Tent camping for the first timer.

[annie1995]

I am looking for advice on tent camping at Disney. We are up in the air as to where to stay, and this is one option we are looking at. We will be a family of 6 when we go with the youngest being 14 months, and traveling in September 2007. I have no idea on what to expect. Where are the bathrooms?, Do they do the refillable mug thing?, how much are golf cart rentals, what about security during the day when you are not in your tent?, do they rent tents, or do I need to bring ours on the plane( can you even do that??!! ) I can think of a dozen more questions, but I'm sure you guys have figured I have not clue as to what to expect . Anyways, thanks for any help you can give!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Disney does rent tents, however they are pretty crude. Golf carts are a bit on the expensive side, and only seat 4, however the internal bus system is pretty good (some may disagree) and provide a good alternative to transportation within a fairly large resort, and the bus is free. Comfort stations are strategically located on the loops, some loops share a station, and nowhere on a loop is really far from a comfort station. Refillable mugs are available, with coffee and tea at the Meadows trading post and coffee, tea and soft drinks at Trail's End in the Settlement area. Security is okay, but don't expect real frequent patrols. I have seen security cruise the loops, but for the most part you are relying on the honesty of the other campers. I think theft is minimal here. If you have valuables that you would like secured, you can have them locked up at the Outpost check in area.

 

[annie1995]

ftwildernessguy, thank you for the info! Anyone else out there have anything additional?? I would love to hear everything you have!

 

[clkelley]

Yes, it is possible to tent camp at Ft. Wilderness and fly.

Here is a recent post on what I normally do as a solo person.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1148474

With a family of 6, you can transport up to 12 50lb checked containers on most airlines, 15 containers on Southwest (if all have their own ticket) (check the airline website for dimensions).

Some of my recommendations which airline to fly aren't as critical with a family because one adult can sit on the luggage at the curb while the other finds a luggage cart, parks the car/or fetches the car upon return.

You would only need a larger tent for your family, more linens, more chairs. Maybe a second smaller tent for your clothes. So you will have plenty of luggage allowance.

As far as locking things up, I lock my valuables up inside a plastic footlocker in my tent.

 

[Mariaºoº]

You might want to check out this great website! http://home.hiwaay.net/~jlspence/faq_fw.htm

 

[westjones]

We tent camped as a family of 4, but we drove our mini van with all of our stuff in the back (left two seats in the van for the girls).

I can't imagine going on a plane and bringing everything. From what I remember reading on this board, the tents you rent from Disney are usually used by youth groups and aren't cheap to rent.

With a baby, I would think it would be hard.

Have you looked at the new All Star Suites or Port Orleans (which normally sleeps 5, but maybe with the baby under 3 you can do six, I'm not sure)?

I know a lot of people find nice hotels off site, you could go to the Orlando resorts board and I bet they can help you find an option for a good price.

I hope it all works out for you.
Best Wishes and Pixie Dust!
DJ

 

[irishbosoxfan]

We just returned from tent camping at FW and we flew there with all our gear!! We are a family of 7 (2 Adults,5 Kids) and it really was very easy!

As a group of 6 each person is allowed 2 checked bags for a total of 12 checked bags-(if you get a seat for the youngest---if not you will be allowed 10 checked bags)

For my group of 7 my checked bags went like this

1 suitcase for the 2 boys clothes
1 suitcase for the 3 girls clothes
1 suitcase for DH
1 suitcase for me
Tent--for us to sleep in
Tent--to store our luggage
Screenhouse
1 suitcase to hold air mattresses
1 suitcase to hold gear needed at site
1 suitcase to hold gear needed at park
1 suitcase to hold sheets,blankets and odds and ends

A stroller which is a necessity and can be gate checked so it doesn't count towards your total of checked bags!

We took advantage of Magical Express and it was wonderful! We put the yellow tags on everything except our tent so when we got to Orlando we just grabbed that one bag from the carousel and let Disney deal with the rest!
We hopped on the bus and went to FW,checked in,they drove us to our campsite where we set up our tent and then left for MK--When we got back later there was a note on our tent saying our luggage had arrived so DH went to the front office and they drove it down to our site!

On our last day we broke everything down,they came and picked it up and brought it to the office to hold for the ME bus back to the airport while we went to our character breakfast at Epcot

Like I said it was wonderful!!

If you need any help at all please feel free to send me a pm and I will answer any other questions you may have!

 

[rigs32]

I would HIGHLY recommend you scope out the cost of the gear you'd need to camp and do a trial run for the weekend at a local park or campground. I think that with a baby, it would be difficult for many reasons - you have no real escape from the weather, having a baby sleep on the ground might be tough, etc.

ETA - if you're going in Sept 2007, rain is almost guaranteed on a daily basis. Even with the best waterproofed tents, you're likely to be damp most of the time and the inside of tents gets HOT (like a car) so a mid-day nap would not be easy.

 

[bless7ings]

Just bumping this page for others out there asking tenting questions.

 

[bless7ings]

You might want to check out this great website! http://home.hiwaay.net/~jlspence/faq_fw.htm

This is an excellent site for info for us looking for information about tenting @ Fort Wilderness!!!