Community Forums

It's A Good Life!! · 12-05-2006, 05:47 PM

Hi Folks,

We will be traveling to Disney's Fort Wilderness in February from Dallas, TX. We'd like to know if anyone has any advice on were to stay along the way. We need to stay overnight somewhere on a Thursday evening and Friday evening and will be arriving at FW some time Saturday. Also anything else you can think of that would help us on our journey.

This will be our first long trip in our new motorhome. Any advice for two new RV'ers would be greatly appreciated. We have no children and our kitty will be staying home this trip. For such a relatively calm person I can't believe how nervous I am about traveling. I'm sure after we get a couple trips under our belt I'll feel better.

So in closing, I'm turning to you...the pros!! and looking forward to your suggestions

It's A Good Life!! · 12-05-2006, 05:47 PM

Hi Folks,

We will be traveling to Disney's Fort Wilderness in February from Dallas, TX. We'd like to know if anyone has any advice on were to stay along the way. We need to stay overnight somewhere on a Thursday evening and Friday evening and will be arriving at FW some time Saturday. Also anything else you can think of that would help us on our journey.

This will be our first long trip in our new motorhome. Any advice for two new RV'ers would be greatly appreciated. We have no children and our kitty will be staying home this trip. For such a relatively calm person I can't believe how nervous I am about traveling. I'm sure after we get a couple trips under our belt I'll feel better.

So in closing, I'm turning to you...the pros!! and looking forward to your suggestions

rebelsbeach · 12-06-2006, 02:59 AM

Christopher,

Using Streets and Trips and averaging a 9AM to 4PM driving day I found you'd be just south of Jackson,MS the first day and around Talahassee the second day....Average speeds and no stops
figured in....Your actual would obviously deviate from this a bit,but it gives you some idea
of what to expect.

When all else fails, take your time and enjoy the trip...

Let's see what some of the other folks come up with...

smlranger · 12-06-2006, 05:41 AM

Christopher:

When we took our first long trip in our first motorhome, we were also apprehensive...the excitement of the 'adventure.' You can certainly inquire about RV parks along your route (Trailer Life directory, campgroundreviews.com, etc.) but we've found that Walmarts are great places to stay overnight while traveling to a particular destination. We always ask if we don't already see other RV's in the lot, never leave any trash, don't deploy awnings (just the bedroom slide), and have never had a bad experience. It will give you a chance to determine how well your rig performs 'boondocking.'

Have a safe and wonderful trip.

Toby · 12-07-2006, 01:07 PM

Chris
There are two CGs in Tallahassee, both are suitable for over nite stays. one on hw27 and the other on hw 90. You did not say what route your were taking? Hw 84? or I-10. There are very few CGs on I-10 west of Tallahasee. Most CGs are on the coast. We are heading to San Antonio next week and plan on taking hw84 instead of i-10, its only 100 miles longer and not have to go thru Houston. We live in Tallahassee. There is a Corp park in Coffeeville Alabama right on 84. Real nice CG

I would like to suggest that you take hw 27 south out of Tallahasee. It will take you thru Perry, Chiefland and on the Ocala. You can get on I-75 at Ocala if you want. You can get on the turnpike at Wildwood if you like--forgot how much it cost, but it ain't cheap. or you could take hw 44 thru Wildwood and get back on hw27 and go all the way down to hw 192 whitch will take you right to DW/FW. Leesburg is a little crowded to drive thru is the reason to get on the turnpike then ge back on 27 south.I personally take 27 south to I-75 and at wildwood get on hw 44 and go thru Leesburg all the way to hw 192 and turn East and go to DW.s/Toby

It's A Good Life!! · 12-08-2006, 11:10 AM

We will be driving from downtown Dallas heading out the 20 fwy east through Shreveport. Then into Jackson City. From there we will travel South on the 49 Hwy through Hattiesburg until we reach the 10 Fwy going East again. We will take the 10 Fwy until we reach Florida then take the 75 Fwy South towards WDW Fort Wilderness.

Sorry, I should have mentioned our route. Thank you for your suggestions. Any must stop over places, please let us know.

Beabop · 12-10-2006, 12:36 PM

Here is the easiest route, take 75S to the turnpike, the split is a left entrance to the turnpike. Your toll will only be a couple dollars as you will only be on it a couple exits, get off Highway 27, go south about 21 miles, take Highway 192 off 27 off rt lane, it only goes east, about 7 miles turn rt onto Disney access road, takes you straight to Disney main gate, after gate they will tell you, FT W is a rt turn. Have fun, we take this route to FL at least once a year

It's A Good Life!! · 12-10-2006, 04:43 PM

Thank's everybody!! We picked DFW because of all the great previous posts.

I actually worked for The Walt Disney Company at DisneyLand in Anaheim, California for eight years right after I graduated from High School. Looking forward to seeing all the new attractions!!

Toby · 12-10-2006, 05:51 PM

Chris

Make sure you do both rides in the Krafts building in Epcot if you go here. IMHO these two are the best in the whole park including WDW. The whole family can enjoy them, especially the plane journey ride. If
you go to Sea World, make sure you do the pet show with all the shelter animals. Your sides will hurt. Have a good trip. I still suggest you take 27 south from Tallahassee. Take hw 19 off I-10 south and get on 27 and go to Ocala and if you want, get back on I-75. s/Toby

mamaloya · 12-11-2006, 10:08 AM

I just got back from Fort Wilderness. It was great. It was quite cold though. Friday night it was 49 degrees at Epcot. We nearly froze.

Toby, are you talking about the Land Pavillion in Epcot? It is not Kraft anymore, but Nestle. Soarin' is awesome and the The living with the land ride is cool. Don't skip innoventions either.

As for the campground, if you have a toad with you, use it for transportation to all of the parks except Magic Kingdom. The busses take forever. To get to Magic Kingdom, simply take a boat from the marina directly to MK, it is your fastest and coolest way.

There is so much to do at FW as well. How long will you be there? The Hoop Dee Doo is an awesome dinner show, not to be missed. There is the stables that house the Belgian and Percheron horses near the marina. There are also horseback riding guided trail rides.

If you have any questions just ask.

It's A Good Life!! · 12-15-2006, 04:59 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mamaloya:
I just got back from Fort Wilderness. It was great. It was quite cold though. Friday night it was 49 degrees at Epcot. We nearly froze.

Toby, are you talking about the Land Pavillion in Epcot? It is not Kraft anymore, but Nestle. Soarin' is awesome and the The living with the land ride is cool. Don't skip innoventions either.

As for the campground, if you have a toad with you, use it for transportation to all of the parks except Magic Kingdom. The busses take forever. To get to Magic Kingdom, simply take a boat from the marina directly to MK, it is your fastest and coolest way.

There is so much to do at FW as well. How long will you be there? The Hoop Dee Doo is an awesome dinner show, not to be missed. There is the stables that house the Belgian and Percheron horses near the marina. There are also horseback riding guided trail rides.

If you have any questions just ask. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Mamaloya!! We will be staying at FW for a week. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Thanks for the tips!!

GaryKD · 12-16-2006, 03:37 AM

Hi Christopher,
We are only 3 hours away from DW and have been going to DW since it was opened. First with our children and now with our grand children. We have stayed at FW many times. For us, it is different than some previously posted.

1. All DW transportation is great. Leave the toad for attending attractions outside DW. Use DW transportation for activities on DW property. When using DW transportation, it may seem like time is being wasted. However, DW transportation:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>drops you off at the park entrance (not out where one would park their car and then tram or hoof it to the park entrance)
<LI>at the end of the day, everyone is tired (EPCOT really stands for Every Person Comes Out Tired

). For me it is really nice to have somebody else do the driving and I can just sit.[/list]At FW ask for an easy back in site. FW is an old CG. DW has improved the ammenities, but the loop roads remain narrow and many trees are not trimmed as they should be. An easy back in site is one that is on the outside of a loop road, preferably on a corner of the loop.

Plan your DW time time now. Call and make reservations for all the shows and meals you will have at DW. If you are not sure, ask the DW rep for advice.

I could go on, but then it may get confusing and seem daunting. The above mentioned items will go a long way to ensuring a very enjoyable time at DW.

PM me if you have specific questions about DW or FW.

gregmc · 12-16-2006, 03:44 AM

We have had a hard time geting reservations to the campground at Fort Wilderness. I need some advice and direction on how long it akes to get reservations and the best way to do it.
Thanks,
Greg

GaryKD · 12-16-2006, 03:57 AM

Hi Greg,
The only way to get a reservation at FTW is to keep calling DW. Depending on when you want to be at DW, FtW can be booked for over a year in advance. At other times it is only 1/2 full. With the Orlando area CGs raising their nightly rates to record highs, the price for FTW starts to get competitive and more people try to stay there.

All I can advise you to do is keep calling and see if you call at the time a cancellation has been processed.

There are many very nice CGs in the DW area. We stay at Tropical Palms more than we stay at FTW. Where we stay depends on the time of the year (we have the same difficulty you do,,,at times) and what we plan to do. If the center of your visit is DW activities, then FTW is a good first choice. If you plan to see many of the other parks and sites in the Orlando area, DW may not be the best choice. The only reason I say this is that it takes a while to get off/on DW property.