Fort Wilderness Campground/Wilderness Lodge

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Photo Walk 2007 – Part 1

Fort Wilderness is one of my very favorite places to exercise at Disney (on par with the Boardwalk, they are both wonderful with plenty of room to walk and run). But at the same time, it’s much more condensed than it seems when riding around on the bus. I know that a lot of times, guests seem overwhelmed by it. So hopefully this will help a little with that too!

We are starting here at the parking lot. The Tri-Circle Ranch is here, where horseback riding takes place.

The bus depot is here as well – and you can get to the Settlement (where the Hoop De Doo and Trails End are located). But of course, we aren’t doing that. So say bye to the buses, we are hoofing it everywhere!

There is a map to the campground at the bus station.

I am starting at 9:13 from the area below, right past the bus stop.

I am walking straight, and then will take a right hand turn (where all the buses go).

There is a really nice sidewalk, a little off the road for much of the walk.

There are streets to cross. Much of the traffic is buses and golf carts, but there are some cars and RV’s. I’ve never had a problem with too much traffic while walking.

I crossed the street here – and as I recall (I should have written it down!), I had to go a little to the left, to keep going straight. There are at least two ways to walk in and out of the campground.

Possum Path was along my way:

There are volleyball nets, basketball hoops, tetherball – one of the things I love about Fort Wilderness, there so much activity!

I arrived at the Meadows Complex at 9:28, about 15 minutes after I left (which included a few very short picture-taking stops). The Meadows includes the campfire program, canoes, bikes, a trading post, etc. The Meadows is on my right walking in – and I will be walking a different way later, and it will be on my right then too.

We’ve rented canoes, I always get us caught in the weeds. 🙂

Fruit for sale in the Trading Post (they even have potatoes!):

“Feed Me!”

The campfire and movie are for anyone staying on Walt Disney World property:

The Bike Barn, where bikes and canoes and such are rented out:

The Meadows Pool area (which was still playing Christmas music when I was there on 2/18!) Pools are for those only staying at the campground.

I left the Meadows at 9:53 to head towards the Settlement area. I have a Trails End reservation at 10:50.

I went back out the trading post (where I’d come in) and continued on – turning right onto the sidewalk.

There are occasional times when the sidewalk ends, and getting a new sidewalk takes crossing the road.

It only took me about 8 minutes from the Meadows to get to the Settlement. I arrived at 10:01, and this is the crossing as I get close:

The bus stop is right in front of me here. To the right, Pioneer Hall. Straight ahead is the bus stop, then petting zoo just beyond that along with the horses. I remember the first time I walked to the Meadows, by accident, I didn’t realize how close it really was to the main area!

The petting zoo is not as full of animals as it once was. But there are some ponies, goats, a couple of potbellied pigs. I’d love to know where all the peacocks went, too!

I’ll be back to the petting zoo later (I’ve got a couple of cute photos of a sleeping horse!). There is a stable of horses that I enjoy going to, so I stopped there for a few minutes too.

Luke is my favorite horse:

The female of the following horses (Satin) was pregnant when she came to Disney. Unfortunately, that was unknown at the time – and a short time later, Levi was born (Levi is housed at the stables in the front, from what I’ve been told).

Another horse at the petting zoo:

One of my favorite things to do at Disney’s Fort Wilderness is the wagon ride. Sometimes you can get a fireworks ride, where they stop at the beach, and they pipe in music. During the holidays, it’s wonderful – many of the campers have amazing displays, and the wagon ride goes through some of the loops.