We went to the Fort for a ten day stay in July 2019. It was the first, and so far only, time we have ever camped at the Fort.
We thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone in our family agrees that it was our best WDW trip.
Aside from this year, we tend to go places in our camper an average of 30 nights per year, and that's almost entirely in our own state (Texas).
Staying in our camper at the Fort for ten days was a big expense for us since we are both educators. We paid $150 per night for a premium site. The site pad was big, but the site itself was very small. We were in loop 500, which was a convenient walk to the boats. Since WDW is not a yearly thing for us, we ate almost all of our meals somewhere on WDW property. This is something we save up for and we enjoy it. (When we camp otherwise, we tend to make most, if not all, of our meals at the camper.)
We enjoyed being able to return to our own housing at the end of a day in the parks. We had no concern for bed bugs or cleanliness since we clean the camper ourselves, and I can't overstate how much of a comfort this was to us. (On our previous two trips, we got sick due to additional shared spaces and possible less than clean rooms.) It was nice having some outdoor space to sit and enjoy, even if it was small.
Our children enjoyed the pool area, but they would have also enjoyed any given pool at a value resort.
Since MK is everyone's favorite park, we liked the convenient boat ride to the park.
We initially planned to drive our truck to the other three parks, but we were pleasantly surprised at how efficient the internal bus system was. So many on DisBoards have indicated that a golf cart is a necessity. (We would rather put that money toward dining out, so we will walk off both the calories and expense.) We liked the bus service; it was just as good, if not better, than our experience at the values.
July is known for its thunderstorms; the lightning was particularly bad when we were there. One person had truck and trailer damage due to lightning strike, and their truck wasn't even attached to their trailer! Disney set them up with nice accommodations, but that did not relieve them of what was likely an extensive repair bill or possibly totaling of two expensive vehicles.
The biggest negative (for us), was something out of the Mouse's control-- I 10 going through Louisiana. It's like driving on a staircase. We had water leaks, and the water pump screws loosened, and one water pump screw came out completely. We discussed taking a (longer) route through Louisiana on their smaller highways. The highway we would take would take would be better than the interstate, but would go through small towns with strict speed limits and lots of stoplights.
Having said that, I prefer traveling with our camper. It's nice to stop at a rest stop and have a picnic lunch. It doesn't take as long as a traditional restaurant, costs less, and is familiar.
We have a vacation planned tentatively for June 2022. We are on the fence. Financially, the Pop Century makes more sense for us. It's half the amount of money in gas, has the skyliner, and we would eat on Disney property anyway.
We draw of the Fort is more emotional--we truly prefer our own lodgings. It's comforting and comfortable.
We are currently debating a June 2022 stay at either the Pop Century in a standard room or a Fort Wilderness FHU site.
My hubby was not sold on liking it as much as he did because Pop holds a special place for us...but he can’t wait to return. Camping is our game anyway, so it is logical to camp at the Fort since we already have the “room”.
