Last week I took Tanner camping at Fort Wilderness. We had never been camping before, so it was quiet the adventure!
Tanner joined Boy Scouts this year and has decided to go on a weeklong campout out of the state this summer. He was excited to sign up, but I was a bit hesitant since he had never camped. I decided I would take him camping for the first time, and obviously Disney is the best place to to learn how to camp!
Just like other Disney resorts, we couldn’t check in to our camp site until 3:00. We decided to drop our car off and then spend the day at Epcot.
It was a very sunny and warm day. Unfortunately, Tanner forgot his sunglasses. I decided to stop by the gift shop and let him pick out a new pair.
The Flower and Garden Festival was going on at Epcot, so the park was crowded. It was okay though; we both really enjoy Epcot, even when we don’t go on rides. We took our time walking around the countries and trying some new foods. The people watching is always top notch at Epcot, so we took a few breaks to just sit, relax, and observe. (It’s one of my favorite things to do.)
It was also St. Patrick’s Day, which I think contributed to the high crowds.
After lunch, Tanner decided he needed a Kakigori (snow cone) from Kabuki Cafe in the Japan pavilion. The snow cones are a good value; they are very big and only $5.50. (They have an alcoholic version for $10, but I’ve never had a desire to try it.) It takes him a long time to the eat snow cone, which means I get more time to people watch. No complaints.
Around 3:00 we headed back to the campgrounds. We took the boat and immediately got lost when we got off at the Fort Wilderness dock. Instead of asking right away, we decided to explore and find our way back to our car. It was not a good idea. We didn’t realize how big the property was! After about 40 minutes we found our car and headed to our campsite. I had already checked in on the Disney app, so I knew our campsite number. It was fairly easy to find our site.
Tanner immediately got to work setting up our tent. I was impressed with how quick he set it up! He didn’t need my help at all.
We were both hungry, so after setting up the tent we decided to go have dinner. Fort Wilderness occasionally has food trucks, and we were excited they were there this night! I had previously read about the bus system at the campgrounds, but I wasn’t sure how it worked. We decided to walk again, which we regretted. It took us about 20 minutes to walk to the food trucks.
Tanner had a pizza cone for dinner and I had a pineapple chicken rice bowl. Both meals were delicious! Once again, we decided to walk back to our campsite. We saw many people using golf carts or bikes to get around. Next time, we will definitely rent a golf cart!
I went to sleep fairly easy, but Tanner enjoyed staying up on his iPad. He had a great set up with his snacks, water, and portable charger.
I slept horrible, so it was easy for me to wake up early for a morning run. I found this awesome chalk art while running. I’ve read online that many campers go all out and decorate at Fort Wilderness. The holiday season is a very popular time to see lots of elaborate decorations. When I returned, Tanner was still sound asleep.
He said he slept great! Apparently, he is more of a camper than I am. I ended up waking him up because had breakfast reservations at TrailsEnd. TrailsEnd is the restaurant at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds. It used to be a buffet, but it has turned into a “family style” meal since the pandemic started. It is still a set price and all you can eat, but instead of getting up to go to the buffet your server brings you skillets full of all the food options. You can request more of any item at any time.
It was a delicious meal. We had pastries, yogurt parfaits, Mickey waffles, bacon, sausage, brisket and eggs and cheesy potatoes. After breakfast we had to hurry back to the campsite to pack up. We only stayed one night and checkout was at 11. We knew we wouldn’t make it back in time if we walked, so we finally figured out the bus system. Of course, we also had to have a small photo shoot on the way back.
When we arrived back to the campsite we only had 15 minutes to pack everything up.
Tanner was a master at packing up, but I did help him this time. We were able to get all packed up in under 20 minutes, just a few minutes past our official 11am check out time.
We decided to stay the entire day at the campgrounds, since we didn’t have much time the day before. One of my friends came over with her two boys and we all had a great time.
One of my favorite parts was canoeing around the small stream. They gave us an airhorn to use incase we needed help. I thought it was pretty funny and we joked the whole time about what could happen to cause us to need it. (Thankfully, nothing happened and it went unused.)
Tanner paddled the entire way, which I had no complaints with.
We saw multiple baby turtles while on the water and we even saw a baby alligator. Even though we’ve all seen alligators, the baby still made us nervous. It popped his head out in front of us and then immediately went back under. We were all super quiet as we paddled over the area we saw it.
The campgrounds had a snow cone food truck by the pool, so the boys all enjoyed one after the canoeing. The also spent a lot of time in the pool, but for some reason I didn’t take any pictures. They had a cast member out playing games with the kids, which they all loved. The campgrounds also has a fun slide into the pool. I lost track of how many times Tanner went down it.
Our friends left a bit early than we had planned to, so Tanner decided to play some video games. We had pizza for lunch and then decided to head home. We were both exhausted, but one of us got a nap on the way home.
All in all, it was a great experience. Tanner and I both really enjoyed it and decided we want to go again sometime. It’s getting warm in Florida, so we will definitely be waiting until it cools down. I also think we might get an RV next time we go, because I’m not sure I want to sleep on the gravel again!
