Sunset on Okaloosa Island near Fort Walton Beach, FL

Having finished another epic stay in Louisiana, Lois and I loaded up Harold-the-RV, with Irving-the-Car in tow, and pointed ourselves in the direction of Florida, our first trip to the Sunshine State. From our RV Park in Slidell, north-east of New Orleans, we sped past the coastal towns of Mississippi, then Alabama, on our way to the western edge of the Florida Panhandle.

Our initial stop was Okaloosa Island near Fort Walton Beach, a barrier isle stretching dozens of miles along Florida’s aptly named Emerald Coast where a colorful mosaic of multi-colored waters — deep blues mixed with aquamarine — spill onto sparkling white sandy beaches. Our RV Park was conveniently located across the island’s main road, just 2 minutes from the Gulf. Here, we treated ourselves to warm sunny beach days, good eating, and plenty of R&R. More about this in a future blog…

The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort

As the idea of full-time RV’ing slowly drifted from dream to reality, we began brainstoruming places to explore. Now again, Lois and I would name out loud fun possibilities such as camping at Disney World’s Fort Wilderness resort. Opened in 1971, these campsites and cabins were very near and dear to Walt Disney’s original plan for his “Florida Project”. Embodying an American old west theme, Walt envisioned it as a peaceful, nature oriented retreat, offering guests an affordable alternative to the hustle and bustle of expansive luxury resorts.

I wonder what Fort Wilderness looked like when it opened more than 50 years ago? Disney does it right, and I’m sure they did a masterful job constructing a brand new facility that, from the outset, looked like it had existed for years. Fast forward a half century later, Lois and I enjoyed a campsite carefully tucked into a mature forest with the signs and sounds of nature around us. Today, the original “old” buildings are well seasoned and blend perfectly into the natural surroundings.

“But is it a resort?”, you ask. Absolutely! Fort Wilderness has plenty to offer for everyone. Amenities include two pools, horseback riding, carriage rides, snack areas, an excellent affordable restaurant, canoe and bike rentals, a network of paved walking trails… and more! It is also quite large, meaning you hardly ever bump into a crowd of people. To get here and there within Fort Wilderness, a shuttle is available. But in our case, we rented an electric golf cart to get us around — what a blast!

One very special memory we have is an hour long carriage ride that began at dusk. Our masterful driver, Deanna, was very sweet, friendly, and a joy to chat with. It turns out that she, like Lois and I, lived in Fort Collins, CO for a number of years. In her case, she was a student at Colorado State.

But we mustn’t forget the other star of that evening’s carriage ride, and his name was Pirate-the-Horse who, of course, did all the hard work. There is something very peaceful and magical that happens, even healing, while plodding through a forest at night behind the clippity-clop of a faithful steed.

As for access to the theme parks, Fort Wilderness offers many options. Our go-to mode of transportation was shuttling by water on a 40 passenger boat straight to the gates of the Magic Kingdom. The Monorail is right there' as well, linking the Magic Kingdom to other resorts located around the lake we stayed on. For those who want go further, at one of the Monorail stops, visitors can either transfer to a dedicated EPCOT line, or jump onto Disney buses connecting passengers to other theme parks and resorts.

Are we glad we came? You betcha! Lois and I had the time of our lives. There will be future trips to Fort Wilderness, I’m sure.

Click Images to Enlarge

Poking Around Disney World

Our stay at Fort Wilderness gave us four full days to enjoy Disney World. Two of those were saved for visiting the Magic Kingdom. The rest were set aside for enjoying Fort Wilderness. One afternoon, however, we decided to do some exploring outside the campground and take a peek at the nearby resorts. As I mentioned above, there are many ways to get from here to there when staying inside Disney World. For this particular excursion, we took our favorite boat to the Magic Kingdom pier, then looped around the lake via Monorail.

Hotels Lois and I saw along the way were the Contemporary, Polynesian Villas, and Grand Floridian resorts. By the time we got to the latter hotel, we we ready for some lunch, so we got off the Monorail for the purpose of feeding our stomaches and getting a closer look at luxury living at Disney World.

First stop was guest services where we learned there were no less than 5 restaurants to choose from. Lois and I quickly ruled-out. serveral of them, including one that completely blew our minds, Victoria & Albert’s, which, to our surprise, is a multi-course Michelin star restaurant. The cost? A mere $400 per person. The engineer that I am, I quickly calculated that that kind of money could buy us about 56 sandwiches (56.374, to be exact) — with fries and Coke included! Completely at peace with the idea that we could get the job done at the nearby walk-up grill — with no more than a shared sandwich, fries, and a cookie or two — we kindly passed on the Michelin option. 🙄

A special experience for Lois was listening to an extraordinary pianist who was playing a grand piano in the beautiful ornately designed lobby. What did the artist play? Familiar pieces with a few snazzed-up Disney songs tossed in (of course). At one point, Lois walked over and personally thanked this incredibly gifted and accomplished performer, at which point he said “Thank you so much” and then asked Lois “Can I play something special for you?” Already overwhelmed by the beauty of his music, she stood over him while he quickly sifted through a multi-page list of songs on his iPad. After a minute or two, the pianist spotted a “perfect piece” for Lois and solemnly returned to his keyboard. What unfolded was a beautiful highly technical song — far off the track of his normal main stream repertoire — that absolutely entranced Lois and left her in deep thought. What a wonderful moment for not only Lois, but the performer. Because of her kind words and encouragement, it gave the artist an opportunity to masterfully and passionately perform a song that obviously had deep meaning for both Lois and himself.

The Magic Kingdom

Disney World features four major theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As if that weren’t enough, Disney World also has a couple of water parks, a large shopping/dining district, and who knows what else. For our first trip, we decided to keep it simple and stick to the Magic Kingdom.

Many people have been to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA (if not multiple times). Still others have enjoyed one or more visits to Orlando’s Magic Kingdom. For Lois and I, we have now graduated into the group of folks who have experienced both. So how do they compare?

Disneyland (excluding California Adventure) is on a smaller property. Even so, it has more rides compared to the Magic Kingdom. For instance, Disney Land has the Matterhorn with its iconic ride, an Indiana Jones adventure ride, and the relatively new Star Wars: Galaxy Edge section, none of which exist at the Florida park.

The Orlando version, on the other hand, has a Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train (roller coaster), and, IMHO, a larger, more interesting Fantasy Land including a Beauty and the Beast castle, an epic Little Mermaid ride, and a special Storybook Circus area full of attractions. But what figuratively and literally stands out compared to Disneyland is its Sleeping Beauty Castle. The structure is 189 feet tall and dominates the skyline, rising up more than twice as tall as Disneyland’s.

As for everything else, the two parks are very similar. As Lois and I moved around the Magic Kingdom, there were many moments when it was hard to tell which park we were in, California or Florida. Though not carbon copies — the train station at the main entrance, the walk down Main Street, the plaza in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle were amazingly similar.

Interesting as that may be, the most important thing to share is Lois and I had a fantastic time. We are so glad we visited the Magic Kingdom as we were blessed with many wonderful moments to cherish for years to come. 😀❤️🏰

Reserved Dining at the Magic Kingdom

One last thing… While we were in the park, Lois and I treated ourselves to a couple of meals at the Magic Kingdom’s specialty restaurants:

Lunch at the “Crystal Palace” with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet just off the Sleeping Beauty Castle plaza
Dinner at the “Be Our Guest” restaurant underneath the Beast’s enchanted castle in Fantasy Land

Check out the photos!