Things to Consider for FW camping

[LarryJ]

I know there is a sticky on FW FAQ's, but thought I would start a thread on tips about making your FW stay more magical or easy. I'll start off and give a couple of ideas and I have a bunch more if this thread takes off and if it's really good maybe it could turn into a "sticky" to help out not only the FW newbies, but maybe us that consider ourselves FW veterans.

1. I always pay special attention to trees and their location to our awning and then adjust the trailer in the site so I can open my awning up. I can lock it in any position, but like to have it fully extended so I can use the bottom rail slot/groove the to mount Xmas lights, clothes/towel line on the awning rail line with hangers that I slide into the bottom slot on the awning rail for support.

2. If you have room in the refer and haven't stocked up, make a stop at the WW or Crossroads to stock up on things like milk, beer, etc. since while you can get it at FW it is really pricey.

3. I will need to check this out, but someone mentioned that the site signs are removable which could help getting into some of the tighter sites.

4. If time allows show up early for check-in and have lunch in the waiting line and get everyone excited about you upcoming experience

5. If you have smaller children don't forget about the petting area (do they still have that or am I showing my age ) and the stuff around the stable area.

6. Don't forget the Water Pageant from the Beach, corny but a classic.

7. Hopefully it's still there, but don't miss the lawnmower tree on the last section to the marina.

Larry

 

[kimluvswdw]

I have a tip for you. When it is early in the morning, you are still half asleep and you hop on the golf cart, make sure you see whether it is in forward or reverse before you zoom off. I did not look on our last trip and I crashed into the picnic table and then into the rail of the awning. We were able to bend the rail of the awning back, but we still have not fixed the roof of the golf cart.

 

[Cndrsgrl]

 

[LarryJ]

I have a tip for you. When it is early in the morning, you are still half asleep and you hop on the golf cart, make sure you see whether it is in forward or reverse before you zoom off. I did not look on our last trip and I crashed into the picnic table and then into the rail of the awning. We were able to bend the rail of the awning back, but we still have not fixed the roof of the golf cart.

OUCH while that's interesting, it's not what I was looking for here. NO OFFENSE and don't take that comment the wrong way, but I'm not looking for "senior momment" type things here ... I have a lot of those now days That would be a great post in the useless facts thread, but sort of rare. I'm actually trying to get some ideas in a consolidated area to help people with common type issues/problems.

Larry

 

[kimluvswdw]

OUCH while that's interesting, it's not what I was looking for here. NO OFFENSE and don't take that comment the wrong way, but I'm not looking for "senior momment" type things here ... I have a lot of those now days That would be a great post in the useless facts thread, but sort of rare. I'm actually trying to get some ideas in a consolidated area to help people with common type issues/problems.

Larry

I get it now. By the way I am not a senior. Just had a rough morning.

 

[JAM'S MOM]

This is a great thread. Anything to add to the magic ...

If you have kids, remember to bring flashlights to help you in the dark.

Bring a small, plastic handheld basket to hold shampoos, hairdryer, etc, when going to the restrooms. It can sit on the ground even if it is wet.

Bring your own laundry soap and dryer cloths.

Bring tons of change for the kids to run to the store for ice cream treats and to use in the penny crusher machines.

Depending on the season, bring blankets with you to the beach to keep warm when viewing the electrical parade. The wind can get cold.

Pickup a plastic "oilcloth" tablecloth for the picnic table. They're only a couple of dollars at wally world but they're easy to clean and if it has rained, just take it off and the table is dry!

Oh, leave the "porch light" on when you leave in the morning. You'll be happy to see it when you come home in the dark after a day in the parks!

 

[Gatordad]

Make sure you pitch your awning enough....those Florida Thunderstorms come quick and unexpectedly. On a recent trip to the Fort, we saw FOUR awnings DESTROYED because they either didn't pitch them at all or not enough. Talk about ruining the magic after a great day at the park.

 

[clkelley]

If you are tent camping, bring a sheet of that really thin painters plastic and put it under your tent and groundcloth. Then you can just dispose it at the end of your trip. It will keep all that "lovely" sand off of the bottom of your tent/groundcloth.

(It might even be good to put under your outside rug of your camper.)

 

[ntsammy5]

One thing to look at in the stickies is the packing list. I have a permanent packing list on my computer (with several iterations) that I keep adding to and modifying. The one on the boards is quite good though.

 

[mommyoeo]

My first time camping in our own camper will be at FW in January. Since I've never put up the awning, will you please explain what you mean by pitching it enough? I don't want it ruined on our first time out! DH isn't sure about this whole camping thing anyway and I want to prove him wrong-- that we'll all have fun and things will be FAIRLY smooth!

Make sure you pitch your awning enough....those Florida Thunderstorms come quick and unexpectedly. On a recent trip to the Fort, we saw FOUR awnings DESTROYED because they either didn't pitch them at all or not enough. Talk about ruining the magic after a great day at the park.

 

[ntsammy5]

Tilt It Enough To Let The Water Drain Off......

 

[my3princes]

We bring a tote to leave out under our awning for our shoes. That frees up space inside.

Also do not leave trash outside as the critters will help themselves.

 

[mamaloya]

Tilt It Enough To Let The Water Drain Off......

You accomplish this by making one end higher than the other. Set up one pole tall and one pole a little shorter. That way, when it rains, the water runs off rather than pooling up in the middle adding a ton of wt to your awning. We made the same error our first time in our popup at the fort. We kept going out and pushing up on the awning to get the water off and thinking "this is a pain". Next day we noticed that other campers had one end higher. Well, now we know. Luckily we did not have any damage.

Happy Camping!

 

[CottontailCurl]

Leave your packaging at home, it saves space when you pack. All the cardboard that holds puddings/applesauce, taking granola bars out of boxes, oatmeal packets out of boxes, everything that's in something is taken out. Then you can fill up a rubbermaid container with so much more because you're able to fill nooks and crannies with small stuff. To keep smaller things organized I put them in storage bags which get re-used in the trip for many things (one example is that oatmeal packets are put in a storage bag, spread out and placed on the bottom of the container, everything else stacked on top.)

Take a pair of binoculars for checking out birds and wildlife. One trip we didn't have ours and of course we had a visit from a cool owl-looking bird. Much smaller and more sleek, though, and my picture came out fuzzy so I can't tell exactly what it is. Maybe a small notebook would come in handy for the kids to jot down the types of birds with color details to compare with birds they see back home.

 

[my3princes]

I also bring a crock pot. This is the only place I ever use one, but it is nice to throw stuff in the pot in the morning and come back to a nice hot meal at the end of the day. The camper smells yummy too.

 

[KathyRN137]

Thank you for starting this thread, Larry!

We are going to be definite newbies, not just to the Fort, but to camping in general... so this really helps!


Kathy

 

[des1954]

3. I will need to check this out, but someone mentioned that the site signs are removable which could help getting into some of the tighter sites.


5. If you have smaller children don't forget about the petting area (do they still have that or am I showing my age ) and the stuff around the stable area.

7. Hopefully it's still there, but don't miss the lawnmower tree on the last section to the marina.

Larry

Howdy, Tree-fruit Fishin' Larry!

Just answering a few of your questions:

(3) A lot of loops have had the electricity upgraded, and there are now outlets on the site markers. So... don't think they can be moved.

(5) Yep! Petting Zoo & Horse Stable still there!

(7) Lawnmower tree is still there, but it is more of a "post" now, as it has been topped off.

 

[LarryJ]

(3) A lot of loops have had the electricity upgraded, and there are now outlets on the site markers. So... don't think they can be moved.

You're right our 1600 loop site in 2005 had the outlet on the post and don't think they were there in 2000. Excellent point.

On the awning I don't think you can get one out horizontal, but I like ours to have like a 6 to 10 in slope (in like 8 feet) on the trailer side and another 6 to 10 inches at the far end of the trailer as compared to the front and ours is like a 14' or 16' long awning. I also carry a couple of these screw in the ground dog leash spikes and have used them at each end of the awning tube with a rope up to the awning tube if I'm where I expect winds. Also, getting the awning really tight helps prevent sagging. Unless it's really serious wind in our experience hasn't been an issue due to all the trees, but rain sure can.


Larry

 

[elastigirlfan]

Well, we were one of those campers that lost our awning this last June in WDW. We had a really bad storm (we were in Epcot at the time) and apparently there was some serious hail that had come down at the campground, too. We came back and I was like "Uh-oh, what happenend" until I realized what had happened. So now we have no awning at all - took the whole sucker off! Apparently about a dozen or so campers had that happen to them that day, as well. Live and learn is my motto and now we all laugh about it and say "Do you remember when the camper awning got ripped off?" Definetly a scrapbooking moment!

 

[elastigirlfan]

If you're kids are going to be collecting the pressed pennies or hauling around a lot of change my girls put all theirs in those M & M mini containers. They are like the perfect size for quarters and such and easy to carry around in a fanny pack or back pack.

Flashlights are good to remember for when you're walking back to your site and night or walking anywhere in general at night.

We bring a huge Rubbermaid bin that holds our dirty laundry in the back of the trailblazer. That works great. I start collecting laundry in the camper and then move it into the other bigger bin as it starts to accumulate.