Walt Disney World offers so many activities outside of the park and one of my favorites is exploring Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. In my opinion, Fort Wilderness is a hidden gem of Walt Disney World.
Chip ‘n’ Dale
Don’t want to wait in long lines to meet characters? There’s an easy solution! Chip and Dale visit Fort Wilderness every night. You can go meet them during Chip-N-Dale’s Campfire Sing-A-Long, while also roasting marshmallows and before ending the night, you get to watch a Disney film. The best part about this nightly activity is that it is FREE!
Fort Wilderness Recreation
Fort Wilderness offers a wide variety of recreational activities for everyone. Down at the marina, boat rentals can be found. You can rent a little speed boat, or take a slow cruise on a pontoon. Fishing excursions are also available. If you’re looking to get a little bit of exercise, head over to the bike barn. Fort Wilderness is a great place to rent bikes since there’s so much space and you won’t have to worry about running people over like you would at other resorts.
Want to get a bit more rugged? Head over to the Tri-Circle-D Ranch, where horse riding is available. The horses are also used for nightly wagon and carriage rides, in addition to seasonal sleigh rides. A new Tri-Circle-D facility opened in 2020.
Holidays at Fort Wilderness
Don’t want to pay to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? No problem! Fort Wilderness goes all out for the holidays. Resort hopping around the holidays is a must-do for many people, but Fort Wilderness often gets overlooked.
Throughout fall and winter, guests dress up their campsites for the different holidays. Some even create their own haunted houses.
On Halloween, guests dress up their golf carts and participate in the annual golf cart parade.
In winter, guests can enjoy horse-drawn “sleigh” rides.
Fort Wilderness Dining
I left the best for last: Food! Let’s start with The Chuck Wagon Fresh Fixin’s Food Truck. This RV-styled quick-service location serves BBQ sandwiches and snack items – even a build-your-own s’mores kit is available!
In 2023, Trail’s End Restaurant was reimagined to be a quick-service restaurant instead of a buffet or family-style restaurant. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with options including Mickey waffles, breakfast platters, and a s’mores latte in the morning and burgers, ribs, fried chicken, and pizza in the afternoon and evening.
The nearby Crockett’s Tavern lounge was refurbished at the same time. It serves various specialty drinks, including mocktails, and snacks. It still has a convenient walk-up window so guests can take their items away or take a seat and relax.
Looking for a little more unique dining experience? No problem, head over to Mickey’s Backyard BBQ for a “hootin tootin hoedown”! Meet Mickey and friends during this all-you-care-to-enjoy experience.
Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue is one of Walt Disney World’s longest-running attractions. You’ll experience some of the same cuisine that you do at Trail’s End, however, you will be in for quite the show. This dinner show gets pretty rowdy!
If you just want to get away and relax, you can do that, too, at Fort Wilderness. Tucked away from the other resorts, you’ll be sure to get it there; where you’re out in nature, tucked quietly away from the hustle and bustle of the theme parks.
Great article! Ever since the early 80’s when my family began taking us down to WDW we would always have 1 night over at the Hoop-Dee-Doo. And to this day I still look forward to that night. Now being older, it’s nice to head to Crockett’s Tavern first for a few drinks and then to the later show at Pioneer Hall. It’s a night you can really enjoy absent the crowded parks. We stayed in the Wilderness Lodge last year and were able to rent bikes to ride around Fort Wilderness for the 1st time. It was a lot of fun!!
I ate Thanksgiving dinner at the Trail’s End one year. One of best options to get a Thanksgiving meal if you happen to be in Disney World that week.