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Old 12-28-2017, 05:42 PM   #21
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We live between Hsp and disney and trust me you cannot make it in one hour...that 60 miles is as the crow flies.....It is about 15 miles north of I-4 then it would be over 60 miles to the entrance of Disney then another 30+ minutes to get in the parking lot and to the gate....
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Old 12-28-2017, 05:43 PM   #22
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Stayed 3 night at Hillsborough River State Park the week before Christmas. All the sites were open.
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Old 12-28-2017, 06:26 PM   #23
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We just had a client of our boarding kennel return from Disney. They had 2 VIP personal that accompanied them from 830am-9pm. Anywhere or any ride you wanted to ride they went to the front of the line. Said it was great they got to see and ride so much not having to stand in line.

Their kids were so exhausted by 4pm from doing everything one after another they told the VIP personal they could leave. Cost for having the VIP experience $2,000 plus admission tickets.
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Old 12-28-2017, 09:51 PM   #24
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The "warmest" park temperature wise is animal Kingdom. They keep to humidity high to hold the temperatures that allow tropical foliage and tropical animals to stay in their comfort zone. If you plan on going to Pandora, plan the rides out well in advance of your visit on the fast pass system, unless you just wish to be a spectator.
Magic Kingdom is fun and has some great entertainment, once again... use the fast pass advance for the big rides.
Hollywood studios is the smallest park (right now) but is undergoing a major facelift to launch it into the future with Star Wars [and numerous other franchises]. You get the most interaction with characters at Hollywood Studios.
Epcot... well now... I am partial to Norway, France and Italy... however, very little that disappoints.... if you want to eat, drink and be merry... be ready to pay!!! I am not saying it is not worth it, but good things cost more!!! Once again... use that fast pass system.
There are a number of sites on the internet that give a good heads up for Walt Disney World, but you know what is best?? If you are really going.. and know the dates... CALL THEM DIRECT !!! Have you ever heard a song called "Be Our Guest"??? <hint hint>
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Old 12-28-2017, 10:59 PM   #25
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If you're retired military, you should look into the military discount but must purchase tickets at Special Services facility.
Or Shades of Green
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Also if you are AAA member you can buy tickets through them & may have a discount.
Mike
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Old 12-29-2017, 08:41 AM   #26
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OK- you talked me into a change in plans!

After Hillsborough River SP we snagged 4 days at Ft DeSoto which is a bit of a cherry I think. Really hard to get but we did.
Then we were moving north around the bend to Top Sail Hill Preserve for 9 days.
I just checked and we can get into Disney Ft Wilderness 2 days so
I'll reserve 2 days at Ft Wilderness and cancel the first 2 days at Top Sail.
Thus we'll go Ft DeSoto to Ft Wilderness to Top Sail.

Now I'm gonna be asking about 2 day passes and how to you get from the
Ft Wilderness to the Animal park and back and checking about Fast passes etc.
You guys are an awesome wealth of information and my ball cap is off to you all!!
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Old 12-29-2017, 10:16 AM   #27
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Actually when I was there with kids we took one of there shuttle buses to the Animal kingdom, as they were staying at the hotel. Later RJD
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Old 12-29-2017, 10:19 AM   #28
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Very easy to get around Disney. Once you are parked in Ft. Wilderness they will transport you anywhere you want to go free. If you are there while they have the Christmas decorations up check out some of the hotel lobbies. Each one has a different theme & one had a large gingerbread display when we were ther a few years ago.
I will leave the fast pass & 2 day tickets to someone else.
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Old 12-29-2017, 10:41 AM   #29
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If you can and want to really treat your wife make reservations for supper at Victoria and Albert's. It is very expensive, five star restaurant and requires suit and tie, but worth every cent.
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Old 12-29-2017, 10:53 AM   #30
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Fort Wilderness is a very nice campground and really the best way to “do Disney”. A couple of links that might help:

https://letsplanwdw.com/2016/08/15/d...erness-primer/

http://learntorv.com/camping-at-disn...rt-wilderness/

And, of course, there’s a dedicated forum for it full of Disney Crazies. You’ll find a couple of familiar names over there.

http://fortfiends.net/

But basically, once you’re “on property” and parked at your campsite at FW, they do the rest. The campground is pretty big. It’s a little over a mile from the front to the back. They have an internal bus that will take you around it. There are bus stops near the entry of each of the camping loops. Or you can ride your bike or even walk. If you want to really get nutty, they rent golf carts.

In the front where you enter, there is a bus depot that then takes you to the other parks (Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios). An alternative to taking the internal FW bus would be to drive yourself up to the front parking lot.

To go to Magic Kingdom, there is a marina/boat at the rear of the campground. The ferries run often and are an neat way to get around.

For EPCOT, you have an alternative to the bus. Take a boat to either Magic Kingdom or the Contemporary Hotel and then take the monorail (you have to change trains at the Ticket and Transportation Center).

2-day ticket pricing will be slightly discounted but not by much. You can either buy straight from Disney or maybe check UnderCoverTourist.com. But I don’t know how much they’ll discount you.

At Fort Wilderness, you’ll get a “Magic Band”. This is linked to you and holds your ticket and fast passes. Most folks love them, but I find them uncomfortable to wear.

At Disney, if you’re looking for a fancy dinner to treat the wife- my wife’s absolute favorite restaurant anywhere is Narcossee’s at the Grand Floridian Hotel. She gets the surf and turf with her lobster “butter poached”. It’s hella expensive, but it’s nice to make Momma happy. We go almost every trip without kids for a nice date night out.
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Old 12-29-2017, 11:06 AM   #31
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Thanks many times over!
Got our 2 days at Ft Wilderness and 2 day - 1 park per day passes.

Gotta go for now.... I'll try digest all the great links later.

Now I will most likely call Top Sail and cancel the front 2 days and add a few onto the tail end. I already know if we do that we have to move since our site is reserved the day we leave. Inconvenient but not huge. Moving a few hundred feet is way easier than a full pack up and bug out!

Happy Friday!
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Old 12-29-2017, 12:55 PM   #32
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If you are staying at Ft. Wilderness, you will not have to drive ANYWHERE in Walt Disney World. One of the "perks" at staying at any of the WDW resorts is they supply ALL the transportation to ALL of the locations in the park as a part of the deal. The shuttles run every 15 minutes and take you right to the front doors... no need for monorails, ferries or parking lots. Like I said in an earlier post, WDW motto is "Be Our Guest", and they take that to the MAX!! To the point of if your family has a "fast pass" on an attraction, and you do not, they will let you go anyways because WDW does not like to break up "the family experience". (did anyone else know this?). Ft. Wilderness will have a guest relations section... they can set you up for some extras that are..well... exceptional!!
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Old 12-29-2017, 12:59 PM   #33
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The shuttles run every 15 minutes and take you right to the front doors... no need for monorails, ferries or parking lots.
A minor correction, unless the boats are not running due to weather- there is no bus that runs from Fort Wilderness to Magic Kingdom. You typically MUST take the boat.

And from experience, it's "15-minutes"-ish. I've actually heard every 20 minutes but can tell you for certain that I've waited 30 minutes before.
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Old 12-29-2017, 01:12 PM   #34
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A minor correction, unless the boats are not running due to weather- there is no bus that runs from Fort Wilderness to Magic Kingdom. You typically MUST take the boat.

And from experience, it's "15-minutes"-ish. I've actually heard every 20 minutes but can tell you for certain that I've waited 30 minutes before.


You can take bus to wilderness lodge then catch bus to magic kingdom. Found out that tid but after waiting for bus for hours then someone told us about the work around. That was in 2008.
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Old 12-29-2017, 01:18 PM   #35
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You can take bus to wilderness lodge then catch bus to magic kingdom. Found out that tid but after waiting for bus for hours then someone told us about the work around. That was in 2008.
I'm curious if that still works. I don't know how often the Wilderness Lodge bus comes. I know some of the parks double up Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge for some of the parks. But I don't know the schedule well enough to say how often they'll come around or make the stop.

Still quickest to grab an internal Fort Wilderness bus and head back to the marina.
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Old 12-29-2017, 02:30 PM   #36
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But if boats are not running another alternative.
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Old 12-29-2017, 11:13 PM   #37
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I am at the Fort right now and its crazy busy. Boat from the Fort to MK, don't waste you time waiting for a bus. We drive to all the other resorts as it works better for us (we have dogs and need to have control of time, Disney Transport is great but it can take an hour or more to get back to our site from any of the parks) They changed security at MK and probably the other parks. You now go through screening as you exit the boat, exit the bus station or get on the monorail from any of the MK resort hotels - much better. We were here Jan 2016 and there is a noticeable increase in meal prices.
2 hour wait in standby for Soaring and similar for other popular rides. Most fast passes are fully booked now that you can do this on line 60 days in advance
We are in loop 700
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Old 12-30-2017, 10:36 AM   #38
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So after muddling through as much Disney sign in sign up fast pass pre check in etc.
I've got a question--

The website says Ft Wilderness check in time is 3 PM. That's only a couple hours before dark!
Is there a chance they will let us in earlier than that? Are we just stuck
in a parking lot waiting until 3 PM??
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Old 12-30-2017, 12:25 PM   #39
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The first time we went to Ft Wilderness we went without a car so we were forced to dine on Disney property at high cost and you need to make reservations for diner. The next 2 times we camped there my significant other followed me with her car [because at the time I was not yet towing] and we dined on rt 192 just outside of Disney property with every restaurant imaginable at half the cost
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Old 12-30-2017, 02:50 PM   #40
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Did you have to wait until 3 PM to get your campsite??
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