Is it crazy to try RV camping for the first time at Disney?

[Treysar]

Hello!
We are contemplating renting an RV and staying at the fort. We stayed in a cabin last time and absolutely loved it! We have a dream to own an RVsomeday and to travel the country. Alas we haven’t tried yet, and I thought maybe our maiden voyage would be at Fort Wilderness. Is this a crazy thought?
I know NOTHING. Like, is there a/c? Wifi? Is it hard for 2 adult sized people to fit in the bathroom at the same time? (My 12 year old sons have autism and I need to be able to shower them). Is it safe? Are there belligerent drunk people walking around the campgrounds? ( we’ve had that issue tent camping elsewhere and it makes me nervous.) Is it very loud after hours? Is there such thing as golf carts that fit 5 adult size people? How do you know how big of a spot you need?
Thanks so much for your patience!

 

[Suz333]

I need to be upfront and say I haven’t camped at the Fort yet, but it’s something we want to do so we read and watch videos.

Like, is there a/c? A: Many RVs have ac. If you’re renting one, that’s something to look for in the listing.
Wifi? A:The campground has WiFi, but it’s better in some sections than others. It might not be strong enough to work or to stream movies.
Is it hard for 2 adult sized people to fit in the bathroom at the same time? (My 12 year old sons have autism and I need to be able to shower them). A: see my thoughts on this further down.
Is it safe? A: I’m guessing yes, but with the caveat that things can happen anywhere so don’t fail to use your normal safeguards you would use at any other campground or public place.
Are there belligerent drunk people walking around the campgrounds? ( we’ve had that issue tent camping elsewhere and it makes me nervous.) A: probably not, but you could possibly get unlucky with one neighbor, I guess?
Is it very loud after hours? A: this one I’m unsure about. Keep in mind that RVs aren’t all that soundproof. It’ll be a little quieter than a tent, but not as quiet as the cabins.
Is there such thing as golf carts that fit 5 adult size people? A: unsure on this one.
How do you know how big of a spot you need? A: that depends on the size of the RV you rent. If you rent from a place that parks it and sets it up for you, you’ll get to avoid one of the disadvantages of camping at the fort - the tight and twisty roads.

Re the bathroom: I think this might be a hurdle. Most RV bathrooms are small, and the shower stalls can be teensy. I can’t bend over to shave my legs in ours. Even larger stalls would probably not fit two adult sized people in them. And, you should not leave the shower door or curtain open. Water is the enemy of RVs and flooding the floor would be a major issue. Now, there’s always the bathhouse as an option, but I don’t know if there’s a companion bathroom shower stall available. It might be problematic for you to have your sons in the girls bathrooms.

Is there an RV dealership near you? Let them know you’re just looking, and check out the bathrooms in a few. Even the ones that look large on videos can feel small when you’re actually in them.

Good luck with your next trip!

 

[Teamubr]

Great place to ask this question.

The Fort is fantastic. One of the top ranked "campgrounds" in the country. It will spoil you and make you a little more critical of other campgrounds.

You are taking the best approach to "try out" RVing. Renting is a prefect way to see if it is for you.

As for A/C, any RV you rent in Florida will have A/C. Some campers do better at keeping up with upper 90 degree summer temps than others, but they generally do ok.

Campground wifi, in general, is fair. The Fort is probably slightly better than many, but it can get slow in the evenings when a lot of families are back with kids streaming and adults posting on social media.

For bathroom/shower setups. Inside the RV, many campers would be tight for 2 adults. The Fort "Comfort Stations" are fantastic. I think you will be fine at the Fort using them. There are some RVs that have larger bathrooms. My old 5th wheel had a big bathroom and even a small tub/shower. My current motorhome has a fairly tight bathroom/shower. It wouldn't work well for 2 adults. Most rental companies show pictures and Floorplan on their sites. You can call and ask for one with a larger bathroom.

If you decide RVing is for you, part of the fun is checking out all the choices on the market. Finding the "right" one with the best layout for you is part of the joy.

As for safety, campers are some of the most respectful, helpful group I have encountered. I have camped for over 40 years and never had any problems or anything disappear. You will see occasional posts about an unlocked bike being taken or someone went through an outside cooler, but that is rare. I leave chairs, tables, grills, fans, lights and all kinds of things out and they have never been bothered at any campground.

Rent an RV. Go to the Fort. Be spoiled. And then start shopping. Welcome to the club!

j

 

[MICKIMINI]

The Fort is a great place to start your RV lifestyle! It is probably the ideal place to see if you can adjust to RV living.

RV's are fun, expensive and a lot of work to maintain and keep clean. It is a house and a vehicle at the same time. You are on vacation...and cleaning the kitchen, making the beds, cleaning up the yard sigh. Just a reality check for you. Unless you get a giant class A, rooms are small and efficient, especially bathrooms.

You have little details to handle like pumping in water and pumping out black/grey water, plugging in your electricity, making sure you have enough propane, running your refrigerator on electricity or propane, putting your lawn furniture away if you have a wind/storm coming, cranking in/out your awning and much more.

We bought a class C to tour the US and had a wonderful trip (gas was $1 gallon), but as is typical we had a gully washer in VT, too close to a nighttime tornado in WI, another gully washer in NM oh and red mud, campgrounds advertising a swimming hole that was a puddle and so on... You have to be realistic, ambitious and mechanically inclined (DH is) and have duct tape and baling twine and patience available at all times for major repairs LOL.

I think of RVing as more of a *working vacation* and some people love it and some not so much. Before making a big financial commitment, this might be a good trial for you. Good luck!

 

[bama_ed]

The Fort rents 4-seat and 6-seat golf carts. You can fit 5 people in a 4-seat cart as long as all people have their butts in a seat (no standing, no lap sitting, etc). There are few 6-seaters but there are some and they cost a few dollars more per day.

When you call and reserve a cart, you can't specify 4- or 6-seat. You just reserve "a cart". When you arrive to pick up your cart, that is the time to inquire about the availability of a 6-seater. If one is available, they will give you one and adjust the charge to the higher rate. If not, you can ask to be put on a wait-list for when a 6-seater becomes available.

EDIT: according to our poster @galnar, the policy has been updated by Oct 2022 allowing you to specifically reserve a 6-seater in advance.

Bama Ed

PS - rent a trailer you want and the site level you want. The vendor you rent from is probably very experienced at backing in trailers even into tight sites. If you want elbow room for sure in a site, book a Premium or Premium Meadow site which are more expensive but longer and wider (pavement) and generally the same size. And the only difference between P and PM sites is the relative location in the Fort. PM (most expensive) is closest to the core Fort (pool, Meadow Trading Post, campfire singalong, Bike Barn, etc.).

 

[team bradfield]

there is no better RV resort than the Fort, enjoy

 

[morrik5]

We rented a trailer from Meacham's this past April for our daughter who used to always stay in a cabin. Glad we did, we were right next door in our MH and Meacham's is an approved Disney rental company and their golf carts are waaaaay cheaper than Disney's. The trailers come with a/c, pots and pans, bedding, basically everything you would find at a cabin. Fort Wilderness IMO is the BEST place to try out camping.

 

[StormyCA]

The only 'problem' you'll have is how spoiled you'll be after staying at the Fort and how badly you'll want to return. But what a 'problem' to have!!

It's by far the best RV camping we've ever done in 25 years of RV'ing. 30 years if you count our years in a VW Vanagon, but my opinion is it doesn't count as an RV unless it has a toilet that flushes lol. Even nDH (non-Disney Husband) looks forward to our days at the Fort.

 

[Stratman50th]

No, it's not crazy. Enjoy. Please report back to us on how it went.

 

[amcc]

Others have given good advice on RV bathrooms but there are handicapped showers at the comfort stations that comfortably fit at least 2 and could probably fit 3 if that worked better although it might be an issue to have your sons in the women's restroom. My experience is that the showers are most full late at night when people are coming back from the park and early in the morning as they head out but are empty much of the day.

Our first night of our first RV rental (after watching RV with Robin Williams) was at the Fort and it changed our vacation life. We now own a popup and have had well over 100 nights in it.

 

[mco65]

NOT CRAZY!.
I thought about renting an RV many times after our first stay in the cabins but eventually just bought a 5th wheel instead. Although the Fort was not our first trip, it was our 2nd. There were many things i was still learning but the Fort was a great place to figure this stuff out.
One bit of advise that i think really helped me out was we didn't go to a park the first few days. We simply camped and familiarized ourselves with the Fort as well as the new 5th wheel. By the time we were ready for the parks, i felt like a semi pro with the 5th wheel.

 

[nomorethan8]

One bit of advise that i think really helped me out was we didn't go to a park the first few days. We simply camped and familiarized ourselves with the Fort as well as the new 5th wheel.

Highly recommend taking time away from Parks! Hope you take the leap. It is an easy place to camp at.