How did you "get into camping"? was it the FT?

[SunshineCamper]

Who, what, why, how?

When I was younger my parents took us camping in our pop-up. We loved everything about it. My DH and I went camping on our honeymoon. I didn't have to convience DH (a Marine and a Desert Storm vet-he thought this was much better camping in a tent than a hum-v in the desert).

Then the kids came along DD and DS and pulled out the tent. We started along the beach a few times and the kids loved it too. 2004 and our hurricane yr. Disney offered half price resort nights and 5 day pass for my DH (now a detective with Orlando) who worked the hurricanes (all 3). We took the offer and of course headed to the Ft. I've lived her since 1978 and never got to camp at the Ft.

We pitched our tent and enjoyed the parks and the ft. We got home and bought a pop-up from a friend who was upgrading. The following year we upgraded to a TT. We love camping especially at the Ft.
We come during value season when it's more affordable.

So who, what, why, how did you start camping? Was it the Ft.?

 

[Born 2 Fish]

We got ionto camping because we got tired of paying out the nose for a FILTHY hotel room and lousy service. So now we take our hotel room with us and no one to blame on bad service cept ourself.
Now we KNOW we sleep in fresh clean linens.

Bonus,,we never camped before that,, turned out we love camping,,xtra bonus,,we discovered the Fort !

 

[clkelley]

I started camping as a kid in Girl Scouts (two brothers also in Boy Scouts).

When my boys got to Scout age, I started camping with them.

I discovered the Fort after several years of Disney trips and actually started flying and tent camping at the Fort.

I knew I eventually wanted to start to do some longer term camping and started thinking about building some kind of trailer that held all my "stuff" (like a dresser and kitchen on wheels), so that all I would have to do is set up the tent. Then I found teardrop campers, and looked at those for awhile. Then I found my T@B ClamShell and absolutely fell in LOVE!!

While I do camp other places in my T@B, I've found my trips to the Fort a lot more frequent the last couple of years!!

 

[Shan-man]

My mom and I lived with my grandparents for several years after my dad died (when I was 5), and they always had some kind of RV... be it a VW camper van, a Truck Camper, a TT, or a Class C. We did lots of short trips, mostly to the local lake.

Skip forward 30 years and DW and I are empty-nesters and have two little dogs that she treats like 2 year old children. And you just DON'T drop children off at a kennel, do you? So we never went anywhere. I decided that the only way to get us out of the house was to be able to vacation with the dogs, so I found a cheap starter Motorhome on eBay to see if she would like the lifestyle. We both really enjoy traveling this way, and if the mileage were better we'd take the RV even on trips where we didn't need to use it at our destination. I love the fact that we can go at a comfortable pace, not drive when tired, eat when and what we want, take a nap, use our own facilities. We had planned to keep the 'starter' for just a year or two and then upgrade, which would have been a better plan than putting the upgrade dollars into our old junker. The only thing we don't love is the fear of "what is going to break next" on the old moho ... live and learn.

 

[michelle9343]

I started tent camping with friends when I was in my late teens and loved it. When I met my husband he was totally against "sleeping on the floor ". For our honeymoon we decided to rent a motorhome and made our 1st trip to disney and FW we traveled for 3 weeks and fell in love with camping. When our kids we little we bought our first TT and used to to come from NY to FW. 6 years ago we decided we loved going to disney & FW so much and hated the long road trip we moved 30 mins away from Disney.

 

[campingdawgs]

I grew up camping every weekend during the summer. DH had never been camping. When DS10 was in Cub Scouts, we went to a group campout (in tents) in January. Temp. went down to 25 degrees and we froze our butts off. DS10 got a patch for polar bear camping and DH was a camping convert! However, he insisted on buying a pop-up so we could camp without freezing!!!! Score! Now he is having withdrawal because DS10's baseball and all the kids' end of the school year activities are keeping us from camping!

 

[BradyBz12]

I've always loved camping since I was a kid. We lived in the city and my parents got a popup so we could get out for the summer. So we'd pack up and park at a campground nearby so dad could still go to work while mom stayed with my sister and I. It was a blast tromping through the woods, swimming, meeting other kids. Sometimes they'd arrange group trips with the zillions of cousins I have on my dad's side, and we'd essentially take over a whole section of the campground. At night the grown ups would sit around the fire drinking Boone's Farm while all of us kids were traipsing around in the woods.

Fast forward to about 5 years ago....
DH's idea of camping is having a DVD player and a blender.
But now we have 2 dogs and (like Shan-man said) you don't kennel the kids!

We bought our little hybrid and headed to the Fort for 2 weeks. DH was hooked and already planning the next year's trip. We now use our TT loads in the summer on weekends, and we're up to 3 weeks at the Fort. We just got another dog, and guess what - you can fit 3 crates in the end of a hybrid!

So while the Fort didn't get DH into camping, it certainly hooked him on it! This year he talked about how, when we retire, he wants to buy a motorhome and head out...

 

[tloveswdw]

This is great to read!

DH is already planning on 'window shopping' when we are at the Fort. He is so excited, that there is camping at the WDW... so, his plan is let me be in a cabin this trip, and next year camp

So... if you see a man looking at your TT, camp, MH, etc in a few weeks... it is likely DH He spent his youth camping, (tents, and nothing much more than some matches), so being married to me, (lover of all things hotel )... hopefully, we will come up with a good compromise I am thinking if I get a trip to WDW/Fort every year, I will find a way to camp a few days a year in other locations

 

[Just Beachy]

I was tent camping with my parents and brother basically since birth. All of our family vacations were camping trips. When I was about 12 or 13, my Mom and Dad bought a pop-up. What a treat! No more waking up on the hard ground because of a leaky air mattress! The best camping trip/vacation we had was to Fort Wilderness!!! Then, as teenagers often feel, I was "too old" to go away with my parents anymore. No more camping until after I was married. Some of our friends started going so we decided to buy a TT. We sold our TT about 4 yrs later (didn't use it enough to justify the payment) and after a couple of years without camping, we decided to downsize to a truck camper. Although we will go to a campground at least once a year, the majority of our camping is at the beach. The truck camper is PERFECT for the beach, although most of the time I DO wish it was just a little bit bigger!!!

 

[Tigger0624]

I grew up being a spoiled rotten prissy princess who never liked to get dirty My mom always joked that we were roughing it if we stood in a hotel without room service! Then I met DH and he took me tent campig up in the Pocono Mts for a weekend getaway. We had a lakefront campsite, 2 camp chairs, small done tent, double sleeping bag, an air bed and fishing gear. That was it- no lanterns or just about anything else. Needless to say I was very leery of this entire idea- eating meals at the local pub, sleeping outside- this CG didnt even have flush toilets

That first night, after getting to spend the entire day with my feet kicked up reading a book lakeside and a GREAT meal at the bar (not to mention a few pitchers ) DH took the fly off the tent as we were getting ready for bed and I got to fall asleep listening to the water lapping against the shore and staring at millions of stars

I was hooked after that first weekend and we have been camping ever since. I started each of the boys when they were about a year old- when they were younger, they would stay with my parents on camping weekends. And they all fell in love with it too.

We tent camped for almost 10 years and finally upgraded to a pop up when we moved down here last year cause there was no way I would camp in FL w/o AC. I can go without a lot of stuff- but not that

Our first trip out with the pop up was to Fort Myers- and while that trip was a disaster for may reasons- we discovered the Fort on the way home. Since then, we have been to the Fort at least once a month and I even got my parents to camp with us for an entire week!!! Then in doing online research about the Fort- I discovered the Dis boards and now am a total Fort Fiend

 

[LuckyinGa]

DH and I started tent camping back in 1980 when we met and lived in NY. We then moved to Florida for 18 years and only tent camped twice because of the heat. All during our marriage we said "when the kids leave home we are going to buy a motor home and see the Good Ole USA.

Two and a half years ago we bought our first motor home and everyone said "you must go to Fort Wilderness, it's the best campground." Sure enough we went to the Fort and fell in love. We started traveling/camping and we've been to 27 states so far and our goal is to visit each state.

I know many people say "that's not camping" when they see a large motorhome but we love the outdoors, the freedom to stop and go wherever we are and we also travel with our three little boys that we would never ever put in a kennel. We love our campfires, sitting under the stars and just relaxing outside of our home away from home no matter where we are!!

We are also very lucky to keep our motorhome in an RV resort so we can actually "go camping" every weekend if we wish to do so!!

 

[dznyjunky]

Like a few others I've been camping since I was a little child. Even after falling out of a pop-up at two years old. My parents borrowed a camper from some friends and I was sound asleep and slid down between the crack of the canvas in the bed and my mom told me she freaked when she couldn't find me! I was laying in a bed of rocks at that point. Amazingly enough we continued to camp!! By the way not a scratch on me. A few years later they bought a pop-up of our own. It was a floor and two beds! And like someone else said I got to big for my britches and quit camping. Driving the car and having friends over while my parents were gone was WAY more fun than camping!
Then I got married and my husband was all for it. We started out tent camping and did for quite a while. We had a group we would head to the mountains of NC with and had a ball. Then we moved up to pop-up that had a stove, sink, fridge, table and slide out!! We thought we were bad to the bone. Then we moved to TT(loved it!! i had my own shower and potty!!) then 5thW, had a baby and are back in a TT with a bunkhouse!! She loves camping!! She went on her first camping trip to the Fort when she was 8 WEEKS old and we haven't quit since. Now she's 7 and has gone to Disney 6 times. It is so much fun!! Like Shan-man said it's nice knowing who's been sleeping in my bed and not having to board the baby at the kennel. We had a chow that went with us all the time. He loved it, especially the sounds of the animals at night time!! A few sleepless camping trips are no fun. He has since past and now we have a cocker puppy that will be going with us in June. I hope we survive. We didn't have her on our February trip. She's never been camping and we aren't planning any trips before we go to the Fort so we are going to camp this weekend in the front yard and see how she does and try to get her used to it!! Keep your fingers crossed for us!! It should be interesting.

 

[tcmsu]

I used to be a boy scout, and that was my first camping experience.

When I started dating my DW, She invited me to go camping with her and the family. I was picturing tents, cooking over the fire, etc..Just like the Boy Scouts.
Boy was I in for a surprise. Her parents had a Class C motor home that was in a fulltime spot at a campground.
Heat, water, electricity, AC, and walking distance to the beach. I was hooked after that.

We ended up tent camping for a while after we were married, usually somewhere close to her parents. Or the last few years we'd go somewhere with friends who had a trailer....
Both of those options got old now that the kids started getting bigger.
Just kept thinking it would be nice to have our own space when camping with others.

Last year we took the plunge and bought our own trailer... We started looking at 20-24 ft trailers, then a little bigger with slide-outs, and finally ended up buying a 31ft Jayco with
4 bunks and a large slideout....Definitely bigger than we thought we'd buy when we started looking...
Oh well - So of course we had to start planning a trip to the Fort!!! We'll be there in 2 weeks after towing 1300 miles....

Just wish the camping season was longer than 4.5 months up here in Michigan.

 

[Just Beachy]

The biggest problem I have found with Fort Wilderness: once you camp at the Fort, it spoils you for every other campground!

 

[liv luvs disney]

What wonderful stories!

I actually grew up camping with my childhood best friend and her family. My Mom came along a time or two, but it wasn't for her.

I moved away from "home" (in FL) to TN about 15 years ago, but still went camping with my childhood best friend and her family from time to time. For the past 3 years, we have spent 2 weeks at Hanna Park and my Mom came along but only because of the grandkids' persistance! Last year she decided that she might like camping more if she had her own camper. We were all shocked! In January she and my Dad got a steal of a deal on a 40' fifth wheel (there'll be no need to upgrade). She has been camping 10 times since January! She loves it. My Dad takes her and sets her up and comes back to get her. He stays a night or two, but he is a homebody so 48 hours away from home is about all he can stand.

We have begged, begged, begged them to go to WDW with us for the past few years to which they have declined. For some reason, they are a little cynical about Disney. Anyway, when I made our reservations for Pop in March, I asked her if she would like to go with us. She started asking about the campground. (I had been hinting at what a wonderful campground Disney had, though I had never even seen it!) We decided last week to cancel ressies at Pop and book at FW and we are all as excited as can be! She is going with us and it remains to be seen if my Dad will stay or not, but he is on the reservations. I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many camping trips to WDW.

 

[freshlybarked]

I can relate to several stories. Never camped as a kid. Never camped as an adult until DH and I started our weekend business. We have two dogs and DH would never leave them at a kennel. We hadn't been on a vacation in years. In order to do our dog vendor business we had to travel so we bought a used Class C. We started staying in the finest fairgrounds in the state. HA HA. We found FW on a friend's recommendation and it has spoiled us for any other camping we might do. Nothing compares and we find that it's much more fun doing vacation camping as opposed to "work" camping. Fortunately, both gives our dogs a home away from home and for us that is what's important.

 

[des1954]

My parents were avid campers - so I grew up tent camping. What my mom couldn't cook on a coleman kerosene stove!!! YUM!!!

Fast forward to 1974 & the year DH & I got "hitched". We wanted to take a nice honeymoon, but didn't want to spend the $$$ as we were planning on purchasing our first home within a year of getting married. DH's Uncle had an old Nomad Pop-Up that he said we could use if we wanted to, so we booked a 5 night stay at FtW. It was basically an all-inclusive package (yes - they had them back then if you were a member of the Magic Kingdom Club - which we were because of our employer - I digress - sorry) anyhow - the package was $300 for the week and came with all sorts of goodies. In 1974 - $300 was a LOT of money to spend on a vacation, but man, that was the BEST money we ever spent!!

We became "Fort Fiends" from the very first day & although we occasionally camp other places, FtW is our primary destination. We've had just about every kind of camping equipment out there except a 5'er - and just hate it when something comes up that forces us to fly & stay in a motel. There's just something about camping that drains all the stress from my system.

 

[SunshineCamper]

these are great to read. thanks for sharing...I'd love to hear more.

 

[ancfun]

I grew up camping at the local lake with my parents in a TT. A few years after getting married my DW and I decided to give camping a try. We bought a new tent and headed for the lake. One hour after getting everything set-up, a severe thunderstorm came up, sank my boat, and destroyed the tent. We came home replaced all the broken tent parts and decided to try it again. Once again, severe storm and we had to go home about 1:00am.

After that we decided tent camping wasn't meant for us. We started using my parents TT and fell in love with camping. We finally bought our 1st TT and started camping with some of our friends at the lake and a few trips to Myrtle Beach. Now after several yrs, a few TT's, 5th wheel, MH, and now back to a 5th wheel we camp as much as we can. We love the Fort but with the kids schedules, the distance, and that job thing, we don't get to the Ft as much as we would like.

To us camping is just so much more relaxing than a hotel. The boys enjoy riding their bikes and playing at the campgrounds. We enjoy not having to eat out every meal and just relaxing in our own hotel.

 

[mdoc]

DH and I bought a travel trailer 7 years ago, when ours kids were 8, 5 and 2. I had never camped before, but we all really liked it. We went on about 10 weekend trips to state parks that first summer, and paid our first visit to the Fort for a week that November. We've now traded up to a motorhome and we've got over a dozen trips to the Fort under our belts now. Our trips are different with the motorhome, but we're still having a lot of fun.