Channeling my childhood and heading back to the fort

[honeymo78]

Going through some big changes in my life and got nostalgic for my childhood. Until I was in college my family always stayed at the fort, whether in an RV, a cabin or the pop-up. After seeing some of the amazing advances in tent camping (easy set up, ability to stand up in them, decent inflatable mattresses, electric powered everything) I decided I'd sneak in another trip next year at the Fort. Well, barely do I have the words FW out of my mouth at Thanksgiving and my mom says lets do it. I now have a camping buddy and trip planned for the week after Thanksgiving 2014.

I haven't tent camped in close to 15 years but my mom still camps about every other year so I'm glad to have someone who knows what they are doing. I can't wait to keep up with all the threads here and pick up some tips.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Pinky Spirit-Fingers,
Welcome back to the Wonderful World of Camping !
I mean, to the Wonderful World of Disney !
The Fort, what better place to jump back into camping after 15 years, mom is sure to be great buddy

Just keep saying;
"There's no place like home,
there's no place like home,
there's no place like home."
and the time will pass before ya know it.

Made your reservations yet ?

 

[2goofycampers]

Welcome back Stephanie.

How cool is it to have a Mom that camps. All of us will be happy to help you have a great time.

 

[5stljayhawks]

Dude it's like riding a bike. Take a weekend trip to local state park or KOA to work the kinks out.

Have you bought all the gear? whats the set-up? 8 person tent?

 

[honeymo78]

Made your reservations yet ?

Reservation is all made. Love that it's a "room only" so such a small deposit.

Welcome back Stephanie.

How cool is it to have a Mom that camps. All of us will be happy to help you have a great time.

Thanks! My mom loves camping. She even still uses the 20 year old pop-up from time to time. She used to backpack camp too but I think she realized she's getting too old for that.

Dude it's like riding a bike. Take a weekend trip to local state park or KOA to work the kinks out.

Have you bought all the gear? whats the set-up? 8 person tent?

We don't have all the gear yet. Mom is getting me the tent (8 person coleman instant tent) and rain fly for my birthday this summer and we'll play with it in her huge yard. She wanted to take her tent but it's not nearly as big or tall. She has much of the camping essentials - laterns, cookware, propane grill, tarps, odds and ends in her camping stash. We've enjoyed camping at Hershey so that's likely where we will do a test run.

 

[bama_ed]

That's cool Steph. Hang out here for a year and you'll be ready.

That "week after Tgiving" is a great time to tent camp and be at the Fort. Lower crowds, cooler temps, all the Christmas decorations up, etc. It should be a great trip for you.

I would suggest a camping trip close to home to try out the tent, camping gear, and so on before you get to the Fort. Work out the kinks at home, enjoy the Fort.

Bama Ed

PS - happy for you to rediscover the Fort. I went once as a teenager and you see now I'm stuck going back year after year with the kids...

 

[d3boyz]

Boy does THIS thread make me think back! We used to camp at Fort Wilderness, and back in the late 1970s the memory that sticks with me the most is my walk back from the bath-house on a path through the woods ... in the dark, of course, ... and having an armadillo walk over my foot! Talk about a FRIGHT! (This was something on the order of 35+ years ago!) Wow!

I cannot convince my boys, nor my husband, of how much more fun it is to CAMP rather than stay in a hotel-type accommodation. This is a dying tradition ... kudos to all of you who continue to carry it forward for the future generations!

Deb

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Channeling my childhood and heading back to the fort

1) Yes.
2) We do this every year.
3) In fact, we not only channel back to college years at WDW, but LAST YEAR. *

* Unfortunately, The Fort wasn't around when I was young and in school. When
we camped during my youth, we stayed in caves and mastodons were the
park rides. (The experiences were much the same as today. The only exception
was that if you misbehaved, you get eaten and not just tossed from the park.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I cannot convince my boys, nor my husband, of how much more fun it is to CAMP rather than stay in a hotel-type accommodation . . .

1) SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE.
2) Instead of the normal WDW hotel, book a cabin at The Fort.
3) They get the "hotel room feel", but can experience camping.
4) My personal bet is that after one such stay, they are hooked.

 

[honeymo78]

* * Unfortunately, The Fort wasn't around when I was young and in school. When we camped during my youth, we stayed in caves and mastodons were the park rides. (The experiences were much the same as today. The only exception was that if you misbehaved, you get eaten and not just tossed from the park.

I love it Rusty! Glad that you never got eaten and are around to help us all out.