Let's Do Disney

 without going in the parks!

Ready?

Buckle up, Butter Cup because we're going day-by-day!

Day One 

We usually ride the monorail after setting up the camper...

In Fort Wilderness, of course.

But most recently, we arrived, set up the outside area around our little 

 #LordAlfredtheAirstream B190 Van -

rode our scooters around a bit, then DROVE*

over to Animal Kingdom Lodge 

for dinner at BOMA - 

 

It's a favorite, buffet of African Inspired foods.

Very tasty; a little pricey [$$$]

 

* Drove, because we needed to take a quick detour over to CVS on Hwy 192 right before getting to The Lodge.

[We've also stayed at a Comfort Inn in this area 

-- VERY convenient -- less than two miles from Animal Kingdom

and we used points!!]

 

Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautiful, so we enjoyed walking around the lobby 

a bit before heading back to our campsite...

We sat outside and listened to the owls call to each other until we heard 

the Water Parade come through...

[We could also hear the fireworks from Magic Kingdom 

and Hollywood Studios from our site.]

Day Two 

After we woke up and made our coffee, we rode our scooters up to the Pioneer Hall at The Settlement and shared a takeaway breakfast box: bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuit and french toast sticks. We sat a picnic table under an umbrella and listened to hymns on the music provided as we started our day.

 

I also bought a refillable 'mug' that could be used for drinks at any resort...

[We don't always buy one of these, but it was nice to have this trip -]

We rode our scooters around the different loops and enjoyed seeing how different ones decorate their campsites [it's REALLY something to see when its holiday season!!] Then we relaxed at our campsite until it was time to for our dinner reservation...

Note: we have always [always] said that riding 

Disney Transportation is part of the fun of being in this world...

So we rode out scooters to the Outpost Depot [at the Campground entrance] and took a bus to Hollywood Studios...

 From there we hopped on a boat that took us over to The Swan [hotel] - after it swung around to the Boardwalk and the back entrance to EPCOT. 

From The Swan we walked through their pool area and just across the street to 

The Swan Reserve

 

... a bit smaller hotel with a WONDERFUL Mediterranean Restaurant, Amare -

It was pricey - $$$ - but oh-so-good.

[And hey - we're not spending hundreds on park tickets, so 

we can splurge on one good meal a day, right?]

Afterwards, we took the boat to EPCOT and, instead of going into the park, we hopped on the Skyliner and rode it between EPCOT and Caribbean Beach -

Then took the next section over to the Pop Century resorts 

and back to Hollywood Studios. It was so fun to ride them at night -

From Hollywood Studios we took the bus back to the campground and hopped on our scooters to head back to our campsite. 

It was a wonderful surprise to see some of the Magic Kingdom Fireworks 

peek through the trees on our way back...

We decided to scoot on back to the Settlement and watch the nightly water parade from the beach - it comes by around 9:30 each night... check the schedule for the correct time...

 

The weather was PLEASANT - and we sat outside our little camper and read a bit before turning in for the night...again, listening to the owls [and other critters] calling to each other in the dark.

Day Three

I had packed our Mickey waffle maker from home, 

so this morning we enjoyed breakfast at our campsite....

which by-the-way was PERFECT - we were tucked away in the back of our drive, facing a canal where we could hardly see another camper - we loved it.

After breakfast we scooted down to the pool in the cabin area.

The Meadow Trading Post Pool* is closed for refurbishment so this 'private' pool, as many call it, was pretty crowded. 

 

* The Meadows Pool is really geared towards the kids with lifeguards playing some sort of game every hour, etc. So the cabins pool is USUALLY an adult crowd...

Let's just say two words: WINTER. BREAK.

It's for real, y'all.

And every northern state appears to have it the third week of February. 

Still, the pool was nice and refreshing and a nice way to really stretch my knee that was still a little tight from surgery...

We hung out at the camper , got the awning out,

and enjoyed sitting in our little shady space.

That night we had tickets for after-hours in Magic Kingdom.

We love the after hours special tickets because there are limited people in the park,

Our tickets were for 10pm to 1 am.

Yes.

BUT. They let you in at 7 pm.

[With a special wristband so that only those with wristbands 

can participate in anything after 10 pm - ]

We rode our scooters back to the Settlement Depot 

and took a boat over to the Magic Kingdom -

[And I have to document this tree that we saw 

blooming all over central Florida - SO BEAUTIFUL!]

 

We had dinner at Tony's Italian [$$] and got to sit out on the balcony for our meal that was delish [we've eaten there before, but it's been a few years...]

 

As we were walking towards Tomorrow Land the fireworks started over the castle so we stopped in the walkway and enjoyed those. I love how they can change the look of the castle with lights, etc.

 

Then we just walked around the Magic Kingdom and rode all the rides we wanted,

OF COURSE we rode The People Mover - always a favorite! 

And look! Tron was running in the background [not open to the public yet ...]

  

We enjoyed 'free'  ice cream and popcorn [included in the after hours ticket] 

and called it a night about 12:30 am.

 

Where we walked down Main Street USA with hardly another person insight...

We took a bus back to the Settlement Depot , got on our scoots and rode back to our site - kinda cool to be out and about when there was no one else around...

 

We relaxed outside, listening to our owl friends, and went to bed about two in the morning, 

not even kidding.

Day Four

We slept in.

And I mean, until 10:30 am, slept in - ha.

We, again, enjoyed riding our scooters on the trails around the campground... we visited the stables up front, explored a possible back road to Fort Wilderness Lodge [closed to the public - for buses, only -] 

and shopping at The Settlement and The Meadows - 

We snacked for breakfast / lunch because we had an 

early dining reservation at Artist Pointe with

  

Snow White,

[Happy Retirement, baby!!]

 Grumpy, 

who snuck up on Craig while hiding from the queen...

 and of course, this cutie - Dopey -

  

[At Wilderness Lodge -]

This is a favorite meal of ours [$$$$] - the characters are fun - 

AND THE MEAL IS DELICIOUS!

 

It starts with a trio of appetizers 

[cream of mushroom soup, shrimp cocktail and chicken meatballs.]

So yummy!

Then you order your entree - The prime rib is always perfect!

 

and a trio of desserts to finish things off 

[all themed towards Snow White -]

 Then you're invited to meet The Queen.

LOL

We love walking around the Wilderness Lodge [both inside and out] - 

It's modeled after Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn 

and even has a geyser on the grounds!

Afterwards we took a boat over to the Magic Kingdom 

and rode the monorail out to Epcot... 

we did the circle a couple of times 

 

then changed to the resort monorail and rode through The Polynesian, The Grand Floridian, and The Contemporary Resorts before going back to the Magic Kingdom. 

I'm pretty sure we did this twice in our effort to see the fireworks at EPCOT, which didn't happen. But we ended up seeing a few from Hollywood Studios...

 And then the Magic Kingdom's show started just as we were getting on a 

boat back to the campground...

Pretty Cool.

 

We arrived at The Settlement to find that the food trucks were still out. 

[They're set up a couple of evenings each week and give campers 

another option for meals in the campground.]

That evening we sat outside and read under our awning and again heard the owls calling back and forth - we only ever caught one glimpse of one flying from tree to tree... 

Perfect way to end the day -

Day Five

When I woke up this morning it was very foggy out in our 'back yard' lol -

The dew was so heavy it felt like giant rain drops when I stepped out from under the awning to take this photo...

 

We headed up to The Settlement to share another breakfast box. 

But! They were out of french toast sticks so it came with a Mickey waffle 

[mine are better, just sayin'] 

 

It was a fun way to start the day. 

After it warmed up a bit

[and the fog went away -]

we headed to the pool and enjoyed a not so crowded time relaxing in the pool, hot tub, and reading in the shade. Hard to believe it was almost 90 degrees on this February day. And it was wonderful.

LOOK AT THOSE AZALEAS! 

 

That afternoon we had PB&J for lunch and I hung out at the campsite with Art and a good book while Craig rode the boat a bit before checking out some of the scavenger hunt fun that's ALL OVER the campground. 

[There's a FB Group for that.]

We had reservations that evening for the Hoop De Doo Review

up at the Settlement that evening.

On the way up we passed the carriage ride that you can 

do throughout the campground...

 

 It was our first time to attend The Hoop de Doo [$$$]and it was fun. 

A  show that reminded me of Opryland and, maybe, HeeHaw... 

Kinda funny with songs added in...

 

Food was okay - ours wasn't warm so we might have liked it better if it had been. The meal was all-you-can-eat, and the only thing we ordered more of was the salad...

Although, the cornbread was also delish...

 

At the end there was a little audience participation 

and we got join in the music and 'play' the washboard.

Afterwards we watched the Magic Kingdom Fireworks from the beach and then drove past the outdoor movie venue where they play a different Disney film every night...

 

Back at our site we enjoyed a little fire in our wandering fire pii - It's a thing. 

There's whole internet posts about these fire pits that travel from site to site in the campground... some even have names! The secret? You have to secure it from the ones leaving it before Disney gets there to clean the site or it goes to the trash...

We've been able to grab one the last two times we've camped at Ft. Wilderness and it's so much nicer that having to pack one to bring with you...

Day Six

Today's the day we said a sad goodbye - 

But first - 

Beware: TMI:

We had to scout out a site that had been vacated, but not yet cleaned, so we could go dump our tanks. Disney doesn't have a dump station so that's the solution if you happen to be on a site that doesn't offer sewer... whee...

So - Fort Wilderness Campground - 

I love it.

Clean and neat as a pin - 

Bathhouses are wonderful - 

Has everything you need [for a price -ha] 

Great cell / internet service

And obviously - we enjoy being there even when we don't go into the parks like we used to do... I'm just too old for those 6 a.m. wake up calls to get to the park by the 7:00 early open. .. 

Those were fun days - FOR SURE - 

but these are great days too!