Camping in late Jan/early Feb.

[jenjen61]

What's it like camping at the Fort in late January/early February? We're trying to decide if we want to camp like we usually do (but we normally come to WDW in the fall) or if we should stay at Riverside this time. We have a pop up with a heater so the sleeping should be fine but I'm just thinking about the early morning trips to the bathrooms, golf cart looping, exploring up by the settlement etc. We're used to our trips there being warm and pleasant (or rainy as heck but that's a different story!) Has having to deal with the colder temps reduced the enjoyment of camping there much for you guys? Thx in advance for your input! Weighing the savings against the comfort and ease.......

 

[PaHunter]

You can check weather underground for weather history. It will give you temperatures in the area at that time. We have done late Feb twice in the past 3 years. Have had temps as high as 90 and low as 38. We packed a range of clothes, but had a great time.

 

[kcp1377]

We've been a few times in late Jan/early Feb and love it. It's hit or miss as far as weather goes, but we've always been super lucky and had great weather. Jeans/t-shirts with a sweatshirt in the early morning, shorts and swimming in the afternoon. It was a wonderful change from the heat of Sept when we usually go and love it. Still warm but not the melting temps that you'd get during the warmer parts of the year. We'd do more trips that time of year, but we're coming from the northeast and the weather here can be so bad that it makes the week leading up to the trip a bit nerve wracking trying to time it to miss storms/snow/ice.

 

[Greystar]

We tent camped at FW the last week of January into early February this year. Coming from NY, the weather was warm to us! We wore sweatshirts/hoodies early in the morning and after sunset. It never got cold enough to be uncomfortable or miserable.

 

[Disneypeach]

I camped at the Fort during that time this year and loved it. Temps were somewhat variable but pleasant and lower crowds. In fact I've already booked the same timeframe for next year.

 

[jenjen61]

Thanks, everyone! You're getting me excited about camping!!

 

[PaHunter]

Thanks, everyone! You're getting me excited about camping!!

You really want to get excited, follow the Sept thread, and I will be starting a picture thread soon. 22 days.

 

[North of Mouse]

What's it like camping at the Fort in late January/early February? We're trying to decide if we want to camp like we usually do (but we normally come to WDW in the fall) or if we should stay at Riverside this time. We have a pop up with a heater so the sleeping should be fine but I'm just thinking about the early morning trips to the bathrooms, golf cart looping, exploring up by the settlement etc. We're used to our trips there being warm and pleasant (or rainy as heck but that's a different story!) Has having to deal with the colder temps reduced the enjoyment of camping there much for you guys? Thx in advance for your input! Weighing the savings against the comfort and ease.......

Definitely a hit or miss in regards to weather - the exact days from year to year can be so different. We've gone twice in that time period and decided not to go anymore then - both times were miserably cold!! But, some people have hit it when it's great weather - so, you'll never be sure until you're there!!

Past weather history can give you an idea (just like for any other time of year), but it cannot tell you what it will be like this/next year!

 

[KalamityJane]

Definitely a hit or miss in regards to weather - the exact days from year to year can be so different. We've gone twice in that time period and decided not to go anymore then - both times were miserably cold!! But, some people have hit it when it's great weather - so, you'll never be sure until you're there!!

Past weather history can give you an idea (just like for any other time of year), but it cannot tell you what it will be like this/next year!

What do you consider miserably cold? Just wondering mostly because my Floridian mom thinks 65 is ridiculously cold, and my kids start asking to swim around that temp

 

[North of Mouse]

What do you consider miserably cold? Just wondering mostly because my Floridian mom thinks 65 is ridiculously cold, and my kids start asking to swim around that temp

Oh, no, colder than that LOL!! Anything under 45-50 with 'wind' trying to enjoy outside activities is too cold for me - without wind, maybe doable, with winds, I will not!!

I'm from deep south LA, so unless you have experienced cold, humidity and wind together in the south, you will not understand how bad it can get. Yes, I'm sure some people tolerate it well, but we saw lots of miserable people!!

Obviously, there are still crowds of people there that time of year, so many will just soldier on!
(just not us)

 

[KalamityJane]

Oh, no, colder than that LOL!! Anything under 45-50 with 'wind' trying to enjoy outside activities is too cold for me - without wind, maybe doable, with winds, I will not!!

I'm from deep south LA, so unless you have experienced cold, humidity and wind together in the south, you will not understand how bad it can get. Yes, I'm sure some people tolerate it well, but we saw lots of miserable people!!

Obviously, there are still crowds of people there that time of year, so many will just soldier on!
(just not us)

I grew up in FL But I live in Idaho now, where we get down to the negatives regularly in the winter. 45-50 would feel warm to us by Jan/Feb even with wind and humidity - we had the worst winter on record this past winter We are planning on tent camping around then which is why I was asking.

 

[FortForever]

Nights are cold. Days nearly always warm up nicely. In my ten years here, I can only remember a handful of days where I thought it was insanely cold, and couldn't function outside during the day - those were in the 50's. Thankfully, most of the daytime temps are in the 70's that time of year.

 

[Ds4angels]

We were there at that time last year. We had on sweatshirts and were a little chilly. Folks from the warmer states had on coats, jackets and gloves, 2 of the nights we were there. I'd say pack extra blankets and enjoy

 

[jenjen61]

Thanks so much for all your input! We made our camping reservations yesterday and will pack hats, gloves and extra layers just in case!! We'll be finishing off the trip with a couple nights at Alligator Bayou as well, so now we'll get the best of both worlds! Wooooot!! Interestingly, the reservation CM told me that there was ONE site left for that time frame and it just happened to be a pop up site like we wanted....he said our camping trip must be "meant to be!" Lol Sounds like it's a popular time to camp there!

 

[LizzieLou]

Sounds like so much fun! We tent camped at Fort Wilderness the beginning of February once. The notices came out two days in a row to leave the water trickling at the tap because it was supposed to freeze that night. Learned an important lesson that trip... if you get up and go take a shower first thing when it's cold, you are then warm and the coffee does the rest of the job. If you think, I'll just have a cup of coffee or two before I go take a shower, you end up feeling cold for HOURS. We ended up buying a pop-up after that trip and really enjoyed having a heater.

 

[jenjen61]

Sounds like so much fun! We tent camped at Fort Wilderness the beginning of February once. The notices came out two days in a row to leave the water trickling at the tap because it was supposed to freeze that night. Learned an important lesson that trip... if you get up and go take a shower first thing when it's cold, you are then warm and the coffee does the rest of the job. If you think, I'll just have a cup of coffee or two before I go take a shower, you end up feeling cold for HOURS. We ended up buying a pop-up after that trip and really enjoyed having a heater.

Thx! I'll remember that about the shower and coffee! (Although it would be really nice if it turns out to be warm enough that I don't have to worry about it!)

 

[PaHunter]

Thanks so much for all your input! We made our camping reservations yesterday and will pack hats, gloves and extra layers just in case!! We'll be finishing off the trip with a couple nights at Alligator Bayou as well, so now we'll get the best of both worlds! Wooooot!! Interestingly, the reservation CM told me that there was ONE site left for that time frame and it just happened to be a pop up site like we wanted....he said our camping trip must be "meant to be!" Lol Sounds like it's a popular time to camp there!

Well if it is one of the marathon weekends there will be upwards of 20000 runners there for the races that take place over a 4 day span. Some of them do stay at the Fort. It is also that time of the year for snowbirds. We had a hard time getting a campsite away from Disney in Feb a couple years ago.

 

[jenjen61]

Well if it is one of the marathon weekends there will be upwards of 20000 runners there for the races that take place over a 4 day span. Some of them do stay at the Fort. It is also that time of the year for snowbirds. We had a hard time getting a campsite away from Disney in Feb a couple years ago.

It's not a marathon weekend.....must just be a lot of lucky Disney-goers!!