The Single Parent Adventurist

Now as I have said before in previous posts, The Fort Wilderness Campground is my favorite Disney Resort to stay at because there is so much to do here, such as: horseback riding, movie/campfire program, canoeing, hayrides and swimming.  I love the outdoors.  This was my very first time tent camping anywhere on my own with just Nadia.  I did tent camp at Fort Wilderness one time with my parents, but I was in 5th Grade then and they were running the show.

The last time I had been to Fort Wilderness, we had stayed in the cabin.  In my opinion, I like the cabin better, but it is very expensive.  Do not get me wrong though, we did have fun with the tenting experience, but there were some downsides to it.

On this trip, as I was packing and planning, I was not worried at all about bears, because we were going to be in the Disney World Resort.  What I was worried about was that Hurricane Sandy was going to be passing Florida, not hitting us, just passing by at the time we would be camping.  I was worried that the wind gusts would blow our tent away.  Also, would there be a lot of rain?   I had read a review (of course, two days before we were to go), that the site is all sand and that your stakes will not stay in the ground during strong wind.   Yikes!!  Well we ventured out any ways; cause the trip was already paid for with my earned Disney Rewards.

We had an easier time packing up the car on this trip, but still only two seats to sit in.  The driver’s seat and passenger seat.  When we arrived at the campground, the security guard directed us to the drive thru check-in.  The lady that helped us was so nice and answered all of my questions on how to get to the site.

It was very easy to find the site.  The site was big and there was nobody else around us in the other sites. (must have been a slow day – We arrived Wednesday morning).  You do not get a fire pit here, so no campfires unless you bring an approved fire pit with the covering on it.  There was a charcoal grill and a picnic bench.  Here is a link to a brochure of approved fire pits allowed at Fort Wilderness.

Nadia and I started putting up the tent, but we noticed a lot of fire ants on the ground.  Now, of course in my anxious mind is running wild with images of red ants covering us when we wake up in the morning. (That did not happen J).  Of course, I did not think to bring ant spray.  So I used my mosquito spray and sprayed our tent and all around the ground where our tent was.  Not one bite J also, the tent stakes seemed to stay in the ground, but it also was not windy yet or rainy.  It was just HOT.

After we were done getting set up, Nadia and I found the comfort station (restrooms and showers).  Very clean and nice.  We then found the bus stop and were figuring out the bus transportation system.  Inside the campground there are three different buses that are coded by yellow, orange and purple.  Each one takes you to different settlement posts in the campground.  If you are not sure which one to take, just ask the bus driver before you board and they will explain.  We wanted to get on the bus that would take us to the main bus stop to all the attractions.  We were headed to Downtown Disney to walk around have lunch.

As we were waiting for the bus to arrive, I was reading the bulletin board and to my horror, I read a letter dated August 2012 about black bears in the area.  WHATTTT?????  I did not bring my bear spray, I did not bring unscented soap or shampoo and I am sleeping in a tent!  Great, heart is pounding now.  What the letter was basically saying was to pick up your trash and be bear aware.  If you spot a black bear to call security.  The good news, no black bear sightings on our trip and everything was fine.

Florida Black Bear Notice

The first evening we went to the campfire/movie program after dinner.  The next day the campground filled up and every campsite was taken.  By Friday the wind picked up.  It was so windy at Epcot that my hair was blowing up in the air.  Good news, the tent was A OK.

We really enjoyed ourselves at the campground, but Nadia and I agreed not to do the tent again at Fort Wilderness.  The reason being, that when we go to the parks, we are going non-stop from like 9 in the morning to closing time.  We are exhausted, and would much rather get a shower in a hotel room then having to walk to the tent then carry our belongings down to the comfort station.  Also, it is noisy.  Which I can definitely understand why.  Everyone is excited to be at Disney World, but for Nadia and I, the cabin works better for us.

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Related articles

• January 2013 Fort Wilderness Movie Schedule