Someone please help me with camping!

[homemaker]

We have been going to disney for years. I use to camp in a motorhome as a small child with my parents. Later we started renting the cabins which we love. We own a 1998 coleman niagra popup that we never use! Since we purchased it, brand new, we have only used it about 6 times. It would be sooooo much cheaper to get a site then to rent the cabin. With four boys we need cheap. I talked my DH into a November trip but he said no cabin, he wants to camp. I want to be at the campground to do all the fun things they have that we never get to do because we are in parks all day. What are some helpful camping hints? There are 6 of us and storage is always an issue. Any ideas or help would be great. Is the add-a-room worth it for the extra space?

Also should I plan on twice the drive time and twice the gas? From NJ, I figure 2 nights each way should be good. Yes? Gas I haven't got a clue what to plan for.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[rbork]

Camping in the Niagara sounds like fun and budget wise too!
Advice: 1. Check out the pop up and make sure everything works still, maybe even take it out for a short trip prior to FW.
2. Storage - we use underbench storage for clothes and maybe a bin in the back of the car. I keep the bare essentials in the pop up, therefore I have quite a bit of storage room. I did do laundry one time on our last trip to cut down on the amount of bath towels packed etc...
3. We considered the add-a room but it was expensive and we just put up a screen room and store anything else in the car.
4. two nights down sounds more than ample. We do it in one day (14.5 hours) from Annapolis. One trip though, we just popped up overnight in St. Augustine as we didn't think we could make it in one day of driving. No ressies made- just stopped in a campground late night and did the honor system payment plan. We did not hook up anything just popped up and used the bathhouse.
5. We spent ~300 in gas round trip. We drive an expedition. I would think you can MapQuest the milage and total it from there according to your vehicle's miles to the tank.
6. You might still want to use the comfort station for showers as it could be faster and less hectic inside the popup. Pack a bathhouse bag for EACH kid! or send dad to divey out items from one bag while they all shower.

I too want to enjoy the campground alittle more this trip since we don't have to commando tour this time - I thought about maybe renting a golf cart for a day (renting the whole time was too expensive and we made out fine walking)
in order to explore more and thought the kid's would like the cart for a day.

Good Luck and Do what's right for you!

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We use the plastic storage bins to keep towels and other things in. They fit in the pop-up nicely while it's being towed. We put them in the screen room or the back of the van after we unload. We also use those giant ziploc bags to keep our clothes in. I know it probably sounds a little silly, but the bags take up less space than luggage and we need all the space we can get when camping in a pop-up.

 

[dopeyprincesses]

Hi Jersey neighbor, great advice up above! What would we all do without camping message boards

If you haven't thought of this, bring a crockpot! I don't know why I never did over our past 15 years of camping. I can't wait for our first trip this year to set up the crockpot and come back to our site with dinner waiting....no more of mom or dad running back to cook and missing activities
I have a really good chicken with Lipton soup mix recipe if you would like it let me know.

don't forget coffee filters, strainer for pasta, garbage bags, dish cloths, tin foil, dish basin, broom, dust pan

If you need shocks for your camper, you can buy them or make them out of wood cut into blocks.

AAA also helps to save $$$ at Disney

Here's a site for fuel estimating: fuelcostcalculator dot com
We are in Central Jersey and calculated about $500 round trip to the Fort. We have a 25' travel trailer and GMC 2500 Sierra truck. We plan to leave about 4am stop for one night around 8pm then the next day arrive at DW.

Have a great time and can't wait to read your trip report

 

[cyberdeb]

We have made the drive down twice with our pop up from just north of Philadelphia. We stopped twice only because we had family just of 95 on the Virginia/NC border. We stopped again Just north of Jacksonville the first trip and in St. Augustine the second. We stopped at motels so we didnt have the work of setting up and breaking down. It is a quick drive from there to FW and we were always there by lunch time.

You got lots of good advice already. The only thing i can add is to maybe stop at a publix before you get to FW so you can get your perishables. We usually stop before we get too close as it gets more expensive. When you stop, buy a cheap styrofoam cooler that you can just throw away when you leave. It will take up less space.

 

[homemaker]

Love the great advice from everyone! I am really excited to go to the fort and not have to go go go everyday. The parks are great and my boys love them, but it is not relaxing at all.

rbork: I LOVE the idea to send dad to the comfort station with the boys. I can go by myself, take my time and have a peaceful shower. Haven't had a peaceful shower in years.

carolina blue: I never would have thought about the giant ziplock bag, but that sounds like a great idea! They would fit under the seats really easy.

dopeyprincesses: I think the crockpot sounds like a wounderful idea, but DH doesn't think it's safe. I think I may over rule him and bring it anyway. We leave them on all day at home what is the difference? The lipton chicken recipe sounds great- I would love it. Thanks

cyberdeb: We plan on staying at hotels also. Seems like alot of work to set up for just a night. In August we stayed in the cabins and found a super Walmart just outside WDW. The prices weren't bad and that place has everything.

 

[leprechaun]

Does your pop-up have a water storage tank? If it does you may concider removing it for added storage. We limit our family ONE duffle bag ea for what ever you want to bring for clothing and or things to keep one busy. As far as the additional room it's a toss up. Do you value your privacy or are you looking for a place to get out of the weather? Would a tarp tied to a tree surfice or are you looking for an overflow area for your gear. Maybe your car can be like a closest?

 

[SunshineCamper]

We did the same thing with the water tank. It made such a difference. I bought some sterlite drawers (I had to measure the space as to what size or sizes would fit). We placed our clothes in the drawers. DH, DD, DS and I would open the pop-up before we headed out and filled our drawer with our clothes. It worked really well if the weather was warm (clothes aren't thick). The thicker clothes didn't fit as well but we live in FL so it's not a problem too often. We also had drawers for the kids under the Second table we had (we used this table outside the pop-up and made the "chairs" a sofa. This was located on the right when you walked in the door. It was the King size bed side and the other side was the queen size. The pop-up was a Coachman 1998. We now own an Outback 26RS.

Another idea on saving space (which I'm sure everyone is doing but I haven't paid attention) is using a mesh bag to haul your clothes and towel to the bathroom. I was shopping at Target last spring in there $1 spot and bought 5 of these mesh bags (one for backup-these are also great for hauling laundry along with the detergent). We put our clothes and towels in the bag and grab our toiletry bag (which is the garden kids bags i got for $1.18 marked down at target, and our bag is the shower bag found at Bed, Bath and Beyond). This has worked really well. The kids would drop a sock or something on the way back from the bathrooms. This has so far solved that problem. It works well in our new trailer too. The mesh bags are easy to store. So no duffle bags.

We don't do this now but in the pop-up it worked like a charm. We had a "handle' for hanging clothes on hangers. I attached a 5 cubed linen holder (I found at Walmart in the laundry section). It supposed to work in your closet for shirts, pants, sweaters. It velros around the rod of your closet. I velroed it around this handle. It has 5 "cubes" and cost $12.99. I deattached it when we packed up and it was like an accordian compacted nicely to store. We kept our food in this since the handle was by the sink in our pop-up it kept the food in one place and gave us more room.

I saw this great idea on our travels-to hang towels (beach too). I bought an iron black rod at Walmart with 2 hooks. These are meant for hanging plants. Then I went to our local Camping World and bought for $5 a hang dryer hook. It's a large hook with clothespin like clips to hang clothes or towels. I have one on each hook of the iron rod. The hang dryer hook folds up nicely. I noticed this comcept due to the fact we can't tie rope to trees in many campgrounds here.

hope this helps....enjoy your trip!

 

[dopeyprincesses]

Homemaker, I pm you the recipe

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

If your boys are old enough you could have some or all of them sleep in a tent on the same site (no extra charge for this). That would free up some space in the pop-up and may keep you from having to put the table up and down for sleeping each night. You could also just use a small tent for storage space too.
I have the add-a-room on my pop-up. When I use it I leave the door stowed to make the two rooms more usable.

 

[DavidLeaphart]

Hi Folks,

Back in the 70's (73-77), the Fort Wilderness Railroad ran thru the campground instead of the buses and trams!

I'm writing a book on Disney World Railroads and am looking for any photos of the old railroad that I might publish in the book! Anyone have or know of any photos? I would need to know how to contact the photographer for permission to publish it. I would then credit the photographer and yourself.

Thanks! and happy camping.

David

WDW Fan and Visitor since 1986!

 

[Mr Man]

Everyone has given you great advice (especially the crock-pot & tent for the boys). 4 boys. Wow. I have 2 boys and have a hard time imagining my sanity level if this increased to 4.

I have just a couple things to add.

We always bring an EZ-up 10ft x 10ft, so we can sit outside even if it is raining. That pop-up will get small with 4 boys methinks.

When we are tight on space, we generally cut way back on clothes and get the Disney Dining Plan. Then we just do snacks at the camper. Cutting back on clothes and food really frees up space. Yes, this does mean a trip to the comfort station to do laundry, but people are extra nice at FW and the time there flies by.......

Whatever you decide, it will be the right thing to do. Have a blast!

Regards,

 

[goofyjoe]

Everyone has contributed some great information. However, the obvious question is: "Are you talking about this November?" If so, you may want to make sure you can get into the Fort before you start packing.

 

[CottontailCurl]

Hi Folks,
Back in the 70's (73-77), the Fort Wilderness Railroad ran thru the campground instead of the buses and trams!
I'm writing a book on Disney World Railroads and am looking for any photos of the old railroad that I might publish in the book!

David, you might want to start this as it's own thread. Get a new thread title asking for RR pictures, you've used a title that's the same as an old one and is lost in it.