we camped at disney when it rained the first night and the cold front that brought the rain brought 30 degree temps the next night. and we surely fall into the "florida – anything below 50 is cold" category. though it was a little rough – most all the kids LOVED it – but they also had the gear for it. several had the hand warmers that they used and hot chocolate was flowing freely. my kids LOVED it and we found that when our tent had the rain fly closed it kept a TON of heat in. it also helped that it was in the 60s the next day and we wouldnt have had as much fun if it was like you yankee campers where the low is 30 and the high is 34 :)

granted a few got cold and packed up in the middle of the night – but an overwhelming majority stayed.

one thing that was nice – their bathrooms – even at the campsites are nicer than many hotels. they are also heated (floors and heaters) and have excellent hot water.

We did our fall campout in October, thinking it would be warmer than last year's November date. It was probably about 35 degrees both Friday and Saturday nights, and maybe 55 or 60F during the day. A little chilly for most of our families!

I woke up at 6AM Sunday morning and saw more than one family snoozing sitting up in their minivan with the heater running.

We'll keep the October date for next year but try something a little lower elevation–this site was about 8000 feet above sea level (our valley floor here is about 2000). We also try to keep our campsites within a 90 min. drive of home, so people can head out and sleep in their own beds after the evening activities if they so choose. We have several families with babies and toddlers who prefer to just come out for the day anyway.

The main problem is–no matter how much you tell people to prepare, tell them how to prepare, what to bring and what to wear–someone's going to show up in T-shirt and jeans and try to sleep in 35 degrees in a bag meant for indoor slumber parties.

Yeah, it was kind of funny, I have one photo of one of the teenage sibs wearing shorts and a skinny little t-shirt, eating breakfast next to one of the moms wearing a parka and a fur hat.

We did have one family that had never been camping before. They borrowed a tent and sleeping bags but turns out they didn't have any pads to sleep on–they were one of the families keeping warm in the minivan!  They said they had a good time, though, and we promised them a warmer campout in the spring.

The campsite had a couple of outlets which meant keeping hot water on hand all the time was super easy (we have a big electric kettle) and I think that made a difference–if someone wanted tea or hot cocoa it was on hand.