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bshaw96
05-31-2008, 03:28 PM
Just curious what's the longest anyone has ever camped at Disney? Not in the cabins, but actual camping. We have a pop up camper and absolutely love it. But most of our trips are to the beach, lake, or mountains. We've been to Disney several times, but always at a resort or offsite hotel. We generally average 10-12 nights and take our time. Just curious as to how you think this long of a camping trip would go? The longest camping trip we've ever done anywhere is 4 nights. We're looking at going somewhere between February to April so no unbearable heat, plus we have a/c if needed. Just a little nervous about that long camping I guess. But for the price and to be able to be on property, I'm willing to give it a shot. We toured the campground our last trip and really liked the whole area. Seemed really quiet and lots of level shaded spots. Opinions or experiences?? TIA :thumbsup:

medic9016
05-31-2008, 05:06 PM
We did 9 days in a tent and 7 days in a pop up. Now have a travell trailer. We will do 2 six day trips and a 10 day trip this year.

ibrowse17
05-31-2008, 05:18 PM
The longest we have stayed in a tent was 7 nights. The longest overall was 14 nights, in our trailer, for our honeymoon in 2006. Both were great:thumbsup:

TheMartellFamily
05-31-2008, 08:23 PM
15 nights

gmgdisneymom
05-31-2008, 08:51 PM
The longest that we have camped is 10 days. I believe that Disney has rules though. You are only allowed to stay at one site for two weeks.

It was one of our questions when we joined the DVC. Using the campground is very few points so we figured that when we retire we can go to Fl for the winter and stay in Disney 4-6 weeks. We were told that it would be fine but that we would have to move sites every two weeks with the requisite be out of the site in the morning and no new site until the next one was ready.

I guess that is how they prevent the usual seasonal rental problems

faline
06-01-2008, 02:26 PM
Two weeks in a tent.

medic9016
06-01-2008, 06:03 PM
The longest that we have camped is 10 days. I believe that Disney has rules though. You are only allowed to stay at one site for two weeks.

It was one of our questions when we joined the DVC. Using the campground is very few points so we figured that when we retire we can go to Fl for the winter and stay in Disney 4-6 weeks. We were told that it would be fine but that we would have to move sites every two weeks with the requisite be out of the site in the morning and no new site until the next one was ready.

I guess that is how they prevent the usual seasonal rental problems

You can stay as long as you are paying. There in not a requirement to move your site. We have talked to full timers that stay 3 to 6 months at a time.

SoaringEpcot
06-02-2008, 09:54 AM
We stayed 10 days in December in a pop up. It was not bad at all. We do however have memory foam mattress that go on top of the regular mattress. Your hips tend to get a little sore after a few days, but the memory foam mattress makes a huge difference. We actually stayed in the pop up 12 nights, we stopped one night going down, then did the same coming back.

Also we talked to people who had been on the same sight for several months as well. One couple about 60 years old were actually staying there and working for Disney.

bshaw96
06-03-2008, 08:35 AM
Thanks everyone :thumbsup: Think we've decided to give it a go next Spring :mickey:

Coccinelle
06-04-2008, 08:29 AM
11 nights with our 3 kids ,in a tent, in Prince-Edward-Island. We had rain, high winds and finally plenty of sun. We all loved it !!! And we are doing it again this summer and the kids (and I ) are very exited!

NJ Camper
06-04-2008, 07:30 PM
We are staying 15 days in disney in Oct plus one day on way down and one on way home this will be our longest trip by 1 day :mickey:

RJAMV5
06-05-2008, 09:13 AM
Our longest trip was in 2003 at FW....17days!!

jonahbear2006
06-05-2008, 11:49 PM
We took a 5 night trip and then an 8 night trip. Neither one was enough and the nice thing is that it is so cheap that it makes it easy to stay here for 2 weeks and really enjoy the resort and the parks. We have yet to have rented a go cart. I just can't talk myself into spending that kind of money everyday when we are usually in the park most of that time. I guess if you stay longer than a week, you get so tired of waiting on buses that it would probably be worth it. We love camping. This year we are actually staying at BC for Sept. I am excited about trying Deluxe but partly sad because I feel like my heart resides inside of Fort Wilderness and hope that it is always there to enjoy! Especially since we have 4 kids who are growing fast!:mickey:

RocklandRVers
06-06-2008, 10:02 AM
Our longest was in summer 2004 in our Class B (van camper) motorhome. We stayed from end of June when school ended until after 4th of July. Altogether it was 14 nights. It was a total blast. Oh by the way we only did the theme parks 3 days! Tells you we had more fun camping than anything else. It was also during that stay that we rented watercraft for the first time. :thumbsup:

busterthebronco
06-06-2008, 10:04 PM
its my belief some folks live there!:secret:

RocklandRVers
06-09-2008, 01:16 PM
My wife and I have been ready to retire and live there as "Snowbirds" (aka winter settlers) since our first visit in May 2003. Actually we would more accurately have to semi-retire and work part time for WDW to earn enough to pay our site fees during the time we were there. Again not a bad deal at all!!

Janmac
06-09-2008, 11:51 PM
We have only camped for 9 days at a time in our 25 ft travel trailer (no slides) at Fort Wilderness but I could sure do more. LIke all winter. :D

Our longest camping trip ever, non-Disney, was about 5.5 weeks. In a popup. For several years we were lucky enough to grab a grandkid or two and take off around the country. One western trip in the popup was 5 weeks and the other was 5 1/2. Then we did 4 weeks around the southeast. That was the trip that convinced us to get the travel trailer and avoid having to put the top up on the popup while surrounded by mosquitos. We then did another couple of 5 week type trips before we lost the interest of our grandkids.

But we're still interested in wintering at FW. :thumbsup: I think the grandkids could get on board with that idea.

Jan

DNS
06-13-2008, 11:01 AM
We've done 12 nights a couple of times.

Camping Mom
07-18-2008, 12:32 AM
10 nights....and twice we had to move during our stay.

LKCEmom
07-18-2008, 12:29 PM
In our 5th wheel 32 nights is the longest so far, when we had a pop up the longest stay at the Fort was 21 nights. No matter how long we stay it's never long enough! :camp:

Tink's Friend
08-04-2008, 10:36 PM
its my belief some folks live there!:secret:


Well, we didn't actually live there, but it sort of felt like it. We checked in on October 3rd, 2007, and checked out on December 20th.

We didn't meet any of the folks who stay there almost full-time, but some of the cast members at FW told us that some people spend the whole winter there. There's apparently a rule that you can't stay longer than 6 months without checking out; the cast members told us that the rule was in place in order to prevent WDW from becoming your residence.

Suzanne Q
Maryville, TN

SFTrny
08-05-2008, 09:54 PM
OK...so now I am intrigued. Just how much would you have to make in order to actually LIVE at Ft Wilderness? Assume that you have to check out every six months....with 1 week away in the local area each time.

bertasso59
08-19-2008, 11:52 PM
We camped(small tent only)for 11 nights in early Sept.Temp never went under 90 even at night and reached 100 a couple times during our stay in the daytime.One night we were so hot we went to the comfort station and bought a block of ice which we placed on top of the dome tent.Cold air goes down right?
It didnt work.By morning we had an ice cube left.:fan:

GloMonkey
08-22-2008, 12:02 PM
Two weeks in a tent.

So what is it like tent camping (as opposed to trailer or cabin) that long at WDW? What are you best tips? Were you eaten by bugs? Miserably HOT? Did you have to keep buying ice for the cooler? It's stinking cheap that's for sure!! I would actually consider doing it if it would get my husband to agree to do it! It's always about the bottom line right?

Figaro
08-22-2008, 02:33 PM
There's actually a family that stays at FW for almost 6-8 months at a time. They'll fly home for about a month or soo in the time they are staying at FW and then return. They leave their camper at FW while they fly home, also... :mickey:

RocklandRVers
08-28-2008, 09:07 AM
OK...so now I am intrigued. Just how much would you have to make in order to actually LIVE at Ft Wilderness? Assume that you have to check out every six months....with 1 week away in the local area each time.

I am thinking that my wife and I could easily earn enough working part time for WDW to pay our way during a very long stay at FtW. She swears that she would clean the comfort stations if she could stay there. I wouldn't mind driving a bus or working security. Add on all the perks of being a CM and I am betting it would be the best "retirement" in the universe.

Figaro
08-29-2008, 04:31 AM
I am thinking that my wife and I could easily earn enough working part time for WDW to pay our way during a very long stay at FtW. She swears that she would clean the comfort stations if she could stay there. I wouldn't mind driving a bus or working security. Add on all the perks of being a CM and I am betting it would be the best "retirement" in the universe.

CM Discount...CM Discount... :mickey: I'm not sure how long the most you can stay somewhere though on a CM discount...

Disneyfamilyof3
08-30-2008, 11:59 PM
Hi All;

Longest camping trip? Had to be last March: we left Long Island in our fifth wheel (with our siamese cats and 11 year old son)on March 20; camped overnight in Virginia; then spent a week in Western North Carolina in the Smoky Mountains. My son told me that he would *love* a WDW trip for his 12th b'day, so I called Fort Wilderness (more as a joke: spring break had commenced in Fla.) well, we got in! We drove all night; and spent 5 days at the Fort Wilderness Campground. Then, we drove down to the Florida Keys and spent another 5 days with a 'home base' in Marathon. Then, we came back to the Orlando area and stayed at the Tropical Palms RV Resort (yes, we also went back to the WDW parks: we stayed at TP because we couldn't get back in to FW). All in all, we camped a total of twenty days, including the drive out of NY, and the drive back to NY. :number1: