Tent Camping

[IloveJack]

Have any of you ever tent camped at FW? We're a family that loves to camp (we met and eventually got married at the summer camp where we worked), and I've always wondered what it would be like to camp at WDW. If you've ever tent camped, I'd love to hear about your experience... and maybe you can help me with my hesitations.

I'm a little concerned about how far it is to the bath/shower houses. I don't want to be wandering around at night, really needing to "go," and having a major hike to the potty. Plus, we'll have a 2-year old (whom I'm hoping to have potty trained by then).


I don't want to be cold the whole trip, and we're planning to go Dec. 8-12. How windy/breezy/cold is the campgrounds?

Are we going to be the only ones in a tent? :blush:

How long of a walk are we looking at for the bus stop/food court/etc.?

In general, tell me about Fort Wilderness, please. We've never even visited there, and I know very little about it.

I appreciate it greatly!

[KylesMom]

While we've never tent-camped at Fort Wilderness, we have stayed in the cabins. Not exactly apples to apples, so I'm going to provide you with some general information until the tent campers can get here. :mickey:

First, let's start you off with a property map so you can get a lay of the land:
Fort Wilderness Map (http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/maps/images/fwcg07.JPG) Now let's get you some details of the resort in general: Fort Wilderness Campground Details (http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/fortwilderness/default.asp)

The one thing I wanted to comment on was your request for more information on distance to the food court. While Fort Wilderness does have a sit-down restaurant (Trail's End), Crockett's Tavern (pizza/nachos), Meadowlands Snack Bar (open seasonally), Hoop-De-Doo Review dinner show & Mickey's Backyard BBQ, there is no food court like you would see at other Disney resorts.

Hopefully someone with more Disney tent-camping experience will be along soon to give you more details! :mickey:

[ibrowse17]

We have tent camped at FW many times, and always had a great experience. If you are worried about the distance to the comfort stations, request the 2000 Loop. It is the only loop to have 2 comfort stations, which means all the sites are close to at least one of them. Have a great time:thumbsup:

[magicofdisney]

My girls just did a camping trip at FW with their Girl Scout Troop. They were in tents in Loop 2000 which, indeed, has 2 comfort stations. They were blessed to be right in front of one of these. They went the last weekend in January and were not the only ones in tents. But it was FREEZING. They did have heaters in their tents, but that didn't do much for when the rains came and soaked half of everything. They thoroughly enjoyed their trip and would gladly do it again. :mickey:

[faline]

Our first several trip to Disney were in a tent. Even though we no longer spend a lot of time at Fort Wilderness, to me, it is still "home"!

We've stayed in a tent for up to two weeks at Disney.

First off, don't worry about being too far from a comfort station. On our first trip (before the days when information became readily available on the Internet) and having several years of camping behind us, we requested a campsite at Disney World "as close as possible" to a rest area. Imagine my surprise, when we were assigned a camp site that was literally across the road and just steps away from our tent! I did not make such a request on subsequent trips but were never more than a very short walk away from the rest area. I've stayed in many camp grounds where the hike (and I mean that literally) to the rest areas is much farther than I've ever needed to walk at Fort Wilderness.

Weather in December can be quite variable. We've been many times when we were able to wear shorts even right through the evening hours. If you hit this kind of weather, tent camping would certainly not be an issue. That said, we've also hit December weather in which temperaturs have fallen below freezing (primarily during the overnight hours). Having camped in similar weather in the Northeast, I wouldn't think it would be too much of a problem as long as your sleeping bags are designed to handle below freezing temperatures. After all, you won't really be spending lots of time at your campsite as you might if you were in another campground. Mostly, you'll likely spend your sleeping hours at your campsite and be in the parks or off on other activities during the day.

I can't tell you if you'll be the only ones in a tent. I think fewer and fewer folks tent camp. There were times when our tent would be pitched in the midst of Class A rigs, Class C rigs, and pop-ups. The biggest issue with this is that the air conditioning units on the larger rigs tend to be a bit noisy when you're in a tent. Still, we were tired enough that we went to sleep even with the drone of these units in the background.

None of the sites within the campground is very far from a bus stop. If you camp in the preferred loops (which we've done on occasion even though they have full hookups and electric), you might be close enough to walk to Pioneer Hall, the shop there, and the boat dock. We also camped close enough once that we were able to walk to the Meadows Trading Post. Other than that, you'll probably need to rely on the internal bus system as the campground is pretty spread out. You could, if you wanted, rent a golf cart to get you around the campground. These can get pretty pricey but there are some off-site renters that will provide golf carts as well.

By the way, the rest room and shower facilities are the best I've ever seen in any campground - ever! Showers are spacious and clean. Laundry rooms are located alongside the rest areas.

[AndrewJackson]

When I was a child, I tent camped at the fort on vacations. It was usually in the summer - not the best time to camp. It rained every day, as it does in the summer and it was HOT!

There has been some crazy weather in Florida lately. I am not sure if I would want to camp in December. With the lows getting down in to the 30s, not sure how comfortable it would be for you and your family. And, it could be as nice as weather in the 70s. It is just very unpredictable.

If you can pick a different time of the year - fall or spring - you should.