One of the most often asked questions on Disney World message boards across the net is how to get to Fort Wilderness from (insert park name here) or (insert resort name here).
There's a good reason for this.
It's confusing.
Most people have a few reasons for wanting to get to Fort Wilderness. They range from:
- The Hoop-Dee-Do Musical Revue
- Mickey's Backyard BBQ
- Seasonal Hayride
- Lunch or Dinner at Trail's End
Three out of four of those items takes place near the marina. However, the bus system only drops one off at the Outpost Depot - which is at the other end of the resort and quite a distance away from the marina. So what's the best way to get to your destination? I'll give you a number of options and tell you the ones that have worked best for me. Because of things like weather, traffic and scheduling of buses, times will vary for all modes of transportation.
From Saratoga Springs
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Old Key West
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Animal Kingdom Bus to Animal Kingdom or, depending on time and park closures, take Epcot bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Animal Kingdom Bus to Animal Kingdom or, depending on time and park closures, take Epcot bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Yacht & Beach Club
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Animal Kingdom Bus to Animal Kingdom depending on time and park closures--> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Animal Kingdom Bus to Animal Kingdom depending on time and park closures--> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Boardwalk
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Animal Kingdom Bus to Animal Kingdom depending on time and park closures--> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Animal Kingdom Bus to Animal Kingdom depending on time and park closures--> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Wilderness Lodge
- Take water launch from Wilderness Lodge marina to Fort Wilderness.
From Contemporary
- Take water launch from Contemporary marina to Fort Wilderness Marina
From Grand Floridian
- Take Monorail to Magic Kingdom gate --> Take Fort Wilderness Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Grand Floridian Water Launch to Magic Kingdom gate --> Take Fort Wilderness Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
From Polynesian
- Take Monorail to Magic Kingdom gate --> Take Fort Wilderness Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Polynesian Water Launch to Magic Kingdom gate --> Take Fort Wilderness Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
From Caribbean Beach
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Coronado Springs
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Port Orleans French Quarter & Riverside
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From All Star Resorts
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Pop Century
- Take Magic Kingdom Bus to Magic Kingdom --> Take Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Fort Wilderness Bus --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Epcot Bus to Epcot --> Transfer to Wilderness Lodge Bus --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From The Magic Kingdom
- Take Fort Wilderness Water Launch to Fort Wilderness Marina
From Epcot
- Take Fort Wilderness Bus to Fort Wilderness --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Wilderness Lodge Bus to Wilderness Lodge --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
- Take Monorail to Transporation and Ticket Center --> Take Ferry or Monorail to Magic Kingdom Gate --> Take Fort Wilderness Water Launch to Fort Wilderness
From Hollywood Studios
- Take Fort Wilderness Bus to Fort Wilderness --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Wilderness Lodge Bus to Wilderness Lodge --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Animal Kingdom
- Take Fort Wilderness Bus to Fort Wilderness --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Wilderness Lodge Bus to Wilderness Lodge --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
From Downtown Disney
- Take Fort Wilderness Bus to Fort Wilderness --> Take Purple, Orange or Yellow bus to Settlement (if going to Hoop-Dee-Do, Hayride or Trail's End)
- Take Wilderness Lodge Bus to Wilderness Lodge --> Take water launch to Fort Wilderness (this takes you directly to Marina and walking distance from Hoop-Dee-Do, etc.)
My personal experience:
In the past, going through the Ticket and Transportation Center usually proves to be time consuming. You're already adding one extra destination to your route and from there, you're either waiting for the ferry, then waiting for it to cross to the other side or you're waiting for the monorail. While monorail wait times aren't that long, the rails sometimes get congested and you may wind up on the monorail from anywhere to twenty to thirty minutes. This doesn't always happen, but it has and can and is something to be aware of.
Depending on where you're catching the bus from, wait times can get lengthy if there are others ahead of you. However, if you're leaving one of the theme parks well ahead of park closing, wait times for resort buses might not be so bad.
In the past, I've found it less time consuming to completely avoid the Fort Wilderness Water Launch from the Magic Kingdom. This isn't everyone's experience, but simply my own. It takes some time to get across Bay Lake.
Getting to Fort Wilderness and, as a result, Hoop-Dee-Doo and the hayrides - as well as other attractions - can be some of the most tedious exercises in WDW transportation. Allow yourself PLENTY of time.
And, if you have a car - take the car.
