Disney Bound!

We. Love. Disney.

We won’t apologize for it, either! 

It seems that whenever we go, someone inevitably asks “Disney again?”, to which I reply “YES - AGAIN!”

We love Disney for many reasons, but mostly because they treat our special-needs family so well - like they actually want us to visit! So - we do!

We have always dreamt of combining our love of camping and our love of Disney into a trip to Fort Wilderness. This year, we got a great deal on annual passes and became pass holders for the first time. Naturally, we wanted to make the most of them, and after a trip in January to Art of Animation, and a quick trip for Justin and I to Port Orleans - Riverside to celebrate May the Fourth, we decided to load up our renovated motor home and hit the road, dogs and all!

We were originally scheduled to go in mid-September, but Hurricane Irma had crashed the party. I was able to change our reservations to the first week of October. 

We took three nights and three and a half days of driving to get there. We first stopped in Carlisle PA, after lots of traffic and the seemingly continuous road construction that Pennsylvania is famous for.  

The next night was spent in Statesville, NC. Both days were long, with heavy traffic, but this day of driving the Blue Ridge Parkway was so beautiful and scenic; it was fantastic to see it through that big windshield, with the sun shining.

We spent our final night of our journey South in St. Mary’s, GA, on the border of Florida. It was a beautiful campground, but it rained hard, and I couldn’t roam and enjoy it. I opted instead to relax with a glass of wine (or two) and a cuddle with the pups.

 The next day we stopped for lunch at a Steak and Shake in Ormond Beach, Florida, and then crossed the street to a Publix where we stocked up on groceries. Our plan was to see if we could save money compared to our usual Disney vacation experiences, and part of that plan was to eat breakfast and dinner in the RV. Anyone who has gone to Disney knows how costly the food can be. The odds were stacked against us on gas with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma driving gas prices up.
After shopping, we got back on the interstate. Before long, we made the turn onto I-4. A couple of hours later, the gateway to the Happiest Place on Earth loomed in site!

We drove onto the property and soon turned into the Fort!

After checking in, we drove to our site in the 300 loop. I was so happy to see that we got a site in the back of the loop, with lots of beautiful landscaping and privacy. Here are some shots of our site! I would request it again in a minute!

After a quick set-up, Justin picked up the golf cart, and Jeremy insisted we head off to Epcot (our usual routine is to spend the first day at this park, exclusively in the front, Future World).

We didn’t spend too long at Epcot as it was absolutely packed! We really only did the front left side! We returned to the RV and relaxed, and Justin tried to encourage our washer/dryer combo to work. I had accidentally snapped a critical piece off the door on our second night on the road, and he was determined to get it to work without it.

The next day, we headed up to get Mom’s scooter - Justin and Jeremy took me on the golf cart. I shot a video from the back, showing all of the sites on the way!

Once I returned to the RV we went to the Marina and then to the Magic Kingdom. We enjoyed the boat ride over as a nice change of pace: 

Again, this park was packed! Way higher crowd levels than predicted, but I did read a notice from touringplans website (one of my favorite planning tools),that Hurricane Irma was creating some “bounce back” effects, and we were actually proof of this, so....

We still managed to have a great time!

Before long, we were headed back to feed and water the dogs, and the troops! Justin plugged in the golf cart and Mom’s scooter, and we put our feet up after dinner.

The next morning, we got up and around after coffee and breakfast. It definitely takes longer in the RV to get ready for the day. We had to put all of the bedding up and the jack knife sofas back into place. I’d put dinner in the crock pot as everyone got dressed and ready, and we would head out, usually around 10-11.

I was so relieved that Animal Kingdom did not seem as crowded as the parks did on the previous days. While we did ride almost everything, we didn’t get to go on the new Flight of passage ride in the Avatar section. The River of Na’avi ride was great though! We will definitely go on Flights of Passage next time. Hannah and I enjoyed Expedition Everest twice!

 We had a hard rainfall when we finally hit the Avatar section, so we didn’t get any pictures. Hopefully next trip it will be sunny!

That evening, Mom and I went to Disney Springs and shopped. We got a few Christmas gifts and split a sundae at Ghirardelli’s. 

The next morning was Hollywood Studios!

We were so surprised to see the new pieces added to Star Tours that highlight the new movies. We just love Star Wars! Because of the rain, we hit the highlights, but got back to the RV early, around 3:00pm. This actually was nice, as we could relax before heading off to dinner. This was the one night I made dinner reservations and we ate at the Trail’s End buffet right at Fort Wilderness. Jeremy really enjoyed it!

After dinner, Mom and I checked out the Trading posts. 

We were soon off to bed as we had a full day planned on Thursday. We had breakfast at the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort. I just LOVE breakfast here! Their macadamia nut and pineapple pancakes are heavenly - light and fluffy, loaded with macadamias, and topped with crushed pineapple. Definitely share it as it is HUGE...Mom and I shared an order. 

Jeremy even tolerated his sister resting her head on his shoulder while waiting for their food, as she tried to wake up for her day.

Magic Kingdom was low crowds - perfect! - but rainy.

We were able to ride quite a few attractions without a fast pass. We had a great time, but I DID miss out on a Dole Whip this trip!

On our final day, we did the whole of Epcot. It was muggy, and the crowds were back up. I love the World Showcase, but the kids aren’t as keen on it, so we never get to properly explore, except when we go without them. Of course, we had to go on Test Track first - it’s Jeremy’s favorite ride! This time, something happened that has never happened - the cast member asked us if we wanted to have single riders fill out our car (each one seats 6), or did we want to ride alone! I told her we would LOVE to ride alone! I went on to tell her how much more enjoyable that makes the ride for us due to the kids’ special needs, and she said “I know”. I love it when people GET IT! 

Jeremy designed our car. It was NOT very efficient, but packed a lot of power!

That evening, we got everything packed that we didn’t need in the morning. The next day, we were on the road by about 10:30AM, headed home. We drove to Dillon, SC that evening, and stayed at that tourist trap, South of the Border. Their campground, “Camp Pedro”, was a pleasant surprise! It’s nothing fancy, but it is clean and gated and surprisingly quiet! I wish I had taken more pictures of our campsites enroute, but we were so darn tired at the end of each day, I could only pack it in!

The next day was another long day on the road, which ended at a Comfort Suites in Clarks Summit. Why no campground, you ask? There are none off the interstate in this part of Pennsylvania, and we Just. Could. Not. Go. Further. on this evening! On a good note, we were right next to Krispy Kreme in the morning. I picked up donuts for breakfast, and donuts to bring home to my sister-in-law, who requested a dozen, and another dozen for my coworkers. 

We got home the next day around 2pm, and started that most unenjoyable of tasks - unloading the RV, and starting the laundry! 

I know you’re wondering if we managed to save any money. I can tell you the cost in the end was about $500 less  than we would have paid to stay at a resort, even including the golf cart. We definitely saved on food, but I think the gas and golf cart rental made that difference in cost less. If we hadn’t had the gas prices rise due to Irma, I think the savings would have been greater. Also, my original rate for the campsite at Fort Wilderness was about $150 less than what we ended up paying. We had got an annual pass holders discount, but when we had to change the dates, we were no longer eligible for that rate.

Overall, if you’re diligent and the timing is right, it is an affordable way to visit, if you have a rig at your disposal. The savings is especially noticeable if you have a larger party. If you have over 4 in your group, you would have to stay at a moderate resort or a value resort that offers suites, and this can be expensive. The campsites will accommodate 10 people with no additional charges. It has many amenities you can’t get at a value resort (hot tubs, pool with a slide, table service restaurant, nightly campfires with Chip and Dale). If you don’t have a rig, there are many places in the area that rent campers, at reasonable rates. 

It was a fantastic trip, and we look forward to coming back some time!