Thinking about pop up camper for 2010

[my3sonstx]

My family and I (well mainly me) are going to disney for the 1st time in June. We are staying at POFQ. We debated camping in our pop up, but I live in Texas and already know camping and I don't get along in the summer months. So, assuming I want togo back to disney( I know I will). I think I would like to try camping around Christmas time ( I've heard about the decorations). Does anyone know if it would be better during Christmas break or Thanksgiving ( I know both will be crowded). Also, has anyone pulled a camper from Texas to Orlando? Thanks for your help

 

[my3sonstx]

sorry I meant my family and I are thinking of camping next time ( mainly me). We are all going this summer. sorry pressed the button to fast

 

[clkelley]

Well, it depends on what you want out of your trip.

If you want to spend lots of time at the parks, then Christmas week is NOT the week to be there. That is the busiest time of year for Disney. Wall to wall people in every park.

Now, if you want to just relax and enjoy the Fort, then Christmas is a great time to go. The decorations are amazing, and even though every site will be booked, it will still feel like a calm oasis.

Now a third consideration is price. Thanksgiving week is MUCH less expensive than Christmas week. The crowds are not as bad as Christmas. The decorations will just be starting to go up. Many of the Fort residents will have a mixture of T'giving and Christmas decorations.

I'm sure you are considering your children's school, but honestly, the first week of December is an even better time.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

We have camped at the Fort for the last three Thanksgiving breaks. It is a great time to visit.

When you are visited POFQ, take a ride over to the Fort (it is just around the corner), and hop on a bus and take a look around. If you have any skeptics in the family, be sure to take them too. If you are a camper, you will love what you see, and you will have no trouble convincing the family to come back.

TCD

 

[becky1960]

We live in Texas (Houston area) and have went at Christmas, its a great time to go. We went to the parks ok except Christmas day at MK is very crowded. We have have gone more than once at Christmas and mostly go in June, you would need some type of A/C for June..Christmas is the best time as far as we are concerned..

 

[BradyBz12]

Does anyone know if it would be better during Christmas break or Thanksgiving ( I know both will be crowded).

Thanksgiving will be FAR less crowded than Christmas break.

But both will be really hard ressies to get at FW, so you'll want to make them as soon as the window opens.

I agree with PP that, if you can swing it, early Dec (starting the Sunday after Thanksgiving) is a terrific time to go - less expensive, MUCH less crowded, and still all Holiday fun in FW and the parks. Our favorite time to go!

 

[bama_ed]

Take the pop-up next time, you'll be glad you did. The theme parks take up less of our time and the Fort plus other minor things (DTD, TL, etc) take up more and more. I find it very easy to relax at the Fort - not so in a hotel room.

I went week-before-Christmas and it was decorated (pretty) but getting crowded. I'm trying Thanksgiving week this year. My kids are teenagers so pulling them out of school is not as easy as when they were little. Even during T-giving there should be a fair amount of Christmas decorations in people's campsites and the parks are all decked for Christmas.

Bama ED

 

[VAN]

Responding to your question about pulling the pop-up. We have pulled our pop-up from Michigan several years (1,200 miles each way) and not had a problem.

The main thing is before a long trip is to ensure that the pop-up and tow vehicle are in good shape. Because the pop-up is in storage most of the year, I would get new/fresh tires every 2-3 years (depending on the size of the tire) of big trips. Also, make sure your wheel bearings have been repacked ... I think it's suppose to be done every 2,000 miles.

I mention the tires because we had our tires fall apart one year. Fortunately, we were not going through a heavy traffic area at the time. We did pay PREMIUM prices to get them replaced along the travel route as well as the time it took from our travel schedule enroute. The expense to have it done at home is much, much less and the piece of mind is invaluable.

We would also refrain from packing unnecessary weight (like beverages, etc) - instead would just visit the grocery store upon arrival to purchase sodas, bottled water, etc.

 

[Goofyseven]

Haviing a pop up for a number of years, I would recommend getting radial tires. This was the best investiment I made in the pop up. I no longer worried about flats, overloading, etc. We also had a 5 man tent for the kids, this gave us some storage space and left more space in the pop up for us, and a screen house for over the picnic table.

Enjoy

 

[VAN]

There is another post here about an RV accident ... it was the tires.

Again, RV's spend a lot of time in storage, so they may need to be replaced because of "age" sooner than wear on the tread.

If your's are older tires, spend the money to get them replaced before such a long trip.

 

[kaguilbeau]

We're from Louisiana where kids get out the entire week of Thanksgiving for vacation.

I don't like fighting the crowds, so we left Tuesday after school (the week BEFORE Thanksgiving) and drove straight through. This gave us until Saturday/Sunday before we saw much increase in crowds. Those were the days we mainly did the parks, saving the more crowded days for other activities like enjoying the water parks or Fort Wilderness.

Another trip, we flew down on Thanksgiving Day - did other activities until the Sunday after Thanksgiving and kept the kids out Mon, Tues & Wed of the following week.

Missing three days of school was better than missing an entire week, and still got us some days with low crowds. (And the resorts and parks are all decorated for Christmas!!)