Tent camp or rent travel trailer?

[KalamityJane]

I'm wrestling with this one...

We would be flying in, but have the gear to tent camp. This would be in January and I would want to stay over 2 weeks.

OR I could rent a travel trailer and not have to deal with sorting out a tent camp, have a kitchen, etc. Cons are that is a lot more expensive.

Basically, worth the extra money to rent one? We currently have a popup site booked so this wouldn't be a decked out TT probably. If I switch to a full + site, that would change prices too.

 

[Bonniec]

Tent camping in January is just fine. I just did it. But I live locally and I have air mattresses and stoves and everything I need. I imagine it would be hard to fly with all that equipment. Either way will certainly be fine, it just depends on your finances. But the weather is nice in January for tent camping. You'll want both cold and warm weather items because it can be cold one night and in the 80s or 90s the next

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Personally for me I would absolutely rent the trailer particularly as you're staying 2 weeks and flying in. January can be cold also. Even if that meant more eat in or less souvenirs or park days, who cares as the Fort itself is so enjoyable! Our best Disney vacations were when we weren't endlessly running around constantly to the parks but took time to slow down, do some simpler things, then it felt like a real vacation when we had more relaxation time. Which, IMO, you would get more of in a trailer as opposed to a tent for 2 weeks.

 

[parrothead64]

Would probably have to switch sites for a rental.

 

[KalamityJane]

We are from Idaho and used to camping in the cold (our gear is cold weather suited) so that is not a problem. We are flying Southwest so have 2 bags each and family in Orlando will set us up with any other gear we need. I know after about 5-6 nights though, I may be wanting more space/privacy than a tent affords as it will be me and the kids, no hubby.

We only have a tent/popup site now though, so we could go through Meacham's and get one of their popups (doubles the cost, but halves the stress/setup)

Alternatively, we could get a full or bigger site and rent a full size travel trailer. At this point we are into the 150/nt range though. We will be spending a lot of time at the Fort, I'm not planning on doing commando park time Mainly just trying to snowbird and relax and see family because I get seasonal depression and this past winter was really bad up here. We will have APs and just hit the parks when we feel like it.

I suppose I'm asking, if you stayed for a longer time, was it worth it to just go for the travel trailer in terms of comfort/stress?

Another twist is that we *may* be down in early November for 12 nights (waiting for hubby's boss to okay a conference in Orlando) and I would be amenable to tenting it one trip and renting a trailer the next time.

 

[arielmomma]

We are a family of 4 who have tent camped for two weeks stints at the Fort several times and have always loved it. Now, I admit, that we always drove so we had a van full of gear. However, my back can no longer handle the drive from Michigan so I was recently planning out how to fly Southwest to the Fort and I am confident that it is not only doable, but wouldn't have any negative impact on how we vacation. As someone who is also planning to fly down on a two week tent camping trip, hopefully, at the end of this year or the beginning of the next, I say save the money and stick with tent camping.

 

[KalamityJane]

We are a family of 4 who have tent camped for two weeks stints at the Fort several times and have always loved it. Now, I admit, that we always drove so we had a van full of gear. However, my back can no longer handle the drive from Michigan so I was recently planning out how to fly Southwest to the Fort and I am confident that it is not only doable, but wouldn't have any negative impact on how we vacation. As someone who is also planning to fly down on a two week tent camping trip, hopefully, at the end of this year or the beginning of the next, I say save the money and stick with tent camping.

I'm leaning towards this and spending extra money on some nice sleeping pads (ogling Exped Megamat 10s right now). They'd definitely get a lot of use, so it would be a good investment.

 

[jand1more]

Piggybacking off this post, is there anywhere local we can rent camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, pads) from? We are staying offsite but thinking of camping a couple of nights at the Fort. We are also flying in so we will not be bringing any gear in unless we have to.

 

[KalamityJane]

I think Disney rents cots and tents if you will be at the Fort Not sure on pricing though.

Allears says $30/night for the tent, $5/night per cot. Honestly, at those prices, head to Walmart and you can deck yourself out cheaper. REI sometimes has rentals (not sure if Orlando has REI or not).

 

[KalamityJane]

Oh, I found this place - https://www.lowergear.com/product.php/cat/55

 

[KalamityJane]

What I plan on doing is packing our cooler with sleeping bags/sleeping gear. We have an REI Base Camp 6, and it packs up easily on its own. Then a kitchen tote for the last one. I have 4-5 people (depending on the trip) so that is 8-10 bags worth of luggage and we usually only take 2 bags for all 5 of us, so plenty of baggage room. If you are flying Southwest, might be worth it to look into bringing your own gear.

 

[jand1more]

What I plan on doing is packing our cooler with sleeping bags/sleeping gear. We have an REI Base Camp 6, and it packs up easily on its own. Then a kitchen tote for the last one. I have 4-5 people (depending on the trip) so that is 8-10 bags worth of luggage and we usually only take 2 bags for all 5 of us, so plenty of baggage room. If you are flying Southwest, might be worth it to look into bringing your own gear.

That sounds very doable. We can definitely bring our own tent and sleeping bags if they are they are so portable and light.

 

[jand1more]

I think Disney rents cots and tents if you will be at the Fort Not sure on pricing though.

Allears says $30/night for the tent, $5/night per cot. Honestly, at those prices, head to Walmart and you can deck yourself out cheaper. REI sometimes has rentals (not sure if Orlando has REI or not).

I had no idea Disney rented tents and cots. That's really expensive though, especially for a longer stay. We can definitely buy our own camping gear for less, especially at Walmart. Thanks for sharing this info.

 

[jand1more]

Oh, I found this place - https://www.lowergear.com/product.php/cat/55

Thanks for the lead! This is so helpful

 

[FortForever]

See if this group has any camping stuff, or can refer you to a group for Fort Wilderness.

 

[FtW Mike]

K. Jane let me see if I have this right. You will be flying in from Idaho , have family in close proximity to WDW, and are looking at 2 trips if hubby's job co-operates.
If you can be a little flexible with your travel consider this. Ship your gear to the relatives ahead of time and then have them deliver or pick it up from them once you arrive (Might need to rent a car for this) then once trip is over clean and repack gear and transport to the relatives for storage until Jan trip repeat above procedure after arrival only apon departure have gear shipped home Just an idea

 

[KalamityJane]

K. Jane let me see if I have this right. You will be flying in from Idaho , have family in close proximity to WDW, and are looking at 2 trips if hubby's job co-operates.
If you can be a little flexible with your travel consider this. Ship your gear to the relatives ahead of time and then have them deliver or pick it up from them once you arrive (Might need to rent a car for this) then once trip is over clean and repack gear and transport to the relatives for storage until Jan trip repeat above procedure after arrival only apon departure have gear shipped home Just an idea

Oh, I'm planning on leaving it there in between trips, for sure!! We have no need for it in Dec (not going to tent camp that month), so I was going to bring it down in Nov, leave it until Jan and bring it home then. Depending on if we squeeze in a third trip before May (when the annual passes would expire) may leave it through then too. We camp June-Sept here usually, so it's not a biggie.

Checked out the Exped Megamat 10 at REI today, oh my lands, that is a dream sleeping pad. I think I may be definitely tent camping but spending any extra money I would have saved on gear like that sweet baby. Come to mama