Fort Wilderness Camping - January,2012

[Hapy Camper]

Hi everyone,

Forgive me in advance for my lack of computer knowledge. I have been reading the DIS boards for years and finally got up the courage to ask a question. It took me a few weeks for figure out how to register and then how to actually post a question.

My daughter (6) and myself will be camping in Fort Wilderness in January-2012 in a tent. My concern is - is the campground busy that time of year. We just got back from a midweek camping trip and two nights were so spooky because it felt like we were the only two in the whole campground. Already made reservations at campground and booked airfare. Am I totally crazy for thinking I can pull this off.

Any advise would be beyond helpful. We will be bringing our own equipment but are flying down so need to keep it to a minimum. My tent alone weights 37 pounds (so says Coleman). Please tell me someone will be there around Martin Luther King weekend. I'm really starting to freak out that I made a huge mistake.

PS: This is my daughter's 7th trip to Disney World, but I really want her to have the camping expereince.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

Sorry I don't have any experience with camping at the World, but you might want to try posting your question in the camping forum.

Good luck!

 

[DL55]

There will definitely be people in the campground. Remember to bring warm clothes also. Sometimes it actually gets cold in Florida.

 

[momtosam]

Sorry I don't have any experience with camping at the World, but you might want to try posting your question in the camping forum.

Good luck!

Completely off topic, but your cakes are AMAZING!!!

 

[rvchat]

Completely off topic, but your cakes are AMAZING!!!

Also a bit OT but we go every year in January and love it. It's pretty cold though. We always end up wearing gloves , hats & jackets,,, fyi

 

[SandrA9810]

Jan can be cold, but it's not entirely dead at the campgrounds. And you won't ever feel like you're alone there. Surprisingly enough, even 3 day weekends (not so major holidays, that most kids have off) can make the parks pick up attendance.

I really hope you're flying southwest to make use of your baggage allowance. The other option is making a very large box and shipping it down UPS and then return shipping it home. You can make a request online for UPS to do a pick up at the front desk.

I would really suggest bringing a small ceramic heater. Using foam bedding, and not air beds. Air beds hold the cold and will make you freeze all night long. I always used my bed's mattress topper, with lots and lots of comforters on top as a bed when camping. Then I could either sleep under or on top of as many as I wanted.

Just remember, you will be paying a premium for anything forgotten at home (if you don't have access off site). I know each camping trip for me turned into a learning experience, of what to bring and what not to bring.

The campgrounds are dark at night, so flash lights and tent lighting are a good idea. I usually used a Christmas timer stake (ones that turn on at dusk and off at dawn) for our electrical stuff. I'd toss a rope light on the ground in front of the tent, that way there was a bit of light without fumbling around inside the tent.

The posters at the Camping board will make you feel like the Fort is a second home. I always loved it there.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

Completely off topic, but your cakes are AMAZING!!!

Thanks!

 

[jwfla422]

Wow those cakes are quite amazing!!

We stayed at the campground (in a cabin) in early Feb. and it was quite busy as it is through most of the winter. Many snowbirds actually camp there for the winter...so it definitely won't be deserted and quite frankly MLK weekend is very busy as many locals have off that weekend and venture to WDW.

And as other posters mentioned it can be quite cold as it was when we were though although I must admit being from South FL I did enjoy it. I loved doing my run through the loops in the morning while many of the loops had some campfires going and they had some big breakfasts cooking up on their grills (try running smelling bacon cooking, ugh it was a challenge LOL!). It did warm up during the day though, but there was one morning where we nearly froze taking the boat to the CR. It was cloudy, drizzly, foggy and COLD, brrr!

Don't worry about it being deserted, it won't be. It was just dd (12) and I for a few days then dh came up and joined us over the weekend and brought our bikes up and that was enjoyable riding our bikes throughout the campground. Love FW...

 

[atlantis2011]

Jan Feb March are the coolest months