happen…and ends quickly per mom) there are not people below you wondering who the herd of elephants ar that checked in above them. Really good with a baby since we all know how thin some of those hotel walls are. We didn’t use the busses too much becasue it was a pain to load all the kids and the strollers on one bus just to get off and on another. We did the boat one day, just to do it, it was OK. A little chilly at night (we went in late OCt) Only thing is if you have 6 people staying in them 1 bath is really not enough, We treid to do the some bath in the moring and some in the evening but that was hard since most of the adults were too tired to take a bath at night and the kids..well they were usually alseep when we got back. I would love to do these again but rent two, since we now travel with 8 or 10 depending on if my sister and her husband travel with us.
We didn’t cook too much, just some breakfast stuff. Heck I don’t like cooking at home, I sure don’t like doing it on vacation…lol
We did the Campfire and the boys had a great time but bring your own smores they are expensive!!!
Julie says
While I stayed here many years ago with my family, I think I can answer pretty faithfully, even if it was some years ago:
This resort was chosen for a number of reasons. This trip was taken for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary, and it worked well for our group. There were 3 families with children plus my grandparents. If I remember correctly, we had 2 or 3 cabins, plus one family stayed in the campground in their camper. This way, we could all stay “together”. We also liked the large size of the cabins and having a kitchen for meal preparation.
The cabins were very spacious, and my family of 5 (2 adults, 3 teenagers) fit quite comfortably in one. It was great having a sitting area with a TV for daytime, as well as having separate rooms to divide off during breaks (we went in the height of summer and it rained every day in the early afternoon, so we left the parks for lunch and “rest”). My brother loved sleeping on the bed in the living room because he could stay up and watch TV and have his own space. The kitchen was perfect for having breakfast every morning and a bigger meal for our family as well.
It was nice having the little stores as well as the boat rental and bike rental and bike paths. Probably my favorite part was just walking around the area. It felt much more secluded than just staying at a hotel.
We didn’t take advantage of any of the restaurants while we were there.
The buses to the parks were fine, although it seemed like there were a lot of stops, so it took a while. I enjoyed being able to take a boat to Discovery Island back when it was open, as well as taking boats to the Contemporary Hotel (we went there to play in the arcade) and to the Magic Kingdom.
I would stay here again if my husband and I were able to afford it. It stands out to me as a particularly unique Disney experience, and I would love to go back.
Malone Tuten says
OH! The Cabins are fabulous! We love them. My husband’s parents took their RV to Disney and we wanted to stay close to them. I requested for Disney to put us close to them, and of course they put us RIGHT beside each other. :) It was perfect. We had the full size bed for my husband and I, the bottom bunk for our little girl, top bunk for my husband’s little sister and the murphy bed in the living room for his other sister. It was so great! Plus, we had a fullsize fridge to bring all of our leftovers from those amazing Disney Dining Plan dinners! Tip: Raglan Road’s “Ger’s Bread Pudding” is SOOO yummy the next morning for breakfast! And I have to say, I got really spoiled by staying in the cabins. Our little girl would say after a long day in the park “I’m ready to go home”. At first we thought she meant “HOME” as in our back home, home. NOPE, she meant the cabin…lol. She picked up on when the bus driver would say to us when we got off at our stop “Welcome Home”. LOL!
danygirl says
what we loved about this resort was the sandy beach. We went when my son was about 2 (quite a while ago) and when we wanted down time we just went to that little beach and let him play in the sand. It was a great place for tired parents to rest.
Angie D. says
We LOVE the cabins at Fort Wilderness! They are the perfect size for our family, and we loved the full kitchen. We were bought groceries, ate breakfast in our cabin & brought sandwiches into the parks with us….we saved a TON of money on food. With our food savings we were able to splurge on a golf cart to get around the campground. We never waited long for the boat ride to MK & the ride itself was really fast. The buses to the other parks were always timely (never longer than a 10 minute wait).
We loved the variety of activities offered at the resort – there’s a beach, boating, horseback riding, tennis, bikes, archery, two pools and several playgrounds. We went at Christmas time, and we enjoyed riding around in the golf cart checking out all the decorated campsites. The beach is great spot to view fireworks from MK. We didn’t get a chance to see the water parade, but plan on it the next time!
This is the only resort my hubby will stay, and although I would like to try other resorts, I love coming back to Fort Wilderness. I find it quieter than a regular hotel room, love cooking out on the grill and the kids love the bunkbeds & golf cart! It’s definitely not a resort for those looking to be pampered with room service, but it is a load of fun for nature-loving, laid-back kinds of families!