Are the Fort Wilderness buses really THAT bad?

[Jodi]

I am hoping for some real honest opinions here. I am working on booking my trip (I am literally listening to Mulan sing the hold music as I type this:) ) my trip, and probably because of free dining, the only option we have is to stay at Fort Wilderness cabins. I have read reviews that say the cabins and surroundings are great, but the transportation was a pain.

I don't have any other options as our dates are not flexible, I was just wondering if it is really as bad as it seems, and want to know what to expect. (We stayed at POR last year and had no problems at all.)

Thanks!

[anniedg]

We stayed there quite awhile ago so it's possible it's changed. We were o.k. because our cabin was within walking distance of a busstop for busses headed out of FW. As I recall they also have internal FW busses. We had to take one of them to get to Pioneer Hall and to the beach where the boat launch to MK is. I think it makes a big difference where your cabin is, from some cabins it's necessary to take an internal FW bus to get to the stop for the general WDW bus. You could look at a FW map online and request a cabin close to a stop.
Anybody else have more up-to-date info???
You could probably call FW to find out - their # is 407-824-2900

We LOVED the cabins and FW in general, but my kids were somewhat disappointed with the pools, they're not as themed as the other hotels.

[efoxx]

it is no worse then staying at an AS resort of PC. buses run continously throught the day making frequent stops at convenient bus stops. the hardest part would be the walk from your cabin to the bus stop which can be a whole 100yds :eek:. like all disney transportation there are times when you wish the bus would come sooner, and there are times you cannot go straight to your destination, but I wouldn't classify it as bad.

[disnut8]

I just do not understand why the Fort Wilderness bus transportation gets such a bad rap. When we stayed there, it was pretty easy. Take your loop bus either to the back of the campground or to the front, depending on where you are going. From there, you take a bus directly to the park of your choice. To Magic Kingdom, you take a boat. It's not any more complicated than any other Disney transportation.

I think what people don't understand is that this is a campground. You do pay a lot for a cabin but there's so much more there than just the transportation. I'd trade not having to make a bus transfer in a heartbeat to the peace and quiet at night and in the morning. Those cabins are so quiet that you can hear a fish, well, pass gas. There are no kids running in the hallway outside your door. There are no people up at the elevator yelling down to the person next door to you to "make sure you bring the room safe key!!!!!"

The transportation is so easy four 70+ year olds figured it out all on their own. And they are Disney clueless.

[kip099]

Don't forget a flashlight... The walk from the bus stop to your campsite / cabin can be *very* dark...

[nursemelis374]

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge in September and frequently stopped to pick up guests at Fort Wilderness and I never thought it was bad.

[Jodi]

Thanks for the responses. When I found out we couldn't stay at POR (which we LOVED) I was a bit disappointed. I'm glad to hear the busses as not as bad as I've read. Some positive comments are helping me to get excited about the trip!

Who am I kidding, I could sleep in the car at WDW and still be uncontrollably excited to be there!:D

[disnut8]

A few more positive comments. There aren't too many places at Disney World where you can come right out of your room with a fresh cup of coffee (or a cold Diet Coke) in the morning and sit on your deck in your PJs. No one cares (if anyone even sees you).

If your kids are bugging you, tell them to get out and go play in the street. With no worries that some speeding car is going to come around the corner. And kids CAN play. As loud as they want. Only just not between 11:00 PM and 8:00 AM (normal quiet hours for a campground).

Unless you live out in the country, you'll see more nature during your trip than you would see in a year.

You can see stars in the sky.

And I totally agree with bringing a couple of flashlights. And remember an important rule if you are walking on the roads. Walk toward the traffic "flow" (not much flow at the campground). So the drivers can see you and you can see them. If you walk with your back to the traffic, you can't see the driver and he doesn't know if you are going to make any sudden movements.

[tchatters]

We just got back from the cabins in March and I have to say that the buses are actually very good, reliable and quick. It was hard a few days where we were late, coming back to the marina carrying a very tired 4 year old and trying to then get on another bus. It would have been nice not to transfer but it's not that big of a deal. The only time it was a problem was really early morning we had an 8am character breakfast at MGM and getting to the bus stop to get to MGM was slow.

You can get a golf cart for an additional $47 a night... maybe since you're getting free dining you'd want one a few days? We did it for three days- one where we were staying in FW all day to go to the pools, fish etc and didn't want to have to ride a million buses.

I don't think we'd stay anywhere else- we've stayed at Grand Floridian pre-kid, but really this was our best trip. It's nice to have quiet at night, make your own coffee, have a fridge and just relax!