Michelle:
I may have just answered your question about comparing Port Orleans to the cabins of Fort Wilderness and a part of my answer was recommending paying for the upgrade with cooking a few meals at the cabin.
When our family stayed at the cabins for Christmas three years ago, we had the dining plan. We did use the kitchen for breakfast and at least one meal, if memory serves me correctly, because we doubled up some of our dining credits to go to the
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. It also allowed us to bank up enough of our snack credits to spend in Goofy's Candy Company for fun treats for the kids to take back home to their school mates instead of using those credits for items in the bakery for breakfast or fruit.
Having the cabin made a huge difference in the civility of the week, not to mention a little privacy. The children had the bedroom--with their own television--and my husband and I could enjoy the evenings either on the deck or in the living room laying out the next day's clothes or simply sipping hot chocolate and relaxing. And as I mentioned previously, Chip 'n' Dale's Campfire Sing-a-long along with the water pageant and Magic Kingdom fireworks made the resort a fabulous backdrop for our vacation.
I don't care to cook on my vacations either, but you'll get more flexibility for your dining plan, not to mention space and sheer fun from Fort Wilderness.
If you have any more fort questions, feel free to come back and visit me via my bio page!
Whitney