What is the downside of tent camping at WDW in October?

[mom2boys]

Oldest DS & I are about to launch a campaign to go to WDW in October. Younger DS will be an easy sell. DH might be more inclined to agree if we tent camp. So will we truly be able to get the rest we need if we tent camp in early/mid Oct? What night time temps should we expect? What else should we consider/be aware of?

 

[Alexander]

I am having a hard time thinking of downsides! The temperatures begin to cool off (from those unbearable summer months), crowds are low, I don't know about bugs, but I would think as temps dwindle, so should bugs. Have a great time and try to think of only the good things, like you'll have so much fun and be so tired, you can sleep anywhere! Also, don't all of the sites have electricity? If so, bring a small fan to help circulate the air.

 

[mom2boys]

Alexander, I would definitely agree that Oct would probably be the best time to tent camp at WDW. I just want to make sure that the tent camping aspect wouldn't lessen our Disney fun. My main concern is that we all get enough rest each night. The other main concern is rain. Rain has a huge effect on the quality of tent camping.

 

[We4mickey]

That is are best time of the year to go.We will do the last week of oct and the first week of nov.

 

[Alexander]

Found this in the Birnbaum Guide: October doesn't look too bad. Of course these are averages. I don't think you want to tent camp in the summer months!

Average Monthly Rainfall
(In Inches).....................[Temperatures High/Low]
January 2.3..........................[71/49]
February 3.0.........................[73/50]
March 3.2.............................[78/50]
April 1.8...............................[83/59]
May 3.6................................[88/66]
June 7.3...............................[91/72]
July 7.2................................[92/73]
August 6.8............................[92/73]
September 6.0.......................[90/72]
October 2.4..........................[85/65]
November 2.3........................[79/58]
December 2.2........................[73/51]

 

[clkelley]

If you prepare your tent and awnings correctly, rain shouldn't be a downside of tent camping.

Make sure all the seams on your tent are sealed thoroughly and you coat the rainfly/exterior fabric well with a water repellent such as Scotchguard (there are other brands in camping sections of stores).

Also have some type of shelter like a dining fly or screen house outside your tent just over the entrance. That way you are under shelter as you leave the entrance of your tent and you can leave rain gear/wet shoes, etc. outside your tent hanging from the interior of the dining fly and leave wet shoes in a plastic shoe box outside the tent.

Also you can set chairs under this shelter and sit outside even when it's raining. You are not stuck in the tent during rain.

Make sure you have three layers of groundcloth for your tent.

Layer 1 - Inexpensive painters plastic directly on the sand bed at the site. (This is thrown away at the end of the trip. This just keeps the bottom of your tent and your groundcloth clean for packing up.)

Layer 2 - At least 6 mil plastic sheeting cut to 1" smaller than your tent on top of the painters plastic

Set the tent up on top of that.

Layer 3 - At least 6 mil plastic sheeting cut to the interior dimensions of your tent and laid inside the floor of your tent. This provides another layer incase some water does seep up from the floor and also protects the floor of your tent from holes caused by walking in it, the feet of cots, etc.

For sleeping comfortably, I recommend an air mattress at least. There are also cots that fold up with an air mattress on top. There are also cots with mattresses.

Sheets, pillow, and blankets, then maybe a sleeping bag if you need a little more warmth.

Do bring a fan and a 40' outdoor extension cord. Even if you don't need the fan at night, you need to run it during the day while you are out and open the windows for ventilation to combat the humidity.

Also leave the windows at least unzipped a little bit at night to avoid condensation from all that moisture humans create.

I hope this helps!!

Carol

 

[mom2boys]

Thanks Kelly. You are very thorough! I have printed out your post to show DH.