TentFest

If you've taken photos from the various events at TentFest, then be sure to upload copies of them in the TentFest Flickr Group! This will serve as a central repository for photos taken and a good place to reminisce over all of the fun we've had during the week. Whether it's photos from events, impromptu meet ups or just fun at Disney World, please share your photos that you've taken during TentFest with everyone here!

You can access the TentFest Flickr group by going to http://www.flickr.com/groups/tentfest/ and uploading your photos there or you can browse the photos that have been sent in already. We can't wait to see all of the great photos from the fun!

So many people have said that they are sad they will miss Tentfest with us this year. So, why not have one at home? Set up a blanket as a tent, maybe some sleeping bags, pillows etc....add some smores, Jiffy Pop and tune into the TentFest broadcast and you ARE there with us!!

And, we want to see your pictures of your setup. Best picture of a homemade TentFest will receive a prize too!

So, set up that sheet, air out that sleeping bag or blanket, tune in at www.wdwtodaylive.com and join the fun!!!

We'll even supply the banjo music!!

While we're all really excited for TentFest to begin in a few hours, we're also apprehensive about the cold weather we're expecting (overnight low near 40 degrees). With that in mind, here are some tips for sleeping when it's cold outside, as provided by our friends at LowerGear

• Take a short walk or exercise briefly before getting into the bag. Don’t work up a sweat– just enough to warm up your body;

• Stay hydrated;

• Eat something before getting into bed. Not too much–just enough to have some calories to burn and convert to body heat;

• Wear a hat, long underwear and dry warm socks when sleeping to keep you a little bit warmer at night. Throw your other clothes in the bottom of the bag or use them as a pillow to take up dead air space;

• Stay away from alcohol - it can cause you to sleep in fits and leads to a cooling of the body;

•  And, consider a liner to increase the temperature range of the bag - either ready-made for your bag or out of any synthetic material you can pick up at Wal-Mart in its sewing department.

A common question among those attending TentFest is how to find us on Friday at Fort Wilderness. Just like any resort at Disney World, we wont know our campsite until we check in. Once we know where we will be, we will tweet a message out to the TentFest Twitter account immediately for you to come find us. So you will need internet access at some point on Friday to figure it out.

For those who have never been to Fort Wilderness, you will need to park your car in the Outpost area and then take the internal Fort Wilderness bus to our campsite. There are 3 bus routes, yellow, orange and purple and depending on which loop we're at, you will need to take one of the buses. Don't worry, we'll tweet out directions on which bus and which site we're at.

Once we're at the campsite, we'll begin putting up the tent and setting things up. We are planning on spending the afternoon at our campsite and everyone is invited to come by and hang out. You can come by for a few minutes or stay the afternoon, it's fine with us!

At 6pm on Friday, we'll be broadcasting live from the campsite and we want all of you to be a part of it! Come on over to the camp site we're at (assuming you're not already there) and listen to us discuss various aspects of Fort Wilderness and our "adventure" so far. The live show will wrap up at 8pm, at which point we will go to Epcot for Extra Magic Hours.

Excited yet? I know we are!

We're pleased to announce that you can be a part of the Mouse Fan Team Challenge and we're going to be trying to raise some money for worthy causes at the same time. So here's how it will work....

There are 12 spots for you all to participate in. There will be 4 teams, lead by each of the panelists of WDW Today (Len, Matt, Newell and Scopa). We are going to auction off the 12 spots to those with the highest 12 bids. You can bid as many spots as you like, but if the winning bid is $100 and you bid on 2 spots, then you will owe $200, three spots will cost $300, etc.

So head on over and make your bids now!

Bidding will end on February 23rd, where the top 12 bids will be accepted and winners contacted to be a part of the event.

Anyone who is coming to TentFest or considering going, ought to purchase their tickets to the Odyssey restaurant event on Saturday March 6th. So what is this event and why should you buy a ticket? Good questions Mr. Scopa, let me answer them for you.

We've rented out the entire Odyssey restaurant in Epcot. You may remember the Odyssey as a restaurant that used to be open to the public many years ago but has been closed for a long time now. It's located between Test Track and World Showcase and we'll be recording podcast episodes from inside the building. In addition, there will be snacks and refreshments which should taste pretty good!

As mentioned, we're going to record a couple of podcast episodes with an audience there and as you may guess, there's no telling what may happen during these shows but after a night at Fort Wilderness and the Mouse Fan Team Challenge (more on that later) earlier that morning, we're going to have a lot to talk about. We should mention there's only about 15 spots left so act now to reserve your spot for this exclusive event!

As you may have seen, we're planning on holding an event at the Richard Petty Experience. This event is designed to take advantage of the special they are running for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders to get 3 free ride-along laps at the course. This will be a great opportunity for many of us to try out the Richard Petty Experience for free because of the deal.

We also need to mention that the cost(s) of Richard Petty Experience are all on whomever is attending the event. The Annual Pass discount is the means to which many of you should be able to get in for free but it's limited to one free ride per annual pass, so if you don't have an annual pass, you may still attend but you will have to pay for the event on your own. Of course, there will be opportunities to purchase photos and other souvenirs and again, that's your responsibility. Hope that's clear.

With all that legal mumbo jumbo out of the way, this is going to be a fun event and an unique opportunity to try something out that many of us many never have a chance to do. And given the fact that annual passholders get it for free, well, we couldn't pass up the opportunity.

With TentFest, we're trying for a different kind of group event than we've done in the past. First, it centers around camping at Fort Wilderness and this year, you're all invited. I know camping outdoors isn't for everyone but truthfully, this is a great opportunity to spend one night camping with us and really get a feel for how it is and so you can say that you've done it. I can tell you that we're all really excited to have everyone be a part of the TentFest experience and it will be a lot of fun.

Aside from the actual camping, we're keeping the schedule of events light, but very different than what you may have seen in the past. The Mouse Fan Team Challenge is so unique and different, that we're still finalizing the details of it but I really think this will be one of the most fun things we've ever done in the theme park. I'll let you in on a little secret about the team challenge...it's so cool that Disney is working with us to put it on. I've said too much!

In addition, we have the Richard Petty Experience event, which will allow all the Annual Pass Holders to get 3 free laps and do something I imagine will be brand new to most here. We think this weekend will be so different from what we've done in the past that it will be a must-do if you really want to be a part of the fun we're going to have.

TentFest is a group gathering of WDW Today podcast listeners during March 5 through 7, 2010 at Disney's Fort WIlderness Resort and Campground. We will hold a number of events and spend one night camping in tents at Fort Wilderness, along with a number of other events around Walt Disney World that fans of the WDW Today podcast are invited to attend. Be sure to follow us on Twitter.