Our first camping trip

[deanna85]

We went last week from Monday-Wednesday (only 2 nights because it was our first time). It was DH, myself and DS (3). We didn't bring anything to cook with. All we brought for food was water, snacks and bagels/donuts for breakfast. For meals, we ate at the park and at Trails End. It was a lot of fun and the tent was surprisingly cold. Thanks to this wonderful board, we used a window ac unit in it (although I do not have any pictures of the set up). We were in spot 1501. I liked the location except for the noise that came from the bus stop late at night. We had a lot of fun and have been buying stuff for our next trip which will be from October3-7 (4 nights). Here are some photos....

 

[ElementCamper]

Glad you enjoyed your trip!
Site 1501, nice potty and bus access but definitely all night and early morning bus noise.

 

[anolefan]

Looks like a great trip!

Thanks for the pictures, your son looks like he had a great time.

 

[rm0530]

What an adorable DS! Thanks for the pictures.

I'm glad you're going to stay longer during your next trip. 2 nights is never enough to satisfy the Fort craving!

 

[kazlac4]

Looks like (hopefully) the beginning of many a wonderful Fort visits with your son! I bet you are counting the days until your October trip!

 

[deanna85]

Looks like (hopefully) the beginning of many a wonderful Fort visits with your son! I bet you are counting the days until your October trip!

I am counting it down!! Originally, we were going at the end of October b/c we are going to the Halloween Party on the 28th, but we moved it to earier in the month. It is only $36 for our site with our AP discount. You really can't beat that, especially since we are on Disney property!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

It looks like you did great on your first trip!

Thanks for sharing and thanks for the photos.

Early October is a great time to visit.

Have a great second trip!

TCD

 

[storyteller]

I love your set up, awesome job. Continue to have a blast on your next trip.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Cool camp set up,
Glad ya'll hada great time


Sooo,,are ya'll hooked on the Fort now ?

 

[deanna85]

Cool camp set up,
Glad ya'll hada great time


Sooo,,are ya'll hooked on the Fort now ?

Very hooked!! DS just got a fishing pole and can't wait to use it there or to go in a canoe. I love it there!!

 

[luvftwilderness]

So glad to hear you had a great trip!
Would love to know which a/c setup you went with. I have the same tent and thinking about it for future trips. Sounds like yours kept you nice and cool.

 

[allmydisneydreams]

Looks like such fun! Your DS is adorable and looks like he is having a great time

We have the same exact tent, which we just tried out this past weekend for the first time (not at the Fort, tho). We loved the tent - so roomy - we needed something big because we have three boys!

I am very curious about where your a/c was hooked up... How did you do it?

Glad you had a nice first trip

 

[caveat lector]

I like DS's marshmallow technique. That focus probably produced a superior end product.

 

[deanna85]

We bought a table from sears. It is a black cast iron and folds (it is kind of like one of those portable tv trays on legs but shorter and made of cast iron instead of wood). It was only $20. We placed the ac unit on this, because we didn't want it too low, which would require us cutting through the seam in the middle of the tent. My husband bought a bungee cord from Lowes and straped the ac unit to the table on that. I didn't like the idea of it not being secured to the table so high off the ground. We elevated it in the front a little too. When cutting the tent, we only cut the two sides and the bottom. We left the top part of the flap connected to the tent and velcro that up when the ac is in place. We put velcro on both the tent and ac. It worked good but we are going to possibly apply some black tape at the edges of where we cut the tent (under the velcro) that way it does not tear. We used really thick velcro. We are still figuring out what to do in case we wanted to use the tent without the ac unit. We might just get really thick velcro and place that on the flap and velcro the flap to the tent. The AC kept one side of the tent really cold. It is a huge tent and we did not buy a big enough ac unit. The side that was cold was verrry cold at night and I had to use three blankets at night. The other side was not cold and still kind of hot. We are going to get a few fans before next time to circulate the air. I would suggest to get a 10,000 btu ac unit at least.

 

[deanna85]

Something else to think about...I think a lot of big tents are built this way but the top of this tent is pretty much mesh and you have a tarp that you place tightly over it. Air escapes from there, making it harder to keep the tent cool. It worked fine for us, but if we had a big family and had to have people sleeping at both sides of the tent, it would have been difficult. Also, like I said before we did not buy a big enough ac. Had we bought a 10K btu, it might have been fine throughout the tent

 

[kampfirekim]

Looks like you had tons of fun!

We have a large tent that we've used to join my parents at their campsites for a night or two. Love it!

Thanks for sharing your pics and report.