Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground
| Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Magic Kingdom Resort Area |
| Opened | November 19, 1971 |
| Theme | Rustic Woods Camping |
| Rooms | 800 campsites, 409 cabins |
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground is a themed camping resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It officially opened on November 19, 1971.
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground is located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area, adjacent to Bay Lake and Disney's River Country, a now-defunct water park. The resort is also located near Disney's Wilderness Lodge.
Resort
Fort Wilderness was designed with a rustic theme. Tree-lined winding roads loop around to the various regions of the resort. Part of the resort is occupied by campsites where visitors with tents or recreational vehicles can stay. The remainder of the lodging area is occupied by cabins, designed to resemble log cabins.
Dining
The resort hosts two dinner shows, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and Mickey's Backyard BBQ. A buffet and the Trail's End Restaurant are also among the resort's dining options.
Recreation
The resort features playgrounds and two heated swimming pools. Other activities include fishing and horseback riding. A 2.3-mile (3.7 km) paved and sand exercise trail extends from the pony farm to the Wilderness Lodge. They also provide canoes, kayaks, bikes, and tennis rackets to rent at the bike barn. Guests can make reservations to be taught archery and go horseback riding.
Entertainment
Each night, the campground features Campfire Sing-Along with Chip 'n' Dale. A Disney Cast Member leads songs in an outdoor amphitheater, while the characters Chip 'n' Dale approach seated audience members, signing autographs and posing for photos. Two firepits are available for roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Following the sing-along, a Disney children's movie is shown on an outdoor screen. Also at night, the Electrical Water Pageant passes the beach and marina.
Fort Wilderness Railroad
| Fort Wilderness Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground | |
| Status | SBNO |
| Opening date | 1973 |
| Closing date | 1980 |
| General statistics | |
| Attraction type | Railroad |
| Designer | WED Enterprises |
| Length | 13,200 ft (4,000 m) |
| Vehicle type | Steam locomotive |
| Riders per vehicle | 50 |
The Fort Wilderness Railroad was a 2.5–3.5-mile (4.0–5.6 km) steam-powered railway that opened in 1973 to provide transportation around the various campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. It also provided transportation around the resort grounds to campers and guests visiting the nearby River Country water park. Because of issues with track maintenance, pedestrian safety, and noise concerns, the railroad only operated occasionally after 1977, and closed permanently in the early 1980s. Some sections of track remain in place along the outer areas of the campground.
The major difference between the Fort Wilderness Railroad and the Walt Disney World Railroad in the nearby Magic Kingdom is size; the Fort Wilderness Railroad is built to 4⁄5 scale with 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge[1] track, compared to the full-size, 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge track at the Magic Kingdom.
The Fort Wilderness Railroad utilized four replica steam locomotives and twenty coaches built by Walt Disney Imagineering. After the railroad was closed, the locomotives and coaches were stored and forgotten for several years until they were rediscovered by Carolwood Pacific Historical Society chairman Michael Broggie.[2] Today, the locomotives and twelve of the surviving coaches are privately owned by Carolwood Pacific Historical Society members Jim Zordich of Boring, Oregon (Locomotive No. 1 and one coach); Bill Dundas of Camarillo, California (Locomotive No. 2, Locomotive No. 3, and ten coaches); and Michael Campbell of Livermore, California (Locomotive No. 4 and one coach).[3][4] While Locomotive No. 1 and Locomotive No. 4 are static displays in their respective owner's backyards, the locomotives owned by Bill Dundas can be found on his private Santa Rosa Valley Railroad, which consists of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge track as well as 7 1⁄2 in (190.5 mm) gauge track for the miniature trains he also owns.[5] None of the Fort Wilderness Railroad locomotives are operational. In addition, a few of the coaches are still located on the Walt Disney World property. Two were located at the central entrance to Downtown Disney and used as ticket booths prior to its transition into its current form as Disney Springs. They have since been sold at auction to private individuals.[6] Another is currently used as a prop in the Typhoon Lagoon parking lot.
See also
References
- ↑ "The Disney Drawing Board - Fort Wilderness Railroad". disneydrawingboard.com.
- ↑ "The Fort Wilderness R.R. story.". bigfloridacountry.com.
- ↑ "Fort Wilderness Railroad R.R. at Walt Disney World". bigfloridacountry.com.
- ↑ "Surviving Steam Locomotive Search". steamlocomotive.com.
- ↑ "Discover Live Steam Riding Scale Railroads". discoverlivesteam.com.
- ↑ Broggie, Michael. Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom, 4th ed., p. 342, The Donning Company Publishers, 2014. ISBN 978-1-57864-914-3.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. |
- Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground official site (Campsites)
- Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground official site (Cabins)
- Fort Wilderness Railroad
- Fort Wilderness Railroad tribute page by David Rose via Big Florida Country
Coordinates: 28°24′27″N 81°33′31″W / 28.407431°N 81.558563°W