Any FWers from the 80s around?

[Colson39]

Yea, we have our first little one on the way really soon, and I'm also upset that I won't be able to share the arcade with him. I was so looking forward to watching him play in it, just to remind me of my same times.

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to make some new memories!

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

The 80's.... back when pool hopping was a benefit of staying onsite and actually encouraged!

 

[auntie]

The 80's.... back when pool hopping was a benefit of staying onsite and actually encouraged!

We started going in the early 90's and it was then too!

How things have changed.

 

[chief19spixi]

The 80's.... back when pool hopping was a benefit of staying onsite and actually encouraged!

Thats something that will probly never happen again!!!

 

[stacktester]

I used to go with my Uncle and his family in the early 80's. They were tent campers and I remember being so sticky at night and was miserable. No fan or a/c's. I know we stayed in the 2000 loop back then. We went to MK and had those tickets like Larry was describing. How it's changed. I was saying today while we were at MK my grandmother has a pic of me in a pair of orange and yellow plaid slacks with a white belt getting a Mickey hat with my name on it.That was 1972. Back then those hats and magnets were the big souvie lol. Looking at old fort pics is neat when they get posted.

 

[disneyfinatics]

Two questions. Does anyone remember swimming in the lake? My dad swears my sister & I are crazy, which is true, but not the point. My sister remembers seeing aqua trikes (floating bike), does anyone else? :thanks

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

I definately remember both of these things, so your not completely crazy.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Two questions. Does anyone remember swimming in the lake? My dad swears my sister & I are crazy, which is true, but not the point. My sister remembers seeing aqua trikes (floating bike), does anyone else? :thanks

Yes you could swim in the lake......

 

[AuburnJen92]

Yea, there rarely was a trip for us that didn't involve going to the Contemporary, especially when we were young. That tradition still holds true, but it's not the same. However, I still do try to get in some arcade time when I visit, just a nice way to break up some down time.

I have to say though, I didn't think it was that small, at least not enough to turn you away. It's much more compact now, and it's pretty similar to the arcade at the Pop Century. However, they are still decent sizes, but yea, when we remember how big it USED to be, it's going to be hard to tell all the people in the future that never saw it exactly how big it was.

Does anyone remember the horse race at the far wall, you know, the one that took up the WHOLE wall? I loved that thing...my sister and i would spend a whole afternoon in there...

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Does anyone remember the horse race at the far wall, you know, the one that took up the WHOLE wall? I loved that thing...my sister and i would spend a whole afternoon in there...

I LOVED Stepple Chase. I was never good at most games, but that I could play

 

[disneyfinatics]

Thanks for the responses and especially the picture. We'll have to show it to my dad. Anyone know why they closed down River Country or why you can't swim in the lake anymore? We had some great times at River Country!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Thanks for the responses and especially the picture. We'll have to show it to my dad. Anyone know why they closed down River Country or why you can't swim in the lake anymore? We had some great times at River Country!

http://www.waltdatedworld.com This link was also in the begining of this thread...River country closure AND lake swimming are explained there, I believe.

 

[Colson39]

Does anyone remember the horse race at the far wall, you know, the one that took up the WHOLE wall? I loved that thing...my sister and i would spend a whole afternoon in there...

Yep, I loved that game!

 

[marciemouse]

When I was 5 or 6 (mid-eighties) my family camped at FW for just a couple nights. We lived in Orlando at the time, and my parents wanted to take me and my sister camping there. We loaded the pop-up camper and spent a couple nights there around Halloween. I still remember the campfire sing-along, and there was also a headless horseman show thing. (Maybe just for Halloween.) I remember making jiffy-pop popcorn and watching the EWP. I haven't been back there since, but I am trying to get my husband to agree to go to the campfire/sing-along/movie and Electrical Water Pageant on our upcoming trip. I don't recall much, but what I do remember is great!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

You should go and relive those memories....its a great place to make some new ones too!!

 

[wildfan1473]

Oh, the memories you guys have brought back for me! We went twice, in '80 and '82, we stayed in a trailer both times (my mother refuses to this day to step foot in a tent). We lived in PA, and would get up at 2:00 am and drive down. I don't remember much about the first trip, but I have some great memories of the second - swimming at the lake and River Country, night swimming with my cousins at the Contemporary, the arcade...wasn't there an ice cream shop by the arcade at the Contemporary also? I vaguely remember that. What I remember the most, though, was my cousins and I, between the ages of 8 and 12, would take off to the Contemporary by ourselves, without the grownups, to play.

I'm fortunate enough to live very close to a lake, we have deeded access. Our road to the lake is gravel, wooded, and curvy. The first time I walked it (DH had owned the property for 10 years at this point, but we had not built our house), I thought to myself "this is just like the walk to River Country."

My parents are taking us, with our children, next October for our kids' first trip. The original plan was to stay in a cabin, but I guess some family members have a time share off-property that we can get super cheap. After lurking on this board for a few weeks, I think it's best I come up with a way to make sure we stay at the Fort.

 

[disneyfinatics]

I would honestly get to Disney any way I could. We originally stayed at the west wing of the Contemporary until the mid 80's. My DH & I even took my parents 5th wheell to the Fort for our honeymoon. We tried doing the tent thing in '92, but I realized I'm mosquito bait and vowed never to tent again, especially in May! That and all the people laughing at me for having so many elctrical appliances plugged in. We started going again in 2001 w/ my parents. Camping behind their rv wasn't so bad. I had extra outlets for blankets & stuff. In 2005 my parents purchased points at Saratoga Springs and that is where they banished me, my two sisters and our families. Not exactly a punishment, but we still miss the Fort.