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OVERVIEW: OCTOBER 2013 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews October 2013 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

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Disney World has released its calendars for the end of September and the month of October.

Based on these, I’ve updated the forecasts of when Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (“MNSSHP”) will occur.

You can find the updated Halloween Party forecasts here.

For the first page of this review of the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, see this.

MORE STUFF ON THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is one of 5 moderate resorts at Walt Disney World:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, the first Disney World hotel to be designated a moderate, which opened in 1988
• Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort (opened in 1991 as Disney’s Port Orleans Resort)
• Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort (opened in 1992 as Disney’s Dixie Landing Resort)
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (opened 1997) and
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, officially classed as moderate in 2008, but opened (as the Wilderness Homes) in 1986. (Fort Wilderness Campground opened much earlier, but precursors to the Cabins did not arrive until 1986.)

The moderates have much more room than the value resorts, more amenities, and (except for Fort Wilderness) much better landscaping. See this for what you get by Disney World price class.

Disney’s Cabins at Fort Wilderness Resort officially “combine an American Frontier theme with all of the luxuries of home…” and are situated in a resort that is “…a picturesque haven of natural beauty. Wander quiet trails between log-façade buildings like the Meadow Trading Post and Pioneer Hall. Water canals snake through the cabins, campsites and common areas, adding to the sense of being far from modern bustle—as do roaming ducks, deer and rabbits.”

The entire Fort Wilderness resort comprises cabins, family campsites, and group campsites.

All these share the resort’s other resources—such as a beach, marina, dining areas, stores, stables, movie and sing-along theater, bike rental area, pools, boat docks for transport to the Magic Kingdom (and to two other Disney Resorts—the Wilderness Lodge and the Contemporary Resort), bus stops for everything else, etc., on more than 700 acres.

(For more on the Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, which make up the bulk of the resort, see this.)

You check in to the Cabins in a small building in the Fort Wilderness parking lot. This is the southern section of Fort Wilderness, known as the Outpost (see the annotated map below–click it to enlarge it…). This is also where you’ll go for help with tickets, dining reservations and such.

From here you drive to your cabin (if you have a car) or take one of the Fort Wilderness internal buses to the nearest bus stop, and walk from there.

The 409 cabins themselves occupy an area on the order of 100 acres. Centered among the cabins is a quiet pool (image at the top of the page). “Quiet pool” is Disney lingo for a small, unguarded pool that is closer to some guest rooms than the large, guarded, main pool.

Most of the resources at Fort Wilderness are in two more northern areas, the Meadows and the Settlement.

THE MEADOWS AREA AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

The Meadows area is closer to the cabins.

In the Meadows area you’ll find the main pool, which was re-themed, and upgraded with a water slide a couple of years ago, but is still weak compared to what you’ll find at the other moderates…

…the hot tub…

…the kids water play area…

…one of the many, many playgrounds scattered around the resort…

…a volleyball court…

…and tennis courts.

In this Meadows area you’ll also find one of the two stores at Fort Wilderness (the other is in the Settlement).

These two shops have a varied selection of Disney stuff, camping supplies, and a strong assortment of food.

Also here you’ll find a charming spot where each evening there’s a campfire where you can make S’mores, Chip and Dale lead a sing-along, and Disney movies are shown.

THE SETTLEMENT AREA AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

In the Settlement at the very north end of Fort Wilderness, you’ll find Pioneer Hall, where the wonderful Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue is found, and also a small and undistinguished restaurant, Trail’s End, a bar, and the location for Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue.

Hoop-Dee -Doo can sell out months ahead, and the Barbecue is popular as well, so you typically can’t just show up and dine. Fort Wilderness is really built for people who cook most of their on-resort meals in their cabin or campsite, not for dining in its facilities.

There’s lots of other fun stuff in the Settlement–pony rides, a barn where Disney’s working horses are kept (trail rides are available from another stable, near the Outpost), etc.

At the very north end of the Settlement you’ll find a beach…

…marina…

…and a dock where you catch one of the two boat routes that operate from here–one to the Magic Kingdom, and the other to the two other resorts on Bay Lake, the Wilderness Lodge and the Contemporary Resort.  The Magic Kingdom boat takes 12-15 minutes, and operates every 10-20 minutes.

For those aiming to get to the Magic Kingdom before rope drop, usually the best strategy is to take the boat to the Contemporary and walk from there, as the Magic Kingdom boat often does not begin operating until 30 minutes before open.

SUMMARY VIEW OF THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

Among the moderates, the cabins’ strength for first time visitors is their capacity to sleep 6, in two different rooms, and the full kitchen.

No other moderate can sleep six—the Alligator Bayou section of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside can sleep five, and all other moderate options are for four people.

However, the space is more expensive than a 6 person family suite at All-Star Music or at Art of Animation. These 6-person family suites also give a few more square feet, a second bathroom, and a better layout for parent privacy…plus more kid appeal and convenience.

That said, the cabins do contain a full kitchen, which the family suites do not; but first time visitors won’t be cooking much in their rooms.

The cabin’s biggest negatives are their lack of visual kid appeal, their short beds, the cramped layout, the resort’s sheer size, and its internal bus system, which no matter how well it runs, adds time to every theme park visit.

Returning visitors charmed by campgrounds and nature often find the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness to be a favorite, particularly if they rent a car to avoid some of the buses, need space for six, want to enjoy some of the distinct amenities of Fort Wilderness—America’s best campground–and/or expect to get value out of the full kitchen.

See this for more on distinctions among the moderates.

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EXTERNAL LINKS FOR THE CABINS AT DISNEY’S FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

• Official Walt Disney World Cabins at Fort Wilderness Resort Site

MORE ON WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• For where to stay, see this
  • For your next best choices, in order, see this
  • For picking your resort based on appeal to kids, see this
  • For picking your resort based on convenience, see this
  • For where not to stay, see this

• For what you get in each resort price category, see this
  • For Walt Disney World resort price seasons, see this
  • For resort reviews, see this
  • For the value resorts, see this
  • For the moderate resorts, see this
  • For the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For suites at the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For the Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) Resorts, see this

• For a (geeky) overview of comparative room size, see this

• Large families should look at this, and also at
  • Large Families Looking for Value Pricing at Walt Disney World
  • Large Families Looking for Deluxe Accommodations at Disney World
  • Beds and Sleeping Spaces at the Walt Disney World Resorts
  • Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
  • Suites at Walt Disney World

• Military/DOD families should look at this

• Tightwads should look at this

• Families seeking the most comfortable place to stay should see this

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MARCH 16, 2013 TO MARCH 24, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

(For more on March 2013, see this.)

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The weeks before and after Easter are two of the most wildly crowded weeks at Walt Disney World.

The common-sense approach to handling them is to run, screaming, back home.

But if that’s not an option for you, here’s some more common sense that might help.

HANDLING YOUR DAYS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD DURING EASTER WEEK

You need a good plan for each day.  I’ve already covered this here, but the basics are

• Arrive at the turnstiles well before the park is scheduled to open
• See the rides that build long lines quickly first
• Use Disney’s free FASTPASSES to manage the rest of the long-line rides, until they run out
• Consider buying your way out of the problem of all FASTPASSES being taken early

PICKING WHICH PARK TO VISIT WHICH DAY

Don’t let me mislead you–from March 23, 2013 through April 6, 2013 every day is gonna be just rotten.  But some days are better than others.

The trick to finding the best days to visit the parks is to figure out what everyone else will do, and do the opposite.  This is the “judo” of Walt Disney World.

I’ve done this for the two weeks around Easter, where days with more color, and especially more darker colors, are worse.  See the chart–click it to enlarge it.

The best days at a given park will have three characteristics:

1. They’ll have no color at all
2. Other parks will have lots of color
3. The day will be right after, right before, or ideally, sandwiched between, days at the same park with lots of color

Epcot on March 27 is a perfect example of this.

BUILDING THE DAILY CROWD FORECASTS

The chart is built on the five common sense items that drive crowds at Walt Disney World:

1. The basic patterning of visits: The most common full day is Sunday, and people tend to see the Magic Kingdom and Epcot the first few days of their trip, and Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom after
2. The effect of Extra Magic Hours: Extra Magic Hours draw people staying in the ~30,000 Disney World hotel rooms, and those without hoppers then stay all day. So crowds are higher than on on-EMH days.  Note that the Magic Kingdom has Extra Magic Hours every single day, which makes things rough for those staying off site.  I’ve given the Magic Kingdom the darkest color here only on days with both morning and evening Extra Magic Hours
3. The extra attractiveness  of days with longer operating hours–a big issue at some times of the year, not much of a factor these weeks, because operating hours and evening shows are pretty consistent.
4. The holiday effect–people are drawn to the Magic Kingdom in particular, and also to Epcot, on major family holidays
5. The weekend effect: both longer and shorter visits tend to include weekends, so Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are particularly crowded days.

Combine all these drivers, and you can see how some days will be worse, and some better.  The weeks overall will be horrible–but having a plan will help a lot, and picking your days carefully will help some too!

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort, see this.

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Port Orleans Riverside’s 230+ acres include an arrival building called the Sassagoula Steamboat Company, where you check in, find help with reservations and tickets, and discover shops, dining, food, etc. Most amenities are here, with the rest–except for a few pools–in the “Ol’ Man Island” area.

A lovely rotunda is the first area you will see.

Next to it is the delightful lobby with the check-in and concierge services to the right of this space. Note the “steamboat destinations” lining the beams above the columns.

There’s also an area here where kids can be entertained while waiting for their parents to complete transactions.

There was a special guest in the lobby during one of my check-ins.

You’ll also find in this building the gift shop…

…a sitting area with a fireplace, and further down a side hall a bar, table service restaurant, and a quick-service food court, all covered in great detail here.

Outside you’ll find one of the four bus stops here, though sometines buses are shared with sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter, adding a fifth stop to some trips.

As is generally the case at the Disney World resorts, bus stops include a message board indicates the expected time to the next bus.  Andre’s PortOrleans.org has more detail on Port Orleans Riverside bus routes here.

The riverboat-landing theming of the main building is a little clearer from the other side.

In this area you’ll find the dock for the boat to Port Orleans French Quarter and Disney Springs.

The boat in runs to both destinations from late morning to late afternoon, and after that just to Disney Springs. Boats run every 15-20 minutes, have a small capacity, and take about 20 minutes to make the trip.  There are also buses to Disney Springs.

Als0 here you’ll find a place to rent bikes…

…and running trail guidance.

You can also reserve and then later board a horse-drawn carriage ride here.

Movies are also shown down in Magnolia Bend.

They used to be reliably nightly, but now are more commonly shown several nights a week. Sometimes movies alternate between Riverside and French Quarter.

Most of Port Orleans Riverside’s other amenities are on the centrally-located Ol’ Man Island.

Most significant of these is the main pool at Port Orleans Riverside, covered in detail here.

Just outside the pool area proper there’s a spot for evening campfires and S’more cooking…

…a playground…

…a tetherball area…

…and a hammock!

Also here is a place to rent fishing gear…

…and a dock from which to fish.  Most resorts other than the values and Animal Kingdom Lodge have a fishing experience of some type available.  Those at Riverside and the Wilderness Lodge are among the most comprehensive.

For dining at Port Orleans Riverside, head back to the Sassagoula Steamboat Company.

DINING AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

This review continues here.

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

• Port Orleans Riverside: Overview and summary
• Theming and accommodations at Port Orleans Riverside
• A photo tour of a four person standard room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a four person Royal Room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a five person Murphy bed room Port Orleans Riverside’s Alligator Bayou section
• Amenities at Port Orleans Riverside
• Dining at Port Orleans Riverside
• The pools at Port Orleans Riverside
• The history of Port Orleans Riverside

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

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