A Brit planning Tent Camping at Fort Wilderness am I the first Brit?

[Bearikens]

1) As far as the electrics at the sites are concerned. Is it just a standard American socket? Would I just need to buy a standard European –to American adaptor? Or is there other equipment I will need to buy to be able to use the electric?

Looks like im going to have to pick up a small tv from walmart as well when I arrive to make the most of the cable and have a bit of American tv in the mornings.

If you bring any electrical/electronic equipment with you, then you will need an adaptor to connect them to electricity. The outlets are standard American configuration so any electrical/electronic devices you buy here will work fine. You might want to have an outdoor extension cord to have electricity inside your tent (10 to 25 feet is sufficient).

As far as questions 2 and 3, I've never had an occasion to have an order shipped from Walmart and I've not had to use a safe deposit box at the Fort, so I'm afraid I can't answer your question, but I'm sure others can.

Incidentally, the cable that connects the jack to your TV is not included, so you will need to buy one too (RG6 or RG59, 10 to 25 feet).

 

[Disney Bunny]

Have never tent camped at the Fort, but spent 17 years tent camping before we bought our first RV.

A couple of recommendations......

Since you are going to be at the Fort for 4 weeks, highly recommend you buy a screen tent or an EZ Up to help keep your things dry and give you a place for extra storage. Also recommend that you buy some Rubbermaid containers from Walmart to store your things in. When we were tent camping, those things were lifesavers. I marked each container as to what was in it with an indelible marker. They will keep any paper products you have from getting really damp and soggy. They are also good for organizing your clothes in the tent.

Several folks on here have also suggested to tent campers to buy some heavy duty plastic as a ground cloth to put under your tent.....something you can just throw away. This is due to the coquina shells that are mixed in with the sand on the tent pad. That stuff can become a real mess when it gets wet.

Air mattresses can get very cold in the winter time. If you are going to use one, make sure to put some thick padding underneath it to help protect it from cold air seeping up inside your tent.

A pop up mesh laundry bag would be good for dirty clothes. They do have washers and dryers at the comfort stations I believe.

Since it is just you, depending on how much you want to cook at the campsite, you might want to look at buying a small refrigerator vice a cooler and having to keep it filled with ice. For a 4 week trip, the fridge might be cheaper in the long run.

The campsite will have a charcoal grill available. You can buy charcoal at the camp store. Again, depending on how much you decide to prepare food at the campsite, you will need a small propane stove or at the very least some type of hot plate. Something else to consider might be a small crock pot....very inexpensive at Walmart.

 

[bama_ed]

Weaverlfc,

You made ressie? Good for you.

You've gotten a lot of advice but I would offer one more piece of advice.

If you want to make your visits to the Fort a recurring item, check out Owner's Locker http://www.ownerslocker.com/.

Once you get your stuff when you are here you might want to save it for your next visit to WDW and that's where Owner's Locker (OL) comes in. They will store your equipment in a container and deliver it to your resort (and pick it up from your resort when you check out).

Let's think. You're going to all this trouble to plan your trip, come over to the States, get your tent/gear/tv, work out the kinks, and stay for several weeks. OL will bring you a box to store your stuff in while you go home. No extra baggage fees. If/when you come back simply call them up and tell them when you are returning to the Fort, and they will have your stuff at check-in ready for you.

Obviously if you aren't planning to come back regularly/frequently it might not be cost effective. But once you got to the trouble to get your stuff bought and get your day-to-day system down, it would be nice to reuse as much as possible. And your stuff has to fit in a box/locker (you can rent more than one annually). It sounds like they won't do big items like a fridge. I have read over on the DIS Disney Vacation Club (DVC/timeshare) board that lots of folks over there use OL. It fits folks who fly in frequently and want their stuff available. Imagine flying back to Orlando and having your stuff ready and waiting for you at the Fort check-in desk.

Oh, and I remember now me and my wife rode the train in 1989 from London to Cardiff then caught a slow train north and visited Caerphilly Castle (sp?). It was November (rainy and cold) but we loved Wales that day.

 

[englishteacha]

If I were doing what you were doing, I would figure out whether it's cheaper to buy new stuff here in the states or to ship/mail/fly your gear over here from the UK. You may find bringing some things with you and buying the big stuff here is the best bet. There's a thread somewhere here by someone who flew to Fort Wilderness and brought all their gear for 2 people in luggage, including 2 fold up bicycles!

Walmart has just about everything you need, especially if you're looking for bargains. A decent Coleman tent, an airbed or a cot (they have a coleman cot that's pretty comfy; it has a foam mattress), sleeping bag, pillow, hot plate and a mess kit, etc. are all available there and you can get it shipped anywhere you want it. Not knowing what you're going to have for meals, you'll need either a cooler, or a fridge, or to go with all non-refrigerated stuff. Or eat all your meals in restaurants.

I have loads of tent camping gear, and would happily loan you stuff if I weren't 1300 miles away! Now I'm off to Walmart.com to see what I can find for you! I'll be back!

 

[englishteacha]

Me again! Looks like you can get a lot of gear for under $100 at Walmart. It will depend on what you want, of course, but a small tent, airbed, sleeping bag, some basic gear are all fairly affordable if you don't mind bargain gear rather than super-high-quality last-for-a-lifetime gear.

 

[2goofycampers]

There's a thread somewhere here by someone who flew to Fort Wilderness and brought all their gear for 2 people in luggage, including 2 fold up bicycles!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2688096&highlight=folding+bikes

 

[weaverlfc]

The latest Plans: (long read)

Right, i’ve spent the last few days booking reservations and trying to work out dates and things. My plans have changed about 5 times already, but I think now I’ve finally got the plans in place.

Originally I reserved the 4 weeks at FW for Jan 10th at the start of my holiday, staying 1 night in pop century upon arrival. Those plan have been scrapped now thanks to a deal to good to be turned down from the Disney UK website. I was originally planning to stay a few nights in a luxury hotel at the end of my holiday, so I checked the Disney site to get an idea of prices. That’s when I saw I could get a deal of a free full dining plan and 45% of hotel rates at the Saratoga Springs if you stayed a minimum of 5 nights. So i was going to book the 5 nights, then I realised how good value it was with the dining plan, so I thought lets make it a full week, then I saw the list of restaurants available and looked at the menus……..2 weeks were instantly booked for the end of my 6-8 week planned holiday. I had booked the studio for myself eventhough the studios can sleep up to 4, but it was such a brilliant deal it was still great value.

Then came the problem. To get the deal that I got I had to book the Disney park tickets with the hotel as a package. So I thought I could do that, pay off the holiday in advance, and then receive my Disney ultimate tickets early, before I stayed at the Saratoga, because obviously I want the Disney tickets for when I arrive in FW, I was then going to upgrade the tickets to an Annual Pass. Lucky I phoned to check if that was ok, because apparently it’s not, I was told I would only be able to get the Disney tickets when I arrived at the resort as it was part of the package deal. I didn’t want to miss out on the deal so I thought it would make sense to just stay at the Saratoga resort for the first 2 weeks then go to fort wilderness.

That is still the current plan only now Im going to have my sister & brother in law coming with me for 2 weeks at the Saratoga Springs. I worked out I could add them to the package to stay at the resort with free dining plans for both of them for pretty much free, as long as they bought the Disney tickets as well. They were both originally going to Disney in October for 2 weeks, and needed to buy Park tickets anyway. So again it seemed like to good of a deal to miss out on, so they cancelled their October holiday(eventhough it meant losing their desposit) and are now coming with me in January. Which is great for me, because now the cost of the studio at Saratoga is split 3 ways, which saves me a lot of money. I was thrilled with the deal and the price I got when it was just me staying in the studio, now that the price is split between 3 it honestly just seems to good to be true. It works out at just over £40 a night for me, that includes the Dining Plan( which itself normally cost £33 a day). So it’s like im staying at a Disney deluxe Villa Resort for £7 a night.

So at the moment the plan is 2 weeks at Saratoga Resort, and then 4 weeks at Fort Wilderness. I think its going to work much better this way as well because it means I don’t have to bring any camping equipment with me and I don’t have to worry about ordering equipment or food or anything to the resort for when I arrive. Now I will have 2 weeks in Orlando to buy everything that I need for the 4 week stay at FW, which is great because its much cheaper to buy the equipment after I arrive, and will much easier to get all my equipment to the campsite.

I still need to change my FW Reservations but im hoping this shouldn’t be a problem and they will have the dates I want. It’ll be great to have my sister and brother in law help me set up everything before they leave on the last night as well(Im going to overlap the reservation at FW with the last night at Saratoga)


So those are the current travel plans, now i’ve got everything else to plan. I’ve been looking at all the possible tent’s and equipment I can buy for the campsite and trying to plan my setup. So many choices and things im looking at buying. Any tips from you camping pros on tents/cooking equipment/mattresses and all other possible items for my set up would be great.

Weaverlfc,

Oh, and I remember now me and my wife rode the train in 1989 from London to Cardiff then caught a slow train north and visited Caerphilly Castle (sp?). It was November (rainy and cold) but we loved Wales that day.

I live about 40 minutes away from cardiff/caerphilly castle. Doesn't surprise me it was rainy and cold when you were in Wales lol.

Me again! Looks like you can get a lot of gear for under $100 at Walmart. It will depend on what you want, of course, but a small tent, airbed, sleeping bag, some basic gear are all fairly affordable if you don't mind bargain gear rather than super-high-quality last-for-a-lifetime gear.

I’ve spent ages browsing the walmart website, so much I want to buy. Im hoping if all goes well this first trip I will be back many many times, so I suppose I want to buy gear that will last, at the same time I don’t want to be spending crazy money.

Iv’e looked into that owners lock site you posted ed-barma, looks like a great idea. I’ve also looked into other larger storage options in orlando .


A quick question about pitch size and tents -

How big are the partial pitches? I’ve looked at photos but I don’t know what type of pitches are which and its hard to tell the actual size in photos.

Would I be safe in thinking a tent this sort of size will fit with no problems?

I don’t mind spending up to $250 dollars on a tent. So any suggestions would be great. If I do buy a large tent like the ones above would I also have space for a gazebo? Or would I be better off buying a smaller tent and then a good gazebo/canopy.


That will do for now, well done to anyone who actually read it all.

Thanks again for all the help already given.

 

[Disney Bunny]

I'm thinking you might want to buy a slightly smaller tent in something close to that style. Not sure one that size will fit on the sand pad for tents. That tent style plus a gazebo/EZ up on your site and you should be good to go for comfort and storage. As I suggested in an earlier post, Rubbermaid containers with lids are great for putting all your stuff in and staying organized. They stack on top of each other to help with space limitations and are great for keeping your things clean and dry and keeping critters out.

I envy you being able to stay at Disney for 6 weeks. I would love to do that. My DH not so much.

 

[mskermit]

The latest Plans: (long read)

Right, i’ve spent the last few days booking reservations and trying to work out dates and things. My plans have changed about 5 times already, but I think now I’ve finally got the plans in place.

Originally I reserved the 4 weeks at FW for Jan 10th at the start of my holiday, staying 1 night in pop century upon arrival. Those plan have been scrapped now thanks to a deal to good to be turned down from the Disney UK website. I was originally planning to stay a few nights in a luxury hotel at the end of my holiday, so I checked the Disney site to get an idea of prices. That’s when I saw I could get a deal of a free full dining plan and 45% of hotel rates at the Saratoga Springs if you stayed a minimum of 5 nights. So i was going to book the 5 nights, then I realised how good value it was with the dining plan, so I thought lets make it a full week, then I saw the list of restaurants available and looked at the menus……..2 weeks were instantly booked for the end of my 6-8 week planned holiday. I had booked the studio for myself eventhough the studios can sleep up to 4, but it was such a brilliant deal it was still great value.

Then came the problem. To get the deal that I got I had to book the Disney park tickets with the hotel as a package. So I thought I could do that, pay off the holiday in advance, and then receive my Disney ultimate tickets early, before I stayed at the Saratoga, because obviously I want the Disney tickets for when I arrive in FW, I was then going to upgrade the tickets to an Annual Pass. Lucky I phoned to check if that was ok, because apparently it’s not, I was told I would only be able to get the Disney tickets when I arrived at the resort as it was part of the package deal. I didn’t want to miss out on the deal so I thought it would make sense to just stay at the Saratoga resort for the first 2 weeks then go to fort wilderness.

That is still the current plan only now Im going to have my sister & brother in law coming with me for 2 weeks at the Saratoga Springs. I worked out I could add them to the package to stay at the resort with free dining plans for both of them for pretty much free, as long as they bought the Disney tickets as well. They were both originally going to Disney in October for 2 weeks, and needed to buy Park tickets anyway. So again it seemed like to good of a deal to miss out on, so they cancelled their October holiday(eventhough it meant losing their desposit) and are now coming with me in January. Which is great for me, because now the cost of the studio at Saratoga is split 3 ways, which saves me a lot of money. I was thrilled with the deal and the price I got when it was just me staying in the studio, now that the price is split between 3 it honestly just seems to good to be true. It works out at just over £40 a night for me, that includes the Dining Plan( which itself normally cost £33 a day). So it’s like im staying at a Disney deluxe Villa Resort for £7 a night.

So at the moment the plan is 2 weeks at Saratoga Resort, and then 4 weeks at Fort Wilderness. I think its going to work much better this way as well because it means I don’t have to bring any camping equipment with me and I don’t have to worry about ordering equipment or food or anything to the resort for when I arrive. Now I will have 2 weeks in Orlando to buy everything that I need for the 4 week stay at FW, which is great because its much cheaper to buy the equipment after I arrive, and will much easier to get all my equipment to the campsite.

I still need to change my FW Reservations but im hoping this shouldn’t be a problem and they will have the dates I want. It’ll be great to have my sister and brother in law help me set up everything before they leave on the last night as well(Im going to overlap the reservation at FW with the last night at Saratoga)


So those are the current travel plans, now i’ve got everything else to plan. I’ve been looking at all the possible tent’s and equipment I can buy for the campsite and trying to plan my setup. So many choices and things im looking at buying. Any tips from you camping pros on tents/cooking equipment/mattresses and all other possible items for my set up would be great.




I live about 40 minutes away from cardiff/caerphilly castle. Doesn't surprise me it was rainy and cold when you were in Wales lol.





I’ve spent ages browsing the walmart website, so much I want to buy. Im hoping if all goes well this first trip I will be back many many times, so I suppose I want to buy gear that will last, at the same time I don’t want to be spending crazy money.

Iv’e looked into that owners lock site you posted ed-barma, looks like a great idea. I’ve also looked into other larger storage options in orlando .


A quick question about pitch size and tents -

How big are the partial pitches? I’ve looked at photos but I don’t know what type of pitches are which and its hard to tell the actual size in photos.

Would I be safe in thinking a tent this sort of size will fit with no problems?

I don’t mind spending up to $250 dollars on a tent. So any suggestions would be great. If I do buy a large tent like the ones above would I also have space for a gazebo? Or would I be better off buying a smaller tent and then a good gazebo/canopy.


That will do for now, well done to anyone who actually read it all.

Thanks again for all the help already given.

I have a tent similar to that one, it had 2 big rooms and you can divide one to make 3. it was nice having the room in the front to put our TV and some chairs instead of being outside. ours can fit 3 queen size blow up mattresses and still have room for other things in it. If you are going to be there for a long stay, you will need the room, go for it!!

 

[bxtx]

Hi, we are Brits who have lived in Texas for the last 9 years. We've gone to Fort Wilderness for the last 3 years and will be back again at Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November) for 2 weeks for our annual fix. We have a travel trailer aka a caravan (but US sizing!!) and camped/caravanned extensively in the UK before we immigrated.

If you want to PM with any questions, please feel free, we can do a good translation. Wal-Mart (4-5 miles from FtW) will be your best bet for buying gear once there. I also thought you could rent tents directly from Disney but don't quote me on that.

Ref electrics, its a post at the back of the site (make sure its a site suitable for a tent i.e. not premium) - you can plug in a regular OUTDOOR US extension / expansion cord.

Becky (from Sutton Coldfield)

 

[bama_ed]

If you want to PM with any questions, please feel free, we can do a good translation.

Becky,

I guess that makes you bi-lingual.

Bama ED

PS - not original, I know. Two nations separated by a common language. (just kidding of course)

 

[weaverlfc]

I envy you being able to stay at Disney for 6 weeks. I would love to do that. My DH not so much.

When I originally started planning my extended holiday in Florida I wasn’t even considering staying at a Disney resort. I didn’t think there was any chance I could afford it and was just looking at budget hotels close enough to all the parks. That’s why I was so excited when I found out about camping at FW and realised I could stay in a top Disney resort for the same price as a budget hotel was going to cost. Getting the deal as well then at Saratoga Springs with 45% and the free dining plan has meant that I’m going to be staying onsite at Disney in 2 great resort for 6 weeks for a ridiculously low price.……..it still sounds to good to be true as I’m typing this.

These are 2 tents I like the look of at the moment. I’m pretty sure im going to go for a cabin style Tent.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Max-Cabin-Tent/11030641

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___27326




and then looking at this screenhouse or something similar to go with the tent

http://www.walmart.com/ip/SwissGear-SmartShade-10-x-10-Screenhouse-White-and-Silver/13228646

If you want to PM with any questions, please feel free, we can do a good translation

I’ll definitely be taking you up on that offer during the next 6 months of planning, thanks.