Car Camping at Fort Wilderness

[Dave B]

for a night or two this would be so much fun, then bump to resort after, we might try this in the future, thx for the great idea

 

[MMFanCipher]

I agree with others, get a used tent and cots or air mattresses and you will be golden. The Comfort Stations and the Laundry rooms are very clean. Love Fort Wilderness Campgrounds!

 

[Rlandrigan]

With a tent and a few air mattresses, ya'll will have an adventure and a good time. Sleeping in the car yall are going to be miserable.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Buy a tent, some folding chairs and a couple of air mattresses for the tent. You will be much more comfortable and have more room.
You can get a good tent to use in the future, or a cheap tent to get by for one trip. Loop 2000 is for tents and the campsites there are very nice.
You can keep your cooler in the back of the car, stock it with sandwich makings, drinks, frozen water bottles etc...and save lots of money on food too.
Lots more practical and comfortable than trying to sleep in the car.

We bought a tent for our honeymoon and it allowed us to go on really inexpensive vacations for years after. Whenever we needed a break from life, we'd just hit up a campsite or a trail somewhere. Everyone should own a tent!

You can find a pretty decent tent at an affordable price. As another mentioned, add in a couple folding chairs and maybe a card/camping table and you'll have a nice setup without a big price tag. The car option seems to really limit both space and where your gear can go when you're sleeping.

Coleman is a pretty solid brand. We bought an easy up tent for non backpacking trips and it cost us only $70. It's amazing!

Technically it's a tent. But my tent is attached to my CRV and we have a car mattress and sleep in the back just like your photo(all our supplies are put in the tent part). It was my first camping trip last year and I had a blast. We are open to close people so we only need a place to sleep and shower. I was skeptical since I'm not a camping person,but the comfort stations were great! Showers at certain times were a wait but I learned when and when not to schedule my shower time. I say do it! You will have fun regardless and it's a experience I bet you will remember.

What tent do you have?? I'm interested!! (and also have a CRV)

 

[DryerLintFan]

Reading through the old post linked above, it looks like you can rent a tent with cots for around $35 (although I'm sure there's been an increase) from Wilderness Lodge. And they'll set it up for you and tear it down.

That might be an option here!!

 

[TARDIS]

We bought a tent for our honeymoon and it allowed us to go on really inexpensive vacations for years after. Whenever we needed a break from life, we'd just hit up a campsite or a trail somewhere. Everyone should own a tent!



Coleman is a pretty solid brand. We bought an easy up tent for non backpacking trips and it cost us only $70. It's amazing!



What tent do you have?? I'm interested!! (and also have a CRV)

Honda actually sells a CRV tent and it was bundled free with my car purchase! I think it's quite pricey from Honda though so I'd go with a different makers option if I had to purchase it.

 

[George]

Does the campground have showers?

Just as an aside, FW has the nicest shower/bathroom amenities of any campground on the planet.

 

[Deadphish]

I would do it. My wife and I have been to a lot of camping music festivals with a tent and all the gear many times. We have a Ford Explorer, we sleep in the car just like your picture. Use the front seats to put our clothes and anything else we don't want taken and the tent to store everything else. We wake up more comfortable and rested in the car than in the tent and the tents are usually wet in the morning.

 

[Diesel Dan]

My wife & I are tent camping @ FW in Feb 2018 for 3 nights. We will sleep on cots in a tent. We have stayed at FW many times in past and the Comfort Stations are really nice. We also hike in the Adirondack Mts here in NY and we sleep in our car like your photo. We park near trailheads and get up early and hit the trail. It is a little cramped in our Ford Escape but it works. The tent and cots are just a lot more comfy and the tent is big enough to stand up in and keep our luggage in it. Since whenever we do Disney we are at the Parks and spend very little time at the resorts. FW is a great campground and there is plenty to do there as well. save a little money and give it a try. Trails End is a great place to eat right there at FW.

 

[thomas998]

Hi guys!
My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to WDW hopefully in December. We are both college students so we are budgeting this trip to T. I have been to Disney many times in my 21 years, whereas my boyfriend has only been once in his 23 years, so I really want to make this special and memorable for him. That being said, a memorable trip on a budget is going to necessitate cutting corners a little bit. My hope is to stay on property for the perks of both ease of transportation and extra magic hours, but staying in a resort is going to be about $140/night for 4 nights which is pretty steep for us. My question is, with the $53/night rate for a spot at Fort Wilderness Campground, would it be worth it to just buy a car mattress, some snacks, pb&js and some portable fans, pack one bag, and sleep in the car there? My boyfriend and I don't have much objection to "comfort stations" and being in a small space (we are both pretty short ). This way we could have more money for park hopper passes, dining, etc.. Believe me, I know this isn't super practical and parents would lose it if their kids did this, but I think it is possible IF we are able to park the car there. Attached is a picture of my car and a picture of the mattress for reference. Let me know what you guys think or if anyone has done this before! Thanks guys!

I've slept in my car for a semester in college and I can assure you that while you can do what you are thinking of I wouldn't recommend it. If you do insist on doing it would suggest you skip the air mattress and get a thick piece of foam from an army surplus. The problem with an air mattress is that you are pretty much sleeping on a sheet of plastic that doesn't breath so the perspiration from you and your boyfriend while you sleep will leave you in a damp bed by morning, add to that you'll be sealed up in a pretty air tight car which again is going to limit the ability of your perspiration drying up. If you use a foam mattress you won't have quite as bad a time.

But honestly if I were you and was trying to be cheap I would get a cheap hotel outside Disney.... yes you lose an extra magic hour here or there but you get comfort and the time you spend having to go to a comfort station will pretty much be greater than the amount of extra time you get in the parks from the magic hours.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I agree with what other people have said... either borrow or buy a small-ish tent and an air mattress. You can get a decent tent with some room to move for $50 and an air mattress for $10 or $15. Then you'll have those things for years, and it will still save you a lot of money over a traditional hotel. You could use the back of the car for a pantry or other storage space.

 

[John park hopper]

A good source of camping equipment is Sportsman's guide, it's on line and their prices are very reasonable most free shipping. I've purchased tents (sleeping and ground blinds for hunting), queen size air mattress (comes with battery powered air pump) very comfortable and sleeping bags. They also carry surplus military gear great for camping.

 

[daniel lee]

I know some air mattresses are just for indoor use, may be your is just one of them, too? I use Intex Pillow and there were never any issues with condensation, it is perfect mattress for camping, it is lightweight and easy to transport. I guess special underlay could help, I never used one but my friends always put one under their mattress. Here https://sleepissimple.com/best-air-mattress-reviews/ is a detailed review on top air mattresses, and most of the models are good for camping . Anyways I hope you already solved your problem.

 

[Dave B]

What is a/the comfort station?

 

[MMFanCipher]

What is a/the comfort station?

The public bathroom and showers.

 

[Dave B]

thx

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Hi guys!
My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to WDW hopefully in December. We are both college students so we are budgeting this trip to T. I have been to Disney many times in my 21 years, whereas my boyfriend has only been once in his 23 years, so I really want to make this special and memorable for him. That being said, a memorable trip on a budget is going to necessitate cutting corners a little bit. My hope is to stay on property for the perks of both ease of transportation and extra magic hours, but staying in a resort is going to be about $140/night for 4 nights which is pretty steep for us. My question is, with the $53/night rate for a spot at Fort Wilderness Campground, would it be worth it to just buy a car mattress, some snacks, pb&js and some portable fans, pack one bag, and sleep in the car there? My boyfriend and I don't have much objection to "comfort stations" and being in a small space (we are both pretty short ). This way we could have more money for park hopper passes, dining, etc.. Believe me, I know this isn't super practical and parents would lose it if their kids did this, but I think it is possible IF we are able to park the car there. Attached is a picture of my car and a picture of the mattress for reference. Let me know what you guys think or if anyone has done this before! Thanks guys!

So...I'm working on taking my family camping at FWC...I stumbled onto this thread...

How'd it go? What did you end up doing?