Tink's Tips: 5 Reasons to Visit Ft Wilderness

Happy Friday, Tinkers!

     Since I have been obsessing about Trail's End lately, and I alluded to how much fun Fort Wilderness is to visit, I figured I should share with you just why that is. So, gather round, Tinkers! Here's my Top 5 Reasons To Visit Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground!!! Yeeee-haaaw!!!!!




1. Stick-To-Yer-Ribs-Good Dining!

     So you have already heard about my love of Trail's End and how fantastic that "Hidden Gem" of a dining location is. If not, check out my review on Breakfast HERE and my review on Dinner HERE. Lunch is also offered a la carte and is truly enjoyable.

     There's a super fun, (and often forgotten about), dinner show that you need to know about, Mickey's Backyard Barbecue, over in the Settlement Area. This outdoor, covered hoedown includes an all-you-care-to-eat BBQ dinner of burgers, chicken, ribs and more, and a live show that features cowboy rope tricks and a country band. You'll also be joined by Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, all in their country garb, and ready to hit the dance floor with you for a line dance or two.
     But the real superstar of Fort Wilderness is The Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue! The only indoor dinner show on Disney property has been around since 1974! That makes it only three years younger than The Magic Kingdom itself! Millions of Guests have seen and loved the show. In fact many, like my husband, have seen it twenty times and more. The country-style singin', dancin', goofin' around show features six actors who are there to make you laugh, clap and stomp your feet. The food is an all-you-care-to-eat feast of fried chicken, ribs and all the fixin's, and beer and wine are included as well. The show is a "Must Do" for anyone that has not seen it yet. Every Guest HAS to "Hoop it up" at least once... though I'm pretty sure that once you have seen it, you'll end up going again. And again.

Hoopin' it up at The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue!

2. Get Movin' in the Great Outdoors!

Photo credit: Disneyworld.com

     If you're an active person, there is TONS for you to do at Fort Wilderness! In the Meadow Recreation Area, you'll be able to challenge your fellow Campers to a game of volleyball in the sand court. In the Bike Barn you can rent bicycles and helmets for your whole family, or rent cane fishing poles and fish right from the docks. Throughout the 700 acre campground, you can enjoy swimming pools, basketball courts, playgrounds, and plenty of jogging paths. It's so much fun to bike or run among the huge cypress trees! Keep your eyes open for local wildlife, like deer, armadillo, opossum, peacocks and more!
     There are two tours available at Fort Wilderness. One is for ages 16 and up, and it will take you all around the Camp Ground, on high-powered, two-wheeled, all-terrain Segways. The second tour is for ages 7 and up, and will consist of a 90-minute archery experience, where you can learn to let your inner Merida shine!
     Looking to get off your feet a bit? Saddle up and take a horseback riding excursion, or if the water calls to you, from the marina you can rent canoes, kayaks, motorized boats, or even go on a waterskiing or motorboat fishing tour! If you want to enjoy the scenery, but don't want to have to exert yourself at all, rent a motorized golf cart for an hour or two, and get lost driving around the wooded paths. (Not literally lost. When I stayed at Ft. Wilderness when I was a teen, my Mom and her best friend decided to take a golf cart out to pick up groceries from the Trading Post, and they ended up over at The Wilderness Lodge, totally lost. At least they find it hysterically funny... NOW.) There's so much to do and most activities are open to ALL Guests, regardless of whether or not you are staying onsite. (Pools are open to Camp Ground Guests ONLY.)

3. Keep the Youngin's Entertained!

    Kids of all ages will have a ton of fun here too! Aside from all of the outdoor activities mentioned above, there are great playgrounds onsite, the largest of which is right next to Trail's End.
    Everyone will LOVE Tri-Circle-D Ranch! The Ranch is located next to Pioneer Hall, and is home to pretty much all of the horses that work on Disney property. You can stop on by and visit Cinderella's little white ponies, or pop into the barn to see the huge horses that pull the trolleys on Main Street, and Anna's sleigh in the Frozen Summer Royal Welcome. Patting and feeding is not allowed, but little ones over the age of 2, under 80 lbs, and under 48", can ride a pony, for a small fee. The Ranch is a really fun place to spend some time, and enjoy something a little different from what you see in the parks.

Have you ever seen a pony smile in their sleep? Well, now you have!

4. Rip-Roarin', Fun-Filled Nights!

     Spend an evening at Fort Wilderness and you will have a blast enjoying some really unique activities! Start with a 25 minute wagon ride through the Camp Ground, or a private horse-drawn carriage ride, offered evenings, (weather permitting). During the holiday season, the carriage rides become "sleigh rides", with the carriages decked out in lights and garland. It's a festive and romantic date night outing.
     You can catch the higher fireworks from Wishes, complete with piped in music, from the beach by the boat dock. You can even see the Electrical Water Pageant as it passes by!

Photo credit: Disneyworld.com

     One of the most fun nighttime activities in all of the "World" takes place at Fort Wilderness. Right near the Meadow Trading Post, folks gather 'round a nightly campfire for marshmallow roastin', camp song singin', and movie viewin' under the stars! Chip and Dale join a guitar or banjo-playin' musician, as you whoop it up and enjoy watching the stars twinkling and the fireflies lighting their night lights. Each night a family friendly Disney movie is shown after the musical part of the evening. Some nights, usually during the busier seasons, two movies are shown back to back. It's a really fun occasion, whether you stay for the music only, or all the way until the movie credits roll!

5. Make Yerself Home!

     Fort Wilderness is a really amazing place to stay. Unlike any of the other Disney Resorts, the Camp Ground has three different types of accommodations. Since it is most commonly used by those with campers or RV's of their own, the Camp Ground provides hook ups (at a pretty reasonable cost) so that you can enjoy your own home-away-from-home, right on Disney property.

Photo credit: Disneyworld.com

     Don't have an RV? No problem! You can rent your own Cabin in the woods! The Cabins sleep up to 6 adults, and have a full, albeit small, kitchen. The bedroom has one set of bunk beds and a double bed, plus there is a pull-down double bed in the living room wall. Unfortunately there is only one bathroom. Two bathrooms would make this a really perfect accommodation for a larger family, but the single bathroom can be tricky.

Photo credit: Disneyworld.com

Photo credit: Disneyworld.com

     Looking for a cost-efficient way to stay on Disney property and don't mind roughin' it? You can rent a tent at Fort Wilderness, complete with your own parking space, power sources, picnic table and charcoal grill. There are nearby hospitality buildings with showers and restrooms, by each pool.

Photo credit: Disneyworld.com

     Staying onsite at Fort Wilderness means constant access to all of the fun recreational activities described up above, plus an internal bus system, transportation to the parks, and all of the benefits that Disney Resort Guests enjoy. It's especially cool if you stay at Christmastime, when Campers usually go all out decorating their campsite with lights, blow ups, and every holiday decoration you can imagine. It really is a sight to see!

_______

     Whether you visit for a meal, for some fun, or to stay for a while, Fort Wilderness is sure to provide your family with all kinds of rustic fun that you'll be talking about for years to come. And whenever it's time for you to mosey on back home, you'll hear the Cast Members saying, "Ya'll come back now, ya hear?" And you will want to, as soon as you can!

     For information on rates and availability, or to book tours, excursions or dining reservations, visit Disneyworld.com, or click HERE!

Tink Tested: Trail's End Dinner

Location: The back of Fort Wilderness, (The Settlement area), next to Pioneer Hall
Parking/Transportation Situation: Park in the main parking lot and take an internal bus from the bus stop. (Busses are named by colors: Orange, Yellow and Purple. ALL busses go to the Settlement stop.) Boat from Magic Kingdom. Bus from Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney.

Meals Served: B, L, D

Characters/Entertainment: No characters, or live entertainment.
Type of Cuisine: Down home, country fare

Type of Menu: Buffet for breakfast and dinner. A la carte for lunch.

Pricing/Dining Plan: $$/ 1 Table Service Point Per Person
Full Menu: Trail's End Dinner Menu

Atmosphere: Rustic mess hall

Dress Code: Theme park casual

Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Families, anyone who likes a good deal on a great meal

Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Easy

Fun Stuff for Kids: While there's no real entertainment IN the restaurant, there is a small arcade attached to the back end. Just outside of the restaurant, in the outdoor waiting area, there are hoola hoops to keep the kiddos entertained. Oh, and just to the side of the building, there is a playground. And on the other side, a petting farm and stable, which is the home of pretty much all horses that appear on Disney property. (The Main Street Trolley horses, the Headless Horseman's horse, even Cinderella's ponies that pull her carriage.) Kids can ride a pony, for a small fee. If you've never been to Fort Wilderness, I HIGHLY recommend going there for a hang out. Lots to do and so much outdoor fun. I'll share more in an upcoming post.
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: This is cool!!!

Stand out dishes: Fried Chicken, Fresh Cornbread, Ribs, Carved Ham and Brisket, Apple Cobbler, Lemon Bars
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The only option at breakfast is the buffet, but generally speaking, any all-you-care-to-eat option is a good value on the Dining Plan. I will say, however, being a relatively low price point, you may want to pay cash for this one, and save your point for a more expensive meal.

Experience: I told ya we liked it, didn't I? Yes, I just reviewed breakfast recently, but we ate dinner here a week later, so you're getting that review too! If you missed the breakfast review and want to check it out, click HERE! There's more info there about the atmosphere, etc.
     We were celebrating a special occasion and D loves Trail's End, so we decided to do an early dinner on a Sunday night. We also invited our neighbors, who had never been to Trail's End before. We booked about a week out, just because we (for once) knew when and where we wanted to go. Normally Trail's End can be booked day of without too much trouble. In fact, it's the perfect back up for when you can't get into somewhere else that you wanted to dine. Easy to book and never disappointing! We had a 5:30 reservation and got to the campground at about 4:50pm. Unfortunately, it had once again been raining on and off, as it tends to do in summer, so everything was damp. Looks like no playground or petting farm visit before eating again today! Sorry D and K! We took the bus back to the Settlement area, and walked on over to the restaurant. We checked in, and the kiddos grabbed hoola hoops to wiggle away the time while we waited. They didn't get to wiggle very long though, since we were sat within ten minutes.
     We sat in the lower part of the restaurant, referred to as "Crockett's Tavern". Our server immediately acknowledged K's egg allergy, but since we have eaten here many times, we were comfortable getting started without the chef coming to the table yet. After getting our drinks in mason jars, we dug into the buffet. While I was up getting the kids their first plates, the chef found me and asked if I had any questions and said that he would make K a special dessert out back. Perfect!
     If you've never been to Trail's End, be prepared to be impressed by the variety. Aside from the basic salad bar and side items, the buffet is FULL of meats! In fact, a vegetarian may be a bit put off by it. They would still have plenty of items that they could eat, but the majority of the buffet is meat. There was fried chicken and ribs, (the same as the chicken and ribs from the Hoop Dee Doo!), baked chicken, salmon, pulled pork, and carved brisket and ham. Our neighbors were happy with the selection and the quality is always high here. The fried chicken was tasty and delicious, without being too greasy. The salmon happened to be a cornbread and honey butter salmon and it was savory, with a little sweetness to it. D loves the mac and cheese here because they make the topping with Goldfish crackers, so she gobbled it up. K loves Disney pizza, and ate about 3 slices, plus fried chicken, and ham, and green beans, and pulled pork, and ribs, and corn... K has NO problem tuckering in at Trail's End. The Hubs loves the ribs and chicken, but his favorite item is probably the fresh made cornbread, served in the skillet. It's easy to miss, because they put it on the dessert buffet, so keep an eye out. There's also a baked potato bar with all the fixin's. You'll have SO much to choose from!

     One little tip we did learn from eating here a number of times... try to avoid eating dinner here until 5:30pm or later. The way the buffet is set up makes it hard for a lot of people to access the food at one time. If everyone is just starting at the same time, you end up waiting in a rather long line to get food. By the time you get through the line, you won't want to go up for seconds because you don't want to wait again. After about 5:30, things even out and you won't run into that problem as much.
          As we were just finishing dinner, we heard some pretty loud thunder and looked outside. Oh my. Right then and there we decided that we were going to take our sweet time eating dessert because there was no way we were walking back to the bus stop in a typhoon. The majority of the restaurant seemed to feel the same way, since just about everyone was sitting around, picking at their desserts. Our poor neighbor had to use the restroom and didn't realize that the only restroom is not only outside of the building, but down past the Hoop Dee Doo. He came back looking like a drowned rat. Thanks, Florida.

     Dessert here will make a Southerner (or anyone) swoon. Lemon Bars. Red Velvet Cake. Banana Pudding. Bread Pudding. Strawberry Shortcake. Apple Cobbler. Snickerdoodles. Not to mention Chocolate Bundt Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies, fresh fruit and Soft Serve Ice Cream with M&Ms and Gummi Bears for toppings. They brought K a plate with egg free ice cream and cookies, along with Gummi Worms. So for dessert, K pretty much ate gummies and M&Ms. D likes the Apple Cobbler the most, as do many people, which is why every time they bring the hot pan out, there's a line waiting and the pan is scooped clean within ten minutes.

     After having what may have been a 45 minute dessert, the rain finally started letting up, and we moseyed on outta there. Another great Trail's End meal, with even better company. I stand firm on my declaration that Trail's End is a "Hidden Gem" of Disney Dining!
Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to D (6 yo girl) I know I don't even need to ask, but you liked Trail's End for dinner, right?   "Yeah, I liked dinner. The fried chicken is real good and I like that macaroni with the Goldfish in it."   Yeah, you seem to enjoy that. What do you think of dessert at Trail's End?   "I like the Gummi Bears."   Oh, I thought you were going to say that you loved the Apple Cobbler.   "Well, I DO, but I also love Gummi Bears."   Well you do have that well rounded palate.  "Huh?"

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  Was dinner yummy, Bud?   "Yes. I eat the chickin an the bone."   They are called ribs. You ate ribs. Not bones. You don't eat bones.   "Bones yucky."   Well, yeah. You had another special dessert huh? What did you think of that?   "Diz-urt good, Mamma. Num-num-num-num-num Num-num-num-num-num."   Are you pretending to eat dessert now?   "Yeah. Ice keem, Mamma. Eat."   Num-num-num!   "It gooooood, Mamma?" (stares me down like he might shank me if I say no)   Oh, yeah. It's delicious! (Does anyone else's toddler freak them out sometimes? Like, you look at their face and wonder, 'Are you gonna turn on me in my sleep at some point?')

Will we be back: Absolutely! Probably more frequently than to any other restaurant on Disney property. Cheapest dinner buffet and really high quality food.

Tink Tested: Trail's End Breakfast

Location: The back of Fort Wilderness, (The Settlement area), next to Pioneer Hall
Parking/Transportation Situation: Park in the main parking lot and take an internal bus from the bus stop. (Busses are named by colors: Orange, Yellow and Purple. ALL busses go to the Settlement stop.) Boat from Magic Kingdom. Bus from Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney.

Meals Served: B, L, D

Characters/Entertainment: No characters, or live entertainment.
Type of Cuisine: Down home, country fare

Type of Menu: Buffet for breakfast and dinner. A la carte for lunch.

Pricing/Dining Plan: $/ 1 Table Service Point Per Person
Full Menu: Trail's End Breakfast

Atmosphere: Rustic mess hall

Dress Code: Theme park casual

Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Families, anyone who likes a good deal on a great meal

Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Easy

Fun Stuff for Kids: While there's no real entertainment IN the restaurant, there is a small arcade attached to the back end. Just outside of the restaurant, in the outdoor waiting area, there are hoola hoops to keep the kiddos entertained. Oh, and just to the side of the building, there is a playground. And on the other side, a petting farm and stable, which is the home of pretty much all horses that appear on Disney property. (The Main Street Trolley horses, the Headless Horseman's horse, even Cinderella's ponies that pull her carriage.) Kids can ride a pony, for a small fee. If you've never been to Fort Wilderness, I HIGHLY recommend going there for a hang out. Lots to do and so much outdoor fun. I'll share more in an upcoming post.

Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: This is cool!!!

Stand out dishes: Chocolate Chip Mickey Waffles, Smoked Beef Hash, Fresh Baked Muffins, Pecan Caramel Sticky Buns
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: The only option at breakfast is the buffet, but generally speaking, any all-you-care-to-eat option is a good value on the Dining Plan. I will say, however, being a relatively low price point, you may want to pay cash for this one, and save your point for a more expensive meal.

Experience: I have been to Trail's End before. A lot. In fact, this review was more like, "Well, we're going to breakfast at Trail's End already. I may as well review it, too." What's with my obsession? Well, I consider Trail's End one of the "hidden gems" of Disney dining. I hate to share it with you and possibly ruin it for myself, but I do care deeply about each and every one of you, so, here goes...
     Many of you may have never even heard of Trail's End. It's a quiet, unassuming place, tucked deep into Fort Wilderness. It can be a bit of a pain in the butt to get to, since even if you drive to the campground, it will still require that you take an internal Disney bus through the 750 acre resort and campground, (which only allows cars in if you are staying on site), to get back to where the restaurant is located. It's only about a ten minute ride, and my kids, like many kids, think that riding the bus is super cool, so they never mind going. One of the easier ways to get there is to hop the boat from in front of The Magic Kingdom, since it takes you right to a dock located steps from Trail's End.
     So why make the effort to get to this out-of-the-way place? Because it's pretty frickin' sweet, that's why. Trail's End, perhaps because of it's elusive hiding spot, tends to be easy to get into. In fact, I have gotten in here on a holiday, with booking only an hour before we arrived. It offers a buffet breakfast and dinner. (Lunch is an a la carte menu.) Compared to other Disney buffets, Trail's End comes in an average of a full $10-15 less than others. That's almost half price! And the food.... oh, lordy. Variety with a capital "V". Let's get into it and I'll tell you more.
     So we booked our reservation on our way to Fort Wilderness. Since we had a late start to the morning, we booked one of the latest reservations, for 11:15am. (Breakfast seating closes at 11:30am.) We arrived at the campground at about 10:45am, and crossed the street from the parking lot, to the bus stop. We hopped on the first bus that came, since all of the internal busses go to The Settlement area eventually.
     Ten minutes later, when we got to our stop, we hopped off and moseyed on over to Trail's End, just a short distance from the bus stop. Normally, we take a few minutes to stop off at the petting farm and visit with the gorgeous white ponies, but since it was drizzling, we decided to pass on it today. Wet, stinky ponies don't seems as appealing to kids, for some reason. We checked in at Trail's End, and were told we would be sat soon. The kiddos have been to Trail's End so often, they knew exactly where the hoola hoops were, and each grabbed one. They had fun playing for a bit, and we were called in within ten minutes. 
     The inside of the restaurant is a rustic mish-mash of Davy Crockett portraits and antique-looking "wild west" artifacts. It feels like it may have been a mess hall in an old timey Western fort. Drinks are served in glass mason jars, and heavy, pewter plates are used for the buffet. Many dishes on the buffet are served right in iron skillets, all lending itself nicely to the theming.
     Our server greeted us, and said we could go to the buffet right away. When we mentioned K's egg allergy, he said to wait right where we were and that he needed to get the chef before we could get any food. (That is the general policy with Disney. For safety sake, they frequently will not put any food items on the table until the allergy has been addressed. This is smart to do, however, we have been to this buffet many times and knew what K could and could not have, so I broke the rules, (SHAME!), and got up to get a plate of fruit for him, while The Hubs waited at the table to speak with the chef and order egg-free Mickey Waffles for K. This buffet has plenty of tasty options. There's cold cereals and hot cereals, oatmeal and cream of wheat. There's fruit and yogurt, and deli meat and smoked salmon. There's potatoes, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, biscuits and gravy..... all the basics. But there's also Chocolate Chip Mickey Waffles, French Toast Bread Pudding, BBQ Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict, Breakfast Pizza, and all sorts of other unique things. Oh, and did I mention that the muffins are so freshly baked that they are served IN their muffin pans? And the Caramelized Sticky Buns are SO ooey and gooey and hot out of the oven, that they are served in the skillet they are baked in??? Here's the evidence. WARNING: This image may induce drooling....

    Told ya. While D and I were up at the buffet, K's egg-free Mickey Waffles had arrived, along with a plate of about a pound of bacon, so he was alternating munching bacon, and dipping his whole arm in syrup when we got back. All of the food was really very good, but I can't even tell you how in love I am with the Smoked Beef Hash. It's a mix of diced potatoes, peppers and onions, and chunks of what I believe was beef brisket, all in some savory seasoning and it was delish. I think I had three servings. The Chocolate Chip Mickey Waffles were a unique find, and The Hubs said the Sticky Buns were as phenomenal as they looked and smelled. (I was too full to try.) D and K liked the cereal and yogurt, as always.

My plate of breakfast goodness.

Fresh baked muffins, along with croissants and Danish.

Bagels, donut holes and muffins, OH MY!

Cereal buffet

Mickey Waffles and French Toast Bread Pudding

Breakfast Potatoes and Chocolate Chip Mickey Waffles, next to a vat of syrup

Scrambled eggs and breakfast pizza

Regular Eggs Benedict and Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict

Biscuits, Gravy, Grits and Oatmeal

Sausage, Bacon, Smoked Beef Hash and Biscuits

     My only negative comment was something that really was our own fault. Many of the pans were either close to empty, or contained food items that were no longer at their freshest. This was at the very end of the breakfast seating, however, and since lunch is served a la carte only, the buffet gets completely taken down once the breakfast diners have left. I understand not wanting to waste food, and therefor, not continuing to make pans of food that will only sit and then get tossed, but for late diners, this can make the buffet not as appealing. I asked the server if they got this complaint a lot, and he said that his recommendation would be to NOT dine in the last hour or so of a buffet, as you're more likely to run into this situation. Of course, they were more than accommodating with making any buffet item we asked for more of right away, but I think it's the last time we will eat so close to closing time. I'd highly recommend that with a buffet, try and make your reservation seating time be more than one hour before the meal period ends! This will just help you have the best experience possible.

Uh-oh! No more salami or cheese. Yogurt parfaits were good though.

      We had no problem stuffing ourselves, though, and waddled out full. Since it was still raining, we couldn't let the kids play in the playground either, so we headed home to go for a swim instead. We already knew we were coming back to Trail's End in a week, since we had a reservation for dinner the following Sunday. I told ya, we like this place!

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to D (6 yo girl) Do you like Trail's End, D?   "Yeah, I liked the scrambled eggs, and the bacon. I wanted to try the salmon, but I didn't get to."   Yeah, my bad. I forgot to take you back up to get some. I don't think you would have liked it though. It was raw.   "What? Raw? Then no."   Kinda figured. What else do you like about Trail's End?   "I like to play hoola hoop before we go in. And going to the park that's there, when it's not raining."    Sorry about that. I can only control so many things, ya know?   "I know. And I like..... I don't know what else. Going past the ponies, I guess."   Well, hopefully next time we can actually stop and see them.   "Yeah. If you can make it not rain."    I'll work on it.  

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  Hey, Bud. Did you like Trail's End?   "Mamma! Mamma!"   What, K?   "Mamma!"   What?   "Teekle-teekle-teekle!" (Tickles/Scratches my leg)   You're so silly. Did you like Trail's End?    "Mamma!"   What?    "I'm see-lee!"   That you are, my friend. That you are.

Will we be back: Absolutely! Probably more frequently than to any other restaurant on Disney property. We are already scheduled to go back for dinner. Great deal, great meal!