camping at disney but not going to the parks? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I'm planning on going to florida with my whole family and driving down. Having a house full of boys who love to camp will help save$$ my question is if I camp out at disney and don't go to the parks will I be look crazy. I think we could go for a day to a disney park but there are so many things we want to do like visiting the beaches and universal's 14 day 5 park pass. Help!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
If you enjoy camping, I say go for it! I'm not sure if the rates are the best around, but if it is like any other part of Disney property, you know the facilities will be well taken care of and clean!
for this year it was about $300 for a week but we might stay 2 weeks. I like the idea of having pools, night activities and disney's resteraunts avalible.
I dont think it would be crazy, if thats what you want to do , go for it! Just a thought; If you'd prefer a hotel, I think you could get one off property for about the same amount it costs to camp at Disney. But if your boys love to camp, go for it!
I think your vaction should be your vacation!! If thats what you want to do do it. Maybe you could check out some of the resorts if you want. We had fun just seeing some of them. I don't mean for staying. Do have fun.
When I took down the group of scouts we camped. The sites are level, clean and awesome. The girls loved the pool etc. The sites look to be finely ground shell, not sand. Learn a little about the local wildlife if you aren't from around there. The girls woke me up at the crack of dawn because an elephant (or at least something huge) was sniffing around their tent. It turned out to be a little armadillo, but no one from here had seen one before. The girls were not amused.
We would have to rent 2 rooms at a hotel(7 people) so I think in end money wise it's a great deal. I will miss a/c though.My kids are going to have a ball!
I don't see a problem in this at all. Do what makes you and your family the happiest. Like you said, you still get all the Disney magic just by being on the property. Go camping!!
I'm planning on going to florida with my whole family and driving down. Having a house full of boys who love to camp will help save$$ my question is if I camp out at disney and don't go to the parks will I be look crazy. I think we could go for a day to a disney park but there are so many things we want to do like visiting the beaches and universal's 14 day 5 park pass. Help!
Yes, you'll look crazy, and that "house full of boys" might just lynch you! I mean, seriously, you'll be AT Disney World, and you're not going to do ANY of the parks? If I were a kid, and my parent(s) did that to me, I think I'd kill 'em. Slowly.
OTOH, there's nothing wrong with not making the parks into the end-all, be-all center of the vacation. Find what magic you can and want, really.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
There are a lot of campers at Fort Wilderness who stay for extended periods. Believe me, most of them are not in the parks on a daily basis. The resort has great facilities, and anyone who spends every day in the parks is missing out. Nobody will even know whether you're at MK or Sea World, and nobody will think you're crazy for just hanging around at one of the best campgrounds anywhere.
That said, Fort Wilderness is not easy to get in and out of. If you're going to be spending a lot of time driving to Universal and other off-property attractions, that driving time may start to get to you.
__________________
Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
We had to stay in Florida 3 extra days because of a snowstorm back at home...we stayed at Pop Century and had no park tickets, and no money for park tickets. We did a lot of strolling around DtD, FW, Boardwalk, etc. We were sort of miserable that we couldn't just hop into the park when they were RIGHT THERE. I don't think I could do 1-2 weeks of it.
There are a lot of campers at Fort Wilderness who stay for extended periods. Believe me, most of them are not in the parks on a daily basis.
Aaaaah, perhaps I misunderstood - I read the OP to mean "at all", not "daily". And I would think it kind of odd to pay on-Disney-property prices ... and never spend even one day in the parks.
Definitely, you're not crazy for choosing not to do the parks EVERY day. Even for our group, staying at POP, I've already said I really really really want to do something off-property - Seaworld, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, something - and we're also allowing for a dy of "not doing anything much at all" ... maybe head to DTD for some browsing, one of us is keen on a waterpark, etc.
If camping is what you want then I say go for it. On the other hand, instead of 2 hotel rooms, have you considered the rental of a vacation home? They have plenty of room for 7 people and many have pools and such.
Do whatever makes YOU happy. There's no law that says you MUST go to the parks. The kids, once there, might feel differently though. I think that's sort of rough on kids to be RIGHT THERE at WDW and not be able to go into the parks. There are plenty of campsites all around FL, closer to the Beach than FW.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Parlor Panther in 'stalking mode'
Heather
I mean, seriously, you'll be AT Disney World, and you're not going to do ANY of the parks? If I were a kid, and my parent(s) did that to me, I think I'd kill 'em. Slowly. 
Linear Mode
