Sue & SB try the Fort Wilderness Cabins

Steakhouse 71 was very good (as usual) and very busy!

DAY 4 – Monday 7/29/24
Who: Sue (65), DVC Member
SB (67), my husband

Plan: Drive to Gainesville

Actual: Last night we drove the golf cart to the marina and arrived just as a very full boat was departing. However, and empty one was very close and pulled right in. It took us directly to the Contemporary, while the previous boat headed to Wilderness Lodge. The rain had basically stopped by the time we got there, which was nice.

We went inside and checked out the lounge. SB found 2 seats at the bar, so he held them while I went to let the check in people know we’d be eating there. We were 2 hours early for our restaurant reservation and there were mobs of people waiting for their tables, so we made the right call doing the lounge! The cast member said it was no problem to cancel the reservation but let me know the menu in the lounge is limited. We knew that and were ok with it – SB was actually preferring the burger (lounge menu) over the prime rib (restaurant menu).

Our bartender was terrific and all of them really hustle here. It’s nonstop taking care of people at the bar plus making drinks for everyone in the restaurant. SB got a cocktail, and I had a glass of wine. We decided to share the stack burger and French onion soup. The soup came out first and it was outstanding! I really think this is the best onion soup anywhere – even better then Chefs de France. The burger was also very good – I ate a quarter of it and that was enough! SB didn’t quite finish the rest of it. We had no room for dessert and were out the door at 7:15.

We headed out to the marina, stopping for pictures at the Mickey ears along the way. The boat arrived as we were walking down the dock and here you can choose between a boat that goes to the Lodge first or one that goes to the campground first. The boat pulling in was headed to the campground, so that was perfect! Once we arrived, we got the golf cart and drove back to the cabin. We’re in for the night – the Electrical Water Pageant will have to wait until January when it will be more convenient. SB watched Olympics out in the living room while I watched the train wreck called 90 Day Fiance in the bedroom. This is supposed to be reality tv, but these people cannot possibly be real!

We both slept well. I was up before 5:30 but SB slept longer. I quietly made my cappuccino (always get it ready the night before to just push the button in the morning) and took it back to bed. SB didn’t wake up until almost 7 and he didn’t want any breakfast today. I was hoping to use up the rest of the breakfast stuff, but I guess we’ll take it in the cooler since we have a kitchen to store it in at the hotel tonight.

We finished packing everything up, loaded the car and left around 8:30 to return the golf cart and hit the road. A cast member took the golf cart from me and we were on our way. It’s been so long since I’ve left Disney for Ft Myers that I used the maps app on my phone. Out on I-4 I was shocked to see the bumper-to-bumper traffic for miles coming from the other direction. It was almost 9am at this point so I wasn’t sure if it was commuting traffic or what, but it will certainly impact my planned arrival time once we move back home! It was horrible. About this time SB couldn’t remember packing something important that he’d had in the cabin. I pulled off on highway 27 and found a gas station to pull into. He checked his bag in the trunk and luckily found what he was concerned about. There was no way we wanted to sit in an hour of traffic to get back to Disney!!

Of course, now we were off course, so I let the maps app take over. It took us down through the middle of the state, which is the way Chris & Amanda always use. I hate the million traffic lights, varying speed limits, and small towns. However, today it turned out to be a good choice. We stopped for a shared lunch at one of SB’s favorite places on our way into Ft Myers, settled into our hotel for the night and after General Hospital will go check on our home and have a shared dinner at a place not far down the road from our home that I’ve wanted him to try – I usually go there each trip but I’ve always been solo.

Getting back to my thoughts on the Fort Wilderness Cabins - things I wish were different about the cabins:
The only closet is very small – maybe 2 feet wide, and no door to close it off. It felt more appropriate in a value or moderate resort.
Storage is limited – the bedroom has 3 drawers in the dresser, a few shelves that take up space in the small closet, and 3 drawers on the floor on the lower bunk bed. That doesn’t seem like enough if you were going to cram the allowed 6 people in here. There’s also a single drawer in the only nightstand.
There’s no washer/dryer
The tv is located on the wall to the side of the couch – awkward for more than 1 person wanting to watch while on the couch
Bathroom is at the opposite end of the cabin, as far away as possible from the bedroom
Pools don’t provide pool towels (or pool towels aren’t provided in the cabins)
If planning to visit the parks, transportation is inconvenient and time-consuming. Golf carts help but that’s an additional $70-80 per day depending on the size of your party
No real dining option of interest to us

Things I really liked:
Lots of windows means lots of light
Love the modern style and many little theming touches
Split bath, with 2 sink areas is nice
Murphy bed is big improvement over the sleep sofa
Chairs on deck have a Mickey head cutout – very cute
It’s very quiet here!
Full kitchen is attractive and laid out nicely
Kids will love the bunk beds, but I still don’t like them being IN the only bedroom
Wilderness (quiet) pool was bigger than I expected
Buses do run constantly so not having a golf cart wouldn’t be a deal breaker for a resort stay (still would not stay here to visit the parks)
Staying here gives us a reason to visit dining options in the MK resorts area
Nice to see boat transportation to Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary has returned
Can’t beat the convenience for Hoop Dee Doo Revue

Overall, this has been a wonderful little trip, despite the towel confusion. We both enjoyed the cabin very much, and I can see booking this occasionally if availability is there at 7 months. Hoop was great fun, and it was so nice that Chris, Amanda & Ari could come up to share it with us. It made for more great family memories! I did hate the humidity, so the next trip here will be planned with that in mind! Although there are not really any decent dining options (for me) here, there are plenty of good choices at the surrounding MK resorts and it’s easy (& pleasant) to hop on a boat to visit those. The cabin itself was spacious and comfortable for the two of us, although I can’t see six people being very comfortable – especially with 1 bathroom.

My next trip had been scheduled for the days leading up to Labor Day weekend. It was unsuccessful in getting Jambo House club level and had to settle for a 2-br at OKW (Chris & Amanda & Ari would join us). However, I have a bizarre issue with my lower eyelashes growing the wrong way (towards the eye vs away from the eye) and besides the discomfort that’s created it risks permanent vision damage. Thus, lower eyelid/lash surgery is needed, one eye at a time, approximately 6-8 weeks apart. It’ll involve cutting out the eyelid tissue holding the lashes and grafting tissue from inside my mouth to fill that gap – sounds disgusting to me. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Vision is a priority, so the Labor Day trip got canceled to create that window of opportunity before the Food & Wine trips and cruising starts up again.

Now the next trip won’t happen until October 20th when we head to Boardwalk Villas to enjoy Food & Wine festival! Hopefully the weather will be more comfortable by then, which will be a big plus.

Thanks for the report! Maybe DH and I will try it once. He would love the golf cart (which seems high to me). I never heard of the eyelash issue...wow...good luck with that !!!

Great report, as always!!

Thank you Sue for another great (and detailed) report! Your review answered a lot of my questions about the cabins.

We love the bar at Steakhouse 71!  When it was the Wave the full menu was available there, but the lounge menu is fine.  The bartenders there do such a great job.
Thanks for all the detail on Ft Wilderness.  Every trip we say we should go just to see it and every trip we don't.  One of these days....