How to get your blue collar husband to Disney, and LOVE it
Let’s go back to 2018. That was the year my son was turning 5 and I knew that was the perfect age to take him to Walt Disney World. I also have a bonus daughter that was 13 that year. So it was now or never. I knew that I had one shot to get him to LOVE it so it was time to devise a plan.
Being married to a Peterbilt driving, hunting, can build anything type of man, I knew the whole” in your face characters” would maybe not fare so well. So I was trying to ease him into all things Disney. I honestly had no idea what he was going to think. But he is happy to do anything that makes us happy!
When I was in college, I was a nanny for a family that graciously took me a long with them on their family trip and we stayed at The Cabin’s at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. The cabin slept 6 comfortably and we rented a golf cart to get around the campground. I was in my very early 20’s at this time. Fast Forward to my early 30’s and I knew that’s where I wanted to take my family to stay on their first trip. It was like a vacation away from your vacation.
Fort Wilderness Cabins and Campground is one of the largest campgrounds in the world. It is a beautiful wooded paradise across Bay Lake. It provides a masterpiece that is both man made and God given. At 750 acres, its about 5 times the size of Magic Kingdom. It’s one of the few Disney resorts that lets your bring your pets as well! It is full of cabin loops, Rv/Camper loops, and tent camping loops. You can take a boat from the Fort that drops you off right in front of the Magic Kingdom. There is bus transportation to the other parks.
I did all of the planning behind the scenes. I got the vacation planned and the cabin booked. I booked the golf cart through Disney. I bought the decorations for the golf cart so we could distinguish ours from the others. I got some cute site decorations for our cabin! We were ready!
Upon arriving, my family was in heaven. The Fort was unlike anything they had ever seen. Disney is a world class destination no matter where you go and they did not miss when it comes to their campground. We unpacked our car (we drove 18 hours from Texas), stretched our legs and moved into our cabin for the week. The cabins have recently been moved out with new Disney Vacation Club Cabins that have moved in. I am excited for the updated cabins. They still sleep 6 comfortably, have full kitchens, a porch, a separate bedroom, one bathroom and that glamping charm that only Disney can provide.
We started that first evening off riding the golf cart around all of Fort Wilderness. Well that sealed the deal. They LOVED it! We saw wild turkeys, chipmunks, and deer that first night. Where else in Disney World can you see wild animals so close and so free?
The pool has an excellent water slide, hot tub and splash pad. As well as a quiet pool by the cabin loops. They also have two different general stores that have everything from sundries to Disney merch for sale.
We went to the parks on and off that week, but nothing compared to coming back to relax at our Fort Wilderness cabin. The quiet. The seclusion. No one banging from the floor above like a standard hotel room. We cooked out on the grill a couple of evenings and just relaxed in the woods.
Fort Wilderness also provides guided fishing tours, archery, Segway tours, horseback riding, The Hoop De Doo Dinner Show, carriage rides, canoeing,bike rentals, and so many more amenities.
Now, there are Fort Specific Facebook pages. One in particular we love is “The Original Fort Wilderness Scavenger Hunt” where people staying at the fort hide some awesome items and guest have to go find them! We did this on our last trip and it made it so much more fun!
8 trips later, my husband has been with me on 4 of those. ALL of them at Fort Wilderness as that is the only place he will stay. He told me he hates the aspect of the “double bed hotel room”.
We rented an RV one time, and I will always prefer the cabin! There are only 5 companies that you can rent an RV/Camper from that Disney works with and allows them to deliver on property. You can only rent a golf cart from Disney. If you have your OWN RV/Camper/Golf cart, you can bring it, along with your insurance cards! But driving from Texas, we did decide to rent one time. I just didn’t love the camper rental.
And that, my friends, is how I get him to keep going with me to Disney! A week at Fort Wilderness. I book him a fishing excursion, make sure he as 2 rest days, and meat to BBQ on the grill! The vibe is unmatched. Its such a breath of fresh are to ride around on your golf cart and go “looping” and seeing families just like yours cooking out, playing and just enjoying family time.
