Using a tent and an RV?

[Timsmith7 36]

It looks like our party size is increasing to more than the RV can sleep. Has anyone had any experience in taking a tent and using it with the RV? When we stayed in June the site we had was all concrete. Is there sites that have an area that you could set a tent up on also?

Thanks,

Tim

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Absolutely. Full Hookup sites can definitely do it.

[Timsmith7 36]

We were on a premium in June and there was no area short of the sand area where the electric and water was that was not concrete.Are the full hook up sites different? Do they have a "soft" area for the tent in addition to the concrete pad for the RV? We really didn't pay attention to the other sites while we were there last time.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Yes - full hookup and preferred sites have a sand (actually coquina) pad area at the back, behind the paved part, that you can stake a tent down on.

 

Take a peek at this page for links to photos, videos, etc.

http://www.fortfiends.net/_/accomodations/loop-information/site-classifications-r61

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Also, you can put a tent in the back corner of a premium and at least stake down three corners of the tent

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

We tented on a premium. You can pin down two full sides and then we tied off to the picnic table.

[Timsmith7 36]

After looking at the info posted I see where you can put up a tent in the back of the full hook ups. We could buy a small pop up and tow it down and call it in in-law suite : ) not sure Disney would buy into that.....

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

After looking at the info posted I see where you can put up a tent in the back of the full hook ups. We could buy a small pop up and tow it down and call it in in-law suite : ) not sure Disney would buy into that.....

 

Disney recently started cracking down on Pop ups behind campers. Tents are okay but they have made people remove the PUP's

[Andrew Roberts 17]

and then remember you have to put a window AC unit on a bucket in the doorway of the tent 

[DisneynutCindy 0]

When you want to put a tent or pop up behind camper do you have to do anything special? Do you have to request a special site?

 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Pop ups aren't allowed behind an RV.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

When you want to put a tent or pop up behind camper do you have to do anything special? Do you have to request a special site?

 

Not for a tent. Pop ups are really being cracked down on though. People have been forced to move or remove in the last month or so. 

[BigTom 76]

I was one of the ones who had to move a pop up.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

And you're not the only one.

 

The Fort started cracking down on 2 campers to a site in the spring sometime.  It seems to be one of the few rules they've decided to enforce.

[fortpartyof4 108]

And you're not the only one.

 

The Fort started cracking down on 2 campers to a site in the spring sometime.  It seems to be one of the few rules they've decided to enforce.

 

I saw 2 pop-ups on a site in the 2000 loop on Thursday.  It was strange to see in that particular loop, but nothing I hadn't seen in others prior to that visit.  The pop-ups that had been behind large motor homes in the full h/u loops were gone, however those occupants still have several other "dwellings" spread around their rigs.  Various forms of tents and screen rooms.  

 

timsmith, when are you going?  Right now, there is a TON of standing water in many loops that could hinder your ability to put a tent up behind your camper in some of them.  Used to be you couldn't put anything "off the pad", however that doesn't seem to be enforced any more.  They'll leave you a nice little note if your car is off the pavement but tents seem to be fine.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

I saw 2 pop-ups on a site in the 2000 loop on Thursday.  It was strange to see in that particular loop, but nothing I hadn't seen in others prior to that visit.  The pop-ups that had been behind large motor homes in the full h/u loops were gone, however those occupants still have several other "dwellings" spread around their rigs.  Various forms of tents and screen rooms. 

 

Interesting.  Well if there's anything consistent you can count on with Fort management, it's inconsistency.  

[fortpartyof4 108]

Interesting.  Well if there's anything consistent you can count on with Fort management, it's inconsistency.  

 

Haha, yes, that does seem to be the case.

 

I guess to do that, you have camper #1 check-in, then use their room key to get the other one through the gate?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

The guy at the guard shack has no clue who comes in the gate with perhaps a 2nd camper.  It's the rangers patrolling the sites that would report to a manager and then make folks move the 2nd unit.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

If anyone tries this, I'd just recommend being prepared to have to move the popup and pay for a 2nd site... which could be tricksy depending on when you're there, how busy the Fort is, and what loop you're in. If your loop happens to be full, you might end up with part of your party somewhere else in the campground.

[fortpartyof4 108]

If anyone tries this, I'd just recommend being prepared to have to move the popup and pay for a 2nd site... which could be tricksy depending on when you're there, how busy the Fort is, and what loop you're in. If your loop happens to be full, you might end up with part of your party somewhere else in the campground.

 

I never went back by to see if they had to move it.  But, if what Jason is saying is the case, then I wouldn't try it either.  Personally I don't like to see sites with multiple campers or more than 2 or 3 tents at the Fort…..to me it looks junky.  But, with the rates as high as they have gotten, I totally get why people do it.  If that's the only way you can get your kids to Disney, then you do what you have to do!  I once saw a Mom sleep in her SUV with her small children for a night on a tent site.

[Timsmith7 36]

Fortpartyof4, we are going this December. It's only a chance the additional guests may come kinda doubting it now.

The comment on a pop up behind the RV was in jest, I had no idea that was happening or an issue.

[AuburnJen 772]

I never went back by to see if they had to move it.  But, if what Jason is saying is the case, then I wouldn't try it either.  Personally I don't like to see sites with multiple campers or more than 2 or 3 tents at the Fort…..to me it looks junky.  But, with the rates as high as they have gotten, I totally get why people do it.  If that's the only way you can get your kids to Disney, then you do what you have to do!  I once saw a Mom sleep in her SUV with her small children for a night on a tent site.

If it is done tastefully, I don't see why a pup and a MH can't coincide on a pad.  However, I do realize there is a FL law on the books that has been decided now to be enforced on property.  This is fine and if needed, I will gladly pay for the extra site.  However, as mentioned, the prices at the Fort have become WAY out of line on the whole and as long as there is a rule of 10 people per site, people will try to find a way to use that to help them save a couple of pennies here and there.  Personally, I bought a pup after we had a MH (we started out with a pup and worked our way to the MH) because our son is outgrowing the space we have for him in the MH.  We don't plan on getting another MH, so the pup seemed like a good idea at the time.  We got a good deal on one, put a little money into it and now it is a fine addition to our "fleet."  It actually works out for us now because we are farther away from the Fort and if diesel is too expensive, we drive down and pick up the pup from storage and use it instead of the MH and use the MH for local trips.  I guess it is all in how you see it really.  We took a "negative" in the Fort now enforcing the FL law and turned it into a positive.  I wouldn't sell the pup for the world.  It really has come in handy and I will be more than happy to pay for that extra site if needed in the future for extra family and friends to stay, just because it is camping and fellowship and not staying in a hotel with people yelling and screaming up and down the halls.

[fortpartyof4 108]

If it is done tastefully, I don't see why a pup and a MH can't coincide on a pad.  However, I do realize there is a FL law on the books that has been decided now to be enforced on property.  This is fine and if needed, I will gladly pay for the extra site.  However, as mentioned, the prices at the Fort have become WAY out of line on the whole and as long as there is a rule of 10 people per site, people will try to find a way to use that to help them save a couple of pennies here and there.  Personally, I bought a pup after we had a MH (we started out with a pup and worked our way to the MH) because our son is outgrowing the space we have for him in the MH.  We don't plan on getting another MH, so the pup seemed like a good idea at the time.  We got a good deal on one, put a little money into it and now it is a fine addition to our "fleet."  It actually works out for us now because we are farther away from the Fort and if diesel is too expensive, we drive down and pick up the pup from storage and use it instead of the MH and use the MH for local trips.  I guess it is all in how you see it really.  We took a "negative" in the Fort now enforcing the FL law and turned it into a positive.  I wouldn't sell the pup for the world.  It really has come in handy and I will be more than happy to pay for that extra site if needed in the future for extra family and friends to stay, just because it is camping and fellowship and not staying in a hotel with people yelling and screaming up and down the halls.

 

I know you guys have done this, and I think I have been there when yours was set up behind another fiend's RV once.  But, you were only there for a weekend, and the site had little else on it.  The one(s) I am referring to have been there for months (until recently).  Those sites became quite cluttered with various RV's, ez-ups, multiple golf carts, etc., and still are, even with the pop-ups being gone.  It's those long-term "residents" and some of the huge groups that set up for a weekend with 30 people on one site that look bad - but that is only my opinion, and again, I completely understand that there is an economic factor to consider.  If that is the only way they can get to the Fort, then more power to them:  they're there, and I am not, after all!

 

I'd much rather look at the cluttered sites from now on and have the freeloaders "day guests" issue resolved anyway.  

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

One thing you "might" be able to get away with is a cargo style trailer that hauls your extra stuff that just happens to have a bed inside and an AC unit in it.

[caveat lector 181]

.....  It's those long-term "residents" and some of the huge groups that set up for a weekend with 30 people on one site that look bad -

 

I'd much rather look at the cluttered sites from now on and have the freeloaders "day guests" issue resolved anyway.

I think it's more than an esthetic problem. Campground fees are structured to pay costs, then return a profit. Those costs are based on occupancy rates set by rules/laws. Extra folks will drive higher electric use, comfort station use, trash removal, pool maintenance, more wifi/cellular data traffic, fewer available seats on buses and during movies etc. Will Disney pay for these extra costs out of the kindness of their own hearts? Nope. They will raise everyone's rates to make sure required margins are met. Simple economics.

Totally agree with your second point