By Let’s discuss The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. Importantly, these are two distinct styles of vacations and not at all the same thing despite the similar names. The Campsites are just that: fully equipped campsites capable of hosting “everything from tents to 45-foot and longer RVs.”
Disney has made a change here for 2026. Before then, the various Campsites could host up to ten guests each. Fort Wilderness will reduce that number to eight guests in 2026 and beyond, which is still…a lot. It’s a very specific kind of vacation for fans of the great outdoors.
David’s allergist has verified that he’s allergic to everything for which he has medically tested, except for mold (weird, right?). So, we’re never going camping unless we load the car with EpiPens. As such, this style of vacation isn’t for us, but enthusiasts vocally express their passion for the Campsites. It’s a lifestyle for many, as they head to Disney World, especially for certain holidays.
Fort Wilderness Campground rents golf carts to guests, while others bring their own. The end result is that golf cart parades are a thing here, and they’re mind-blowingly great! The Halloween parade is our favorite, as people dress up their golf carts like Jack Skellington, the Ghost Host, and other spooky characters. It’s sublime.
That’s the thing about Fort Wilderness. Disney has operated this place for more than 50 years now, and it’s developed a life of its own in that timeframe. It even hosts the longest running dinner show in the world: the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, which we know. We took Kim’s parents here once during their 50th anniversary world tour, and they won!
How do you win? Well, the Cast Members ask people their ages, who is celebrating birthdays, and how long couples have been together. Kim’s parents had the longest relationship of anyone in the building that day! We’re still proud about it now, and that’s been a minute.
This tiny anecdote reinforces the novelty of a visit to Fort Wilderness. Disney hosts a dude ranch here, the Tri-Circle-D Ranch. It’s the home to all the horses you’ll watch in parades and on Main Street, U.S.A. You can pet many of the animals here or go horseback riding or go on a Segway tour of the campus. For fans of ranch life, Fort Wilderness is a dream come true. And the prices are affordable, too!
Tents and pop-ups hover in the range of $145 per night, while full hookups cost about $195 per night. Larger RVs that need more space should book a Premium campsite, and those hover in the range of $215. All other guests should consider the Preferred option. It’s $225, but you’ll stay near the Settlement area, which has all the amenities.
Speaking of those, Crockett’s Tavern has developed a diehard following over the past half-century. As East Tennesseans, we maintain it’s because they sell Ole Smoky Moonshine, a local delicacy that has somehow found its way to Fort Wilderness. Do NOT drink this and then try to operate a golf cart! The odds of tipping approach 100 percent.
Personally, since we don’t drink, we prefer Trail’s End Restaurant. It serves some of the same dishes as Hoop-Dee-Doo, but you don’t need to sit through a long dinner show to eat them. And the Chuck Wagon is also a grab-and-go favorite. It’s where people go to get S’Mores Kits for the nightly campfire events.
For those of you who aren’t living the van/RV life, you should still consider The Cabins at Fort Wilderness. These standalone cabins provide a rare amount of seclusion at Disney World. They also come standard with full-sized kitchens, enabling you to cook your own meals to save money, presuming that’s something that interests you.
Disney tore down the old cabins from the 1970s and replaced them with entirely new, more efficient ones in 2024 and 2025. So, these are some of the newest rooms at Disney World. We haven’t stayed here yet, but friends have and they raved about the experience.
The rooms cost about $650 per night on average. We should stress something, though. Due to the variety of options at Fort Wilderness, the pricing here is a bit more challenging to encapsulate. You could pay anywhere between $516 and $882 per night for the cabins, which is a bit on the pricey side, considering that many Deluxe Tier resorts hover in that range. You’re basically paying more for privacy and a kitchen, although those are worthy advantages during a hotel stay.