Westcoastwild

I admired your pluck for tenting in Florida in the dead of summer.  I had one of those dual power fans and an extension cord I tried to deliver to you but I did not know what site you were at.  I guessed you had a yellow tent but you were never home.  After reading your trip report I understand why.  Let me tell you what you missed at the Fort While you were enjoying the parks.  Hot followed by high humidity.  The Pools felt wet but not refreshing in anyway.  I did go to Typhoon Lagoon and agreed with your assessment.  The water was cleaner and a degree or two cooler.  I did five loops of the lazy river thinking it was named after me.  The grand kids where always able to find me when they needed money.  Next time I suggest you try coming when this group has a grand gathering.  Halloween and Christmas are the usual times.  Campfire conversations are always fun even if they don't allow an actual fire and you sound like you have some interesting stories to tell.  The last time I went to Disneyland they still had the Monsanto home of the future.  (1959).  I hear things have changed.  

Newbie WDW trip report
  A (long) critical review of my very magical vacation. If you feel no need to read it all, here is the summary: IT WAS AWESOME, thanks for any advice you gave me.   First, a fort fiend asked that I post back about the heat and the size of WDW. Florida in summer is hot and humid. Very hot. Very humid. Not quite as bad as I expected though! I went to Boston several years ago during record summer temps and that was a huge shock to me. We went to Cape Cod afterwards thinking that at least the ocean will be cold. No. No, it was not. I've also been to DC in summer, and never again. But in comparison, Orlando really wasn't too bad. Apparently, since I moved to W. Washington 4 years ago, I've built up some kind of tolerance for the humidity. There's also a breeze and that was great. That said, though, I pretty much had to find shelter from 2-4 every afternoon. I don't leave the parks in California; I had to in Orlando just to take that afternoon shower to feel human again.  I skipped the shower a few times but that did take a noticeable toll on my body and mood. I could not live in that climate; I only spent week there but a full 1/5 of my room bill was sunscreen. I just had to put it on so frequently!   On the size issue: I honestly think WDW people who go to DL are more likely to be surprised than the other way around. I mean, it did feel large to me. But I kind of see DL as part of the greater LA area and WDW as its own world. WDW is like La in the sense that if a local tells you "it's just down the road" that means it's probably 30 minutes in a vehicle. The thing that really DID surprise me is the size of the parks. Magic Kingdom is a lot of walking all by itself. My main tip for DL is always stay until closing; you can ride 5-6 rides on your way out. At MK, that's 2 rides. Maybe. I managed 4 during the evening magic hours, but that was hoofing it. I was talking to a college friend who goes to WDW frequently but had never been to DL, and she was really surprised by my description of Disneyland. She really had no idea about how tiny DL is. I would never stay on site at DL, but I would also never stay offsite at WDW!   I think the size issue works for and against MK. On the one hand, I felt that there was more wasted space. I feel like DL was more thoughtfully designed; MK has that add on feeling. I went to MK almost every day and I still didn't get to hit everything. On the other hand, that gives MK space for awesome stuff like Rapunzel's tower, Be Our Guest, or really cool queues like 7 Dwarves or Little Mermaid. And this pro/con is something I really noticed throughout the parks. Dinosaur land in AK is half awesome, half crap. I really don't get that one. Hollywood Studios is very attractive but in my opinion, DCA is filled with more attractions while being more compact. But they are trying to do different things and it's possibly not a fair comparison as I do know that HS has a lot of construction going on.   For practical purposes (for my fellow lurkers or first timers) this means you really can't stay a resort close to ALL the parks. Pick the one closest to the park you'll spend the most time at,  and be sure to account for travel time in your touring plans. To get to another resort for a meal, you most likely have to take a bus from your resort to an attraction and then transfer to another bus to go to your destination. It wasn't an issue for me; for one thing, bus time means quality time with a/c?. But it wasn't something that I realized, and I was really lucky that I had been feeling pretty lazy when I made my ADRs. I don't understand the folks stay at the monorail resorts for that specific perk, because I don't think they spend any less time than I did in transit. They still have to take a bus to everything NOT on the monorail, which is a heck of a lot. The monorail at WDW is actually necessary transport, which blew my mind. At DL, it's more like an attraction. Epcot to MK is no small hop. I sometimes spent more time on that monorail than I did standing in line for rides.   Fort Wilderness...ah, the fort with fiendish fans! I get it now you crazy people. I was really curious about your Mecca. For one thing, it's $88 bucks for a TENT SITE on weekends. For another thing, I see posts all the time on here about going to the fort but not to the parks. That turns out to be not so crazy. It's like the perfect combination of amenities and wildlife. Amenities wise, it's the Rolls Royce of campgrounds. I loved the boat access to MK. Seriously. I thought the $88 was well worth it. When you consider the air conditioned bathrooms, the transportation, the laundry rooms, and the pool- I wouldn't say it's a bargain, but I think it's well worth it. I have paid 50 for a whole lot less at a KOA. State parks are regularly 30-40 in places like California, and I'm talking about ranger districts that may or may not consider toilet paper a necessity. Two camp stores, a bar, rental bikes...the list just goes on. Terrific. I enjoyed the Hoop De Doo. My only real complaints are that I think they are understaffed at checkout time and the showers do not run ice cold (which is something I never thought I'd say about a camping bathroom). I loved the restaurant for lunch but cannot recommend weekend brunch. The latter was my worst meal.   Despite all of the effusive praise I have for this place, it comes with a few serious caveats. I would, indeed, camp again in July. I would not take any whiners (relatives) or people who are mainly interested in saving money or really young children (that sounds like work). Because of the humidity, this is not a novice camping experience. I'd rate it moderate difficulty. With my awesome, familiar camp gear, I was pretty comfortable, but I still would have thrown in the towel fairly early on if I'd had people with me who did not see it as one big adventure. That's really the mindset you've got to have.  It took me four times as long to set up camp because I had to take water breaks in the shade. It took me longer to break down camp. My deodorant melted into an awesome snow drift shape. The heat fried 2 apple chargers (I though it was a wiring problem until I had maintenance look at it. Then I bought a no brand charger). D batteries last about one night in my fan, and there's only one place on property that sells them. If I did not truly prefer camping over budget hotels, and had done no camping prior to this trip, this would be a very different trip report!   THANK YOU (you know who you are) for encouraging me to buy a fan and properly put up my rain fly. Because of you, I slept well and did not once come back to a wet mess in my tent.   And if you are considering camping at fort wilderness and you've never been camping in your life, first camp at the crappiest state park near your home. This will familiarize your family with the gear, tell you what gear you should have brought along, and finally make you appreciate FW in all of its glory.   Onto the parks...if you are still with me!   I spent 7 days at WDW  1 day at universal. I hit all 4 parks at WDW, plus typhoon lagoon. The general advice to not get a park hopper I ignored and I would get again. I used it a lot! I would not get the water park add on again. I thought I could go to a park in the morning and a water park in the afternoon. The reality is that by 2pm, the water park was too hot to walk in and the shallow water was uncomfortably warm. Typhoon Lagoon is hands down the best water park I've been to, though. I'm not usually a wave pool person, but that was a crazy amount of fun. I also enjoyed the crusher gusher and the lazy river.    Magic Kingdom: I think the main thing to say here is that I loved the castle. And the size of the park does make seeing the fireworks much less unpleasant than at DL. 7 dwarves is a lot of fun, but whoever designed the lap bar should be banished from the land...or tarred and feathered. I don't care for the small world facade. I think haunted mansion is even more awesome at WDW. I do not usually bother with magic hours but I highly recommend MK's evening hours. The lines are so much faster without the fast pass quota.   Epcot: surprised that I loved living with the land and spaceship earth. Soaring is great, but don't waste a fast pass. Frozen animatronics are fantastic. I'd say it was well worth the hour wait, but definitely get a fast pass. I mostly enjoyed Epcot for the world showcase though. I won't lie- half of my park hopping was motivated by illuminations and the orange grand Marnier slushes. Skip Nemo. It's such a waste, which was a disappointment because I like the movie.    Animal Kingdom: didn't see jungle book, but the tree at night was a huge hit with the crowd. And I hope they keep it around. Everest is a serious rival against Big Thunder for my affections. Loved the Safari ride. Dinosaur has so much promise but it feels like the intro of a ride like Indiana Jones instead of the whole ride. Kali River is a waste of space. Spent most of a day in this park, I think I probably would have liked a second day. There's a lot to just appreciate.    Hollywood Studios: the movie biz theme is not really my thing. I wish this was more nostalgic West like DCA. I REALLY wish there was a carsland. I like Aerosmith but not as much as CA screaming. The Star Wars stuff was fun, Indiana Jones was a decent show. I really enjoyed toy story mania, and had the line been shorter, I would have gone back several times. I though Great Movie Ride would be incredibly dorky, but it's on my top ten list of "why I love Disney Parks". And the queue/theater facade is fantastic. But that doesn't make HS even a half day for me, and I don't really think Star Wars land would change that.   Universal: I was really curious about this place because when I was lurking on the disboards, people frequently seemed to bring up the idea that maybe Universal will become king partly because of how much effort they've put into expanding and because Disney is somehow becoming an evil greedy monster. Yeah...I don't see it. I'm by no means a Disney fanatic, but I can tell you that I can spend 6 days at Disney and want to come back...and after 5 hours at Universal, I want to leave. Part of this is that I love thrill rides like coasters but simulators make me really sick. That was the worst night I had all trip. Leaving the park, even the escalator made me want to vomit. But most of it is that Disney for me is about that feeling of child like glee I get when I'm watching the fireworks or riding the haunted mansion or jungle cruise. The rock music and the rowdier crowds and the poor shopping at universal just didn't have the same appeal, and that was a VERY expensive day. I will say, though, that Harry Potter is so very well done. It's amazing. Universal puts the same (if not more) detail into their facades and queues that Disney does. I also enjoyed Rockit and mummy. I think there's definitely an overlap between customers in both places, but I don't really think the target audiences are the same. If you go, I did find the express pass worth the money.   Speaking of the express...fast pass + was something I was pretty sure I'd dislike. I just never have made the fast pass system at DL work for me. But it turns out to be great. I like the instant gratification of using my cell phone on the go. I like how I can get fast passes for stuff that I really enjoy but don't consider worth an hour's wait (Peter Pan). I think it actually does a pretty good job of spreading out the crowds. It's true that it makes some lines longer but on the other hand, I would not cover many more rides any way due to how spread out MK is.   Food: ADRs are something I though I wouldn't like as well. But it makes the trip go much smoother. It also guarantees quality AC time, so yeah, definitely recommend those.   Best food I ate:  Tuna salad, lunch at BOG. Best setting as well. DO IT. Chicken n waffles at trails end Fish and chips at rose and crown. So good. Even compared to fish and chips in Seattle.   Honorable mentions:  Marrekesh lamb Jiko's filet mignon (parts are just ok, parts are great, especially the cab. But persona bias is likely- I generally order steak only at really expensive steak houses, and I'm not sure that's a fair comparison).  Trader Sam's Tiki Bar drinks and appetizers.   Don't do it:  Cobb salad at Hollywood brown derby. I love Cobb but not this one. Desserts. Except the French pavilion or signature dining. Yuck. Brunch buffet at trails end. Double yuck.    If I did it all over: I over planned which led to some fretting. Disboards is helpful but full of Debbie Downers and nutcases.   Best advice to pass on: take at least three pairs of shoes, change in the afternoon. This saved my feet. Take a tent broom: that sand is really obnoxious.    I'm glad I took: my insulated water bottle. Also, the snow/sand tent stakes worked really well, but if you buy them, buy extra. They bend pretty easily. Clothesline is super helpful in this climate.   I'm glad I forgot: my rain jacket. If you end up caught in the deluge, a rain jacket won't make the least bit of difference. I went to dinner in Japan looking like I'd been swimming.     Most magical moment: snagging a thunder mountain fastpass and riding during the fireworks.     I can tell you that I will go back...if only for Fort Wilderness and the orange grand Marnier slushes!!   If you made it this far, you're awesome and thanks for reading!  

Greetings from Bellingham! Yep, did know that about the footprint. And I have those towels too- I have learned my lesson about fluffy cotton towels lol. The multiuse  ones take up a lot less space too! Found out my car camping pad fit perfectly into my suitcase so I'm almost ready to go. Woohoo!
Do report back about those stakes! Bham Rei had none in stock so I got the broad snow stakes, and, well, it'll be yet another adventure

Hello from a fellow Washingtonian (Seattle near the zoo!). I see that your questions have been answered well by others, so just tossing in my own experience. I hope you'll post back with yours!




Like you, I am packing a second bag full of gear to tent camp for a solo trip at at the Fort this November! It is my first time trying this, but last year we flew and camped in a rental PUP. I can confirm that after you check-in you will be driven with your luggage (if it has arrived, Disney says up to three hours after check-in, so I will collect my luggage and carry it on DME myself this year) to your site. Last year we requested 1500 and got it no problem. We did a split stay and the Fort Wilderness van driver took us and our luggage to our next resort. We Uber'ed to Publix for groceries without problems. For three nights, our neighbors got ripping drunk and were super loud until 3-4 in the AM. On the last night I finally went out at 3AM and asked them to quiet down. Other nights were quiet. Never had to wait terribly long for a shower in the morning. Comfort stations are immaculate. We walked everywhere, we only used the internal bus twice at the end of long days. 1500 is not a long walk from either end, IMO, but everyone is different. Everyday we saw either deer or hawks or wild turkeys on the walk to the main entrance bus stop.




My suggestion for a towel is an REI multitowel. It will dry quickly. We took these towels to South Africa when we were in the Peace Corps and everyone who brought their thick fluffy cotton towels became quite jealous (it's also a real back breaker to hand wash fluffy towels LOL).




I bought some spiral stakes for the sandy tent pad, they also have these at REI. I can't say whether they are effective because I have yet to try them.




Lastly, you probably already know this, I'd suggest bring the right size foot print for your tent. If you put down something that extends past the edges of the bottom of your tent and it rains, it will only act to attract water under your tent.




Have a great time!




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