Back in November, the ladies of Dole Whipped stayed at the Cabins for a girls weekend. None of us had stayed there since the refurbishment in early 2016 so we thought we’d try them out.
First of all, the cabins measure at approximately 504 sq ft and sleep up to 6. Each cabin has a main living area with a sleeper sofa, an arm chair, a dining table, plus a fully stocked kitchen with a full size side by side refrigerator. There is a large bathroom and then a bedroom with a queen size bed plus a set of bunk beds. Each cabin comes with a deck and a picnic table.
The cabins are very attractively furnished and outfitted. They’re just really cute! We loved the kind of rustic feel of them, but they were still comfortable. The kitchen was outfitted with almost everything you’d need to make a simple meal, provided you don’t need a full size oven…because there is no oven! They do have a combination microwave/convection oven, but if you thought you were going to be able to cook up some frozen pizzas or bake a cake, think again!
Because the cabins are in the Moderate resort category, you get the basic soaps and shampoos. There is housekeeping service every day and they’ll even do the dishes for you!
Fort Wilderness is a lovely resort. We saw lots of wildlife just hanging around which was very cool, however, you do feel a bit isolated and out of the “Disney bubble”, in my opinion. There are very limited food options within the resort. They do have Trail’s End and PJ’s Southern Takeout, but if you’re looking for a good quick service option, there is none. There are a couple of outposts that sell things like fresh fruits and vegetables, deli meats, canned goods, boxes of prepared pastries, sodas, and the like. It’s a good option if you need ingredients, but not so much if you’re looking for a ready to go meal.
Transportation to the parks is via water taxi to Magic Kingdom, and buses to everywhere else. You could opt to take the boat to Magic Kingdom, then hop on the monorail to the TTC, then change to the Epcot monorail. The boat to Magic Kingdom was great, but we opted to drive (we had Tara’s car) to the other parks. It’s not the most conveniently located resort for parks that aren’t Magic Kingdom. The buses for the other parks are located up in the front of the resort so if your cabin or campsite is in the back, you’ll have to take the internal bus to get to the front. There are a couple of other options to get around the resort, which we’ll talk about in a minute.
The other issue that we ran into during our stay internal resort transportation. The resort is huge. Our cabin was near the front of the resort where the check in desk is but the boat launch to Magic Kingdom was near the back of the resort. We’re talking a good mile or more from our front door to the boat launch. That’s not always going to be doable. There is an internal bus system that you can use, but we weren’t sure how regular it passed through. We also wanted to note that there are no car parking lots at the resort other than the front lot at check in and the parking spaces available at the cabins or the campsites. You’re not able to drive your car from your cabin to the boat launch as there wouldn’t be anywhere to park the car!
How we opted to solve this problem was by renting a golf cart for our stay. They are available for rent up by the check in desk. The prices start at around $59 plus tax for a four seat cart. We found the cart pretty much necessary for convenience plus it was just a lot of fun to drive!
We found the cabin very nice and a good way to get a lot of beds in a small space, but logistically, it was a bit of a pain. The resort itself was so large that getting around was inconvenient. The price may be right for larger groups or families, but we’d prefer to be a bit more centrally located.
Dole Whipped 