Am I crazy for tent camping in aug.

[DebIreland]

first I am NOT trying to RUIN anything!!!!! my hubby and I both are looking into this together!! we both have decided we want to tent camp to save money we have 5 kids! I am doing the research and I give it to him and we decide. I just happen to come across someone saying that they thought it was crazy to tent camp in aug. and I wanted to get some opinions....so please don't assume I am trying to ruin anything when you don't really know....that will go further when talking to someone about your opinion...

The impression I got was that you're trying to organize a great Disneyworld trip for your family - you sound like a great Mom/Stepmom/DW to me. I cannot see why you researching what camping in August is like means you're trying to ruin your DH's trip, or his entire life.

It's great that you're planning early. Do give some thought to free dining. Free food for 7 people is a great perk and you'd get to do some amazing meals!!

 

[KristinBelle]

I'd rather camp then stay at an All star or an offsite motel. The Fort is so much fun, I think you'll have a great time.

 

[cheermom1]

The impression I got was that you're trying to organize a great Disneyworld trip for your family - you sound like a great Mom/Stepmom/DW to me. I cannot see why you researching what camping in August is like means you're trying to ruin your DH's trip, or his entire life.

It's great that you're planning early. Do give some thought to free dining. Free food for 7 people is a great perk and you'd get to do some amazing meals!!

I'd rather camp then stay at an All star or an offsite motel. The Fort is so much fun, I think you'll have a great time.

thanks you both I do appreciate the kind words really I do...and yes that is what I am trying to do or I wouldn't have posted this in the first place..If I want to ruin the vacation I wouldn't have post anything to begin with. I would have just planned it and let them be miserable...

I do the research and show dh and we weigh the pros and cons and decide together what we should do....

 

[cheermom1]

Did you not say that your DH can't stand it when it's above 70 degrees? That the heat really bothers him? How about we change "ruin" it to it will be absolutely miserable for your DH to have to deal with that extreme heat - in a tent - crammed with 7 people? It's great that you and your DH are looking into this together! When was the last time that he slept in a tent - in Florida - in the extreme heat - in August? If he has never done it, I can see where he might "think" he can do it - but thinking it and actually having to deal with it or two entirely different things..

You have an entire year to save until this trip.. As someone mentioned, the ASMU suites would be a better choice for your family even if you weren't going to attempt tenting.. More room for everyone to move around - cooler for your DH - and you're still onsite..

Prior to your last post, it appeared that you were not giving your DH's comfort any consideration at all (and from some of the other responses here, I'm not the only one who felt that way).. Maybe you should have said that in the first post to avoid any misunderstandings..

You asked for opinions and you got them.. As we all know, we don't always get the ones that we "want" here..

I know that I will get people who have a different opinion then I do and that is fine but it's when you cross the line by making assumptions...

I did say that dh thinks it too hot if it gets above 70 but I thought we are all intelligent enough to think that dh would KNOW it will be hot in Aug in Florida

as far as staying anywhere else we have so much we can save for in a year and we were wanting to make the most of our stay. We really want to stay at the Fort. We really think the kids will LOVE it there and there is so much to do.

after I came across where it may be too hot to tent camp is when it got me to thinking it might be hotter then we realized...

We both sat down and decided we would get an air conditioner for the tent...

edt: we will not have 7 people in one tent we will have 2 tents thanks....

I don't think that in my first post that I implied in ANY way that I wasn't taking dh into consideration or I wouldn't have posted in the first place!!!!!

oh yeah I will have my kids too and you don't think they should be just as comfy as his boys? Just wondering since you only mention them and not mine as well????

 

[diznygirl]

I don't know - I agree with C.Ann. Didn't look like you wanted the answer to your original question. You wanted to know how it could be done because this is what YOU wanted to do regardless.

Get the A/C. Knock yourself out. I think you will find more of what you are looking for on the camping board.

 

[cheermom1]

I don't know - I agree with C.Ann. Didn't look like you wanted the answer to your original question. You wanted to know how it could be done because this is what YOU wanted to do regardless.

Get the A/C. Knock yourself out. I think you will find more of what you are looking for on the camping board.

I did post on the camping board and like I said I really thought I had done so in the first place...and they were WAY more helpful and NICE about the whole thing..no assumptions and they looked at the good instead of automatically thinking the worst...

 

[Serena]

I'm sorry you didn't get the responses you wanted. Some of us are nicer than others, but what we do all normally do is respond to what we read. Yes, I was more blunt than normal, but what I read had no consideration of your husband. That bothered me.

I am glad to hear that what I read was not the whole situation and I wish you luck.

 

[cheermom1]

I'm sorry you didn't get the responses you wanted. Some of us are nicer than others, but what we do all normally do is respond to what we read. Yes, I was more blunt than normal, but what I read had no consideration of your husband. That bothered me.

I am glad to hear that what I read was not the whole situation and I wish you luck.

but you see that is MY point. Try to give the op the benefit of the doubt before you give a blunt answer...and ask questions when in doubt...that is really all I want to convey because it does hurt people when you assume something that is not necessarily true from just one post...if everyone would try to give the benefit of the doubt them most of the time threads wouldn't get so full of drama and nastiness....

 

[Minnie]

You asked a question in your thread title..... Just because you didn't like 99% of the answers doesn't mean they aren't valid

Your DH doesn't like weather over 70 and your considering camping in FL in Aug - yep that's crazy in my opinion

 

[cheermom1]

You asked a question in your thread title..... Just because you didn't like 99% of the answers doesn't mean they aren't valid

Your DH doesn't like weather over 70 and your considering camping in FL in Aug - yep that's crazy in my opinion

I never said other peoples opinions were wrong or anything to the effect..I thought it was not cool when people make an assumption about something like reading between the lines instead of WHAT is posted. Like I said if in doubt ask before making that kind of assumption before posting.. and YES she (C.Ann) crossed the line when she accessed me of tiring to ruin our vacation she had NO idea of that what so ever she assumed period instead of giving the benefit of the doubt at first....and if you noticed she was the one I directed it to no one else..so I don;t see where you got the idea that I wanted everyone to give me a response I liked ....

if you think it is crazy to tent camp in aug. then that is your right ....

i think we will have a blast and we chose the fort for a number of reasons ...

1. cheaper and I did look into the free dining and going with the fort is still cheaper.

2. the kids won't be confined to the room and they will be able to spread out and have fun while doing it and we can relax (dh and I)

3. we won't have to be split up into 2 rooms ....

4. we can stay on site ( this is our one in a life time chance and I wanted the whole experience for the kids)

 

[KirstenB]

I think you can get rooms offsite for $35+ per nite. That's what I would choose. Ironically, the heat doesn't bother me. But how do you secure your belongings in a tent? I guess you lock them in the car, I don't know.

 

[LisaR]

Wow! There is an awful lot of drama in a thread that shouldn't have any. If this thread gets you that hot under the collar, I can't imagine what it will be like in a tent when it is 98 degrees and 100% humidity plus a good chance of torrential rains and lightning. Sounds like a fun trip.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

My family has gone to DW almost every August for years. It is always guaranteed to be scorching hot, and to have lightening storms nearly everyday (if not every single day). Staying in tents during the heat and storms does not sound like much of a fun or relaxing experience, even at Fort Wilderness.

I love to stay onsite, but during years when the budget was tighter, we have stayed offsite. It didn't matter to us, we still always had a fantastic time. I never once felt like it was a lesser experience. There are plenty of inexpensive hotels around Disney, and even condos and houses for rent.

 

[manning]

Let me put it this way.

I have a SIL who loves and I mean loves hot. She went to Disney in aug and stayed in a hotel.

Her comment was "my god never again"

 

[SandrA9810]

My favorite time of year is Sept. and it's not any cooler then. Aug and Sept are both busy months for rain. I toss a tarp over our tent to help keep out the rain, and stick a window ac on the table and prop it up against our tent. We've got all the creature comforts of a hotel room but better and cheaper.

And I know the feeling of wanting to stay on Disney property. One year we were able to book at POP for 49$ a night and the next year it was 30$ more for the same time. (this was before the recession and prices were going sky high on everything). So that's when we decided on the fort. And that's been our little home away from home every year since. Of course after about a dozen trips or so to the fort we've got the whole camping thing down a bit better. One of our AC units has a timer on it, so we would set it every day to turn on a couple hours before the parks closed so it would have plenty of time to cool off and get the humidity out of the tent before we got back so we could crash without complaints.

Just don't forget the extension cords. Lots and lots of extension cords. The electric box is actually a bit of a way from the sand pads (about a small car's length). And some times I forget to bring extras. Of course I've got a ton rated for outdoor use for my christmas lights galore, and in the tent I use a smaller indoor cord that has 3 outlets on it, or a splitter. Just don't over load it. We usually only leave one item on at a time per cord. I also have one of those light sensor outdoor stake, that I hook up a couple light ropes to so we can get back without fumbling over everything. And then shut off the outside lights when we go to sleep. Or leave them on till dawn if you have lots of middle of the night pee'ers.

Although I don't know how we'd fare at a real camping without wonderful comfort stations, hot showers, and electricity.

 

[SandrA9810]

I think you can get rooms offsite for $35+ per nite. That's what I would choose. Ironically, the heat doesn't bother me. But how do you secure your belongings in a tent? I guess you lock them in the car, I don't know.

Fort campers are like neighbors. You just have to watch out for the real neighbors of the trees that like to steal food. (I accidently left the car door open one night and our snacks went missing with a trail...)
I wouldn't worry about a thing going missing. We bring our mini tv, playstation, AC, mini fridge, decorations for the holidays, bikes, scooters... never had any problems nothings missing yet. The AC and fridge are outside on the table, and everything else is just zipped up in the tent. There's plenty of people that leave thier bikes at the end of the driveways, crock pots sitting on the tables outside, so they have a hot meal when they get back. Decorations for any and all occasions. Stop by the 300 loop at Halloween... now that's scary.

Ironically enough, there's been tons of thefts from in room safes, especially at hotels along I-Drive. It hits the news every summer and christmas time.

 

[shortbun]

The thought of putting an air conditioner unit in a tent is hilarious to me. Why camp if you're going to have A/C? lol! Those campsites are not cheap and throw in the cost of an a/c both to you AND the environment...well, it's just time to get a room with comfortable beds and an ensuite bathroom with a TV, kwim?

 

[Teacher03]

I understand the excitement of staying onsite, but I would seriously consider researching Windsor Hills. We are a family of five adults, and we usually have an extra with us. We love staying onsite, but it's just not financially possible for us to get 2 rooms. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo in June for about the same price as one value room. It was only a 5-10 minute drive to the parks.

When people say it is hot, they aren't kidding! There is nothing like Florida heat. I can't imagine coming from the parks to a tent. But, it sounds as if your mind is made up, so I hope you have a great time. Planning is half the fun, so enjoy! (We've stayed in one of the cabins at Fort Wilderness, it is a great place to stay, especially with kids.)

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

We have camped at FOrt Wilderness for most of our lives. We were lucky enough to have a motorhome for it but my sisters and I still loved setting up a small tent and staying in that at night. You already know it will be hot, so lets come up with ideas on how to make it a bit more comfortable for you all.
PLease make sure you have plenty of water to drink and give each person their own, big water bottle filled up each night before you go to bed.
One poster mentioned the small air unit set up along side a table, as funny as that sounds, as long as it is done safe it will provide some relief. Just make sure it is protected from the elements as much as poss. maybe even lock it into your car at night. We even had large box fans in the tents blowing on us.
As far as weather and t-storms, they will be severe at times so prepare your site as you normally would when you camp.
Also what kind of vehicle will you be taking down? If it gets too bad at night with storms then use your vehicle as temp. shelter.

One more suggestion that I did not see on the other posts, and if I missed it im sorry, what about researching the cost of renting a trailer or motorhome for the week from a local rental spot in Fl.? It may not be too bad considering you wont be putting any miles on it since it will be from a fl. company.

 

[OK!]

Yes. But that's just IMO. Camping in August around here would be like camping in an oven. If you put a gun to my head, I'd still have to think long and hard about doing it.