Ease My Fears re: Tent Camping

[MannyB]

Hey Ft. Wilderness Camping Experts!

So here is my situation. My GF and I are "Experienced Disney Travelers" and we love our trips there, as well as mixing our trips with Run Disney events. We are doing the Expedition Everest Challenge May the 3rd.

Her niece (Age 4) and Nephew (Age 7) have never been to Disney and are the perfect ages. They are "our" only niece and nephew so we treat them like our own kids until we one day have a family of our own. Her niece is very much into the Princesses and believing all the magic so on our last trip we decided the next time we came we had to bring them with us to experience it. The grandparents thought this was a great idea. So all told there will be 6 Adults and 2 Children (Grandparents, 2 kids, their mom and dad, and my GF and I) driving down for a weekend.

Budget is a huge deal to the rest of the group, so I suggested since it is only two nights that we try something a little different and tent camp. This is by far the most affordable way for them to come down (while still enjoying the Disney Magic and conveniences). We had all went tent camping in the mountain last Spring and had a blast so we figured for such a quick trip and a chance to simply let the kids get their first taste of Disney we think it will suffice.

The parents and their grandpa won't be down until Friday Night. We, along with their Grandma, will leave with them Thursday evening and stay in Ocala for the night before coming to Disney Friday morning. We are going to take them to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios during the day Friday. Then that Saturday we will all go to Magic Kingdom before my GF and I leave for our race allowing them to wrap up a day at the park and have fun at Ft. Wilderness that night.

I am still a bit nervous about the whole thing being too much of a headache but I will defer to the experts on here to calm my fears.

 

[JanL]

If you plan ahead and organize, you will be just fine. The kids will have a blast and the adults will be happy watching the kids’ excitement. Since you have tent camped before, there won’t be surprises. I always put a tarp inside the tent and use clothes pins to pinch the corners upright together to make a “floor-tray” so if there is a flood, all the bedding stays dry in the tray. It also makes it easy to clean and repack as you just pull the tray outside and shake out, then brush off any dirt. Saves wear and tear on the tent floor.

As you are only coming for a weekend, don’t bring the kitchen sink, so to speak. Just pack the bare necessities and keep it as simple as possible. The Fort will provide entertainment and wonderful comfort stations, so you just need clothes, food, toiletries, and a good bed.

Once you get the basics down to a routine, you will be wanting to travel more places and have more adventures, as you can camp for 3 nights for less than one night at a motel (although The Fort is an exception to this ratio due to Disney prices).

 

[North of Mouse]

Hey Ft. Wilderness Camping Experts!

So here is my situation. My GF and I are "Experienced Disney Travelers" and we love our trips there, as well as mixing our trips with Run Disney events. We are doing the Expedition Everest Challenge May the 3rd.

Her niece (Age 4) and Nephew (Age 7) have never been to Disney and are the perfect ages. They are "our" only niece and nephew so we treat them like our own kids until we one day have a family of our own. Her niece is very much into the Princesses and believing all the magic so on our last trip we decided the next time we came we had to bring them with us to experience it. The grandparents thought this was a great idea. So all told there will be 6 Adults and 2 Children (Grandparents, 2 kids, their mom and dad, and my GF and I) driving down for a weekend.

Budget is a huge deal to the rest of the group, so I suggested since it is only two nights that we try something a little different and tent camp. This is by far the most affordable way for them to come down (while still enjoying the Disney Magic and conveniences). We had all went tent camping in the mountain last Spring and had a blast so we figured for such a quick trip and a chance to simply let the kids get their first taste of Disney we think it will suffice.

The parents and their grandpa won't be down until Friday Night. We, along with their Grandma, will leave with them Thursday evening and stay in Ocala for the night before coming to Disney Friday morning. We are going to take them to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios during the day Friday. Then that Saturday we will all go to Magic Kingdom before my GF and I leave for our race allowing them to wrap up a day at the park and have fun at Ft. Wilderness that night.

I am still a bit nervous about the whole thing being too much of a headache but I will defer to the experts on here to calm my fears.

If you are already 'tent' campers you should have no additional problems tenting at FW. There are many people camping in tents there all year. It's not something we have a desire to do, but for many it's an enjoyable way.

Stop being nervous and have a marvelous week end!

 

[arielmomma]

I agree with the others. If you are an experienced tent camper, you'll be fine. We've tent camped there during various seasons and months of the year and have always had a wonderful time! Tent camping at the fort is hands down our favorite way to do Disney!

 

[rlh75]

I always put a tarp inside the tent and use clothes pins to pinch the corners upright together to make a “floor-tray” so if there is a flood, all the bedding stays dry in the tray. It also makes it easy to clean and repack as you just pull the tray outside and shake out, then brush off any dirt. Saves wear and tear on the tent floor.

.

Sorry to "threadjack" But...this is genius!!! And I just had to say THANKYOU!!!!

We tent camp just about everyweekend in the summer and I have NEVER thought of this!!!!

Toying with camping at the fort to help make our Disney dream a reality!!! I love this board and will keep reading!!!

 

[khovius]

I say go for it. We have tent camped in Florida over the years and you will be fine with May. You will definitely enjoy the Disney experience. The only warning I have is that you will not want to camp any where else.

We are value season people and will be down in August to enjoy the heat.

 

[JanL]

Quote:
Originally Posted by JanL
"I always put a tarp inside the tent and use clothes pins to pinch the corners upright together to make a floor-tray so if there is a flood, all the bedding stays dry in the tray. It also makes it easy to clean and repack as you just pull the tray outside and shake out, then brush off any dirt. Saves wear and tear on the tent floor."

.

Sorry to "threadjack" But...this is genius!!! And I just had to say THANKYOU!!!!

We tent camp just about everyweekend in the summer and I have NEVER thought of this!!!!

Toying with camping at the fort to help make our Disney dream a reality!!! I love this board and will keep reading!!!

********************

You are so welcome, rlh75. Like you, I picked this up from reading camping forums. It saved my sox (not to mention all our clothes and bedding!) during a horrendous downpour one time. Every one else packed up in the middle of the night and went home. The floor tray actually "floated" on the flooded tent floor....felt like a water bed, LOL.
__________________

 

[xie]

I always put a tarp inside the tent and use clothes pins to pinch the corners upright together to make a “floor-tray” so if there is a flood, all the bedding stays dry in the tray. It also makes it easy to clean and repack as you just pull the tray outside and shake out, then brush off any dirt. Saves wear and tear on the tent floor.

We always do this too. We also bought a half a dozen rubber-backed bath mats on a clearance table, and we lay those out in the tent between our beds. Shoes are removed at the door. Makes going barefoot inside the tent so comfy, and the rubber backings keep everyone from slipping. Since the bathmats are regular bathmats, I can throw them in the washing machine at home, no special cleaning required.

One additional thing we do, and usually ONLY at Disney because of the nature of the shells on the pad, is lay down one of those really big clear, thin, plastic painter's tarps. Then we put a regular canvas tarp on top of it and then we put the tent down.

When we leave, the tent and canvas tarp are usually fairly clean, and all the wet shell ground up material is stuck to the painter's tarp, which we can toss if it's rained a bunch and it's too grody to clean up. We don't have to do this anywhere else we camp... I think the combination of the ground up shells and the permanently waterlogged nature of the pad just makes the whole thing permadamp. Not only does it seem to rain almost every day, but the Disney maintenance CMs wet those pads down every day they're empty, prior to the next guest checking in.

 

[Anna114]

While some put down a tarp, I like packing blankets. They are really rugged. In the AM I just pick them up shake them out and I have a clean floor lol

 

[MannyB]

Thanks All!

We are really excited...love the tarp idea..especially seeing that the campsites at FW are sand... sand always finds it way in no matter how hard you try to stop it.

It looks like Loop 1500 is the place to be...real close to the pool and ammenities.