First Time at the Fort - June 2013

[sherryberry 35]

So, I've been reading a lot of the trip reports this week, and I was inspired to write one myself.  First off, I'll introduce myself.  My name is Sherry.  Kenneth and I head down to Disney about three times a year.  We live in Braselton, GA with our two little poodles, Buzz and Dakota.  We are Vacation Club members, but have been talking about camping at the Fort for some time.  My dream is to own an Airstream travel trailer one day, but it's not in the cards for us right now.  Sometime in April of this year, we decided to give the Fort a shot - in a tent.  Because of work, the earliest we could go was the first week of June (4th - 10th).  We don't have kids, so we don't have to worry about working around school schedules.....we typically head down in mid to late January, early May, and September (right after Labor Day).  We've started adding an October trip, to go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal (usually just a long weekend).

 

We've gotten in the habit of leaving as early as possible.  For this trip, we left home just before 4:00 am and arrived at Disney, just after noon.  Our first stop was at Best Friends Pet Resort, to drop the pups off - our plan was to bring them over to the tent to hang out some, but we feared it may be too hot for them to be there much.

 

 

 

After getting Buzz and Dakota checked in, we went around the corner, to the Fort.  This was the first time I had ever been to Fort Wilderness.  On past trips, we discussed going over there for lunch and to look around, but it just never happened.  I was a Fort virgin.  It started to rain lightly while we were getting checked in.  I was a little concerned with that, since we still had to set up camp.  We pulled up to our campsite, 1729, and it stopped raining.  Kenneth had put in a few requests for our site, but we didn't really know what we needed to request, since we had never stayed there.  The next step was to try to dig the tent and accessories out of the truck.  Our truck was crammed.  Digging the tent out was quite a task.

 

 

 

 

We didn't rent a golf cart - we just relied on our bikes and the bus.  We were able to get the tent set up, without any problems.

 

 

 

The tent we have, is the Kingdom 8 tent, from REI.  We also purchased a "garage" attachment, for extra storage.  This is inside the garage:

 

 

Here's the rest of the tent.  Our bedroom:

 

 

Living room / kitchen:

 

 

Here's the tent opened up, with the garage door rolled up:

 

 

More views of our home:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Very cool!  Can't wait to read more!!  Love your tent!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Welcome!!!!

 

I'm in!

 

That's a huge tent!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Welcome!!!!

 

I'm in!

 

That's a huge tent!

 

And apparently trying to act like Dave. Or KFK.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I'm in too!

[sherryberry 35]

I don't remember all of the details of the trip.  We did go to the parks.  We were also able to catch Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios - we're not Star Wars nerds at all, but I just thought it might be interesting to see.  We went long enough to see some of the characters, try the Darth Vader cupcake, and watch the parade.  We rode our bikes around the Fort a lot (when it wasn't raining).  Here was the radar one morning:

 

 

And the forecast, later:

 

 

FREAKING TORNADOES!  Okay, okay.....there weren't any tornadoes.  There was a lot of rain and tropical storm Andrea was on her way to visit.  I was pretty worried about being in a tent, when a tropical storm passed through, but it ended up being nothing.  The best part about all of the rain, was that it kept the temperatures pretty low.  We even brought the pups to the tent to hang out, when it was raining.  They had some lunch:

 

 

Dakota kept an eye on the neighbors:

 

 

And, they slept:

 

 

Buzz takes after me.  When he sleeps, he sleeps hard!

 

 

Sometimes, we visit Buzz and Dakota at Best Friends.  There is a dog park there, that we take them out to.

 

 

 

 

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm in.  You have a great tent!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Cool Tent!  And beautiful pups!

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

Great update!  We've had a Fort trip or two like that, very wet!

 

 

 

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Awesome! Your dogs are adorable!

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Great pictures and that's a really cool tent and set up to look very comfortable nice job!!!!!!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That is a really nice tent!  And, your puppies are adorable.

 

I just checked, and see that I was at WDW for a one-day visit on Saturday, June 8. There was a really big storm that afternoon, which we waited out in the Wilderness Lodge.

 

Most people say it's crazy to tent camp in June without air conditioning.  It doesn't look like y'all had an AC unit.  With all the rain and warm weather, was it uncomfortable in the tent?

 

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

That is a sweet tent.

Looking forward to more.

[jengarynew adventures 0]

I'm in.  Great start to your Trip Report.  

 

Looks like your puppies really enjoy their space and are able to still enjoy time at the campsite.

 

Your tent has a lot of room, the extra space the extension provides makes it so much more spacious. 

[sherryberry 35]

Very cool!  Can't wait to read more!!  Love your tent!

 

Welcome!!!!

 

I'm in!

 

That's a huge tent!

 

 

I'm in too!

 

 

I'm in.  You have a great tent!

 

 

Cool Tent!  And beautiful pups!

 

Thanks y'all!

 

Great update!  We've had a Fort trip or two like that, very wet!

 

 

 

 

Wow!  Yeah, that's pretty much what it looked like!

 

Awesome! Your dogs are adorable!

 

Thanks!  They are pretty darn cute!

 

Great pictures and that's a really cool tent and set up to look very comfortable nice job!!!!!!!

 

Thanks!  It was actually very comfortable (until it started getting hot)!

 

That is a really nice tent!  And, your puppies are adorable.

 

I just checked, and see that I was at WDW for a one-day visit on Saturday, June 8. There was a really big storm that afternoon, which we waited out in the Wilderness Lodge.

 

Most people say it's crazy to tent camp in June without air conditioning.  It doesn't look like y'all had an AC unit.  With all the rain and warm weather, was it uncomfortable in the tent?

 

TCD

 

That storm was something else!  We were actually at an RV dealership, about 20 miles away, when the storm hit.  There was nothing we could do, but stay inside and wait it out.  I'm actually kind of glad that we weren't at the tent during that storm, because I would have absolutely freaked!  As far as not having an AC unit - let's just say that we will never camp in a tent, in June, again.  It was nice when it was raining - the sound of the rain, and the cool temps.  Once it stopped raining, though, it was unbearable to be in the tent.  And with all of the rain that would just pop up, we were scared to remove the rainfly and let the tent air out.  We ended up setting up a gazebo at the end of the truck, and ate lunch right there - tailgating!  As soon as we were done eating lunch, we'd just ride our bikes around the fort. 

 

 

 

[sherryberry 35]

That is a sweet tent.

Looking forward to more.

 

Thanks!

 

I'm in.  Great start to your Trip Report.  

 

Looks like your puppies really enjoy their space and are able to still enjoy time at the campsite.

 

Your tent has a lot of room, the extra space the extension provides makes it so much more spacious. 

 

We were glad to have the garage attachment.  We put our bikes in there to keep them out of the rain. 

[sherryberry 35]

We did go to the parks a bit.  We almost wished that we didn't have annual passes to use at the time - we didn't get to spend as much time exploring the Fort, as we had originally planned.  We felt like we had to use the annual passes, since we only make it down here a few times a year.  Our annual passes expired in September, and we plan on returning to the fort in January.  We should have plenty of time to explore!  Here are some shots from our visits to the parks.

 

It's a good day for ducks!  They seem to be happy.

 

 

I also really enjoy food pics.  This is the English breakfast burger at Rose and Crown.  This was our first time eating here.  We try to eat at a new restaurant on every trip.

 

 

The Darth Vader cupcake!

 

 

Star Wars Weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castle shots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dvccamper 32]

Hi Sherry!

I've read your trip reports over on mouseowners so I thought this was you, then I saw Buzz and Dakota and knew it was the same person. My username is melk over there, I just finished up my report on our Fort Wilderness/Kidani Village trip that you commented on.

I remember reading along with your camping trip, it's fun to read about it again!

Good to see you here!

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

Yes, you most definitely need some outside space out of the rain space besides your tent. You might want to add some type of large screen room or an EZ-Up to your setup.

 

Also, as you probably noticed, the coquina sand gets gross and the bottom of your tarp was probably disgusting.  Next time, grab a couple of sheets of the disposable painters plastic. Lay that down first, then your ground tarp on top of that. Then at the end of the trip, your ground tarp is clean, and you just ditch the painters plastic.

[michele j 9]

Looking forward to reading more.

 

Love the pictures of the puppies  :heart:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

That storm was something else!  We were actually at an RV dealership, about 20 miles away, when the storm hit.  There was nothing we could do, but stay inside and wait it out.  I'm actually kind of glad that we weren't at the tent during that storm, because I would have absolutely freaked!  As far as not having an AC unit - let's just say that we will never camp in a tent, in June, again.  It was nice when it was raining - the sound of the rain, and the cool temps.  Once it stopped raining, though, it was unbearable to be in the tent.  And with all of the rain that would just pop up, we were scared to remove the rainfly and let the tent air out.  We ended up setting up a gazebo at the end of the truck, and ate lunch right there - tailgating!  As soon as we were done eating lunch, we'd just ride our bikes around the fort. 

 

 

Don't give up on camping in June.  I used to camp at the Fort in the early part of June every year, right as soon as my kids got out of school.  It's hot, but not usually as rainy as it was for you.  You have a great tent.  You just need a small air conditioner, and you'll be fine.

 

Hi Sherry!

I've read your trip reports over on mouseowners so I thought this was you, then I saw Buzz and Dakota and knew it was the same person. My username is melk over there, I just finished up my report on our Fort Wilderness/Kidani Village trip that you commented on.

I remember reading along with your camping trip, it's fun to read about it again!

Good to see you here!

 

Thanks for this info.  I just found the site you referenced.  Very nice job on the trip reports there.

 

My favorite part about Sherryberry's trip report there is the reaction from all the DVC folks.  Most of them seem amazed that someone would actually tent camp at Fort Wilderness.  Seems like a very nice group of folks, though.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

You take great pictures!

 

That burger looked good.

 

We also try to eat at a minimum of one new restaurant each trip.

[sherryberry 35]

Hi Sherry!

I've read your trip reports over on mouseowners so I thought this was you, then I saw Buzz and Dakota and knew it was the same person. My username is melk over there, I just finished up my report on our Fort Wilderness/Kidani Village trip that you commented on.

I remember reading along with your camping trip, it's fun to read about it again!

Good to see you here!

Oh, how funny! I wondered how many mouse owners might be over here as well!

[sherryberry 35]

Yes, you most definitely need some outside space out of the rain space besides your tent. You might want to add some type of large screen room or an EZ-Up to your setup.

 

Also, as you probably noticed, the coquina sand gets gross and the bottom of your tarp was probably disgusting.  Next time, grab a couple of sheets of the disposable painters plastic. Lay that down first, then your ground tarp on top of that. Then at the end of the trip, your ground tarp is clean, and you just ditch the painters plastic.

 

We used the plastic sheet under the tent, itself.  We thought the tarp might slip out from under our feet, if we put it under that.  It would probably be fine, if we just stake it all down together.  Kenneth had read about using the plastic sheet under the tent.  On top of that we had a footprint for the tent, and then the tent.  We also got one more footprint to use inside the tent, as well.  We want to make sure it lasts us a long time.  I like the idea of the screen room. 

 

Looking forward to reading more.

 

Love the pictures of the puppies  :heart:

 

 Thanks!

 

Don't give up on camping in June.  I used to camp at the Fort in the early part of June every year, right as soon as my kids got out of school.  It's hot, but not usually as rainy as it was for you.  You have a great tent.  You just need a small air conditioner, and you'll be fine.

 

 

Thanks for this info.  I just found the site you referenced.  Very nice job on the trip reports there.

 

My favorite part about Sherryberry's trip report there is the reaction from all the DVC folks.  Most of them seem amazed that someone would actually tent camp at Fort Wilderness.  Seems like a very nice group of folks, though.

 

TCD

 

We discussed getting a portable air conditioner to take with us - we weren't sure if it would cool the tent enough to make it worthwhile.  There was a tent on our loop that had an air conditioner, going into the side of the tent. 

 

You take great pictures!

 

That burger looked good.

 

We also try to eat at a minimum of one new restaurant each trip.

 

That burger was good. :)

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I'm in.

 

The breakfast burger looks delicious.

 

Nice Tent!

 

My DW and I also own DVC but love the Fort!