DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris

DisLove E133 Enjoying Fort Wilderness Campground and Emily from Camper Rental Adventures

Vanessa Ferguson and Kris Johns with guest Emily Pelletier Season 5 Episode 133

Send us a text

In this episode, we are joined by Emily from Camper Rental Adventures. Their family business is basically the Airbnb of the RV Rental industry. They provide RV vacation homes, set up at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground for families to use while visiting Walt Disney World. They provide a variety of add-on rentals including fire pits and more.

Check out this link for this week's specials. Make sure to check back to Facebook if looking to book later for their latest offers.

Earlier in the show, Kris and Vanessa revisit all the fun activities and benefits to staying at Fort Wilderness. 



For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris or on YouTube.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Diz Love podcast with Vanessa and Chris . I'm Vanessa Ferguson. And I'm Chris Johns. We would like to welcome you to show number 133 and for any listeners joining us for the first time, our show features things we love at Disney. And in each episode we feature a guest who creates Disney Magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations. From vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney Magic into your lives. And as a reminder to our listeners, we appreciate if you can take time to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or any other platform where you listen. We always like to give shout outs to those who take time to review us and of course we're thankful 'cause that helps new listeners find the show. We greatly appreciate it. And on today's show we are going to be joined by Emily from Camper Rental Adventures, their family business Provides your family with an RV vacation home that's all set up at Fort Wilderness Campground for you , you to use while staying there. They also have some fun add-on features. So we're really looking forward. This was actually I think one of Chris's favorite interviews. It sure was super exciting. One of the things you'll wanna make sure to do is always check their Facebook page for their latest specials. They have some great offers periodically, you know they have someone we were recording the show. So definitely check out their Facebook page for that. And before we get to our interview with Emily, we wanna talk about all things Fort Wilderness. Now if you've listened to the show for a long time, you know we did visit this topic a couple years ago, but we thought it was time to give an update. And of course it goes really great with you planning a trip with Camper Rental Adventures. So we thought it was about time to get back to Fort Wilderness and there are some new updates that have happened recently. So we're really looking forward to sharing with you about Fort Wilderness. Now, if you're not really familiar with it, it of course is the campground and they have campsites as well as cabins. It's 750 acres, which is huge. I didn't realize it was that big, but I've been through it. I should realize the size of it. So they do have, as I mentioned, they have cabins and campsites. And years ago my family stayed at the cabins and I don't, Chris you didn't, you weren't, we weren't married then. You didn't stay at the cabins did you did not. So the cabins sleep up to six adults and it has a full living space. So they have a living room, bedroom, kitchen, all of that. They do have housekeeping service based on the Disney cycle at that time. And they are nice. They have some nice swimming areas that are close to the cabins. My family stayed there when I had brought along a friend. I was in college and we stayed there a lot of space. There is only one bathroom, which I think is a downsize and when they did some remodels a few years ago, there used to be an extra sink and mirror. They took that out too. So I will say if you have a larger party, you're probably gonna wanna check in with our friends over with Emily and be able to get something, one of their campers. 'cause you could probably sleep more comfortably, a larger group there. So when it comes to camping, you can do all kinds of camping there. They have where you can bring your tent, your own rv, you can run an rv, lots of different things. And we are not ones that go camping a lot. So if you're like us, you might not understand the differences. So there are four different types of campsites, which is helpful for those of you who already have your camping gear and are coming prepared. They have a preferred, they have a premium, they have a full hookup and partial hookup. So the premium ones of course, just like everything with Disney, the pre , I'm sorry, the preferred ones are close to everything. The recreation hall, the pools, the marina, which we'll talk about, all the things like that. They also then moving to the premium ones, they're a little bit further away from those common areas, but they have more space and privacy. And for those of you who are camping novices like me, a full hookup is everything for an RV with water, electric, sewer. A partial would be more if you are coming with tent camping or something or maybe a popup. It's just water and electric. So this gives you an idea, it's a full service campground just like you would find anywhere else. And I know we have friends that enjoy going and staying at Fort Wilderness all the time. If your family is used to you camp more on your vacations, it's a great way to get the best of both. You get Disney and camping, which is super fun. Now one of the things that it , you have to keep in mind with Fort Wilderness is it is huge. Like we've gone just to eat and do some of the things. They have their own internal bus system. So if you are coming and you're not staying at Fort Wilderness and you're just going there to dine or enjoy some of the other recreation there, you have to, if you have your own vehicle, you park at the front or if you don't have your own vehicle, the buses drop you off and you have to take their internal bus system and that can be a little confusing. So make sure that you learn about that, their internal bus system. But it saves you from all the walking that you could have. Now they have a lot of different activities which we're gonna break down and look at for you. One of the things that I think is kind of fun is they have all kinds of rentals. So you can rent everything from golf carts to kayaks to canoes. There's all kinds of different things that you can do. And in addition to the rentals, they have a lot of fun activities. And I don't remember if Chris went to this, but when we had our wedding, we did a group hayride. I mean I know he remembers the hay ride from our wedding for our guests to come and enjoy. We ate at Trails end, which of course is just transitioning its food. But then we took the, we had a private hay ride . So every night they have hay rides and anyone can take part of 'em. You just go up uh , by Pioneer Hall and you're able to pay to go on one of those. If you have a large group like we did for our wedding, you can do a private one. We did this with some of our groups of friends. So it's fun. I think that when you go on those hay rides, you don't really feel like you're at Disney at all, do you? You sure don't. You're kind of out in the wilderness and it's nice depending on what time you take it, you can see some of the fireworks from Magic Kingdom and things lit up, which is super cool with um , hay rides also in that area. They have a campfire sing-along and this has Chip and Dale and they usually, it's timed with a, with a movie that you can also enjoy. So it's called Chippendale's Campfire Sing-Along. So when we went, what they do is they have Chippendale come out. They had a cast member playing guitar and leading a sing-along and it was super cute and fun and they will also, did you go to the sing-along with us? I don't know, I don't think Chris did. Um, so they have the sing along and you don't have to be staying at Fort Wilderness to go enjoy this and it's a free activity. What they'll do is they'll do some songs and they're more like traditional kind of camping songs. They have a campfire going and you can roast marshmallows and you can either bring your own marshmallows and sticks or they have s'mores kits that you can buy, which is nice. So if you're on vacation like us, we probably wouldn't go and get s'mores stuff, but you can buy a S'mores Kit kit and you can roast your marshmallows and then afterwards they have a Disney movie under the Stars. And if you've listened to the show when we've talked about other resorts, there's a lot of the resorts where you can go and watch the movies under the stars. And I think this one's even more special because you get to have all those added aspects with Chippendale and the campfire and all of that. So that's super fun if you're wanting to find out the schedule. 'cause the schedule of course changes of what the movies are and timing and all that, you can check with the front desk at Fort Wilderness or you can check on, it's hard to find the information online unless somebody else has posted it. So one of the things, I know it's old school , but you can call 4 0 7 W D w and then the word play. So W D W play and they also will have the schedule available for you or if you're lucky enough somebody on the internet's been a friend and has been able to post that for you. So that is super nice. I really enjoyed that. It's been a long time since I've done it, but I think it would be something fun even now that we, our daughters in our family, it would be fun to go back and experience that again with her. When I went it was all adults, we went and did it and we had fun. So there's, there's not an age limit or an age requirement I guess for that at all. So the campfire is one fun acts aspect that they have one fun activity. They also have Pioneer Hall, which is right kind of at the main, the heart of Fort Wilderness. They have the Hoopy Do musical review and this had the record of being like the longest standing dinner show in the United States and I know they did have to close, they closed for two years because of Covid. But thankfully the hoop to do review is back and it's been back since last year and this is so much fun. I know my family went years ago. My dad was one that got picked to go up and do some of the stuff. I think Chris would enjoy this. Here's the menu there Chris at the dinner show, they have fried chicken, barbecue pork ribs, they have you get a salad, they have cowboy beans, fresh baked cornbread, macaroni and cheese, creamy coleslaw and then they have strawberry shortcake. Sounds good. Yeah, so I think Chris would enjoy that. We, when I've been in the past, the food has always been good. That was before Covid. I've heard good things of friends who've gone since it's returned . So I'm sure you would enjoy it as well. And just like I mentioned with the, with the campfire, you do not have to be a guest there. In fact, most of the people that are going to see the Hoopty do musical review are not guests and it's fun to, it's just a fun kind of over the top experience. It's a great dinner show and especially now with the luau gone , this gives you a nice chance to, if you're wanna do something fun outside the parks with your guests. So as I mentioned, you would have to take that internal bus system to get back to Pioneer Hall. Another great option it is to enjoy this is if you are at Magic Kingdom for the day, there is a boat that goes right from Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness and this will take you right to that main area where Pioneer Hall is. So you can be right there and you don't have to worry about the internal bus system and then you can take the boat back and get on the bus or whatever mode of transportation for your resort if you're staying on property. So that's kind of a fun thing. The show they do, it varies at times a year but they usually have at least two shows every year. So it's fun to be able and sometimes they have three depending on the time of year. So definitely check it out, plan it ahead of time, it's a good time. You will definitely enjoy it. So we've talked about some of the entertainment. So you have the campfire and the sing-along, you have the hoopty do review. Now let's get to, if I'm staying at Fort Wilderness, what are the things that I'm going to experience now there's a few more activities which we're gonna talk about that are kind of open to everyone. But I think one of the fun things is that there's a whole, I would say culture around Fort Wilderness now in particular, if you go at Halloween or at Christmas, which you'll hear Emily mention they book out way in advance for some of their RVs for those seasons. So you definitely, it's kind of a magical time. Um, Halloween is will look at a little bit about what they do for each of those and how you can experience it. And if you're new to staying at Fort Wilderness, you can just go and enjoy what everybody else has done as well. So for Halloween they do a Halloween golf cart parade, which people say is so much fun that most the main mode of transportation for guests at Fort Wilderness is usually golf carts. So people will rent golf carts, they will have their own golf carts and people decorate them up and they have a huge parade through the campground on Halloween. And this is something that people say is such a cool thing to see and they say that people kind of make 'em everything from Disney inspired things like with Haunted Mansion and that just to kind of fun things related to almost any kind of Disney topic you could imagine. And so people say that is a lot of fun and I have not been there at that time of year, so it'd be fun to be able to do that. If you go at Christmas time , there's some makeover Christmas makeovers at things all over. So the first thing is the Hoopty Do Review has a holiday makeover and during that time you get a chance to to kind of add in a little bit of different music and some new lines to kind of the show itself. And that's kind of a fun thing to experience at the Hoopy Do review. In addition to those changes, you also can enjoy walking around and seeing all the amazing holiday decorations people do at their campsites, at the cabins front of their tents, RVs, everything. It's so cool the whole month of December people will have their sights totally decked out. It's super cool to see you can walk around and enjoy that. I've also seen they have all throughout the year they have carriage rides that you can take at along with the hay rides, but they have personal carriage rides. You can take that hold several people, but during the Christmas season they do sleigh rides, which I think is super fun. I'm not sure how they do a sleigh ride in Florida with no snow Chris. So we'll have to look that up. It's probably on wheels I'm sure, but I would hope so . But it's a sleigh. It's a sleigh. So that's super fun. I really would love to see the holiday season at there because it just adds that extra magic that you already are experiencing in the parks and then you can go and just see what people have brought on their own to be able to bring that holiday magic. And I think doing like the campfire and all those things really brings that cozy kind of Christmas feel. And if you're like us and you're from somewhere where you're used to having snow and maybe a little bit colder temperatures for the holiday season, I think it brings a little bit of that fest festivity there. So it's super neat to go either at Christmas or Halloween. Of course I'm sure that celebration spreads out over several weeks. It's not just on that those days themselves, but it gives you a chance to, again, we always talk about how there's all these extras at Disney and that's one more thing that you can experience. It's not just the same old going and riding the same rides I'm eating at the same places. There's all these new things that you can experience now if you want a day away from the parks. There's also a lot of fun activities that you can take part in at Wilder at Fort Wilderness, they have Tri Circle D Ranch allows you to, when you go there you can do horseback riding. They have pony rides for kids. I've been wanting to take our daughter to that. My mom and I did the horseback riding years ago. I don't think it's returned since Covid , but they have done segue tours in the past. I think that hopefully we'll return I would, I'll have to double check , but I'm not sure that those have returned since C O D . You also can do archery lessons, which I think would be super fun if like our daughter right now is really into Marita , so if she was a little more coordinated, it would be fun to take her in a little older to do that. But if you have older ones or even yourself if you wanna try something out so you could really have that whole rustic experience at the campground and not feel like you're in that super busy hustle and bustle of the Florida theme parks. So that's a great thing to do. And overall it gives you a chance to experience the outdoors as well as to have some relaxation and enjoy some different things that you might not have done at the parks before. You can do it again. As I mentioned, most of these things are available for people who are guests as well as people who are just staying elsewhere on property or elsewhere. You can just come in and enjoy these amenities. There's lots of trails that you can take. There's some beautiful scenery where you can see parts of Magic Kingdom from the beach area. And I'll also say it's just nice because it gives you a chance to experience Disney in a new way, which I think that's one of the great things that Emily's family with their camper rental ventures gives you a chance to experience Disney in a new way and really kind of enjoy something new. Right now there's the Trails end restaurant. It kind of went through the revamp and is in the midst of reopening. So that used to be family style like buffet and then now it's opening as a quick service. Sounds like what they have coming for that is gonna be really tasty as well. And then of course they have all the standard things like there is a gift shop there and all of those standard amenities that you expect with the pools and everything from Disney. So hopefully you and your family can get a chance to experience all the great things at Fort Wilderness and maybe can rent an RV from our good friend Emily. So we are looking forward to sharing our interview with her and look forward to sharing even more about the fun and excitement at Fort Wilderness. We'd like to welcome Emily to the show . Her family's business , camper Rental Adventures is a rental business that services Fort Wilderness. They specialize of course in campers and they love providing their guests with a magical camping experience. We'd like to welcome Emily to the show.

Speaker 2:

Hi. Thank you guys for having me.

Speaker 1:

Now we always start off by asking a little bit about what people enjoy at Disney. And so right now we've been asking people what is your favorite character to meet at any of the parks or see ,

Speaker 2:

I would definitely go right now with um, all the characters from Poo Bear . My son, he is two and he, his favorite show right now is S Poo . So we love going, he is usually at Magic Kingdom and we love going to see him.

Speaker 1:

I know we're going to the Halloween party this year and my friend a couple years ago got where you can get all of them in their Halloween costumes and I'm hoping a picture with them. I'm hoping to be able to do that at the Halloween party.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, I really wanted to make it this year. I haven't gotten dates yet, but I do wanna make it .

Speaker 1:

Now we wanna learn all about your family's business and what are the services that you offer connected to Disney?

Speaker 2:

So we provide camper rentals at Fort Wilderness. So our clients, they book a site with Fort Wilderness, just like you would book a hotel room and after they secure their site with Disney, they secure a camper with us. We have over 20 campers to choose from. We have larger ones and smaller ones. We have ones that fit all the way down to tent and pop-up sites. And then we have uh , larger two bedroom, two bath campers for larger families or extended families. So once you get your site with Disney, you pick a camper with us. When you pick a with us, we send you all information about the floor check-in day. When check-in day comes, we go in, we set the camper up completely for you and it's just like arriving , arriving to a Airbnb or a Disney hotel room.

Speaker 3:

That's awesome. Now you had mentioned this is a family business. What was the decision to start something to offer services to families?

Speaker 2:

So we were camping, that was our family vacation since we were all young. We lived in Massachusetts originally and had a drivable rv. So we would go down two or three times a year. Our favorite time was always um, Christmas. We would spend Christmas at the fort. So we would do that uh , probably for like 20 years. Then my parents decided to move down to Florida and as our family started getting older, we wanted to go down with them. So my parents bought a second camper so we could use it and then they just saw the need following people on Facebook for other people looking for RV rentals. And since we had the extra one, we decided to start renting it out. So we started with one and we grew to around 20 and it became a really big business. It doesn't give as many days off anymore and we work all holidays, but we do enjoy it. It's what we've always loved doing, isn't

Speaker 3:

It ? I mean , I think your family really ies the American dream, which is there's a problem, you provide a solution one time and then now you have this fleet where you're able to provide so many families that additional fun that is unique to the Disney experience.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely. And that's really what , especially my mom enjoys . She loves meeting all of our guests and making sure that they have their best at Disney experience. She loves it when they have never come camping before and this is their first time she'll show 'em how to do everything and everything around the fort that they can do and that's what really makes her happy.

Speaker 1:

So that's a, that's a good question. Now I had mentioned to you earlier, I've stayed at Fort Wilderness but just in the cabins because my family probably wouldn't even know how to set up an rv. So what are all the service , I know you said everything's set up, but so for somebody that's a novice like myself, I wouldn't have anything to worry about it sounds like.

Speaker 2:

No, so when we go in , um, and another thing is since we're a family business, when you book with us, you're usually either booking with my sister or I or my mom. And then she's also the one setting your camper up. We don't hire drivers so you're always working with someone in the family. We do have a couple people who work with us who were actually our clients previously. So they also love the fort , they help set the campers up, but you'll always meet someone from our family. Um, when you're on your check-in day, we bring the camper in, we hook up all the utilities for you, we get the AC running, we get the fridge running. All the beds are made just like an Airbnb, your kitchen's stocked with everything that you would need for cooking. Um, your coffee maker, we usually have the Keurig and the drip and then you arrive and um, what happens is you can get your site from Disney anywhere between 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM When you get your site from Disney, you text it over to us. When you text it to us, we start setting up. So if you get your site right at 7:00 AM and you arrive at 12, your AC is completely cooled off the camper's ready. You have nothing to do but unpack your bags and start enjoying your trip.

Speaker 3:

That's awesome. Now, you know, my wife and I, we have a family of three, which I'm sure you have models that will accommodate that. What is really the largest family that your business could take care of?

Speaker 2:

Well that's actually a up to fort wilderness because it goes up to 10 people per reservation. Okay. And as of right now, but they're always changing roles . I believe it's 10 still. Uh, so you can have 10 people on the reservation and we definitely have campers that accommodate 10. Uh, we always are getting newer campers. And the newer campers, they just, they're so large, I can't believe they're making them like as big as they are . But we have like two bedrooms, two full bathrooms. So you can have a bunk room that will fit four to five people. They'll have their own full bathroom in the back along with the master bedroom, their full bathroom. And then you have the living room, which can also accommodate sleeping couches, convert into beds and dining room tables convert into beds as well . So we have campers that can definitely fit 10

Speaker 3:

Now . That's awesome . You know, you talk about campers. What are some of the other , uh, upgrades that a person like Vanessa could purchase in addition to the camper?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so we have outdoor games and a big one, especially when it's getting colder as a fire pit. Uh, Disney has certain fire pits that you're allowed to bring to the fort . So it has to be completely covered with a lid and we'll bring those along with the camper if it's rented,

Speaker 3:

You know , I'm glad you brought that up because you know, we'll go to , is it Animal Kingdom? What's the lodge called that we eat in ? Oh , animal

Speaker 2:

Kingdom Lodge . Yeah ,

Speaker 3:

I , I dunno . Even though I've been there 20 plus times , I dunno any of the places. The one thing I love doing, you mentioned the fire pit, is I just like to, especially when we go around like Christmas, because we'll be going in October and plus again in December this year. I just like to just kinda chill out in front of the fire they have at Wilderness Lodge . At Wilderness Lodge. And it's just, and I'm glad you brought that fire pit up because it's something that you're not gonna bring on a plane and the odds are you're not gonna go to a local store to buy it. But for you to be able to offer that, that's really, that's a cool addition.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's one of my favorites is when all of our family comes in , we're sitting outside at the fire pit. But that's another good point to bring up is we do have a lot of clients who are flying in, they aren't driving, they're just flying in and arriving right to the campsite. So we do offer other small things that they might need, such as a pack and play or if they wanted extra bedding or extra towels because if they're flying in they don't wanna pack too much. So they can definitely, we work with our clients like that and we make sure that they have everything when they need it , when they arrive. And um, we'll even , um, let them know about grocery deliveries and things like that, or if they have their groceries delivered at a certain time, we'll help them get that if they're arriving later on the plane.

Speaker 3:

That's wonderful. And I think that really differentiates, I would say like a corporation versus a family owned business because that's just a touch that most folks wouldn't think of and as strict as airlines are because again, like we live in in Michigan, we fly, we've never driven to Florida in regards to going to Disney. And that's just so nice that you offer that because it just really alleviates a lot of burden on families as part of their planning.

Speaker 2:

Definitely. I feel like flying in is definitely different than driving and uh, we always ask, we have a questionnaire when we take our bookings and we ask there how they're getting there driving or flying because if they're flying, we , you're arriving with your suitcases, you don't have a car, we wanna make sure that the camper's completely set up and ready for your arrival so you're not waiting at all. So we definitely do prioritize that. When it comes to people flying in

Speaker 1:

Now, we've talked a lot about arriving and all the great things that are ready now. When , uh, families leaving, what are their responsibilities? Is everything kind of taken care of on the back end ? Are there certain obligations they have to do to get everything ready for pickup ?

Speaker 2:

Uh, it would be the same as leaving a hotel room or an Airbnb rental. You just pack your bags and then we take care of the rest. So check out at Disney is 11. We ask you to be out by uh , 10, 10 30 . So that way we can get the camper out by 11. It takes us about a half hour to get out.

Speaker 1:

Now one thing that we always try to ask people with any of the types of services, how far out, like are there certain seasons that are busier? Like if my family was wanting to plan a trip, how soon should we reach out to Camper Rental Adventures?

Speaker 2:

So it depends, like you said on the time that you were coming. Halloween is our most busy time of the year by far. So Halloween books out as soon as the sites at Disney Open. Um, and I'm not sure the exact time the site's open. Uh, I can get that and add that into the notes if you wanted me to. Sure. But so as soon as Disney starts opening bookings for Halloween, we sell out for Halloween. And then same with other times of the year, maybe. Um, there's certain weekends that large groups like to come, so then that always books out because they always tend to come the same time of the year. Sure. So all of our campers will book out. But that being said, if you wanted to come next week, it's kind of slow. So we have a camper available, so we always have, unless it's a very busy time, we usually have last minute availability . Availability .

Speaker 3:

What I think what I like about what you have to offer is that your, we'll call it like a Florida December, January, February is very similar to a Michigan, you know, August, September in regards to the, you know, the nightly temperatures mm-hmm . <affirmative> . And so yeah , you , you're gonna have the , the warmth of the day and even while it may be cold out, technically the RV or the camper will take, you know, keep you warm because for us it would just be almost like camping here in the fall. And that's, you know, and it's something neat because, you know, Vanessa and I, we stayed from the Grand Floridian down to Art of Animation and I think what you're offering is a really a unique experience for families that just wanna do something different. 'cause that's, again, we've been there so many times where for us, we, we've ridden the rides, but we wanna do something different. And what you're offering is definitely a unique experience.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. There's a couple different reasons why it's, it's um , uh, different and sometimes the better alternative to a hotel room because like I said, you get the 10 people on the reservation. So instead of needing two to three hotel rooms, now you can fit all your family in one. You have the two full bathrooms and our two full bathrooms give you a tub in one. So you have your tub for the little ones, and then you also have your stand-up shower and the other bathroom. Uh , but also you have the whole outdoor area. So instead of being in a hotel room where you walk out and you're in a hallway, you walk out and you have a whole seating area outside. When I bring my son, we bring , um, a bunch of outdoor things for him. We bring , uh, his baby gate and then put a bunch of toys in there. So you just get , I feel like you have a lot more space and you definitely have a lot more space for the kids because now instead of being cooped up in the room or the camper, you open the door and you have a whole outdoor area where their bikes, their toys, things like that.

Speaker 3:

A hundred percent . I mean if you think about it, you really have a guaranteed first floor room.

Speaker 1:

Yeah . <laugh> . Yes . Now one of the things that we always like to ask, and you've really touched on this already, but maybe you could even talk about things that like Fort Wilderness offers as well. How do you think the products slash really service that you offer adds Disney magic to your customer's lives?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. Well, I always start with our rentals first. And what we try to do with our rentals is we try to theme 'em. Uh , all of our campers have have names. Um, our newest one's Raya , for instance. Oh . So we have a themed with Raya, we have pillows and things like that. And then in addition to that, we ask all of our clients , um, if they want character betting. So we theme our betting for the children with characters like Mini Mickey Moana cars, things like that. And if they don't specifically ask, I'll go through and ask them if it's Boyser Girls and try to theme it that way with either Mini or Mickey or Princesses just so the kids get a little bit extra when they arrive. But then, I mean the four itself is all Disney magic and it's actually where the horses are kept for Magic Kingdom. Yes. So we have the horse barn. There's actually two horse barns now right when you drive in. And then there's also one in the settlement that also gives you trail riding and pony rides for the kids, which is really fun for the little ones. And I know even if you're not staying there, people come just to see the horses at Disney.

Speaker 1:

Yes, for sure.

Speaker 3:

That , that's really an awesome point. I mean, just about how I , I really like that thing about the betting. I'm surprised that in a macro sense Disney doesn't offer a bit more personalization. But to your point, you know, again, if you're , like you said your young child is into poo and if he can have poo on his, you know, bedspread and his pillow cover and whatnot, that just adds even more. And that's something that parents don't have to bring with them. It's provided by you.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. That's what we, we really like to see all the kids excited when they arrive.

Speaker 1:

And I know over the years we've enjoyed going to like hay rides and in , in enjoying the restaurants there. And my mom and I have done the horseback riding and I love how you mentioned about the Pony rides. Our daughter is really into horses right now, so on one of our upcoming trips, I was hoping to take her over there to do that . And I think people don't realize too, it's so peaceful there. I love going just to hang out and get a break from the hustle and bustle at the parks and everywhere else you really feel like you're somewhere else when you're at Fort Wilderness.

Speaker 2:

Definitely . And I think something else people might not know is you're actually still a Magic Kingdom Resort guest, so all you need , um, to do is jump on the boat and you're right at Magic Kingdom. And you can also see the fireworks from Magic Kingdom along with they play the music from Magic Kingdom at the beach every night.

Speaker 3:

You know , we've mentioned all the awesome things that your company provides. Where can folks go to learn more?

Speaker 2:

We have our website, which is camper rental adventures.com, that will have all of our campers that we have available . If you, we have a questionnaire, so you fill out the dates that you're looking for, you send us over that in the email and we'll send you over what campers are available or what would best fit your party for the dates. But we also have our Facebook page, we'll run promotions and sales almost weekly, but you can also messages on there. So we're very active on our , on our Facebook page. If you have any questions, you send us over a message and we'll get back to you right away.

Speaker 3:

Thank you. And then the one piece is , is there a minimum a night minimum for how many nights ?

Speaker 2:

We have a two night minimum, but anything over two is fine . And then if it's over three nights, we don't charge deliberate fee .

Speaker 3:

Thank you. And I know you , you may have mentioned this, but in re Vanessa's a planner, I know the other night she got up very early to make reservations while I was sleeping or dining. Yeah. <laugh> , how far out, like time-wise, am I able to secure, like let's just say that the camper that sits, that sleeps 10, because I'm gonna have a family reunion, how far out should I call to make sure I am able to secure a specific model?

Speaker 2:

So whenever Disney opens up the dates , and I think it's roughly, I know we're already booked for Halloween 2024, so I think it's about a year and a half. For example, right now, a lot of people are booking for Spring. Sure . Uh , that would be normal. But if it's a really busy time, you wanna book , uh, right when Disney opens up the reservation. But if you wanna book , uh, just regularly, probably , uh, a year in advance.

Speaker 1:

Wow. And we will make sure to put the links to your website , to the Facebook page and the show notes. And we are really excited to really share your business with our listeners because I think you offer such a unique opportunity to people, for people to enjoy their vacation in a new way.

Speaker 3:

Well, and I'm excited too because I would, you know, I love Disney, the hotels, but I think this would just be a fun experience just to have, because you know, we had mentioned before, Vanessa is not a camper , um, a tent, a tent camper, <laugh> . I I have been a tent camper in my lifetime and I would love to just do something different. And I think for families that are classic Disney visitors, this allows you to really augment and create a new memory that you're , you would , because again, do you really remember the, the fourth time you stayed at Art of Animation? Not really. Whereas with what you have to offer, that will be a core memory for kids and parents alike.

Speaker 2:

Definitely. And actually one thing I forgot to mention was Fort Wilderness is great to bring your pets and we have pet friendly units, they have a dog park and you can walk around. So that's definitely something for people to consider versus staying at a hotel room.

Speaker 1:

That's perfect. And I will make sure to share some of that information in our show notes as well. 'cause I know we're big dog lovers and I, we have a lot of friends that even travel and bring their dogs with them, so that's awesome. We'll make sure to let people know about that as well. Yes. Perfect. Well thank you so much, Emily, for joining us today. Thank you for having me .

Speaker 3:

Thank you again to Emily for joining us today.

Speaker 1:

And now we are onto our two minute trivia and our wisdom from Walt quote . And Chris , you are up with trivia.

Speaker 3:

Now. You mentioned that Fort Wilderness was founded, it was opened in November of 1971 and it's grown. And so this directly relates to Emily and the wonderful service that her family provides because they will put a brand new RV into a campsite. The question is how many campsites are at for wilderness?

Speaker 1:

Now we're saying all campsites. 'cause I know we talked about the different types of like hookups and all this is all the campsites.

Speaker 3:

So this is for my friends@allears.net. The resort has blank number of campsites and blank number of air conditioned wilderness cabins residing on more than 700 acres of lush vegetation.

Speaker 1:

<laugh> , I'm gonna , I'm I just have to answer the campsites though, right? Well,

Speaker 3:

You can do both. So how many campsites are there and how many air conditioned cabins?

Speaker 1:

Let's say 130 campsites.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

And then for cabins, I'm gonna go 65. You

Speaker 3:

Just have to , you are way off. Way off . Okay . You are way, you are way, way low high , way low. Way low. Okay. So I'm gonna give you what now do a take your, your guess

Speaker 1:

500

Speaker 3:

Low.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's okay. I have no idea.

Speaker 3:

According to all ears.net 799 campsites, holy

Speaker 1:

Cow. And

Speaker 3:

409 air conditioned wilderness cabins.

Speaker 1:

Wow. That is way more, it doesn't feel that big when you're there. Like you feel like it , I think it's that privacy aspect, the way it's set up.

Speaker 3:

I have very little memory of Fort Wilderness in general. I mean, I , I've been there.

Speaker 1:

You remember eating at Trails End .

Speaker 3:

I do. But regards to like I , where it's at , remember , I don't remember. I mean, again, you go at night. Don't Yeah, that's true . Usually go eat. Yeah. I don't remember what's around it in the amenities, but I just wanted to share with that with you .

Speaker 1:

Wow , that's really interesting. Hmm . Well that means there's plenty of spaces for you to rent and have a nice RV set up reading for you when you come. All right . We are gonna end. I figured it was perfect to talk about a nature quote from Walt when we've talked about all this outdoor experiences. I like wild nature, it's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess. So I thought that was kind of a fun quote to wrap things up today. And thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Diz Love podcast with Vanessa and Chris . I'm Vanessa. And

Speaker 3:

I'm Chris . This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.