Nervous

[byejou]

OK, so we are booked in a Premium loop for May 12-19th of next year. We have a pop-up and use it frequently to camp around the NJ/PA area. I have to say that I am not sure about camping at Disney. I have wanted to do it for years now and I am a little nervous. My idea of Disney is fun in the parks, relaxing at the resort pools, eating til you can't possible eat anymore and sleeping in those comfortable beds after a day of running wild. With that said, hauling the camper 16 hrs, setting up camp (minimally that is), hoping for a site close to comfort station, preparing some meals at the camper, because I can't give up the Dining Plan, running back & forth to parks, and trying to find time to enjoy campground. Can this be done? Then be relaxed to ride all the way home.

Ressies are made and I will not be canceling but I need help planning our days so we can enjoy this top rated campground and Disney.

 

[FloridaTeacher]

We do it....except our drive is about 8 hours. We love it! We don't like staying at any of the other resorts nearly as much. Fort Wilderness is totally unique & waaaayyy more relaxing!!

 

[luckycharm19335]

We drive from the Philadelphia PA. area.
For me the trick is not plan ahead, except for a few ADR's to those special places that we love so much.
We just do what we feel like doing. Each day when we wake up we make a decision then.
The Fort is so different than staying at one of the hotel resorts. They are nice in their own special way.
Since it is your first camping experience at the Fort, I would encourage you to get there, get checked in and set up, then go exploring. You may find that you don't want to run yourself ragged getting up at the crack of dawn and running to the parks everyday.
Upon check in they will give you an activities sheet outlining everything to do each day.
Oh, and don't forget your swimsuits and your fishin gear.
Seriously, I am no fisherwoman. I don't even know if there is a hook on my line, but I don't care. I just love the whole process.

 

[bama_ed]

Hi fellow pup owner.

Add a request to your ressie to get a site near a comfort station. Although they usually arent far away.

I would suggest leave a few days on your plan to relax and enjoy the fort, dtd, maybe a water park and more. Dont be a theme park kamikaze. In may weekends are usually busier and the weekdays are less busy.

You will have fun so relax and enjoy it. If you only sleep at the fort and go 90 to nothing otherwise you miss the point of being at the fort.

Peace,

Bama ed

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I don't understand why you think this would be any different from what you are use to doing otherwise at a hotel resort ?


Seriously, you have it completely backwards from my point of view.
You still have to travel the same distance to get to and from Disney (just time line a little different), but in a hotel you have more noise, more hussle and bussle, more people to deal with, etc. It's like stay'n in the city. But, some folk like that I guess,

 

[texican]

We're at the Fort right now. We drove 21-ish hours (from Houston) to get here. We're not camping (staying in a cabin) but we LOVE it.

I'm an intense planner and we're in the parks 4 days of the 6 nights we're here. We have a reservation for dinner/lunch/hair-cuts/whatever at least once a day. And, so far, its worked out beautifully.

The ease of the boats is wonderful. The quietness at the cabins is bliss. I'm not sure I'd ever stay anywhere else.

 

[luckycharm19335]

We're at the Fort right now. We drove 21-ish hours (from Houston) to get here. We're not camping (staying in a cabin) but we LOVE it.

I'm an intense planner and we're in the parks 4 days of the 6 nights we're here. We have a reservation for dinner/lunch/hair-cuts/whatever at least once a day. And, so far, its worked out beautifully.

The ease of the boats is wonderful. The quietness at the cabins is bliss. I'm not sure I'd ever stay anywhere else.

UH OH!
Another addict!

 

[Disney Bunny]

OK, so we are booked in a Premium loop for May 12-19th of next year. We have a pop-up and use it frequently to camp around the NJ/PA area. I have to say that I am not sure about camping at Disney. I have wanted to do it for years now and I am a little nervous. My idea of Disney is fun in the parks, relaxing at the resort pools, eating til you can't possible eat anymore and sleeping in those comfortable beds after a day of running wild. With that said, hauling the camper 16 hrs, setting up camp (minimally that is), hoping for a site close to comfort station, preparing some meals at the camper, because I can't give up the Dining Plan, running back & forth to parks, and trying to find time to enjoy campground. Can this be done? Then be relaxed to ride all the way home.

Ressies are made and I will not be canceling but I need help planning our days so we can enjoy this top rated campground and Disney.

Okay.....my 2 cents worth......First off, I would NOT drive 16 hours straight to get to Disney and then have to set up camp or take down camp and have to drive 16 hours straight home even if it means sacrificing one or two of those days you had planned to camp. I would budget the money to spend the night in a hotel each way. Will do a lot to help your relaxation level. Split the time up so that you do over half of the drive the first day and plan to arrive around lunch time the second day. Do set up and then spend the rest of the day exploring and relaxing in the fort.

Maximize the hours the parks are available. That way, you can take a break during the day and come back and fix a quick lunch and then hit the pool before heading back to the parks for the evening. Maybe only plan to go to 2 or three of the parks instead of doing a park each day. Another option would be to do rope drop one day and then come back late afternoon and do some pool time, dinner at the pop up and then movie and s'mores by the campfire.

There are a lot of ways to work this to maximize your time at the Fort.

 

[mash]

Welcome fellow pop-up camper! Don't be nervous. You are going to have a great time at the Fort. Here are my suggestions:

1) To help make the beds more comfortable we use air mattresses.

2) Make your plans, reservations, etc. for the parks, rides and dining.

3) Be flexible so that you can throw out your plans at any point, whether for an hour or two or for the whole vacation, if you want.

4) Have fun!

I predict that you will be pleasantly surprised at the peacefulness of the campground during the day. My favorite activity is taking a break from all the activity to sit under our camper awning with a good book while the children bike around the loop.

 

[Running_Bell]

Welcome... you'll love it. We've been about 5 times and we love it so much at the Fort... we spend all day there without going to a park at all. We stayed 10 days last November in a tent... believe me, we had all luxuries you can have in a tent and were comfy as any hotel. We camped at FW in a tent and RV and you can make anything feel like home.

There is nothing better than putting on a pot of coffee early in the morning and smelling bacon cooking, listening to the boats and buses.... meeting all the neighbors. My DD and I will often wake up before anyone else, hop in the golf cart and head to trails end for coffee and hot chocolate. I would rather stay at FW than any place....

 

[YensidCamper]

I would have to say that staying in the Fort is part of the attraction. Plan time to enjoy its unique feathers.

 

[cruising spud]

As to camping at Disney-I think you will either love it or decide not to do it again. We come from Pennsylvania and drive about twenty hours to get to Disney. We used to stay on-site at Disney hotels and then bought a Class C. Since then, I can't imagine staying at even a Disney hotel. The reasons were STRONGLY brought back to me this summer. My daughter and I were on the road and staying at hotels several times while looking at colleges, and my sisters and I spent some time in New York City for a sisters vacation. Hotels mean checking for bedbugs, finding a place to eat breakfast in the morning (even if the hotels have breakfast, they aren't that good/healthy), having your clothes/possessions out and hoping room service does a decent job cleaning. Wondering when the last time was that the quilt on the bed might possibly have been cleaned. And, please believe me, we were not staying a cheap hotels. Even the glamorous one we stayed in in NYC had me wondering about bedbugs because of all the hype the city has had with them. Now, if you are not the kind of person who worries about stuff like that (and no one else in my family does) then I'd say try the camping and if you don't like it, stay with the hotels. At least you gave it a try and then you will know.

 

[byejou]

Thanks to everyone. I know I am over anticipating this a little too much. Everyone has nothing but positive reviews and I know mine will be as well.

After thinking it over we decided we'll be there 7 nights and there are 4 parks, so we'll get 4 day hoppers. Go in when we feel, leave after lunch and enjoy the fort a bit then maybe hop to park for few hrs before bedtime. I plan to alternate days and stay at the Fort the non-park days. Being DVC members we do plan to pool hop one day just for fun.

Since dining will be down to just making one meal at camper, if that, its going to be simple. I may not even bring grill (but probably will). Not over-packing, so I don't have to pack it up again. Plan to wash clothes 1/2 way through too. Looking at pics of sites, I told DH no First-up Canopy this trip. Just using awning on camper. Bringing 2 nice reclining chairs, a large cooler and our ipod dock.

As for comfort in camper, got a nice comfy feather-bed for top of mattress. Oh, and thanks cruising spud for the reminder of bed bugs.....YIKES!!!!! No bugs to be found here.

Travel is up in the air. Anyone from this area (NJ/PA) with thoughts of travel tips please feel free. I plan to get kids from school at 2pm on Friday and hit the road. But that brings into DC at rush hour, so I thought dinner time. Then back on the road. I want to drive at least 12 hours day one, having kids sleep through most and stopping at hotel then ending up at Fort next day around lunchtime. Will it work????? No straight through driving yet. Need to do this trip once before we attempt that.

 

[christinou]

After thinking it over we decided we'll be there 7 nights and there are 4 parks, so we'll get 4 day hoppers. Go in when we feel, leave after lunch and enjoy the fort a bit then maybe hop to park for few hrs before bedtime. I plan to alternate days and stay at the Fort the non-park days. Being DVC members we do plan to pool hop one day just for fun.

You might want to look at the price of tickets, it really is not much more to go from 4 days to 7 days, then you would not feel as you have to pack everything in those 4 days.

 

[tlh0726]

You might want to look at the price of tickets, it really is not much more to go from 4 days to 7 days, then you would not feel as you have to pack everything in those 4 days.

2nd this.

 

[smacca1956]

You might want to look at the price of tickets, it really is not much more to go from 4 days to 7 days, then you would not feel as you have to pack everything in those 4 days.

Strongly agree! We will be there 7 days and got 7 day park hopper passes. Price was not that much different and we can come and go as we please with no pressure day to day.

 

[cruising spud]

Driving down to Disney-we have tried a variety of ways, and quite honestly, they all have their pros and cons.

To name a few, we have tried:

95 straight down

76 to 81 to 95

76 to 15 to 95

And, varieties of the above.

Quite honestly, I think the best way, if time is an issue and you don't want to ramble through Virginia, is to take 95 and leave in the middle of the night. Any way you could leave on Thursday night, about 9:00 pm? If so, I'd say to drive straight through Richmond, and then take a break.

 

[Running_Bell]

With that said, hauling the camper 16 hrs, setting up camp (minimally that is), hoping for a site close to comfort station, preparing some meals at the camper, because I can't give up the Dining Plan, running back & forth to parks, and trying to find time to enjoy campground. Can this be done? Then be relaxed to ride all the way home.

We always drive straight thru... but then again we are only driving 12 hours, not 16.

But... the one thing we do to elimate the stress for getting there is we leave early in the morning, drive the 12 hours all the way to Disney and stay the first night at Pop Century. We do this so we aren't so stress to get to FW before dark to setup, we can check-in the hotel just take a few overnight bags from the car and enjoy POP. We get up the next day, take our time eating breakfast and then head over to FW, a whopping 15 minutes away, we have the whole day to setup, tour FW and BE RELAXED. We love doing this because we get to enjoy Disney before we even get to FW.

Now we don't use a camper... but we pull a covered trailer with our tent gear and Pop was fine with letting us park there. I also saw a few RVs in the parking lot... maybe they had the same idea.

 

[FortWarren]

Slow down.. Don't go to a park everyday and relax.. You are camping and having fun.

 

[alwaysdisney]

You might want to look at the price of tickets, it really is not much more to go from 4 days to 7 days, then you would not feel as you have to pack everything in those 4 days.

If the budget allows, I would think about non-expired tickets as well. We did this for a trip in August, during raining season and glad that we did because we had 4 days left out of 9 that we will be using next summer.