Tent camping?

[OZMom]

Do a lot of people actually use tents at FW or is it mostly RV's? Is it a positive experience? Pros / cons?

 

[Disneypeach]

Hi OZmom. welcome!
I've tent camped at the Fort and camped there in an RV...Loved both!
There are pros and cons to each, of course.

Tent: can hear the birds and boat whistles but can also hear the early morning delivery trucks! Can be hot or cold depending on time of year.

RV: costs more but it can handle the cold or heat and is quieter. And mine has a potty so no late night visits to the Comfort Station!

either way it was so much fun being at the Fort...two vacations for the price of one: camping and WDW!

 

[2goofycampers]

It's mostly RV's, but you do see tents, especially in cooler months.

 

[PEC]

2 loops (1500 and 2000) are specifically Tent or pop-up. I have no official stats but by my stays at these locations about half the sites used pop-ups and half used tents. There is the costs factor as to why people tent camp. Then there is a space factor (a tent and gear with campers can all fit in a minivan). Plus some people just enjoy pitching the tent. RVs have there natural advantages. Some are literally homes. You really cannot go wrong either way. I have done tent and pop-up. Enjoyed both.

 

[2travelers]

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[RustManFan]

For me only way to camp is in a tent....as you can see in my signature we did it twice....in August no less. Want to try again in a cooler month!

Couldn't take the effort of pulling an RV from NJ or renting one locally anyway.

Never used an RV so I don't know what I'm missing I guess!

 

[indimom]

We tent camped five days in July. There were plenty of pop-ups and tents, but it is mostly campers I think.
We had great weather. Hot during the day (when we were not in the tent), cool at night. We brought a window a/c unit, but it made the tent too cool and we only used it one night before we shut it off.
We were able to fit everything we needed in our impala (with a small hitch addition for our two coolers). We had a tent, screen room, four folding chairs, sleeping bags, air mattress, two coolers, griddle, cooktop, coffee pot , dishes, clothes for a week, etc.
It rained a couple times, drenching our towels, and they didn't dry quickly in the shade. So, we made use of the laundry facilities once or twice.
The only noise issue we had were the frogs at night, they woke us all up the first night. But, we got used to them pretty quickly and it wasn't a big deal. We had no issue with noise from nearby campers, most people are gone all day, and too exhausted to stay up all night. lol.
The sand pad drains very quickly, so you don't have the mud and mess you usually get with rain. You will drag sand into the tent if you aren't careful. We kept a small hand broom by the door to tidy up, and took our shoes off at the door to keep it to a minimum.

 

[Bearikens]

We have tent and popup camped several times at the fort and love both experiences. Tenting can be just as comfortable as RV camping. Right now my DW and I are tent camping in Missouri and are using a double cot to sleep on. OMG, we both have said no more messing with leaky air mattresses and we have room to place our suitcases under the cot to free up floor space.

One additional tip for all tenters at the fort....when you set up your tent, place the tent door directly against the concrete driveway of your campsite with the rest of the tent in the sand. Bring a door mat and you will have dropped the odds of tracking sand into the tent by almost 98 percent.

 

[Sur]

Or bring a battery operated leaf blower...that works too.

 

[North of Mouse]

Do a lot of people actually use tents at FW or is it mostly RV's? Is it a positive experience? Pros / cons?

Tent camped 'once' - no 'pros' - all 'cons'

Have RV camped for all (except one trip with tent) our married lives in just about every type RV there is - now have a mh which we love and to us there are all 'pros' to rv camping and no 'cons'!

There are several tent campers there when we camp, but mostly some type of pop ups or rv's.

 

[tina.tina]

Or bring a battery operated leaf blower...that works too.

I doesn't even have to be battery powered, you could plug it in since you have electricity!!!!

If I camped at WDW, I would probably do so when there was less chance of rain. I would bring a very large multi-room tent with air mattresses, a screen tent to use for a kitchen, bungee cords to strap supply boxes closed to keep the animals out, an air conditioner in warm months, a space heater and electric blankets in cool months, a camp stove, a mini fridge, drink coolers, extension cords, power strips for charging our electronics, a folding table to help with cooking prep, and outdoor lights and decorations (with a timer so there would be light when I was coming back after dark). I would probably pack our clothes in plastic totes/drawers and use them as beside tables.