Ask most diehard Disney fans to name their favorite Disney destination, and you’re likely to get an Yes, and… answer as elusive as it is cliché – something along the lines of, “That’s like asking me to name my favorite kid.” Well, you won’t hear that from this Disney fan. Maybe it’s because I only have one kid, but for me, the answer is easy: Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
Now, to be fair, if you were to ask me why I hold this pioneering place in such high regard, my answer wouldn’t be nearly as succinct.
I dig the resort’s deep roots in Disney history, evidenced by its reference in Walt Disney’s famous sketch of his “Florida Project.” I love how it takes me back to my formative years in woodsy Oregon…and to my college summers in a cotton-poly coonskin cap as a perpetually perspiring, pun-peddling, people-powered-boat-steering skipper of Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes at Magic Kingdom Park. I love how it moves me to put down my phone (though the place did just upgrade its Wi-Fi) and pick up a pinecone. I love parking my car outside my cabin…and then abandoning said car in favor of a golf cart. Or a kayak. Or a carriage pulled by a horse. I love afternoon archery and sunset s’mores. Shopping in “trading posts” and films by the fire. Cocktails crafted at Crockett’s and chicken fried in Pioneer Hall.
And every time I wander this wilderness, I marvel at the magic of feeling both tranquilly removed from, and conveniently connected to, the most visited Theme Park on Earth.
With Disney Vacation Club scheduled to have opened the first “loop” of The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort by the time this magazine mails, numerous pages ahead read like love letters to my happy place, from our staff’s favorite features in the new cabins to our favorite ways to play in this forest oasis of wilderness and wonder. Just don’t ask us which activity is our absolute favorite. That’s like asking us to name our favorite kid.
Welcome home,
Ryan March
Disney Files Editor
Please note: Theme Park admission is not part of the ownership interest and is sold separately. Some options shown are Membership Extras. Eligibility requires new Members to have an ownership interest with 150 Vacation Points or more purchased directly from Disney. This is an incidental benefit subject to availability, change or termination. Fees may apply. Many Membership Extras require proof of Membership in the form of your valid digital Disney Vacation Club Membership Card and corresponding valid photo ID. Learn more online at DisneyVacationClub.com/MemExtrasPolicy.
