It is important to take a break from work and enjoy the great outdoors. It’s easy to do so in sunny Florida. I am going to take a quick detour and tell you about one of my family’s holiday traditions. Every December for the past 5-6 years my family has camped at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground.
First of all, you may have read about how my family bought a camper in this season of weird family travel and COVID. This was our first trip taking our camper to the campground. You can tent camp, bring your own RV, Rent an RV, or even stay in a fully appointed cabin. ( if camping is not your thing).
Fort Wilderness at Christmas is a bucket list experience in my opinion. This campground is well taken care of. It has a great pool and fun activities for young and old alike. 2020 being what it is has dampened some of the activities, I am sure they will make a comeback in 2021 ( fingers crossed). In previous years our kids have participated in dodge ball tournaments, played on various playgrounds, and played bingo by the pool. They typically have a fun campfire sing-along where Chip and Dale make an appearance. Some of those things are on hold this year.
This year we were still able to rent canoes, “mine for gems”, drive around and admire the lights, and have a great time on our campsite. The pool is still open, but too cold for us. Masking is required at all times when not on your campsite.
The campers of Ft. Wilderness bring decorations that would make Clark Griswold jealous. I really believe you would be hard-pressed to find more Disney themed inflatables in such small square footage anywhere in the country. I thought I knew what to expect when I heard that Christmas is big at Ft. Wilderness, but I am not sure anything could have prepared me for the massive amount of decorations and inflatables found at this resort. If you allow yourself to stop enjoying the pure joy that looking at fun lights and whimsical decorations bring, you may be appalled at how much electricity is being pumped into this campground. Rumor: this may be the sole reason Disney is building more solar farms.
There are a couple of ways to enjoy these lights. If you are staying at the campground or in the cabins I highly recommend you spend the money to rent a golf cart for at least one day of your stay. The campgrounds are quite large and this will give you one of the best ways to tour the lights to your heart’s content. The young and young at heart will really marvel at the amount of time and effort fellow campers put into their displays.
Some campsites had upwards of 25-50 inflatables on display! Not only are the campsites lit… the golf carts are too. Next year I will be sure to bring some decorations for the cart as they were moving lights display themselves. We saw an actual replica of Tow Mater – as a golf cart.
Christmas at Ft Wilderness Resort and Campground- Bottom line — add Ft. Wilderness to your bucket list. It is a must-see, even if only once. Plan to book far in advance. I already have my site booked for 2021. Could you camp at Disney? What are your thoughts?