Tent camping at FW

[DMickey28]

I used to camp as a child a lot and I guess I liked it!!! I was going to go camping around here to see if I would still like it and I was thinking about camping in WDW this Oct. It would cut finances down a lot and I need a fix.....Anyone done tent camping at FW and how was it? ANy input would be really appreciated. I am the outdoors type just haven't had the chance to camp recently.

THanks....

 

[Kermit]

I've never camped in a tent at FW, but Tuffcookie has, and she posted her trip report.

I think search link link will bring up her report.

 

[We4mickey]

We tent camped at FW for many years before getting a pop-up. It is probably the best place fo
you to get your feet back into camping. Everything is clean and well maintained at FW. The campsites are wonderful. Every campsite has water and electric and comfort stations are close by. October is our favorite time of the year to visit the world. Wonderful weather and low crowds. You will love it.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Hi DMickey28! You've come to the right place. These posts can provide you with lots of valuable information for your camping trip to FW. For tent camping, I would chose a relatively dry month when it's not too hot. Spring Break worked great for us but I've heard Fall is a nice time to go too (although I would have to take DS out of school for that). If you look up my trip reports the pictures are gone. I ran out of space on my DIS web page and had to delete some stuff to make room for new ones. If you have any questions, fire away!

TC

 

[tci1212]

The very 1st time my sister in law wen tto Disney World with her kids they camped in a tent and they had the best time with the kids. They took amtrak to florida with their tents in tow!

 

[Rhonda]

We've been tent camping at FW since our son was 5 years old - he's 17 now!! We love it! The campground is so peaceful and quiet! Each site is secluded by trees & bushes - you really get the feeling you're out in the wilderness!

FW is continually voted number one in America for campgrounds! The amenities can't be beat! The comfort stations (restrooms & showers) are squeaky clean, as are the laundry facilities.

 

[Melissa R]

Do it!!! I also grew up camping - lots of times at FW - and just went to FW with DH and DS (4) this past January. We had an awesome time, even though the temp went down to about 32 degrees every night (brought a thermometer because we knew we had a cold trip coming). Warmer weather would have allowed us to enjoy the outdoors much more, but we still had so much fun. We're looking forward to another trip!

 

[Tomandtammy]

I have been dying to go camping in WDW in our tent...... BUT
my mother miss know it all Has told me when it rains there
everything inside and out gets soaked and it makes camping
a bad experience. Can anyone give me more info?

 

[kingdomqueen]

Tent camping is wonderful, a great way to cut down expenses but also a fantastic family time. There are lots of things for the kids to do, some time for everyone to spend time together etc. Rain is a drawback though. When we went last Aug we did have some rain, but we had a large tarp to cover the whole tent. I thin it is a 16 x 20 or so. we hung it over a rope tied between 2 trees and then staked it out. It kept us very dry. The only other thing was that water got trapped between out ground cloth and our tent. We had a corner sticking out, but with the tarp and a screenhouse we stayed quite dry all the thim, and you know taht the rain usually only lasts a couple of hours anyway, and then everything dries out. Hop you go and have a great time. KQ

 

[klwdisney]

What do you do with your important documents/money when when camping in a tent though? We are going camping for the first time this month in VT and I thought if we liked it maybe we could do this for a possible budget WDW trip this fall?

 

[clkelley]

If you have your own vehicle, just lock it in the trunk, glovebox, etc.

If you don't, bring a small lockbox and lock it in your tent, then also bring a luggage lock and lock the zippers of your tent together.

I would also imagine Ft. Wilderness has secure storage at Guest Relations.

 

[clkelley]

If your tent is properly set up and waterproofed, you should stay completely dry.

Make sure it's stretched out completely and all lines are tight. Before you leave set your tent up in your backyard or wherever and thoroughly apply seam sealer and waterproofing stuff to the tent and allow to dry before packing it up. Reapply all this at least every six months or so if the tent is used frequently.

Place a ground cloth slightly smaller than the tent floor under your tent (heavy mil plastic cut to fit) and also one inside your tent to keep any water from seeping up through to your stuff.

If possible open your tent for at least a couple of hours during the day to let condensation air out, and also even if cold at night, leave the windows/doors unzipped just a bit (leave the screens zipped up) to allow air flow and reduce condensation.

I have spent many nights camping in all kinds of weather and my son just spent 10 days camping in Virginia with lots of rain and nothing inside the tent ever got wet. He even said there was a puddle under their tent that they would play with, but it didn't get inside

 

[vegadog2]

JUST DO IT

tent camping at fw can really be a gas.

oct is a GREAT month to go tant camping. my wife and i will be at fw in oct.great weather not too many flying things and not much rain.
make sure you go to the campfire program,it wonderful.

 

[campermom2]

Just got back from FW. This was the first time I went camping since I was a child. Loaded up 4 kids (without husband) and traveled 14 hours by myself. RAINED EVERYDAY!!! Storm came through while we were at WDW. Tree limbs fell on tent--totally destroyed tents--everything soaked. I bet there was 3 inches of rain in bottom of tent. Whole area was flooded. There was small swamp-like area that surrounded our campsite. We were in 400 loop. Wasn't so small after storm!!! Took kids to hotel--left 1 day early. Sometimes you can plan every detail and Mother Nature still takes charge!! I will go back to FW. Great campsite--maybe next time I will take pop-up camper!

 

[clkelley]

Sorry about the bad weather. From what I hear, last week was just a doozy weather wise all around!

Some storms, even the best tent can't take it. Usually in a battle between a tree limb and nylon, the tree limb wins ;-)

I'm glad this hasn't soured you on Ft. Wilderness.

I still can't wait till my December trip at Ft. Wilderness! I just think it'll be a gas!!!

 

[kilroys]

Like campermon2, we were there also. Rain every day aroung 5:00pm. It would have been tough in a tent. Every low spot was a lake. We still had a great time. We were in 1600


Kilroys

 

[campermom2]

Didn't mean to sound like I had a terrible time. I had a blast camping at FW!!! Kids got to see all kinds of "critters" roaming around site. We had a racoon join us for dinner several nites.
Peacocks, ducks and several other birds were always looking for a snack too. There was so much for us to do. Went biking on trails, swimming in the pool (open 24 hrs) & petting zoo was neat also. Kids enjoyed the campfire and movie at nite. Kids a little spoiled though--had to bring AC/DC TV-VCR for them at nite. Good trade off I guess !! I can't wait to go back. This was my learning year. What to do--not to do. PS: the advice of freezing water bottles & all the food in one cooler was terrific. With the addition of dry ice, food stayed frozen all week!!Thanks Dis campers!

 

[DJT]

We camped several years when my boys were young, about 20 years ago, in FW. It was great. We had a pop up camper. I think I'd really enjoy camping again there but I don't want to drive any more. We've decided when we go now, flying is the only way. It would be hard to take a tent, sleeping bags, etc. on a plane I imagine, and we can't afford to stay in the accommodations at FW. It would be nice if there was an inexpensive "tent rental shop" in the area where people who would enjoy tent camping in the beautiful FW outdoors could rent a small tent to use at FW!

 

[bobcat]

We were there last week too! Didn't you just love the rain!

We were flooded Friday after those Monsoon like rains. Only a little water inside the tent. The humidity was the worst though. I would camp at FW again, beautiful campground, but maybe not in a tent again, and definatly not in the summer! Had to throw out a lot of food because of the heat and humidity.

 

[RustManFan]

My family has been tent camping at Fort Wilderness twice and I would do it again in a heart beat!! We went in April and August, not the best times as far as heat is concerned. Next time I would bring a small fan since each site has electric outlet. We put up a screen house over the picnic table area and everything stayed clean, dry and bug free for the entire trip. Also would take less cooking equipment next time since we didn't cook as much as we planned .... mainly do to the heat at the time of year we went.

Taking Amtrak Auto Train from NJ was the way to go since we had all our stuff with us and didn't have to drive the whole way.

We locked our souvenior purchases in our car but felt perfectly safe leaving all our camping gear when we went to the parks.

Writiing this is making me want to make reservations!! Campgrounds are amazing