Need Help - Tent Camping at Christmastime!

[WVParrothead]

My husband, eight year old son and I have tent camped at Fort Wilderness twice - both times in July.

We purchased Annual Passes which are going to be the death of us, I'm sure!

I've been wanting to go to Disney for Christmas for a long time now, so we decided - why not camp at Fort Wilderness!

We made our reservations this morning and now I'm beginning to have reservations about making the reservations! Our child is an only child and we do not want to freeze him to death by making him stay in a tent in December.

We are going to purchase a Eureka Condo 3-season tent before the trip. We have bought Quest sleeping bags that go to 10 degrees and my son also has a little fleece sleeping bag that I was going to put inside the 10 degree one. Will electric blankets burn the tent down?

Anyone tent camp at Disney in the winter months? Any suggestions or comments you may have are needed.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[AllisonG]

Having lived in Florida 28 years out of the 30 years I've been alive, I have to tell you Floridian weather is so unpredictible. It could very well be going down to the 30's in the night time or the 80's. It all depends on how Mother Nature is feeling. We go every year to WDW in December. Sometimes we wear shorts, sometimes we wear sweatshirts and mittens. Keep a close eye on the weather for that area before you leave. See if there will be any cold fronts coming down during your stay. December has also been known for being rainy. Bring you rain gear! Good luck and have fun! You'll enjoy December much more then you would have in July.

PS. I camped at FW one February and it went down to 28º in the night. It was quite comfortable to tell you the truth. Worse thing was trying to get out of your sleeping bag to go to the bathroom!

 

[kingdomqueen]

We camped in January of this year and the temperature gotr to 30 degrees. WE were fine in our sleeping bags. It was a little cool at night, but if you wit the sack early you shaould stay warm. We also brought a small ceramic heater and a small wooden table to put it on. We ran it for short periods at night while we were awake. Definitely shut it off before going to sleep though. If your sleeping bags are rated to 10 degrees I don't think you will need electric blankets. Hope this helps. KQ

 

[MickeyEars ºoº]

If you can stay off the ground. Get cots or an airmattress. Personally we put three cots together and then put a king size eggcrate over them. We put our gear under the edges to create some insulation.

I camp in the upper 30's low 40's and body heat in the tent does pretty good. Close it right up at night and they keep heat.

 

[Melissa R]

We camped this past January and it was in the 30's at night - quite cold for this south Florida family! We stayed quite warm in the tent with good sleeping bags and a little electric heater fan thing that we ran before going to sleep to take the chill away. Getting out of those sleeping bags in the morning to go to the bathroom was a nightmare!!! I'd say that the worst part of camping when it was that cold was that we didn't really get to enjoy our free time - it was a bit too cold for us to really want to sit and watch the cartoons at the campfire or sit around the campsite and play games, etc.

Since you're going at Christmas time, be sure to bring Christmas lights for your site. Lots of people decorate their sites and it looks so pretty and festive!

 

[TWEEDLEDEE2]

WE CAMPED IN A TENT A FEW YEARS BACK OVER X-MAS. WE ALSO TOOK A LITTLE HEATER WITH US. IT WAS NICE BECAUSE THE HEATER HAD THE TEMP CONTROL AND WE WOULDN'T GET HOT OR COLD TO HAVE TO TURN IT ON OR OFF. DURING THE DAY THE TEMP WAS COMFORTABLE AND AT NIGHT YOU NEEDED A LIGHT JACKET. IT WAS THE ULTIMATE WISCONSIN WEATHER.

 

[Gillian]

From the above reports, it sounds like you'll be fine! I've camped in November in Pennsylvania & that was cold! We didn't have electricity so we wore knit hats. You probably won't need them, but it's a small thing to pack, just in case.

Have fun!