Tent Camping at Fort Wilderness

[Blueskyze]

Can anyone give me any information (or opinions or suggestions) on camping in a tent at Fort Wilderness? We are possibly planning a quick 4 day trip w/ some friends at the beginning of March. We would be flying and then renting a car, and I thought that camping might be a better option than staying off property. We have our own tent and camping supplies (although I'm not sure how easy that would be to take on an airplane), and we would probably split the trip between doing Universal and WDW. We are finalizing plans this weekend, so I wanted to get as much info as possible to present to everyone.

Thanks for the help!

 

[pixiesteno]

Let me first and foremost say that I love Fort Wilderness. I think you will too. I would be sure to let them know you are a tent camper when you book, as I have seen them put some people with tents into a site that is completely blacktopped; bit of a problem with those tent poles.
My greatest concern is getting all you camping equipment there via a plane. You would have to figure the tent, bedding, clothing, and if you were to take cooking equipment ??? That seems as if it would be pricy. If time will allow I would suggest driving down and take your equipment. You may find this cheaper than the extra baggage fees! What I have observed with people with tents is they have usually brought along a screened canopy room that they set up as a living/dining area in addition to the tent. There is a plenty of room at the sites to do this.
You know, if you can't drive down you might want to figure on what an on-property room would cost (they are having deals for that timeframe now) in relation to what it would cost for the extra baggage. Just some thoughts.

 

[Skibum1970]

I camped there in a tent a number of years ago and it was great. Definitely let them know that you're using a tent as soft sand is a much better bed than pavement. The only difference for me was that I drove there and had my tent in the trunk of the car. I didn't bring any equipment for cooking as I was eating at the parks and so I had just brought the tent and a sleeping bag. The store at the campground sells foodstuffs as well. The restrooms were clean and close with nice showers (with separate stalls). Plus, I watched movies at their outdoor theater every night. You have boat transportation to the Contemporary where you can pick up the monorail to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. At night, it is really quiet and peaceful. Of course, the price back then was $30/night which was much easier on the wallet. It was the nicest campground that I have stayed at.

 

[Blueskyze]

Thanks! Driving isn't really an option for us. It would be a 12 hour drive, versus an hour and 1/2 flight. We wouldn't be taking any kind of cookware (would be eating at the parks), so I was thinking it might be feasible to take our tent as one suitcase, and then pack all of the bedding into one suitcase. We'll be flying Southwest, so we each would get 2 bags free.

I got a quote for POP, and it's about $600. We could stay off property for about half of that. The friends we are traveling with have never been to WDW, so "on" and "off" property doesn't really mean much, especially when coming from a financial standpoint. I was hoping to stay on property to take advantage of EMH, and just because it makes the trip a little more special.

I'm assuming that if we stayed at the campground, we would be able to use the pools at Fort Wilderness? And I saw "Bay Lake Beach" mentioned on the website...is that pretty much equivalent to the beach at the Poly? The movies outside look pretty cool, too! I'm hoping that all these cool little "extras" will help convince everyone that this would be way better than just staying in a crappy hotel on I-Drive. :lol:

 

[Skibum1970]

You can use the pools at Fort Wilderness as you are a guest at the resort. I would much rather stay at the campground than offsite just because it is so much fun to not bother with driving in/out every day. I drove that time when I camped but we have taken to flying as a 2 hour flight beats a 13 hours drive any day of the week. Plus, you'll be able to see the Electric Water Pageant at night from the beach, which is a neat throwback. The Bay Lake isn't for swimming but it is really pretty. You can also walk a trail that goes to the Wilderness Lodge and that is worth the walk.