An underwhelming response

[Mchurchill96]

So, we initially had ressies for a cabin in August-we're taking the family on our first big road trip from Wisconsin to celebrate the hubs' and my 20th Anniversary. Well, circumstances became such that, due to very light workloads/caseloads and layoffs between my hubby and me, we had to find ways to reduce the cost of our trip. Well, a couple from our church had been planning on selling their pop up for awhile, and we had borrowed it once to see if it would work for our family. Anyway, we snagged it for a great price, so we figured, we already have a pop up, and we love FW, why not do a campsite? (Our only other WDW trip we stayed in the cabins.) So, over Memorial Day weekend when a bunch of church families camp together, I told our plans to a single mom of 2 girls-she also likes to go to Disney. Well, apparently, she prefers to fly and stay in the value resorts, so she tried to "educate? " me that the savings wasn't going to be that great, especially figuring in cost of gas. (Even though switching from a cabin to campsite did save us about $2000.) And of course, there's not having your own shower, blah, blah. When it was clear I wasn't going to let her burst my bubble, she just said, "Well, it will be an...experience. "

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

I mean, she has a point - kind of. If you can fit in a value room it's certainly easier/more convenient than a PUP and not that much more $ than a campsite (much cheaper than a cabin), you eould save gas by not towing the PUP, and you'd have a toilet & shower. But I'm guessing you won't all fit in 1 value room?

As a family of 5 we need 2 rooms, so values are out. And the whole public toilet & shower thing freaked me out, so we purchased a Class C motorhome and use that at Disney, but if you're fine using a PUP at home I don't see how Disney would be different?

If I had a quarter for every time someone who never camped at Disney told me how awful it was, I'd be staying deluxe every trip!

Everyone does Disney differently.

We're considering cutting costs on our December trip by staying out of the parks completely. There are tons of people who couldn't imagine driving 17 hrs to Fort Wilderness and not stepping foot in a Disney park. Well, it's our vacation & we'll do what we want!

Try not to let the Negative Nellie ' s get you down. PUP camping at Disney is better than NOT being in Disney at all

 

[Mchurchill96]

Yeah, there's 6 of us, to her 3. And her kiddos are girls. My oldest is my 17 year old daughter, and our boys are 15, 13, and 5. One room wouldn't cut it. My daughter prefers her private tent, and the rest of us fit just fine in the pup.

 

[kcp1377]

You're going to have a great time! Our first time at FW was in a PUP and it was what made us realize we loved the experience enough to upgrade to a TT. Don't let her comments get to you (although it sounds like you are staying positive!)

 

[bama_ed]

In the spirit of complete honesty,

Camping at the Fort in August is a hot and humid experience. I hope the popup has a strong air conditioner. Also you said your older daughter likes her private tent. Again, in August personally I wouldn't sleep in a tent in Orlando (and I have hundreds of nights on the ground).

I'm not saying people don't camp outside at the Fort in August. They sure do. But it's hot and humid most days and you get a good afternoon rain shower almost every other afternoon.

You said you're from Wisconsin and I see in your signature that you've been to the Fort in March 2012 in the cabins. My humble suggestion would be to do a little more research about camping in August at the Fort. I have owned a popup for 12 years (10 years with a traditional canvas slideout bunk pup and the last few with an A-frame folding camper). And you will see by my signature that I NEVER have camped at the Fort in June/July/August and that's based on an informed decision.

I don't want you to have a miserable time so I urge you to do a little more research.

Bama Ed

 

[Teamubr]

There are some people that will never understand camping or the Fort. Don't let it get you down. You know what they will be missing.

I will echo Ed's comments about camping in August in Florida. Especially since you're coming from a place that has 6 weeks of summer and 85 is considered "extreme". (I have several friends that live in WI and MN)

The Fort in August will be HOT! Even at night, the airtemps will be in the 80s with humidity that matches. There are plenty of people that do it in popups and some in tents (usually with a window A/C). Do a quick search on this board and you'll see how they manage.

Have fun planning your trip and make sure to take lots of pictures and make great stories to show and tell at the next church campout.

j

 

[Guyton dis lover]

Fans

 

[North of Mouse]

I will totally agree with Bama Ed also about camping in a pop up or tent without AC in the humid southern summer heat. Some people say they can get by with just fans, but honestly I can't see how - just stirring the heat and humidity around - can't cool.

Hope it all works out, and you can have a great time. We love our southern summers, but can no longer enjoy being out in the heat all day in the parks.

As for your friends remarks, am sure they mean well, but have to say camping isn't for everybody. Just take it with a grain of salt, as it won't be the last negative remarks you'll hear on the subject of camping versus hotels.
We all think 'our' way is best, and 'our' way is camping, but definitely not 'roughing' it!!

 

[bjschil]

So, we initially had ressies for a cabin in August-we're taking the family on our first big road trip from Wisconsin to celebrate the hubs' and my 20th Anniversary. Well, circumstances became such that, due to very light workloads/caseloads and layoffs between my hubby and me, we had to find ways to reduce the cost of our trip. Well, a couple from our church had been planning on selling their pop up for awhile, and we had borrowed it once to see if it would work for our family. Anyway, we snagged it for a great price, so we figured, we already have a pop up, and we love FW, why not do a campsite? (Our only other WDW trip we stayed in the cabins.) So, over Memorial Day weekend when a bunch of church families camp together, I told our plans to a single mom of 2 girls-she also likes to go to Disney. Well, apparently, she prefers to fly and stay in the value resorts, so she tried to "educate? " me that the savings wasn't going to be that great, especially figuring in cost of gas. (Even though switching from a cabin to campsite did save us about $2000.) And of course, there's not having your own shower, blah, blah. When it was clear I wasn't going to let her burst my bubble, she just said, "Well, it will be an...experience. "

We are also from Wisconsin, and love to camp at the Fort. We have a fifth wheel, so we do have A/C. Almost two summers ago, We camped for the first summer camping trip to DW in mid July. If you recall the heat/humidity last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (yesterday), this is a taste of summer at DW. Unlike the Midwest, which typically does not have humidity 24/7, Florida does, and it was and is relentless. Our hot/humid spells are several days, with a cool down at night. Nada in Florida. Even at 5:30 in the am, it was tough to bear for this thick-skinned person.. For warned is forarmed! It is tough, but fun. Nix the makeup and hair styling, in less than 1/2 hour, it will all roll off or unroll off your hair. So, for this farm girl to say it is tough, after mowing hay for many years in that mow, you will have to be tough! Never the less, have fun, enjoy, think snow, etc!!!!!

 

[Shanti]

We figured, we already have a pop up, and we love FW, why not do a campsite? (Our only other WDW trip we stayed in the cabins.) So, over Memorial Day weekend when a bunch of church families camp together, I told our plans to a single mom of 2 girls-she also likes to go to Disney. Well, apparently, she prefers to fly and stay in the value resorts, so she tried to "educate? " me that the savings wasn't going to be that great, especially figuring in cost of gas. (Even though switching from a cabin to campsite did save us about $2000.) And of course, there's not having your own shower, blah, blah. When it was clear I wasn't going to let her burst my bubble, she just said, "Well, it will be an...experience. "

I can see both sides of this:

1. We much preferred staying at Fort Wilderness (in a tent, not even a pop-up), over staying at Pop Century, which had been our resort the year before. The values are basically motel rooms, and I did not enjoy staying in one. Fort Wilderness is beautiful, at your campsite you have your own space around you, and you're right across the pond from the Magic Kingdom. There are more and better dining options available (Hoop Dee Doo Revue, plus you're a boat ride from WL's and CR's restaurants), and so many more activities at the resort (bike riding, horseback riding, canoeing, archery, etc.)

2. However, the one caveat is that it would be miserably hot to camp there in the summer. There would also be regular rain, and the risk of severe thunderstorms at that time of year. As much as I like Fort Wilderness, I would not consider camping there in August.

 

[peg110]

Well the weather not withstanding, the argument that seems to have been made was mostly about costs and the use of "Facilities". I can tell you that from where we are in NEPA, the cost of Flying versus driving with our TT has a breakeven at about 3 people. This however is dependent upon a lot of factors. (price of gas at the time of travel being the biggest).

For us it's roughly about $300 per person to fly round trip. So at 3 people, it's about $900 but I use $1K for that fuzzy math.
It's about 1000 Miles (slightly more) to get to the fort for us. My Truck will get roughly 10 MPG so it's 100 Gallons of gas. I usually estimate HIGH on gas prices. Our first trip gas was much more expensive and when we made the decision to drive, I used a $5/gallon value so it was about $500 of gas going down and back.... $1000.00 for travel. Now in all fairness on that trip gas was much cheaper at about $3 (ish) per gallon, but the Truck at that time only got about 7 MPG (F150 as oppose to the F250 now).

BUT.... We didn't have to worry about how much baggage we had compared to the Airlines.
We didn't have to go through "Security" and leave our drinks, food, liquids, nail clippers, etc... behind
We didn't have to rent a car when we arrived.
We didn't have to worry about what souvenirs we bought or have to worry about shipping them back because we couldn't get them on the plane.
We didn't have to rely on restaurants for food if we didn't want to. In fact we could save so much more by using our own food that we bring.
- 10 PBJ's could be made with $2 loaf of bread, $3 jar of Peanut Butter, $3 jar of jelly - Total $8 Versus just about any restaurant.
For US, our travel trailer does have a bathroom, so we also have "Facilities" as we travel to use and we know the condition they are in.
We don't have to be at the mercy of the airlines where changes cost MORE money.

We DO have flexibility, versatility and we get to see parts of the country that maybe we haven't before. (Okay, we have done the drive a couple times now, so we do see the a lot of the same things.)

Now it's not all great. The drive is long. My DW doesn't drive with our TT (Current one is 37' long and she just doesn't want to do it), so the driving is up to me.
It's a solid day and half of travel versus the Airport which, in the best case for us, is only a couple of hours although one time my DW and I flew, we checked in early morning for our flight... Got a couple of delays, finally got out.... Landed, by the time we got our rental car at about 10PM at night, we also lost a full day for travel.
We typically leave after work on departure day, drive several hours to get below DC, Rest, Drive all of next day, rest about an hour out of the Fort, check in early next morning. Going home... 2 days only. Leave, rest half way (or more) through the trip, then power drive the rest.

When we consider the travel costs, the rental cars, the extra baggage (or shipping) charges, food costs and just call the resort cost a WASH, it's still cheaper for us to camp. I guess it's a value of your "Time" because traveling is typically longer when camping.

Now when you consider that the Fort allows up to 10 people at now additional cost (A value resort would require 3 rooms or at least a suite to accommodate this.) The more people you have, the better the value. (It really doesn't cost us much more to travel with 5 people versus 3 (or even 2) people)

As far as facilities (as your Pop Up doesn't have them), I will say that the facilities at the fort are among the best I have seen.

Obviously the choice is yours. It's easier for us to make but we love the fort plus we also have OTHER reasons. Do your research and make the best choice for you and your family.

Hope you don't have to many issues with the weather and the heat. Don't want to discourage you, just make sure you know what you are getting into.

 

[rajak73]

Not much to add to these earlier posts, they have great advice, only thing I always say, I sometimes read the resort boards and the ones telling you how bad camping is, ie, "I'm not cooking and cleaning on my vacation" are the same ones that tell you they bring the Lysol with them and wipe everything down, puts the tv remote in a baggie, don't walk on the carpet with bare feet, and want to know if it's alright to plug in a crockpot! OK....... Like peg110, our trip down is 1500 miles, We don't drive quite as long a peg, takes us about 3 days, won't do it any different! We we get to Fort Wilderness, everything we have is "ours" pillows, bedding, etc! It'll be hot and humid in August, but hey, you're still going to be at DW!!

 

[FtW Mike]

After reading this whole thread again let me put in my 2 cents on the things that stood out for me.
1 Your friend from church did a very good job of telling you what helps make a good Disney trip for her. Now unless she is willing or is paying for your trip Do what is best for you.
2 Enough has been said about the weather All I will add is , Several years ago we did a trip in Sept and heat and humidity factors both in 90+ range never again for us Even though we were in a cabin then and our coach has dual AC units that can handle things fairly well here but not going to risk it
3 Take a moment and re-read post by PEG101 he offers some very good advice. Like him we plan on fuel for our coach Running about $1000 dollars round trip. Far more than the 3 tanks of gas our Prius took each way but then we are no longer paying $45 a night to board our dogs Added bonus they get to come to Mommy Daddy camp with us So we break even on that count
4 How long you want to take to trip down and back is up to you. We do ours over 3 days. I am sole driver like PEG. I find 350 to 400 miles is just about right. So day 1 we stay someplace in NC for night next day outside Jacksonville Fla. following mourning a 3 to 4 hour trip to fort. Plenty of time to set up our site, take the girls EXPLORING, get a art from Kenny at Tee Time and go to Trails End for a good dinner before heading to beach for Electric Water Pagent.

If any of this helps great if not feel free to ignore it. Most of all you will be at Disney enjoy it YOUR WAY

 

[peg110]

I think FtW Mike's Post #1 says it all. Even the advice you get here... take with a grain of salt. I may be willing to deal with more heat and humidity then you (or not). You may find your time more valuable and want to Fly (or not). You may only look at camping as a less expensive alternative as opposed to an enjoyable adventure (or not).

As you can imagine the "Regulars" on this board (Pretty easy to figure out after reading a couple of threads) all love camping and that's why they are here. So if your love for camping isn't as strong, then that's a factor to consider (not implying it isn't though). Same thing about the Fort. Many folks on this board absolutely LOVE the Fort and feel that time spent there is just as good (or better) then time spent at the parks.

We love the fort because it is a less expensive alternative (ALL things considered) and allow a lot of flexibility.

Being from NE PA we have quite humid summers. Not like Florida but it gets up there, so we might be able to tolerate it a bit better then perhaps someone from Arizona. That said, we were in Disney (staying offsite) in August of 2010, and it was crazy Hot and humid. Even locals were saying however, that it was "Unseasonably Warmer" (Than usual). We are going again in Mid August. This time we will be staying the the fort with our travel trailer. I am hoping our AC in the TT will be able to keep up, but regardless, we are at Disney and will enjoy it and make the best of it. I am sure you will too.

We will be there the week of August 14 celebrating our Anniversary. When will you be there?

 

[Mchurchill96]

Well, like FtW Mike said, this friend knows what she likes, and what works for her family. This isn't the first time she's made comments about choices I have made, and looked down her nose at me (using medication for one of the treatments for my ds with ADHD comes to mind, because she would NEVER medicate her kids! But that's a whole other issue!) We want the experience of the road trip, our kids seeing the country, not flying over it. Stopping in the Great Smokey Mountains, and swinging by Nashville to visit my s-i-l and her family on the way home. My church friend likes motel rooms, we prefer the openness of the campground, not to mention needing 2 rooms. And my husband still remembers how nervous he was when we flew to WDW in 2012, our then 11 year old ds with Aspergers would constantly make hand gestures and sound effects that to the unfamiliar, might seem representative of guns and explosions. TSA agents and flight crew are trained to not overlook such things. Not to mention having to buy 6 seats and keep 4 kids together in the airport! As for the weather, we have some experience with Florida heat from our last trip. It was the end of March/early April, and in the 90s. And thankfully, I'm a no-makeup kind of gal!

 

[Mchurchill96]

I think FtW Mike's Post #1 says it all. Even the advice you get here... take with a grain of salt. I may be willing to deal with more heat and humidity then you (or not). You may find your time more valuable and want to Fly (or not). You may only look at camping as a less expensive alternative as opposed to an enjoyable adventure (or not).

As you can imagine the "Regulars" on this board (Pretty easy to figure out after reading a couple of threads) all love camping and that's why they are here. So if your love for camping isn't as strong, then that's a factor to consider (not implying it isn't though). Same thing about the Fort. Many folks on this board absolutely LOVE the Fort and feel that time spent there is just as good (or better) then time spent at the parks.

We love the fort because it is a less expensive alternative (ALL things considered) and allow a lot of flexibility.

Being from NE PA we have quite humid summers. Not like Florida but it gets up there, so we might be able to tolerate it a bit better then perhaps someone from Arizona. That said, we were in Disney (staying offsite) in August of 2010, and it was crazy Hot and humid. Even locals were saying however, that it was "Unseasonably Warmer" (Than usual). We are going again in Mid August. This time we will be staying the the fort with our travel trailer. I am hoping our AC in the TT will be able to keep up, but regardless, we are at Disney and will enjoy it and make the best of it. I am sure you will too.

We will be there the week of August 14 celebrating our Anniversary. When will you be there?

Arriving on the 8th, leaving on the 16th. Our anniversary is the 10th.

 

[Aliceacc]

I hate camping. Hate it. HATE IT.

As in: I would rather be home than at WDW in a tent. Honestly. The way some people hate math or giving speeches. (And, yes, I teach math and coached Speech & Debate for 18 years.)

She may not have wanted to be as blunt, but perhaps she really simply hates the idea of camping, and wants to make sure you're not making a mistake that will make you miserable.

 

[Mchurchill96]

I hate camping. Hate it. HATE IT.

As in: I would rather be home than at WDW in a tent. Honestly. The way some people hate math or giving speeches. (And, yes, I teach math and coached Speech & Debate for 18 years.)

She may not have wanted to be as blunt, but perhaps she really simply hates the idea of camping, and wants to make sure you're not making a mistake that will make you miserable.

Actually, no, with her, I know that's not it. She LOVES camping. She's had her 80s PUP for awhile and has been doing the church Memorial Day weekend campout longer than we have, and has also taken her girls 3-5 hours away to various campgrounds, so I know it's not that. She really is someone who likes what she likes and doesn't understand why other people would do things differently.

 

[bama_ed]

Mchurchill,

All I was saying was, camping in August in Florida is different than what you may be used to.
So be informed and get ready for it.
It's a different camping style.

Bama Ed

 

[North of Mouse]

As for the weather, we have some experience with Florida heat from our last trip. It was the end of March/early April, and in the 90s. And thankfully, I'm a no-makeup kind of gal!

Well, the summer weather is much, much hotter, humid and different than March and early April, but I agree that it can heat up fast in the Spring too. You will have to experience it to understand, but I do wish y'all a happy road trip, and great camping.