Camping at WDW help

[parrothed26]

Looks like the budgets a little tight this year so we're thinking about making it a camping trip. Has anyone ever stayed there in tents? Maybe offer up opinions/advice? Thanks

[faline]

While it was a number of years ago, our first several visits to Disney World were spent tent camping in Fort Wilderness. And, although I now have a vacation club home resort, I still consider Fort Wilderness my Disney "home"!!

The times we camped at Disney were in May and October - both were decent months for camping. October was better for tent camping as the weather is cooler though we didn't find May to be horrible either. Unlike traditional camping trips, we didn't spend much time at the campsite - mostly, we were there to sleep. And, unlike traditional camping trips, we didn't cook out at our campsite though we could have (Actually, I think we did cook once on our first trip). Restrooms were always nearby, spacious, and well maintained.

[IloveJack]

We tent camped at FW last June. We really enjoyed it, and plan to make that our option for the future (at least, while we're still young enough).
We stayed in the 2000 loop and were just a few sites from both the comfort station and the bus stop, but were never bothered by noise from either. The comfort stations were never crowded, although they do lock after 11pm, and you have to request a key to unlock them (which you can keep for the duration of your stay), they don't use magic bands. We didn't cook at our site, so I can't attest to that. We were there on some fairly warm days, but never got hot in our tents, and even slept with the windows "up." The busses were never crowded either, a major plus after years of standing while trying not to fall asleep on the ride back from the parks at night.
You can rent a golf cart to use to get around inside the campgrounds (it's rather large), and you will see LOTS of them driving around, but we didn't have any trouble using the bus system that is dedicated to the campground. It runs often, and is a quick trip to wherever you want to go.
There were only two downfalls to the campgrounds that we saw; it is a decently long walk from the bus drop-off at the Settlement to the boat ramp to ride to MK or the TTC (for Epcot). My DM is disabled, and we had to stop often to take breaks for her to rest. She rented a scooter in the parks, but just this walk would wear her out daily. Also, the boats going to/from the MK often have long intervals. It took us an hour to get from the campgrounds to the MK on one night, and it's literally just across Bay Lake. We waited for a boat for that long. Plus, there's nowhere to sit while waiting.
The pool is great; much nicer than any of the value resorts. In fact, you get many of the amenities of a moderate resort here, while paying much less than the values (other than not having your own bathroom, of course).
Lastly, Faline had told me that this would be the crème de la crème of campgrounds when I had the same questions as you (before our first stay here), and she was right. They have the nicest comfort stations that we've ever seen (and we've done a lot of tent camping), the other guests are so nice (much more friendly and laid back than guests at other resorts), and although we left a lot of our gear in our tents while we went to the parks, we never had anything disturbed.
Be prepared, you might just end up choosing to stay here again! :secret: