Will July be bad?

[blemon]

I was so excited about FW until just now and now I'm scared.
We camp a lot.
We have a VW Vanagon and it's like a member of our family.

This will be our first time taking it to FL and our first time to Disney (well my husband used to work there and I went a couple of times as a kid so the first time in many many years).

I just read a couple of threads saying how bad loop 2000 is and that 1500 had a huge loud family ruin their stay.

JJ (our camper) is comfortable but we can't sleep in the Summer without the doors open so it's pretty much like a tent (we have screens for the hatch and slider).

How responsive are the CMs to noise complaints?

We are arriving on a Friday. Didn't have much choice in that.

Should I be worried or will it be fine?

 

[bama_ed]

The CM's will respond to you about any noisy neighbors. However, they will likely do NOTHING about it.

Reading your post, I'm more concerned about you trying to sleep in the warm July nights. Do you have much experience camping in hot, humid conditions? And even though Disney sprays for bugs, there are still a few skeeters at night. Hopefully the screens catch those but they restrict air flow.

Bama Ed

 

[Teamubr]

blemon,

Welcome to the Camping forum. There are a number of comments here regarding 2000 (a lesser so 1500) about rowdy neighbors. It seems this is usually just on the weekends and clears out by Sunday night. Unfortunately, I'll echo Ed's post. Mentioning it to CMs doesn't stop the behavior, but some on here have been moved to a quieter loop. One regular on here was moved to an on site resort for a few days.

Do let the CMs know if there are problems. Just ask if they won't address the offenders (likely), can you be moved due to the inconvenience.

Also, a Vanagon without A/C in July will be brutal. I tried it in a conversion van, in August, in Indy for a race. It wasn't pleasant.

j

 

[blemon]

Reading your post, I'm more concerned about you trying to sleep in the warm July nights.

Good point! We have screens for the hatch and slider and the top pops up, has a screen and is well ventilated. We also have this fan that plugs into our outlet and is battery powered. It really works well for us. The van is about 80 sq. ft. but when popped, feels much larger. This is part of a 3-week adventure including the Everglades and the Keys. We have a screen room that wraps around our awning and a few other mosquito-repelling devices. Fingers crossed. We did fine in Assateague where they were so bad we were getting bit through our shirts while riding bikes!

 

[blemon]

Just ask if they won't address the offenders (likely), can you be moved due to the inconvenience.

That would be nice.

I'm considering upgrading to a more expensive site but you never know. People can be rude no matter what they're camping in.

Unfortunately, 2 of our 4 nights will be on Friday and Saturday.

I tried it in a conversion van, in August, in Indy for a race.

Did it pop up? The canvas around the top really helps with airflow. Not this year but soon we are going to replace our canvas with one that has windows and screens on 3 sides instead of just the front.

I really appreciate this help!

 

[bama_ed]

Everglades and the Keys too in July?

Been to both places (in March).

Same issues as WDW (skeeters, heat, humidity) only more so and expect daily rain storms to pop up given that atmospheric cocktail. It's like a damp rag that never gets a chance to dry out.

I admire the adventure you have planned and it will be an experience, I just want to prepare you in advance for what you might encounter.

Keys are beautiful. Stayed at Boyd's Campground in Key West. In July it's a little easier to get a site than in winter (the busy season). Did you get one of the State Parks (Pennekamp, Long Key, Bahia Honda), a private campground like Boyd's or KOA, or something else? In the Glades are you at the NP? And will you be hitting the Fort on the way down or on the way back home?

Bama Ed

 

[blemon]

Everglades and the Keys too in July?

Oh I know we're crazy but I teach and I just can't get off work during the semester and Winter Break is not long enough for what we want to do.

In the Keys we are staying 1 night at Key Largo Kampground. I talked to the lady on the phone and she was very nice. Then we have 3 days booked at Long Key State Park. So excited -- right on the water.
We aren't staying in the Everglades -- one night at Chokoloskee then the 2nd night at the Miami Everglades RV resort in Florida City.

So Disney is on our way home. We'll probably stay about 100 miles out at Sunshine RV resort. JJ (the VW) only goes 63 mph so we take it slow. There is also a state park about 75 m south of FW but it's basically a mosquito.

From FW we head to Wekiva for one night then St. Augustine for 2 before booking it back home (800 miles from there!).

My husband used to live in Orlando and worked at Disney for a few years before we met. He has lots of friends in the area so that will be fun.

If you know of any of these resorts, let me know! I've been reading reviews and looking at photos.

 

[Teamubr]

Sounds like a great trip. I also do most of my vacationing in the summer due to DS' school. Been to Key West many times and lots of places along the Keys. The summer months don't seem as hot in the Keys as being inland at the Fort/WDW. Ocean breezes I guess.

Our van camping at the races was in a full size Dodge raised roof conversion van. We had both rear and side doors open with screen across the openings. Magnets kept them stuck on the sides. We had an easy up for shade on the side. It was pretty hot at night. Had friends with RVs that we were with and we'd go inside theirs for A/C during the day.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Long Key SP is in fact right on the beach. it is a long sliver of land right next to US1. Be forewarned in the Keys the beaches are not as sandy/nice/fine/clean as on the Gulf side (Tampa to Naples). There can be seaweed grass that washes up frequently and smells when it decays. But that's true of any beach in the Keys just about unless it is cleaned/cared for as some public beaches are.

Watch the sun set from Mallory Square in Key West. It's a street show (jugglers, escape artists, acrobats) and they all like to be tipped for their services. Fort Zachory Taylor SP in Key West was part of the old Navy base. It has a nice beach and rents snorkel gear. You can walk off the beach and see schools of fish easy. Has nice rest rooms and a concession stand. Several picnic tables under the trees behind the beach with charcoal grills. Very nice place to spend a couple hours. Right next to the cruise ship channel and ships are frequently visiting KW and dumping their day trippers on the streets of KW which has the usual tourist stuff. Decent little lighthouse, Hemmingway House, Southernmost Point (huge line for the photo op next to it).

Bring some SPF50 or higher. Not kidding. Sounds like fun. Understand working around school calendars.

Bama Ed

 

[North of Mouse]

I was so excited about FW until just now and now I'm scared.
We camp a lot.
We have a VW Vanagon and it's like a member of our family.

You are 'very' brave to camp in the heat without AC. I know you enjoy your VW camper. We had three at different times and really enjoyed our time in them, but our longest trips were usually in the Smokies and cooler weather further south. Yes, we had screens also and tried camping a couple times in the heat but it was unbearable for us. The fans we had did little to dispel the high heat and humidity.

As for noisy/rowdy neighbors in FW, you will be much more likely to encounter them in the tent/popup sites. There is usually more people per site, plus they tend to 'live' outside more. Yes, there are some very nice folks in tents, but it only takes a few rude ones to spoil a complete loop. The weekends do tend to be worse than weekdays.

There would be no guarantee, of course, but we have never encountered too many noisy neighbors in the premium/preferred loops that have mostly RV's.

The best of luck to you if you do decide to camp for three weeks in the deep south with no AC.

 

[blemon]

Thanks for the tips!

Really excited about this adventure. Last year we drove up and did a loop from Lake Erie over to the West coast of Michigan through the UP and Lake Superior over to Wisconsin to the thumb, Door County where my husband has family. Amazing vacation. Just amazing. Super buggy and COLD. I was wearing sweats and there were kids from Canada swimming in Superior as the sun was setting. I recommend that route. Fantastic state and national parks up that way.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Is there anyway you can retrofit a camper A/C into your van? I know you can retrofit Pop-ups...or at least I think you can. I wonder if you can for a VW Camper.

 

[TXWAC]

Is there anyway you can retrofit a camper A/C into your van? I know you can retrofit Pop-ups...or at least I think you can. I wonder if you can for a VW Camper.

They do make some stand alone portable AC units that work great with tents. Would probably be just the ticket. Hum will help drown out any noise and you can really get some sleep after being in the parks all day.

 

[blemon]

Is there anyway you can retrofit a camper A/C into your van

We ran into another vanagon once that had an ac unit that that put in the window. I'll ask them about it.

 

[peg110]

Of course my thoughts are much like the others. The heat/humidity at that time of the year is going to be rough. That said however, it is something that one can, for lack of a better word/phrase, "Get used to." So if you are used to high heat and humidity, the fan may just be the ticket, but certainly an AC would be much better.

Kind of makes me wonder how we survived without them? Of course there is always the "Swamp Cooler" methodology too.... Spray the canvas top with water. Then let evaporation cool the vanagon. Of course if it's really humid (saturation point) this won't work well and it won't do much (if anything) to reduce the humidity only the temperature.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have an AWESOME time at the fort and hope you don't have any (significant) noise issues to deal with.

 

[mich1073]

Also watch out for yellow/deer flies. They seem to be worse there than mosquitoes to me during the summer.

I am trying this mix below, some of my friends swear by it.

Big bottle Blue cheap mouthwash,
3 cups of Epsom salt,
3 stale 12 oz cheap beer....
mix those three ingredients together until salt is dissolved...
Spray anywhere you sit outside, around pools, will not harm plants or flowers...
Mosquitoes gone from that area for apprx. 80 days..

Also I would look into a small window unit ac. There is a thread on adding them to tent, so it might be the same way to add it to the vw.... Or maybe the 5 gallon bucket, ice, fan AC method? Just google it, there are tons of videos on them.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

How responsive are the CMs to noise complaints?

1) We do check have Security check into noise complaints.
. . . the "Duty" manager must make the first investigation (per policy/procedure)
. . . the manager can ask them to rein-in the noise
. . . if they persist, Security can ask them to quiet-down a little
. . . unless really boisterous, there is little that can actually be done
2) "Noise" is a subjective description.
. . . what is noise to some is just conversation to others
. . . if the sound is below about 95 decibels, it is not considered noise at all
. . . as reference, 85 decibels is considered loud talking