New to Disney Camping

Hey yall! We are a military family currently in Texas. We have been to Disney a few times with the kids (Once to Reunion, once to Wyndham Bonnet Creek and once to Marriott). As a kid we almost stayed at the Embassy Suites near Universal. We splurged once and stayed at FW cabins and it was my favorite memory.

We are avid tent campers and I am considering FW for our next trip. We don't do Disney in the summer bc I hate crowds. If the Army allows, an early May or mid-September trip is possible.

I have a few questions for the experts:
1. What is the difference between the campsites? I need an electric and water hookup. I tent camp but I must have my air mattress and coffee maker
2. We are RD or bust. Do you drive or rely on the boat transportation?
3. Does the campsite have a fire ring or grill? And am I allowed to bring my own wood? Some places are iffy on wood from other states.

Thanks yall!! Any other tips are appreciated. My backup is SOG, but I love FW and this might be a good time to so it.

ryankathleen1,

Welcome to the DIS Camping Board.

If you have a choice I would recommend a May date over a September date. May is generally better weather wise IMO. September still can have those daily afternoon rains which might make tent camping less fun.

There are 4 types of campsites. All have all hookups (electricity, water, catv/internet access, sewer) except the Tent/Partial sites have no sewer. All have a charcoal grill and picnic table. There are no campfire rings but you can bring a portable fire pit if it has a solid top (see the handout in post #3 of this thread). Even then due to local fire conditions Disney has at times even disallowed these temporarily. http://www.disboards.com/threads/camp-fire.3162977/#post-49382937

1. Tent/Partial - two loops 1500 and 2000. All hookups except sewer. 1500 is closest to Pool/campfire area. Shorter paved 12' wide driveway, bigger coquina pad for a tent (coquina is finely crushed shells and drains well like sand). Cheapest of all site types.
2. Full - like Tent/Partial but with sewer. Loops 1600-1900. In a quiet corner of the Fort. They have the tent pads also. 12' wide paved driveway. Next most expensive.
3. Preferred - equipped like Full except these 3 loops 100-300 are up close to Bay Lake, Trails End restaurant, and the boat dock to MK. Next most expensive. They have tent pads.
4. Premium - 18' wide paved sites over 50' in length with NO tent pad. Designed to accommodate the biggest trailers and RV's with slideouts and awnings. All hookups. Most expensive. These are Loops 400-1400.

Pet Loops are 300-900 generally but Disney can assign guests with pets in any loop.

We boat to MK and drive to the other parks. You can boat to MK or Contemporary and connect via monorails to Epcot (minimum 40 minutes). Busses run to all the parks - there are external bus stops at either end of the Fort.

Come back at us with questions.

Bama Ed

PS - here are the 2015 rates for planning purposes. http://www.mousesavers.com/2015-ft-wilderness-campsites-rates-season-dates/

We are RD people and fully rely on Disney transportation (boat to MK, buses everywhere else). I do not suggest taking the monorail route to try and make EP RD, use the bus (or drive).

The tent loops are nice. You'll have electric for that all-important coffee maker plus water. And the comfort station are some of the nicest we've seen anywhere.

I don't know the answer to the wood question, simply because there are no fire rings and we don't travel with one of the approved fire pit thingys, so we deal without a fire while at FW. But FW does have a "community" campfire everynight where you can go roast marshmallows and have a sing-a-long with Chip and Dale.

Welcome to the addiction. I have never tent camped at the Fort but experienced elsewhere. My gang are not early risers. Sometimes we barely make it to the parks for lunch. But we do stay until closing most days. The Fort is awesome and the kids will love it. Make sure you bring awnings to go over the tent(s). That will help with the sun and possible rain. There are no fire pits. They allow a certain type to be bought in but are pretty strict about open fires. Fell free to ask anything here. We love to help. Oh and thanks for you service from an old Army guy.

Welcome ryankathleen1,
About firewood........... http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Div...tions-and-Certifications/Firewood-Regulations

Thanks everyone! I've read alot of the old threads and now I can't wait to get a trip on the books!!!

You can bring your own wood. We had a little fire pit packed in our camper we would use, otherwise you have to use the grill for fires.
FW is one of the nicest camgrounds around. Comfort Stations are clean and lots to do at the campgroud. Lots of guest stay and never go into the parks.

Welcome to the disboards! I'm a military veteran who's tent camped at the Fort multiple times and I have a few tips to add.
1. An outdoor extension cord and power strip come in very handy for your electrical needs in the campsite
2. Campsite lighting is very helpful if you find yourself returning to the campsite after dark. We use either solar walkway lights or Christmas light strings on a photocel timer (turns on at dark and then off after a few hours). Flashlights are also needed for any nocturnal trips to the comfort station.
3. Placing the tent door against the concrete driveway with the tent in the sand helps to greatly reduce the amount of sand being tracked into the tent.
4. Having an awning or screen room over the picnic table gives you shelter and a dry place other than the tent if you need to wait out a passing rain shower.
5. Camp chairs give you a place to sit other than the picnic table.
6. We use a RV drinking water hose and filter for our campsite drinking water.

Hope this helps

Bearikens said:

Welcome to the disboards! I'm a military veteran who's tent camped at the Fort multiple times and I have a few tips to add.
1. An outdoor extension cord and power strip come in very handy for your electrical needs in the campsite
2. Campsite lighting is very helpful if you find yourself returning to the campsite after dark. We use either solar walkway lights or Christmas light strings on a photocel timer (turns on at dark and then off after a few hours). Flashlights are also needed for any nocturnal trips to the comfort station.
3. Placing the tent door against the concrete driveway with the tent in the sand helps to greatly reduce the amount of sand being tracked into the tent.
4. Having an awning or screen room over the picnic table gives you shelter and a dry place other than the tent if you need to wait out a passing rain shower.
5. Camp chairs give you a place to sit other than the picnic table.
6. We use a RV drinking water hose and filter for our campsite drinking water.

Hope this helps

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1. Check. Got that!
2. So you want something that will already be on when you return? We generally use our Coleman propane lantern above the picnic table and a battery powered lantern hanging inside the tent...the kids have little flashlights for reading and of course my husband has his trusty headlamp
3. Check! Good idea.
4. We have a tent with a screened porch on the front. We also use tarps to hang over a picnic table if necessary. Are there enough trees at the sites to do this?
5. Check!
6. Never heard of this. Does it hook up to the water spout at the campsite? I assume I can find it on Amazon? Not hauling a ton of drinking water would be awesome.

Thanks for all the tips everyone!
(I couldn't get into my old email address so I changed screen names)

loop 1500 is perfect for tent camping. but don't take my spot.... I want to go badly sometime myself!

MotherRunner said:

6. Never heard of this. Does it hook up to the water spout at the campsite? I assume I can find it on Amazon? Not hauling a ton of drinking water would be awesome.

Click to expand...

You can probably buy this at Amazon but you can also probably get it at walmart. It is just essentially a standard hose except it's "Food Grade" on the inside so no "Off" taste, at least from the hose itself. The water source, could be a different story.

As for a "Filter" you can do this a couple of ways. You can buy one from home depot or lowes (and probably walmart too). Just search for a "Hose Filter" and you will get options. Or you can go to an "RV" place and get one. Essentially it's just an inline filter that you put on the line (either at the source or the end of the hose). Most places (Disney included) have descent water but you need to filter it for "Taste" more than anything else (Carbon filter works fine). Just be warned that the water pressure at Fort Wilderness is more than Excellent. (I found out the hard way our first stay. The pressure was so great it started leaking out of the lines inside our camper as we didn't have a pressure regulator). The pressure should not be much of an issue if you are just using a "Hose" to get your drinking water (in a jug or similar) but could be if you had to hook it up to something like an outdoor sink or an RV/Camper.

MotherRunner said:

4. We have a tent with a screened porch on the front. We also use tarps to hang over a picnic table if necessary. Are there enough trees at the sites to do this?

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MotherRunner, tree proximity and availability in the campsites can be hit or miss. Generally I would advise planning on having no trees in the correct position available to do the job, just to be on the safe side.

ryankathleen1, Welcome to the Fort, give it a try and you'll be hooked. Can't beat the company or the surroundings. Ditto with Flametamr, a BIG Thanks for your service for us all.