Camping at the Fort "Must haves"

[adriawest]

I'm sure this has been asked a million times....but I'm super excited. . What are your Fort "must haves"? What can you not do without? Just a heads up...we'll be those weirdos with Disney decorations mid August.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Fishing poles.(and bait)

 

[PaHunter]

Mickey Lamp.

 

[Disneypeach]

air conditioner...especially in August!

 

[4daubers]

1. A golf cart is one of our must haves. Necessity no, but one of our favorite activities is driving the golf cart through all the loops. They also come in handy to zip around the campground, especially the Outlook and Settlement Depots for buses, to the dock for the boat to MK, etc.

2. We have a Mickey Lamppost and have seasonal signs with our name and town. Cricut and vinyl make for great decorations.

3. Some time set apart to enjoy Fort Wilderness.

 

[tiggerdad]

Squirrel feed...

 

[Sur]

Highly effective ear plugs and never-ending patience for campers unable to consider how their actions affect others. Golf carts with music blasting, screaming and hollering well into the late late hours, horns beeping for obnoxiousness- I'm thinking a more costly loop is in order for future trips.

 

[PaHunter]

I'm thinking a more costly loop is in order for future trips.

This still does not guarantee consideration from fellow campers. In fact sometimes works just the opposite, then the feel Entitled to do whatever they wish without common courtesy. Unfortunately common courtesy, not so common anymore.

 

[4daubers]

We use our golf cart to help relax. No music and quiet is the theme. We have experienced some who acted as if they had the clown cars in a parade. One Christmas trip we had the blessing/curse of being next to one of the sites that had a 24 hr Christmas walk-thru Wonderland with music and a Santa that would dance and sing at any movement. The lights were amazing, unless you wanted to sleep and had traffic through our site going to their site non-stop. First night was fun. Eighth night, wanted to punch Santa and that is so wrong.

 

[bama_ed]

Musket Mickey sign...



http://www.disboards.com/threads/musket-mickey-sign.3036701/page-37

DISBoards sign...



http://www.disboards.com/threads/here-is-a-campsite-marker-for-dis-members.3090199/

Musket Mickey with DISBoards sign at your Fort campsite...



Bama Ed

PS - Alabama Crimson Tide items are optional but recommended.

 

[peg110]

An appreciation for the outdoors.
Patience.
Courtesy.
A good Attitude even if others don't have it.

 

[ruthies12]

http://www.amazon.com/Razor-EcoSmar...489&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+scooter+ecosmart



Our electric scooters! This was our alternative to the golf cart and it worked perfectly for us. DH and I each have one and our dd's are still small enough that they can just stand in front of us, one dd on each scooter. We used them to get to the camp store, the pool, the boat dock, etc.

At one point I was told by a security guard that I should be on the sidewalk with it. But the sidewalks at the fort are crazy twisty and it was too difficult to ride on them on this. This scooter goes about 18 mph so it stays up to sped with the golf carts and we stayed on the roads with no problems.

I had several people ask if we had rented them there and two different CM's ask if they could try it out (one of which actually did! one night I went up to the check in building at the outpost to ask a question and a gentleman CM just coming outside was very pleased when I told him he could take it for a spin while I was inside).

Anyhoo, I've included the link to amazon for it in case anyone is interested. We get so much use out of these at campgrounds, it's more than paid for itself imo. taking trash to the dumpsters, getting ice from the camp stores, getting to the pools, it's wonderful!

 

[tiggerdad]

Earplugs are not a "must have", however patience can be, but then again, name me a campground that doesn't require it and I'll show you a campground that is closed.

Like Ed showed above if your one of those "decorations freaks" then the Disboards sign and the wooden Fort Wilderness signs are a good addition.
Here is a closer look of the Mickey Lamp that PaHunter referred to earlier as well



This one shows our Disboards sign from our October trip.



Another must have for us, is some downtime. I really mean it. If there are some days during your trip that you can take away from the parks and spend looping and touring the campground then by all means take them. Spend time at the pool, ride a horse, tour the stables, sit on the porch at Trail's End and people watch (provided you come back here and post a pic on the "Kick'n it at the Fort" thread). Relaxing is a big thing that a lot of people completely miss at Disney, and the Fort is probably the best resort for doing just that.

 

[sippican]

Highly effective ear plugs and never-ending patience for campers unable to consider how their actions affect others. Golf carts with music blasting, screaming and hollering well into the late late hours, horns beeping for obnoxiousness- I'm thinking a more costly loop is in order for future trips.

I think you forgot to include the barking dogs!
If you find a more costly loop that quarantees quiet, AKA "common courtesy" as another poster commented, please let us know!
Disney is a festive place where families celebrate, music plays, fireworks boom into the late hours and boat horns regularly go off, along with the sounds of fellow campers having fun. We go expecting some degree of commotion and noise, especially during the peak holiday seasons.
Luckily, sites at the Fort do provide some measure of privacy and serenity that the "hotel" property resorts cannot.
Ear pluags are a great suggestion. We find the fan in our RV provides enough white noise when needed.
That being said, we rarely find the sounds of the Fort to be disruptive or unmanageable.

 

[tltay2005]

Squirrel feed...

Yes, that is a must, or they will help themselves! Dragged the bag off the table. And if that wasn't enough, they chewed a hole in our propane hose!

 

[tltay2005]

If going in August, then a portable A/C unit or a fan and block of ice. The central Florida summers are brutal. Sunscreen and your bathing suits, for sure. We have a cart, but also love to ride our bikes. If you can't bring your own, you can rent them.

 

[peg110]

We find the fan in our RV provides enough white noise when needed.
That being said, we rarely find the sounds of the Fort to be disruptive or unmanageable.

I agree that ear plug could be a good suggestion. We come down from NE PA and take about 2 days to drive it. We stop at truck stops and spend a night (or so) to rest up (Since I am the only one doing the driving). While I like the "Hum" of the Semi's and it puts me to sleep, the DW cannot stand it. She would benefit greatly from ear plugs.

At the campground, however, we have had some commotion, none so bothersome (at length anyway) that much like you, the AC or Fan (or heater/blower) doesn't drown out.

If going in August, then a portable A/C unit or a fan and block of ice. The central Florida summers are brutal. Sunscreen and your bathing suits, for sure. We have a cart, but also love to ride our bikes. If you can't bring your own, you can rent them.

I suppose the portable AC would be good in a Tent, but we have a camper with one built in, so no issues for us there.

Another thing we bring (during our November/December trips) is an electric "Oil Filled Heater" (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=oil+filled+heater) I love these things. There is no open element to be worried about. Still have the "Safety" for tipping can be controlled really well, and give good warm radiating heat (think slow and long as opposed to Fast and short). It takes several minutes to heat up but holds the heat (in the oil) for a long time so it's more of a smooth heat and is also very quiet (no fan), as opposed to those with an element that heat up quickly with a fan to blow the heat around.

Even though our camper has a heater, I prefer this because it

1. Saves on my propane.
   
2. Doesn't cost me any more (I already paid for electricity with my Site Rental Fee)
3. Can supplement the on board furnace if it gets real cold (rarely) so it doesn't have to work to hard to keep up.
4. Very Safe (versus open element types).

 

[adriawest]

This still does not guarantee consideration from fellow campers. In fact sometimes works just the opposite, then the feel Entitled to do whatever they wish without common courtesy. Unfortunately common courtesy, not so common anymore.

We've ran into similar situations at the resorts.

 

[rajak73]

I'm sure this has been asked a million times....but I'm super excited. . What are your Fort "must haves"? What can you not do without? Just a heads up...we'll be those weirdos with Disney decorations mid August.

Bud light, tomato juice, and our Fiji Margarita maker!!

 

[lodge]

A means to keep warm or cool, and dry. We use ear plugs to sleep and lights for illuminating it all at night. We bring spray for the pests- works well!