Dec 2018

AngelaDeeDee

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
First timers - to WDW and Fort Wilderness,
My husband and son and daughter ages 4 and 5
We have a preferred site for dec 7 to dec 13

My questions are what is the max size on a camper to rent hat will fit nicely in a preferred spot?

Will it be too busy/ loud for our kids that time of year ?

Do you all recommend the meal plan? I'm ok with cooking and feeding the family !

We also have a golf cart reserved from kenny's t- time . We will also be celebrating my sons birthday .

So looking forward to watching fireworks from beach, chip and dale, Christmas decorations, riding the boat to Magic Kingdom .

Any recommendations / advice will be greatly appreciated! ⛺
Thank you ! Angela and family
 
How wonderful on your first time to WDW and the Fort.

First of all, well done! excellent job! on selecting the very best place to stay when at WDW.

I cannot answer your question on the rental size, but can on a few other questions.

No, no it will not be too loud or busy for the kids. We are typically January people but did stay last December. I didn't feel it was too crowded until the 15th of Dec. Then we had to get out and get out fast.

I like it when things are low key. Not only is it an excellent time to visit without mega crowds, you and your family will be able to enjoy all the xmas decorations.

Excellent job again, on the cart rental. You will not be disappointed having the cart to get you all around.

At Disney Springs there is an excellent bakery. The name slips my mind at the moment, but they have these really cute Mickey cakes. Also, there are a few bakeries on property that will make your son and deliver to the fort a special cake. (Amerose that's not the name of the bakery but starts like that anyway). Sorry, I can't remember the exact name.

If you don't mind cooking some, then why not! For us, we get sick of eating out three meals a day and prefer a mix. We typically eat breakfast at the camper, and a mix of lunch and dinner.

The number one tip I can provide is to make sure to schedule as much Fort time as your schedule allows. You won't be disappointed in having a "FORT DAY".
 
Your kids are young, I would schedule an afternoon break, to come back to the fort, or schedule to be back in time for dinner at the camper. They will not enjoy being park ninja commando's from open until close. When the kids get grumpy, Mom and Dad are not happy.
I would not get the dining plan with kids that young. The only time we have done the dining plan was DW and I on an adult only trip and we spent every minute we could in the parks. There are a lot of good meals and snacks that can be shared, more than enough for two kids, or an adult and kids kinda thing.
Ugh, I really need to book a trip.
 


First timers - to WDW and Fort Wilderness,
My husband and son and daughter ages 4 and 5
We have a preferred site for dec 7 to dec 13

My questions are what is the max size on a camper to rent hat will fit nicely in a preferred spot?

Will it be too busy/ loud for our kids that time of year ?

Do you all recommend the meal plan? I'm ok with cooking and feeding the family !

We also have a golf cart reserved from kenny's t- time . We will also be celebrating my sons birthday .

So looking forward to watching fireworks from beach, chip and dale, Christmas decorations, riding the boat to Magic Kingdom .

Any recommendations / advice will be greatly appreciated! ⛺
Thank you ! Angela and family

Congrats on a great time to visit - wish I could do the same! It will be a great time for the kids. You may run into some other families and large groups of kids now and then, as that is the tail end of Pop Warner week, but we never found that to be problematic.

Preferred spots will handle most units, I believe, but others with more Fort experience can tell you more.

Honestly, we have never once found that the dining plan would be worth it to us. There are those out there that want the convenience of paying ahead, and a few that swear that it saves them money. But, for us (family of 5), I have done the analysis in anticipation of at least 5-6 trips over the years. I have looked at every restaurant we would visit and considered everything we would order, and we'd never come close to spending what the plan would cost.

We used Kenny's last fall - great experience. Just make sure you leave a good 90 minutes in your schedule for pick up and drop off.

We spent our sons 5th birthday leaving Disney and embarking on a cruise - I'll never forget it.

As for advice, I echo those who say 'take your time.' We have had kids at Disney at every age from 9m to 13. Our three are now 9-13 and can do longer days, but that is just coming into play in the last year or so. For 4-5 year old kids, mid-day breaks, evenings off, etc... will be imperative. Make the best use you can of FP+, rope drop as much as you are able, and allow your afternoons (and some evenings) to be calmer - which is a purpose the Fort serves beautifully.

My only other advice - have fun!!! Christmastime at WDW is amazing, we enjoyed it a few times when the kids were younger (and school wasn't as much of a concern), and I miss it!
 
Oh...

If your schedule allows, take some time to tour around the Bay Lake area hotels. Wilderness Lodge has a great Christmas Tree, the life-size Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian, etc... This is a great way to spend a few low-key hours doing something unique to that time of year.
 


Oh...

If your schedule allows, take some time to tour around the Bay Lake area hotels. Wilderness Lodge has a great Christmas Tree, the life-size Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian, etc... This is a great way to spend a few low-key hours doing something unique to that time of year.
 
:love:Thanks for the great advice ! Newbie to this so I have been planning a lot and trying to crunch the numbers - I can't wait !:stitch:
 
See you there! We are there that week before we check in to the Grand! My kids are 11, 12, 13 and absolutely love the Fort! We were there a week last year before checking in to the Contemporary and the kids didn't want to leave!! When we left the Contemporary for the DCL, we had reservations at the Yacht Club after our cruise and the kids were so bummed it wasn't back at the Fort! So your kids will have an absolute blast!!!
 
We have a preferred camp site , and we also may stay a day or 2 at Pop century . We can't wait ! I just hope the weather is good .
 
Angela,

I missed your original post. I was getting ready for our Fort trip that weekend. It doesn't look like anyone specifically answered your question about the size of a camper on a preferred site. Each site is a little different on length. Preferred sites are about 12 ft wide. I would say that any camper under 40 ft will fit on most sites if you don't want to park a vehicle with it. 35-36 ft if you want the vehicle with you (Golf carts don't count as they can be on the grass). The bigger issue with a 40+ft camper is navigating through the loop, but that won't be your problem if you are renting.

For reference, here is my old camper (31 ft) in site 103 (Preferred) in 2011. My truck fits fine and the truck is over 22 ft long. The rear wheels of the camper are on boards just at the edge of the sand (coquina) pad.

Last week I did see a 40+ ft toy hauler in the 100 loop. Not sure how he got it around the loop, but he was in the 2nd to last site before exiting. And his truck was way off in the grass.

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j
 
thanks for the information. Can't wait! Have you stayed there in December? Just wondering how the weather will be . We are renting a golf cart .
 
We have been several times in December. Most times the weather was beautiful. 2 times we frozen the whole time. I'd be prepared for both.
 
I haven't been down in December. Unless it was early December, not sure I have enough patience to do the last half. The Fort will be full, but fine. The parks will be BUSY!

Denise covered the weather. I have been down in February and March several times. Like Denise said, hit or miss. One March trip we had heavy coats on in the morning and jackets and long sleeves in the afternoon. Last February it was in the 80s every day. Shorts and T-shirts.

j
 
We will be arriving 12/7to 12/13. I hope it won't be too crowded . But my husband didn't want it to be too hot. Thanks for
The advice !
 
As for the crowds Four years ago we were there the 1st week of Dec. Crowds were manageable and touring was easy. We have no kids other than our furballs so for us extended touring that trip (They were home at puppy camp) was not an issue. Now we have 2 others that at not yet 3 we limit it to 6 hours and come back to give them extra FORT time as well as ourselves.
Weather that year was moderate we carried sweatshirts and in the evenings they came in handy but we didn't need much more than them. On the other hand in 93 my neighbor was down visiting his son and wore NY winter coats the entire week. Best idea I can give is Check The Weather Channel's website for 10 day Forecast a few days before you leave and plan accordingly. Have fun
 

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