Trip Report: The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

A few weeks ago, we did something we have never done before: we rented a camper and camped at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort!  We first stayed at this resort back in November, but we stayed in a cabin.  You can read the full review of that experience here.  You should definitely go back and read the review (if you haven’t already) because it includes a lot of information about the resort in general that I am not going to repeat here.  For this review, I will focus solely on renting the camper and the experience in the campsite section of the resort.

First, a little background.  This trip was planned only about a month in advance, when we decided to go to Florida for reasons related to our daughter’s softball training.  Since we would be so close, naturally we had to squeeze in a couple of days at Disney World.  We actually only did one park day at WDW (Magic Kingdom) and one day at Universal Orlando. While at the resort in November, we spent some time driving around on our golf cart checking out the RV/camper sections and thought it looked like a lot of fun. Upon arriving home from that trip, I discovered that for those people who don’t own an RV or camper, it is really easy to rent one.

So, for this trip, we chose to rent from Meacham’s RV (not an ad – we paid full price).  They have great reviews online and had availability at such short notice.  They are also considered an official vendor of camper/RV rentals for the Fort Wilderness Resort.  They bring the camper to the resort, set it up for you, and then come back to take it away after your stay.

Here’s how the whole process works.  I had to reserve the campsite myself through WDW, as well as the camper rental through Meacham’s RV.  They cannot reserve the campsite for you.  Then, on the morning of check-in, the My Disney Experience app sent me a notification with my campsite number.  I then emailed that number to Meacham’s so that they knew where to set up the camper. I told them that we expected to arrive about 5:00, and when we did, it was all ready and waiting for us. If you prefer that someone be there when you arrive so that they can go over everything with you, they will accommodate that.  Instead, we just watched the detailed video that they sent us a few days before our trip that shows you how everything on the camper works, the dos and don’ts, etc.  Meacham’s is also just a phone call or text away if anything goes wrong or you have any questions during your stay.  Then, at the end of your stay, you just leave the camper no later than 10:00 am on the day of check-out (because they have to have the camper removed by 11:00) and then they come back and pick it up.  It is so easy!

For the campsite, there are several options which you can see here on the WDW website.  We chose a premium campsite at the recommendation of Andrew from Meacham’s. Even though we chose the largest camper they have (more on that later), this size of campsite still left us with plenty of outdoor space.

Here is a map of the resort. We were in the 500 loop, which is near the top of the map on the right side.  I was very pleased with this location, however, I really don’t think there is necessarily a bad location either.  The only thing I can think of that might make this loop preferable to others is that it is right across the street from the dog park (letter J on the map), so if you bring your dog, you could walk your dog there instead of having to take your golf cart. By the way, this is by far the most dog-friendly of the WDW resorts (more info about that here in my previous review of the cabins).

Now on to the camper. Even though there are only 5 of us, we chose the largest camper that Meacham’s offers – the Deluxe Extra Large, which is 30′ – 36′ long and can sleep up to 10 people.  Note that if you want to bring your dog, you must rent one of their pet-friendly campers, which are only available in the Deluxe Extra Large category.

When we first pulled up to our site, this is what we saw:

The set up includes a rug, chairs, and fan.  The picnic table is provided by the resort.

Our golf cart was also waiting for us.  Golf carts are, in my opinion, a necessity at this resort (more details about that here in my previous review).  We rented this one from Meacham’s, but you can also rent them directly from the resort.  Meacham’s charges a flat fee per stay, and the resort charges per night, so you should price them both and see which one is cheaper.

Our camper had an outdoor kitchen:

Meacham’s also offers a resort-approved fire pit and a bag of firewood, for an additional fee.  There is also a grill at each campsite.

Now, a tour of the camper! No shoes are allowed inside the camper.

Waiting for us right inside the door was a welcome note, the keys, and everything we needed to know about our stay.

I loved this sign!

There was also a welcome basket with some essentials as well as goodies:

The TV was playing Disney cartoons:

And, there were a few Disney touches!

This is the queen bed, which is behind the TV.  The TV rotates so that it can face either the bed or the living space.

This is the bedroom, which is on the opposite end of the camper from the queen bed:

And finally, the bathroom.  It is hard to get good photos of a tiny bathroom, but I tried.

Speaking of bathrooms, this is obviously the biggest downfall of staying in a camper or RV.  But, I have good news!  There are “comfort stations” all over the resort, and there is always going to be one within easy walking distance from your campsite.  Ours was about 5 campsites away.  These have toilets, showers, an ice machine, and a laundry room.  Every time I went to ours (I showered there and also did a load of laundry), it was super clean.  It was obvious that they make it a point to keep them in perfect condition.  I took a few pictures on one of my visits:

That’s all the photos I took of the camper, but I also took a few of the resort grounds.  You can find a lot more info and photos of the resort here in my previous review. It is so beautiful and it feels like you are a world away from a theme park.

While we saw lots of deer on our last visit, this time we saw wild turkeys!

Final thoughts:

We really enjoyed the camper (it had a lot more storage space then I was expecting) and Meacham’s RV provided excellent service. The camper was spotless, in perfect condition and fully equipped.  We also loved having the outdoor space to relax.  We had beautiful weather (sunny, upper 70s) and spent all of our time outdoors (while not at a park).  We had one full day (with no parks) to enjoy the camper and resort, and it was wonderful.  We also enjoyed eating all of our meals on our picnic table and using the fire pit at night.

I loved having our car parked right next to us (I loved this about our stay in the cabin too).  This makes trips to restaurants or the grocery store so easy (we did both).  Also, I don’t like to take buses to the parks when I can avoid it, and driving to/parking at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot is so easy and convenient when you car is parked right there. I also love that this resort has direct boat access to the front entrance of Magic Kingdom!

Finally, I just love the overall feel of this resort, and being able to be surrounded by nature while so close to the theme parks. We will definitely be back!