beagles,
I can name several places in Florida that I have camped over the last two years in my pop-up. The thing is that Florida is a winter destination for so many snowbirds (retirees who spend the winter months in Florida) that many places get booked up well in advance. In May you might find some places to go but availability might be an issue.
Here is where I have been (and written about on the DIS Camping and Community Boards):
- Anastasia State Park (SP) in St. Augustine, FL. Be careful selecting a site here: some loops have small tent/popup/class b sites ONLY. St. A has lot of history and some tacky fun tourism (Pirate Museums, Ripleys Believe It Or Not, etc.). There is a KOA nearby too if the SP is full.
- Blue Spring SP - just north of Orlando. Camping with the manatees I called it. Best to see manatees when the weather is cold (40s) for about 3 days in a row. The spring puts out thousands of gallons of water at 72F which draws in the manatees as the spend the winter (sensitive to water temp changes).
- Jetty Park Campground - due east of Orlando at Cape Canaveral very close to the cruise ship port. It's a municipal campground and public beach and picnic ground on the cruise ship channel and the Atlantic. Spent this past spring break there going to Spring Training baseball games. Lots of snowbirds there and we saw a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral up close.
- down in the Florida Keys I booked time around New Years well in advance for John Pennekamp SP in Key Largo, FL. It's a long drive down there but if you've never been to America's tropical keys, even in winter, you should see it (been to Key West 3 times so didn't do it that trip-100 miles past Key Largo).
- did a day visit to Fort DeSoto Park campground just below Tampa/St Pete. It's a Pinellas County campground. Been voted best beach in America in the past. Has three loops with campsites (no pavement just gray sand) one for RV/Trailers, one for tents/popups/vans, one for pets. Weekends hard to get there. Waterfront sites get claimed first, interior sites last. County residents get a week advantage on booking.
- Lake Louisa SP just south of Clermont on Hwy 27. Only 30 min to WDW. Cheap rates. Few trees but it's nice during the time you'll be there. I use it as a one night stopover before rolling over to the Fort the next morning. Not a whole lot to do there otherwise but I like it for what it is.
Search the forums with posts for my name and any of these above. Florida SP use
www.reserveamerica.com and folks use the trick of booking at the max window of 11 months out from your arrival day (system opens at 8am Eastern daily on the dot IIRC) and you can book up to 14 days out past arrival day. The trick is to book the window that puts your desired days at the end of the 14-day span then go back in in a few weeks and trim off the days you don't really need. If you need to do that then I can explain it better but getting Florida SP in winter in Central/South Florida (and Anastasia) is tough so you got to be up with the chickens to get your dates.
Good luck. If you have a question, ask me.
Bama Ed
PS I just re-read your OP, beagles, and if you're looking for a pool type of campground then my mostly county-state campgrounds don't fit the bill. Also IMO during that time of year I would south of Orlando if I wanted swimming time. You need more along the lines of what Tropical Palms has (a more upscale RV resort). Or a good KOA. There's a KOA near Fort Myers, FL that I've been interested in with things to do in the region. Also interested in the one down near Naples. These might be a little more expensive than an SP but that may translate into easier-to-get-into.