Tent Camping at Fort Wilderness

[CaptChris]

Just recently, our family has grown to love camping. I was wondering if anyone has camped in a tent at Fort Wilderness, and if so, any suggestions or thoughts that you could share.

We purchased the Disney Sing Along Video, "Campout at Walt Disney World" for our two year old, and watching that only made me more more inquisitive.

 

[WDWspider]

My next trip I want to do this also... cheap, lots of fun, and fort wilderness sounds like a winning combination to me, I'm interested in feedback also.

 

[Jeff D]

I've tent camped in Fort Wilderness a couple of times. Great place to do it. The one unfortunate thing about it is they do not give you a break on the campsite rates from the trailer campers. The campsites are clean an orderly and not really a problem of bugs. Disney handles this buy cleaning the campsites and spraying for bugs in between each guest departure and arrival. The bathrooms are clean and private. I was amazed when I first did this to find that the showers also had their own private dressing room in front. I would suggest showers at night though since they can be a little busy in the morning. The only thing I did was lock up my valuables in the car and never had a problem. We usually put the campstove and such in the tent and just packed away are stuff whilke we were not there. The advantage i've noticed from this is since there are people there all of the time I think it helps discourage any stealing. I would highly recommend bringing bicycles or, if you can afford it, renting a golf cart to get around. The carts can be pricey but are invluable when going to pioneer hell or the meadows for snakes and such. If you do decide to rent the cart call ahead to reserve it or you will not get one since they are very popular. One last thing, don't think that you have to go far for transportation. The buses pick up in front of each main campsite area and also stop at the front checkin area and also at the meadows and pioneer hall. Sorry it's so long but alot of info.

 

[Sherm00]

AH my chiled hood. we have always camped. except for this last trip. My father has a pop-up. when we got a little older we went to pop-up and tent. all the sites are fablous. water, sewer(for RV) and power hookups(great because you don't need a battery powered radio at night and a small fan works great on hight nights) on all sited. I reccomend getting a filter for the water the water in the sites are not filtered. you can get one at any camping store. camping world is located right on 192. if you get a prefered site the site is usually bigger and is part concrete. the perfered site have a sand pit at the far end where you can set up your tent. set up the tent so it points to the front so you walk on the concrete. buses run all loops to pioneer hall where you can take the boat to the magic kingdom, then to wilderness lodge and then the ticket and transportation center. I don't know if they still have the family style breakfast at pioneer hall but I highly reccomend it. also the bon fire with chip and dale is fun. they have a bon fire a movie and chip and dale. you can not have a personal camp fire at ft. wilderness. also the best way to get back and forth from the magic kingdom is the boat from pioneer hall, it's really cool and it runs like 2 to 3 hours before the parks close to 1 to 2 hours after the parks close. also last time we camped outside of pioneer hall they have an italian ice stand. I don't know if it's still there but it's really cool. I miss the train that used to transport you through the campground . it's a really cool place to stay, and I highly reccomend it.

 

[Passport]

I just walked around there last week. It is very nice. The pool looked nice and I was surprised to see a petting zoo.
Any idea on the price? Looks expensive to me.

 

[Lance]

Only thing, about tents, it's gonna be HOT. Unless they have some new technology I have no idea about?

I camped in the family's tent trailer with no A/C, it was the most miserable time at the campsite, FW was still great!!!

 

[CaptChris]

The cost ranges from 34-79 a night depending on site, preferred or non preferred, and of course time of year. If you are a AAA member, mention that and Central Reservation will give you a discount.

 

[mwitkus]

I love camping and I love Disney, but I personally don't think I would enjoy camping at Disney, at least not tent camping. Call me a primadonna but after a long day walking around the parks, I love coming back to a soft comfy bed and having the option of a nice hot bath to help me unwind... I fully admit to being prissy about these things though... If you don't think you would miss the bed and the bath, I say go for it... I imagine if anyone can do camping right, it's gotta be Disney!

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[Sherm00]

Originally posted by mwitkus
I love camping and I love Disney, but I personally don't think I would enjoy camping at Disney, at least not tent camping. Call me a primadonna but after a long day walking around the parks, I love coming back to a soft comfy bed and having the option of a nice hot bath to help me unwind... I fully admit to being prissy about these things though... If you don't think you would miss the bed and the bath, I say go for it... I imagine if anyone can do camping right, it's gotta be Disney!

Good luck and have fun!!

when we went we had a popup with AC, etc. the bathrooms and showers are very clean. great thing to do if you have kids.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

I know it's a typo, but it made me laugh...

The carts can be pricey but are invluable when going to pioneer hell or the meadows for snakes and such

I am so glad to hear that Disney thought of everything!

You can buy snakes if there aren't enough there already!!

:lol: :sohappy:

 

[CaptChris]

Originally posted by Sherm00


when we went we had a popup with AC, etc. the bathrooms and showers are very clean. great thing to do if you have kids.

If we do go, we will either have a popup with A/C, or tent camp in the cooler season with fans.

 

[Talsonic]

It is not a National Park.

We have camped there on several occasions. Nice place, but the clientele can be a problem. That place always seems to attract its fair share of noisy drunks. And, of course, there are the families that prefer to scream at one another all night and then sleep all day. We don't camp there any longer.

 

[Lance]

Re: It is not a National Park.

Originally posted by Talsonic
We have camped there on several occasions. Nice place, but the clientele can be a problem. That place always seems to attract its fair share of noisy drunks. And, of course, there are the families that prefer to scream at one another all night and then sleep all day. We don't camp there any longer.

Ya but you get that at almost every campground in the U.S.

That's why I stopped camping, the Drunk Maine Hicks, they really turned me off to camping, I'll only ever camp again in FW...

 

[Hakunamatata]

Sorry I pulled this out of the archives but.....

Has anyone tent camped in recent years? We are contemplating doing this to add an additional trip a year or so to our Disney vacations. Would likely only do it during the fall or early spring, but was wondering if it is still done regularly by others.

 

[Hakunamatata]

achoo.....:lookaroun

 

[gjpjtj]

achoo.....:lookaroun

God bless you....

 

[goofyoverdisney]

We LOVE camping at Fort Wilderness! We camped there the first time in my in-laws motorhome about 18 years ago, with our two young daughters. I took my daughter, son-in law and neice there in 2002 and we camped in a tent. It was VERY hot. We took a small airconditioner and it did not keep us cool. The three families across from us yelled and partied all night and kept beeping their car alarm everytime they got in and out of the cars. My queen air mattress got too hot in the tent during the day and one channel in it exploded. It was miserable when it rained everyday. But we still had a great time anyway! We took our electric scooters to ride around on. Fort Wilderness is so tranquil. My husband and I got a new travel trailer and we took it to Fort Wilderness June of 05. We stayed in the loop closest to the General Store. It was very nice! We could not hear all the noise in the travel trailer that we could hear through the tent. We were able to keep food refrigerated. And we stayed cool! It was a wonderful trip! If you have a vechicle that can tow a small trailer, you might think about renting one. Many places rent them out these days. Yes, it is worth it to camp in a tent, if you are willing to put up with all the inconveniences. I would probably do it again, if I had to, but I would wait until pleasant autumn temperatures are here. Good luck! Camping is a wonderful memory maker for families.

 

[Hakunamatata]

We LOVE camping at Fort Wilderness! We camped there the first time in my in-laws motorhome about 18 years ago, with our two young daughters. I took my daughter, son-in law and neice there in 2002 and we camped in a tent. It was VERY hot. We took a small airconditioner and it did not keep us cool. The three families across from us yelled and partied all night and kept beeping their car alarm everytime they got in and out of the cars. My queen air mattress got too hot in the tent during the day and one channel in it exploded. It was miserable when it rained everyday. But we still had a great time anyway! We took our electric scooters to ride around on. Fort Wilderness is so tranquil. My husband and I got a new travel trailer and we took it to Fort Wilderness June of 05. We stayed in the loop closest to the General Store. It was very nice! We could not hear all the noise in the travel trailer that we could hear through the tent. We were able to keep food refrigerated. And we stayed cool! It was a wonderful trip! If you have a vechicle that can tow a small trailer, you might think about renting one. Many places rent them out these days. Yes, it is worth it to camp in a tent, if you are willing to put up with all the inconveniences. I would probably do it again, if I had to, but I would wait until pleasant autumn temperatures are here. Good luck! Camping is a wonderful memory maker for families.

Thanks for the info. The "neighbor" issue of being loud and obnoxious is probably the biggest concern I have about camping. We may have to rent a trailer and go during value season to see how much we enjoy it.

 

[seabee1]

Ya but you get that at almost every campground in the U.S.

That's why I stopped camping, the Drunk Maine Hicks, they really turned me off to camping, I'll only ever camp again in FW...

I'm gonna have to stick up for my state, the worst case of Drunk Ruffians we have encountered was in Massachusetts. Sturbridge to be exact. Yogi's Jellystone Campground. Some of best camping has been in Maine.:wave:

 

[seabee1]

The carts can be pricey but are invluable when going to pioneer hell or the meadows for snakes and such.

Now really, is it all that bad?:lol: