Please tell me about camping at WDW!

[molly2004]

Hi, there. We are planning on camping for the first time with kids for about a week. We have twin boys (will be 2.5+ yo). We have only camped as a couple, never with the kids. I am debating whether we should stay at POR or camp. I am thinking there will be much more the kiddos will enjoy at FW than POR. We don't have a camper, and the cabins are a bit pricey for us. Would you help me decide?

Here are my questions:
1) Do you have a "studio" tent (isn't it obvious from my terminology that I'm not a camper?) or a multi-room tent with kids?

2) How do you handle cold nights/inclement weather? We're thinking of going either end Oct/early November or February 2007.

3) Ladies, how do you handle taking your young sons into the comfort stations to get showered and dressed? I thought DH would take one and I'd take one and we'd get ready at the same time.

4) We'll be flying in. How do you manage all of your camping gear in addition to car seats, luggage, strollers. Should I just wait until the kids are older?

5) What sort of camping gear should I arrange to take? Given that it's Disney, I imagine that the site would be more comfortable than any other campsite. No need for cookware. Other than the tent and sleeping bags, what else should we bring?

DH and I love being outdoors and love the peacefulness of camping. However, we have no clue how to go about it with the kids. Please help us figure this one out!

Thanks for the input.

 

[LegoMom3]

Howdy!
Well, where to begin... I guess my first suggestion would be to try a weekend camping with your boys, before going to Disney for a week! We have three boys and have started all of them camping when less than a year old, but it is involved at that age.

FW campsites are nice and spacious, lots of trees and greenery so you feel pretty private at your site. We always drive down so I can't offer any suggestions to handling all your gear. You mention no cooking stuff so I assume you're doing the dining plan or otherwise eating all your meals out? That will help, in that respect.

Bringing your son into the ladies room is no problem! Especially at that age. Nobody is going to stare oddly or say anything. It's much easier this way than for a dad trying to bring a daughter, since men's rooms have those nice open-air urinals.... I would not worry about that part at all.

We do have a large tent, that technically has 3 "rooms" but we have yet to close them off as such. I like a nice, big open tent. We also use a screen house over our picnic table for added space, but if you're not cooking or eating there, you might not need that aspect. If you go Oct/Nov (we'll be there early Nov.!!) I don't think the nights will be all that cold (unless some Florida resident can correct me on that!); cool, yes, but not uncomfortable, especially for people like us from the frozen north! Sleeping bags and maybe a fleece blanket should fit the bill. That's what we plan on having with us. You'll need some sort of foam or air mattress to get off the ground, though...makes a big diffence in keeping warm (not to mention comfy).

Yes, FW does have lots for the kids to do, but so does a moderate resort like POR/FQ. I hope this helps some; I'm sure you'll get other good replies too! But again, as I said in the beginning, if you've never taken the kids camping before now, try a weekend close to home first!

 

[michelle9343]

I can tell you about the waether. Oct -Nov tent to be quit nice. We can still get days in the 90 but the nights tend to be comfortable.
Taking your little boys to the womens comfort station wont be a problem.Just like public restrooms, people understand little boys go in with Mom.
We have never tent camped at FW so can't help with how to pack it all while flying down.

 

[gabesmom]

I would agree that you need to try a shorter trip first. We started our DS tent camping at about 2 and he loved it, but my sister wasn't so lucky. Her kids (ages 3,5) hated it and were scared to sleep in the tent.

Needless to say, it just depends on your kids. Try a short weekend trip to a state park or a fun rv park in your area and then go from there...

good luck

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I think with kids that age who are inexperienced campers, this might be a disastrous first trip for them. Weather at this time can range from very hot (in November 2003 we experienced temps in the upper 80's each NIGHT) to pretty cold (we have also been in November when the temp dipped into the low 40's). This is also the end of hurricane season, and there is the potential for some pretty severe rain (remember Wilma?). So my two cents is this - if it were me and my kids were that age staying in a tent for the first time, I think I'd opt for POR and increase the chances that Disney trip would be a positive experience.

 

[cyndilou01]

we took our kids when they were small to ft. Wilderness and the problem is after that everytime we said we are going camping they thought disney and not every place is this nice... but what you may want to do, to have the best of both worlds is rent a cabin at Ft. Wilderness... it cost more but still feels like camping... has a kitchen so you can save money on food... and still enjoy everything the campground has to offer... the thing is you need to make it easy on yourself or you may never want to go back.... lol

Either way enjoy yourself...

 

[Third times a charm]

We have camped with DD since she was an infant. We thought about camping at the Fort, but decided it was too difficult to bring all our stuff, we also flew down. We stayed in the cabins and absolutely loved them.

 

[Goofy109]

Well, this is an Easy one !! Stay at POR , or better yet with the ages of your children, stay at the All Star ' MOVIES ' resort !! They will just love the larger than life characters .......much more than the woods......and bugs.......and a TENT to sleep in !! With all the beautiful Resorts at Disney, in every price range, why would ANYONE want to CAMP ?? Camping is for camping,,,,,,,,,,Disney is for the Magical experience ,,,,,,,,,and I do not see anything Magical about camping at Disney !! After a long day at the parks with those little ones, you will much more enjoy the COMFORT of a nice bed over a TENT ,,,,,,and if not,,,,,,,shoot me in the head !!! . Camping at Disney,

 

[minkydog]

Well, this is an Easy one !! Stay at POR , or better yet with the ages of your children, stay at the All Star ' MOVIES ' resort !! They will just love the larger than life characters .......much more than the woods......and bugs.......and a TENT to sleep in !! With all the beautiful Resorts at Disney, in every price range, why would ANYONE want to CAMP ?? Camping is for camping,,,,,,,,,,Disney is for the Magical experience ,,,,,,,,,and I do not see anything Magical about camping at Disney !! After a long day at the parks with those little ones, you will much more enjoy the COMFORT of a nice bed over a TENT ,,,,,,and if not,,,,,,,shoot me in the head !!! . Camping at Disney,

Obviously you are not a camper

I agree with the other previous posters--try out camping this spring or summer before you go. We've been camping with the kids since they were 3,5 & 11. We started with a tent and a few air mattresses. At that time DS10 was not even walking, barely sitting well. He was filthy the whole time from dragging around in the dirt,but he had a great time. It was alot of work but we eventually figured things out.

Now the kids are 10,12, & 19 and we still camp. We moved up to a pop-up camper 2 yrs ago and that has made a huge difference in our comfort(you reach a certain age where sleeipng on the ground loses it's appeal ) We have a "system" now and we can throw a trip together in about 4hrs.

I would consider bringing at least a cooler to keep milk in, if you aren't going to cook at your site. Then you can fix a bowl of cereal for breakfast or have some lunchables in there. At minimum you'll need a small tent, something to sleep on, a light, a cooler for drinks, towels & toiletries, and paper towels for clean ups. You must know how to put your tent up before you get there! It will be hard to watch the kids and read directions at the same time.

Good luck. don't be discouraged. With some advance planning and some experience this could be a great vacation.

 

[LegoMom3]

Not only is Goofy109 not a camper, but has obviously never SEEN FW...!! I'd stay there ANY day over a noisy, cramped hotel room!!!!!!!!!

 

[clkelley]

It is possible to tent camp and fly at Disney World.

I would recommend, if possible to use Magical Express with a "participating airline" That way, the only place you have to deal with your camping gear is at your home airport. Make sure your arrival at WDW is no later than noon, so that when your "stuff" arrives up to 3 hours later, you still have daylight to set up. Also, your departure home needs to be between 4pm and 8pm to make departure as easy as possible.

You can curbside check everything at your home airport with the Magical Express tags on them, and then once your bags arrive at Ft. Wilderness, the Ft. Wilderness staff will take your stuff to your site in a van.

On your departure day, wake up, pack up your gear, and call the Ft. Wilderness Front desk by 11am. Someone will come in a van and transport your stuff to the resort airline checkin desk and then you won't have to deal with your stuff until you are back at your home airport. If you don't use a "participating airline" then you will have to transport all your stuff back to the airport under the Magical Express bus and check it yourself.

With the four of you, you can take 8 50lb bags for your tents, rainfly's, chairs, air mattresses, etc.

I would bring a large multi-room tent for the 4 of you, and a smaller tent for your "stuff"

Bring a fan to run during the day to combat the humidity while you are out.

Also, bring cheap painters plastic to place under your tent in addition to your normal ground cloth. This keeps the bottom of your tent clean for packing it back up. Throw that painters plastic away at the end of your trip!!!

Also bring a few of your own garbage bags. There are garbage cans in the loop, but not necessarily one right by your site. That way you don't have to walk to the can for every little piece of trash.

Even though you are not cooking, a rainfly/screen house is great for relaxing in your chairs outside your tent.

Your outdoor extension cord needs to be at least 40 feet long. A couple of power strips inside your tent for your alarm clock, cell phone chargers, fan, etc. is a must.

Several rolls of quarters and your own laundry soap and dryer sheets are a must. I usually do laundry every night. I drop a load off in the washer, then go to the shower. When I finish with my shower, the wash is usually done and I transfer my stuff to the dryer, then go back to the campsite for a few minutes. Then when the dryer is done, I gather my stuff and then go to bed.

If you do bring a cooler, Ice is $2.00 a bag, and it doesn't last very long.

Ft. Wilderness doesn't do quick breakfast very well, they just have the buffet. I would recommend taking a boat over to the Contemporary early in the morning and go to the Food & Fun Center for your quick breakfast, and then start your day from there.

As other posters have said, do a weekend trip with the kids and just car camp normally to see if they like it. If they like the camping part of it, then do another weekend trip, packing as if you were flying and see if that is feasible.

Carol

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

Do you intentionally go out of your way to be down right rude or does it just naturally occur with you?? Really, you are clearly biased against camping, so why may I ask are you on the camping part of the discussions??? I frankly like the fact that you are so repulsed by camping that you would rather "shoot yourself in the head". You see you won't be running around and wasting space at our quite campground.

Well, this is an Easy one !! Stay at POR , or better yet with the ages of your children, stay at the All Star ' MOVIES ' resort !! They will just love the larger than life characters .......much more than the woods......and bugs.......and a TENT to sleep in !! With all the beautiful Resorts at Disney, in every price range, why would ANYONE want to CAMP ?? Camping is for camping,,,,,,,,,,Disney is for the Magical experience ,,,,,,,,,and I do not see anything Magical about camping at Disney !! After a long day at the parks with those little ones, you will much more enjoy the COMFORT of a nice bed over a TENT ,,,,,,and if not,,,,,,,shoot me in the head !!! . Camping at Disney,