Camping??

[DDreamer]

Has anyone ever camped at Fort Wilderness? In a tent? Our family loves camping and we have all the stuff for it so we wouldn't need to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff for it. We have two HUGE tents that we could use. Just wondering if it really is the cheapest way to do disney.

 

[TLinden16]

We have a camping at Disney World board, so I'm going to move this over there for you! I'm sure there will be folks there who can answer your questions.

Karen

 

[DDreamer]

Thank you very much!!!

 

[dsneygirl]

Loved it!!! DH and I tent camped in Oct '03 and as soon as we got home started planning to go back. Oct was perfect weather because not too hot. I would not tent camp in summer.

Most Ft Wilderness folks are in RVs and campers but we had a blast. Very clean comfort stations and FW is a world in itself.

 

[TmnsnMD]

We love FW -- we have a 5th wheel trailer but just would not think of going to WDW and not staying at FW. Cheapest way -- YES, YES, YES. We were there in Aug (hurricane central). They (WDW) moved everyone out of FW to a hotel to be safe.

The hotel was beautiful but the food cost just staying at the hotel for 3 days was more than I wanted to do. We ended up opening up the camper in the parking lot and cooking some of our meals there. We had DH, DS (14-and an eating machine), DN (10) and myself. I refused to pay $35.00 for breakfast - yes, I did do this once - not again.

We eat most of our meals in the camper - just easy quick meals. We always plan to eat at Trails End a couple of times, and in the parks for snacks, drinks and sometimes a quick meal, and the whole gang needs to have at least one Turkey leg! No one ever feels that we missed something by not eating every meal in WDW. More money for something else!

We stay in FW for 10 days for what you would spend on a deluxe hotel for 2-3 days. We always try to find a code / special for the site to help with the cost.

Another thing to think about is that when you come "home" after a day in the parks you are coming "home" to your stuff.

We love FW and were very happy to be let back on property after the hurricane (even if it was just for one more day). Once you stay there you just don't want to stay anywhere else!

Hope you have a great time in WDW. If you decide on FW you will not be sorry!

TmnsnMD

 

[VAN]

We camped at Ft. Wilderness in March many years ago in a tent ... not a problem. Since then we have had a camper.

I've stayed in some of the hotels there when attending meetings, but I still prefer Ft. Wilderness, especially with kids. The big savings comes from the meals ... but I prefer having my own stuff and not being stuck in a building with noisy neighbors. We are much more comfortable with our own stuff.

Also, the fact that we don't camp with a TV really creates "family moments" ... our family tends to reconnect on our camping trips.

Enjoy!!

 

[lindsey]

Our first trip to FW was in a tent. We have a pop-up now and still love FW. We have a TV/VCR and tape the Disney info to watch later at home. Like other posts, we save a lot of money on food and snacks. We don't cook that much, but if we eat one meal in the parks, a sandwich and chips are great for another meal. I try to buy different types bread and rolls and make sure to have the favorite snacks. This still makes it special.

 

[clkelley]

I LOVE tent camping at Ft. Wilderness!! I go for a week every December solo!! Although I don't cook at Ft. Wilderness, I can see where it can be great savings!

There are two partial hookup loops especially for tent camping folks (and some popups)

Loop 1500 is central to the campground and is my favorite loop. It is small, so no site is too far from the comfort station. Site 1503, 1504, and 1516 have good-sized pads to set up stuff. Site 1506 is on the smallish size and narrow, plus has a tree in an awkward spot.

Loop 2000 is large and has two comfort stations and is kindof off the beaten path, but it seems to have lots larger sand pads for lots of room to pitch tents, canopies, etc.

Each campsite has water, electric, and a charcoal grill. You can hook up propane stoves and lanterns, but you can't have tiki torches or open fires.