Hi everyone! First stay at the Fort next year!

[mommylovesdisney]

Hi out there,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My family of 5 has been visiting Disney nearly every year for that last few years and we've always wanted to stay at the Fort. Now it looks like that is how we will be staying from now on as we just purchased a travel trailer. In the past we've stayed at POP, CBR, POR and offsite. I've been to the poly of couple of times as a kid. Anyway, with 3 kids, staying in hotels is becoming difficult and expensive so we decided that this is the way to travel for the foreseeable future!!! (will be so glad to not have to schlep our clothes/cooler/daypacks/toiletries you name it, into a room anymore)

The last few times we've been to Disney, we've driven straight through, overnight, but I don't think that will be a good idea with pulling our trailer.
If anyone has any advice about driving to Disney with a trailer, (we are about 18 hours away) please post it.

Being a total newbie, sorry for any silly questions, I posted one before but i thought i'd introduce myself here!
thanks

 

[amylevan]

We drove it straight thru the last time, unitentially 1 way...

We're about 15 miles north of Easton, near the NJ border, so we're not too far from you. DS is 2.5, so we decided the best way to travel would be overnight, while he's sleeping. We planned on making it a 2 dayer on the way back, but not everything went as planned.

I do not drive when we are towing. DH does the driving. Normally we aren't going far, so it's just easier on DH's nerves if he drives. We had thought that I would take the wheel for a while on the flat, straight sections of 95 in Georgia/SC...but DH was fine and we started to hit traffic, so....

Anyhow, DH worked a double shift the day before we left so that he went to bed and slept all day while I went to work, DS went to daycare. We left around 7pm and drove straight through, stopping for an hour nap around 5am at a rest stop, breakfast and lunch. Truth be told, it was easier than we expected, and DS slept all night until about 7am.

The way back we had planned on driving 2 days, but we had battery issues and couldn't turn the truck off. So we drove straight through. This was HARD. We left at 10 am, stopped for about 2 hrs dealing with the battery around noon, and then drove straight on through til morning. We were tired, cranky, and the worst part of the drive was the wee morning hours when it was still dark out. At least on the way down, the hardest part of the drive the sun was shining so while your body was tired, the sun was telling you to be awake!

We will do the overnight on the way down again, especially since DH can sleep the day before. But we will break up the drive on the way home!!!!

 

[luckycharm19335]

Welcome!
We are all from basically the same area.
We never drive straight through.
It actually takes us 3 weeks to get there in the fall.
We make 5 day stops in Valdosta, Ga., Bradenton,FL. and West Palm Beach,FL. We are drag racers so we go to the Winter Series then end up at Fort Wilderness.
On the way home, we usually leave the Fort and overnite somewhere around Fredricksburg,VA.
Then finish the trip home.

 

[Stackie]

Congratulations on the purchase of your travel trailer. We have stayed at the resort hotels as well, but prefer to camp at the Fort. Your correct, it will take longer pulling a trailer. We normally leave NJ early morning and stop when we get to Georgia. That leaves us with about a 5 hour drive the next day. My parents often stop at the South of the Boarder Campground for the night, which is about halfway to WDW from NJ.

 

[bama_ed]

Hi out there,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My family of 5 has been visiting Disney nearly every year for that last few years and we've always wanted to stay at the Fort. Now it looks like that is how we will be staying from now on as we just purchased a travel trailer. In the past we've stayed at POP, CBR, POR and offsite. I've been to the poly of couple of times as a kid. Anyway, with 3 kids, staying in hotels is becoming difficult and expensive so we decided that this is the way to travel for the foreseeable future!!! (will be so glad to not have to schlep our clothes/cooler/daypacks/toiletries you name it, into a room anymore)

The last few times we've been to Disney, we've driven straight through, overnight, but I don't think that will be a good idea with pulling our trailer.
If anyone has any advice about driving to Disney with a trailer, (we are about 18 hours away) please post it.

Being a total newbie, sorry for any silly questions, I posted one before but i thought i'd introduce myself here!
thanks

Mom,



Once you make it to the Fort with your trailer you will be hooked.

The Fort is the best combination on property of a relaxing vacation and your favoriate theme park.

We have a popup we pull to the Fort about once a year now from Alabama. It's harder when your kids are older teenagers to find time on the calendar but it has paid for itself and we love the Fort.

Try to work out the bugs of your camper by trying campgrounds close to home. When you feel like you're ready make a break for the Fort.

Enjoy your family time on those campouts together.

Bama ED

 

[mommylovesdisney]

Thanks for your responses!
DH and I share driving, and although he thinks we could still get down there overnight, I don't either of us would be able to relax enough to get through it the first time!! Those hours before dawn are brutal.

I think we'd like to try for Savannah the first night and maybe stop somewhere in VA on the way home.

We are planning a few nearby trips this summer, to break ourselves in and then we will be coming to the Fort in March, hopefully.

Happy travels!

 

[articfox676]

Welcome to FW camping it is the best. When we lived in PA we always stayed at least one night in route. Make it near something else to see. Stone Mountaine in GA was great and there are many other stops to make. This is after all vacation and two nights down or back is makes it a little more relaxed. I know there is excitement to arrive and see Mickey but exhaustion doesn't make for good memories.
Enjoy

 

[Main Street Matilda]

We are making our second trip to the Fort this December, although we did take our RV down last trip when we stayed in a resort, but just for transportation purposes since there were 9 of us.

Like you, we are from NJ, are a family of 5 and have about an 18 hour drive.

We have a motor home, not a travel trailer, but we tow our car, so it is probably a similar experience. We found that all we needed was a 3 or 4 hour stop at a rest area on the way just to rejuvinate. I really don't like delaying our arrival at WDW and we always make that arrival day an easy one so everyone can relax. My husband finds that since driving an RV requires more attention, it makes him more alert and not as sleepy as a result.

You will love the Fort. I know we cannot wait for our return in December! If I could recommend one thing, we were on the fence about renting a golf cart and were really glad we did. We loved sporting around in it, taking a drive at night. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

 

[gillenkl]

We drive from just outside Philly - leave around 3:30am - I pack lunches and snacks for in the van. We also have a porta-potty in the van - DH and I fashioned walls around so it's very private. Otherwise DD would have us stopping every 30 minutes and it would take a week to get there! We arrive in Savannah, GA mid afternoon and stay at Fairfield Inn Marriott. We walk next door to the Cracker Barrel for dinner, the kids go back to the hotel and hit the pool, shower and bed. Up early - they provide a free hot breakfast and we're on the road again - we usually get to the Fort mid afternoon. Around $90 a night and convenient for us.

On the way home we don't leave until after breakfast at Trails End and stop overnight at a Fairfield Inn in Fayetteville, NC.

 

[Mcert01]

18 hours is a long haul, especially with kids. A lot depends on when you leave, but I would split the trip up on some manner. Instead of a hotel we look for a KOA or something like it near where we want to stop for the night. We get a pull through site so we don't even have to unhook; just pull in, drop the jacks, plug in the electric and water and get some sleep.

We come from Michigan. If we leave in the late afternoon we shoot to make it about half way (10 hours) to the Sweetwater TN , getting there around 11pm. If we leave in the morning we shoot for somewhere south of Atlanta. We have made it as far as Valdosta.

Our philosophy is that more time on the road day 1 means more time at Disney the next day, and more time at Disney is always a good thing!

 

[SoccerDad]

Congrats on the new camper!

After this year's trip to Disney in February we decided to replace our pop-up with a hybrid trailer (Jayco X20E), with the idea being that the trailer would be our new vacation home. I also figured we'd skip Disney next year and travel someplace different, but it seems we are all in agreement now that we want to go back next year and camp at Fort Wilderness.

The past few years our trips have been around February because the weather and crowds are mild, but now we are starting to think early summer (like right after school lets out) is better.

We live in metro Cleveland so we are doing a similar drive to yours. My initial thought is that it would be nice to spend a night at a campground down and back to split up the drive, but we'll see how that develops over time. My wife is thinking more along the lines of a short break at a rest area or Walmart parking lot.

I will be watching this thread to see how your plans progress and to hear all of the advice from others who have camped at the Fort!

 

[Mcert01]

Congrats on the new camper!
We live in metro Cleveland so we are doing a similar drive to yours. My initial thought is that it would be nice to spend a night at a campground down and back to split up the drive, but we'll see how that develops over time. My wife is thinking more along the lines of a short break at a rest area or Walmart parking lot.!

I'm with you. The big advantage is that you can take a shower and get a good night's sleep with air conditioning. We actually started our trip last year from Columbus after a family event. We left about 7AM and made it to the Valdosta / Lake Park Georgia KOA off I-75, just north of the Florida border, before stopping for the night. We left the next morning around 7AM and were at FW for lunch.

I'm guessing from Cleveland you will take I-77 to I-95, so it will be a different route, but timing should be relatively close - maybe an extra 2 hours.

Good Luck!