Review: New Settlement Skillet at Fort Wilderness Trail’s End Restaurant, Other Changes

Hi everyone!

A new Settlement Skillet is now available at Trail’s End restaurant in Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – new to us anyway, since our last visit a number of months ago. The menu has received a few changes since then. There is also a new sign outside Trail’s End since that visit.

Here is our review from our Trail’s End visit on July 4th, which also included Disney’s Fort Wilderness Fourth of July Golf Cart Parade.

I had noticed the change in the sign (as well as the Crockett’s Tavern sign) when we had a media preview for The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. Hopefully this is just a temporary sign. It is very plain and has a hamburger for an icon (as opposed to fried chicken).

The former sign (my photo from last year) was really pretty. Trail’s End used to be a buffet restaurant- and before that, a buffeteria. It also was a family-style restaurant for a while in the past few years. For the to-go side, Trail’s End To Go and P & J’s Southern Takeout were the names. We both have enjoyed Trail’s End through decades, with Jeff visiting from around the time it first opened.

Last year, Trail’s End became a counter service location only, with takeaway options.

The restaurant was busy when we stopped by in the early afternoon on the 4th. We ordered on the mobile app.

There are full-color signs outside the restaurant. These give an idea of what is inside Trail’s End.

Inside, a welcome sign greets guests to let them know how to order or take food away. This would be a great template for the plain sign outside.

The fried chicken takes center stage on the sign, along with the delicious cornbread.

I noticed a Settlement Skillet that I’d not seen before. And on the app, there was no Fried Chicken 2-Piece Meal, which used to be called the Lone Rider. If you want to order that meal, you’ll have to go inside (unless it changes). We probably would have ordered that if it was an option on mobile order.

The Settlement Skillet for $17.99 includes fried chicken, house-smoked ribs, pulled pork, mashed potatoes, cowboy beans and cornbread. The chicken is a small leg, and it does match the photo in the app. I don’t eat dark meat (or pork or any ribs), but I do eat sides and we added one more.

The coleslaw in the photo cost extra, we added it to our meal for $3.99.

There was a nice portion of each item for the meal, we split the skillet (and the coleslaw) and we were both totally full and didn’t even quite finish everything.

I am a big fan of the mashed potatoes and cornbread here. And Jeff enjoyed the three meats. He did say he’d like to have had a larger piece of chicken, which is the highlight here. The ribs are always another favorite, and the pulled pork had a lot of barbecue flavor to it.

The fried chicken is famous here, it is the same chicken as at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue.

The cowboy beans filled half a small cup on the side. That was just enough for us. The beans here used to be amazing, but they are rather bland now, and it’s not a side we order on its own anymore.

Usually we order an 8-piece Fried Chicken Family Meal, which has gone up in price a couple of dollars (now $28.99) since our last visit. It always provides us a lot of leftovers. Because we were not heading straight home, we didn’t order it.  There is also a Full Slab of Ribs Family Meal.

Gone since our last visit is the family meal that included both chicken and ribs.

Trail’s End has also changed its wording for the meals, saying they “Serve 2”. It used to say “Serves 2 to 4”. It is a lot of food for just 2 people. The only reason I can think of has to do with the Disney Dining Plan and entitlements, if this is a factor (I can’t find that information).

Here is our Mousesteps Weekly show 513 where we talk about Fourth of July at Fort Wilderness (and EPCOT), along with Trail’s End and the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness.

The Settlement Skillet was a nice option for us at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort this visit, with a variety of items to try. But the Fried Chicken Family Meal will still be our go-to during most visits, with leftovers lasting a couple of days.