Fort Wilderness

January 1, 2018 by Julie 2 Comments

Full-Time RV Travel – 2017 Year In Review

Before 2017 comes to an end we wanted to look back on the last year and share our favorite locations, campgrounds and adventures.

This year we visited 10 states and stayed in 11 campgrounds and 7 hotels. This tally doesn’t count the trips Sean went on for work alone.

Campgrounds

Our top 5 favorite campgrounds this year were:

Our stay at Midway RV Park Millington, TN was an unplanned trip as a result our of evacuation from Hurricane Irma, but it ended up being a wonderful surprise. We enjoyed the quiet beauty of the local area and went on excursions to nearby Memphis.

We were stationed at MacDill AFB Tampa, FL the last 2 years of our military careers, so it was like going home. Tampa is one of our absolute favorite cities, and the base is in a perfect spot surrounded by water.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park Jupiter, FL ended up being our only state park visit this year. We had to cancel a few others due to Hurricane Irma. In addition to the terrific activities inside the park itself, we really enjoyed Blowing Rocks Nature Preserve only 9 miles away.

What’s not to love about Disney World? Fort Wilderness Kissimmee, FL is a massive campground with tons of activities, many of them free. If money was no object, Julie would want to live here.

Not only is Fort Belvoir, VA in a fabulous spot overlooking the Potomac, it is in close proximity to Washington DC. The best part to us is that fact that our oldest son and future daughter-in-law live nearby!

Other Travel

We also travel quite a bit outside of the RV as well, primarily for Sean’s work. Our favorite trips without the RV were:

Florida’s Nature Coast

The area is often referred to as “Old Florida” because the attractions have been here long before Disney.

At the heart of the area is the Weeki Wachee River, fed by the deepest naturally-formed spring in North America, with over 100 million gallons of crystal-clear water a day. If you want to read a funny story, check out my misadventure on the Week Wachee River here.

Mesa, AZ

We traveled to Mesa for Sean’s graduation from A.T. Still University. Then the newly minted Doctor of Health Science took me for one of America’s most scenic drives on the Apache Trail.

It is full of hair pin curves with no guard rails and not for the faint of heart. If you have a driver with nerves of steel and are up for a little adventure, I highly recommend it!

Las Vegas, NV

We love Las Vegas and visit at least once a year. This year we rented a car to spend some time away from the strip at Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead.

Looking Ahead

We have the first half of 2018 planned. After attending the RV Super Show in Tampa, FL we are heading to Pensacola, FL for two weeks. Then we’ll make our way to Texas for a 3 month stay. We’ll be in Fredericksburg for a month, and San Antonio for 2 months. Next we’ll go to Colorado for a brief visit before driving back to Northern Virginia for our oldest son’s wedding in June.

Let us know if you think our paths may cross; we love to meet fellow travelers! This year we were fortunate enough to meet several other full-time RVers including Kevin & Maria of From Paris to Roam; Mike & Dawn from Random Bits RV; Robert & Jessica of Exploring the Local Life; and Shane and Alexi from The Simple Nomads. Let’s add you to the list in 2018!

Don’t Forget Our Books

We also added “author” to our resumes this year and wrote two books to share our knowledge and research with others.
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October 19, 2017 by Julie 2 Comments

Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness

Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground is a terrific place to enjoy Halloween! I love camping at Fort Wilderness, but it can be tricky to get reservations at Halloween. However, the best part is, you can go over and participate in the activities even if you aren’t camping there.

Please note that there is no parking if you’re not a guest, but there are a couple of ways to get there. You can ride the bus from any Disney resort or Disney Springs (parking is free there). If you’re at the Magic Kingdom you can ride the boat over.

If you want to know more about the campground in general, read my full of review of Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground here. There’s even a video.

Decorations

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. My boys and I always had a tradition of decorating the house. One year we even created a haunted house in our garage for the trick or treaters. This is probably why I love all the decorations around Fort Wilderness. The campers really get into the Halloween spirit and decorate their campsites and golf carts.

One of the most fun (and free) things to do at Fort Wilderness any time of year is called “looping.” That means walking or riding a bike (or golf cart) around the different loops to see how folks have personalized their spaces. And let me tell you, they go all out for Halloween.

Here are just a few examples. Click on the images for a larger view.

Fort Wilderness Halloween Decor Fifth Wheel

Fort Wilderness Halloween Decor Cemetery

Activities

In addition to the usual activities at Fort Wilderness that I discussed in my full campground review (see link above), there are a ton of Halloween specific activities!

Movies

Watch animated classics all month long! Movies are shown outdoors every Sunday evening. Some of the halloween themed films include Hocus Pocus and Tower of Terror, and my personal favorite, Nightmare Before Christmas.

Wednesday October 30th, 2019

The day before Halloween activities are kicked into high gear with a pumpkin decorating and my personal favorite, the golf cart parade. I’m always amazed by guests’ creativity!

Next, head over to the Halloween beach bash for a costume contest, the hilarious family mummy wrap, and a screen of the Nightmare Before Christmas! Stick around the beach afterwards to watch the fireworks followed by the Halloween Glow Dance Party.

Halloween Fun – Tuesday October 31st

Start your Halloween day off right with a fun run to make up for all the candy you’ll eat later. In the afternoon is the pet parade and finally, Camp or Treat in the evening.

Here’s the full schedule of events for October 2019:

Don't miss out on all the not so spooky fun at Disney's Fort Wilderness

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

This is a special event at the Magic Kingdom, and I don’t recommend you try to attend on Halloween or you’ll miss all the fun at Fort Wilderness. Instead, I recommend going on Oct 29th or Nov 1st. It is important to note that Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is NOT included with park admission. You buy a separate ticket, but the cool thing is that even though the party starts at 7pm, you can get in to the Magic Kingdom at 4pm with your party ticket. So spend the day at Fort Wilderness, have fun at the pool, then head over to the Magic Kingdom via the free boat ride. Many people, young and old, wear costumes and can even trick-or-treat around the park. There are 14 different places handing out free candy! There are several special shows and events with rare characters that aren’t available outside of the party. I think the “Boo-To-You” parade led by the headless horseman makes it worth the price!

Click on the images below for a larger view

WDW Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party

October 9, 2017 by Julie Leave a Comment

Podcast: Fort Wilderness Campground Review

In this episode we discuss our recent trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This includes a review of the Fort Wilderness Campground, as well as the 2017 International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot Center.

Click here to listen on Apple podcasts.

You can read more about Fort Wilderness Campground and watch our video tour of it here.

You can also watch our video tour of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival here.

Thanks to https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music for the intro and outro music.

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