Arriving really late the night before checkin.....

[serenitygr]

Another quick question... I know I've seen this discussed before but can't remember what thread it was on. We are planning to go to the SeaCrest Wolf Preserve on our way down - we'll get there Friday night and stay at their campground, then do the tour at the Wolf preserve on Saturday. The tour gets over around 4:30 Central time, so by the time we leave there, have supper, and switch time zones- then drive the remaining 354 miles to Disney, we're estimating getting to the Fort around 1:00 in the morning Sunday.

What we'd like to do is just be able to wait there in the parking lot until morning. Sunday is our check in day, but what we are hoping is that if we get there early- we can let them know what location we REALLY would like- and if it's possible that at some point we could get that site we'd just find something to do that day... We are in no hurry to get into our site- mostly it's just we hope that be being there early Sunday our chances of getting the site we want are better....

My question is if we pull into the Fort at 1:00 in the morning Sunday, (Saturday night) what will they do with us? Can we just stay in the parking lot, or won't they let us? thank you!

 

[bama_ed]

They will turn you away.

Until 6am in the morning, it is technically the night before. So if you come into the Fort in the early hours of Sunday morning, it's still Saturday night from a business point of view. And if you don't pay for Saturday night, you can't stay there Saturday night.

6am is the time designated as the start of the next day. That's why a couple of us wait to come in around 630am and try to do the early checkin or wait in the overflow lot for a couple hours.

Given how RV'ers and campers are about boondocking, overnighting at Wal-Mart or Flying J's, etc., I think Disney is pretty firm on this policy or it would get abused to the Nth degree.

Probably not the answer you want but it has been asked and answered before. I believe TRS has said it along these lines too.

Bama Ed

PS - in the high tourism areas like Orlando, there are few if any places to boondock. All the businesses want their "room" revenue and the towns want the taxes that go along with it.

 

[snowmedic]

You could also pull into the Turkey Lake Service Plaza on the Turnpike and take a break/nap before heading into the Fort. It is 20 miles or 32 minutes away. That is what we do when we leave Destin if it looks like we will be there before 6:00 a.m. Just a suggestion.

 

[bama_ed]

You could also pull into the Turkey Lake Service Plaza on the Turnpike and take a break/nap before heading into the Fort. It is 20 miles or 32 minutes away. That is what we do when we leave Destin if it looks like we will be there before 6:00 a.m. Just a suggestion.

Along those lines, like snowmedic says, IIRC our poster tiggerdad sometimes uses the I75 rest stop just on the southern edge of Gainesville to catch a couple hours of sleep before heading on to the Fort. From there it's 117 miles via Hwy 429 off the turnpike to the checkin booth at FW.

Bama Ed

 

[tiggerdad]

South of Ocala,FL there is a rest area that I utilize on the way down. It's Marion County Rest Area and is at mile marker 346S. It has three separate parking areas with the front for big rigs, the middle lot for cars, and the rear lot for us campers and others pulling trailers. It has security on duty at night. It has become my quick nap spot on my trips down as I usually hit that area around 0300.

Here's the timing part if you're wondering: It's exactly 1 hour to the Fort from there, so you can plan your leave time to arrive at the Fort.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/...ea/@29.0950939,-82.1868721,958m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[serenitygr]

South of Ocala,FL there is a rest area that I utilize on the way down. It's Marion County Rest Area and is at mile marker 346S. It has three separate parking areas with the front for big rigs, the middle lot for cars, and the rear lot for us campers and others pulling trailers. It has security on duty at night. It has become my quick nap spot on my trips down as I usually hit that area around 0300.

Here's the timing part if you're wondering: It's exactly 1 hour to the Fort from there, so you can plan your leave time to arrive at the Fort.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/...ea/@29.0950939,-82.1868721,958m/data=!3m1!1e3

Thanks tiggerdad! That's exactly what I'm looking for- it sounds perfect!

And thank you to everyone else too! It's ok if we can't stay at the fort that night before- I just needed to know so we could plan correctly

What do you all suggest is the best time to arrive there to have the best chance of getting in the area we hope to be in? What is the earliest?

 

[serenitygr]

You could also pull into the Turkey Lake Service Plaza on the Turnpike and take a break/nap before heading into the Fort. It is 20 miles or 32 minutes away. That is what we do when we leave Destin if it looks like we will be there before 6:00 a.m. Just a suggestion.

Thanks snowmedic! I'm going to check this one out too!

 

[DKSABS]

We're considering driving all night too. For those of you who stop at a rest stop, do you just sleep sitting up in your vehicle, or do you sleep in your camper? If you sleep in your camper, do you open the slides, or is that not recommended? We'll be towing our travel trailer with our pickup truck with hubby and me in the front seat and our 4 year old granddaughter in her car seat in the back seat, surrounded by lots of "stuff" so there's not any way for us to sleep in a reclining position in the pickup truck. It would be nice to sleep in the trailer but we can't get around in there when all the slides are in.

 

[DKSABS]

I've been asking hubby if he wants to start driving after we get off work and drive all the way to Lake Louisa State Park, but he doesn't know yet and I doubt he'd be able to actually safely drive all night after working all day. He's never been a night owl. So he doesn't want me to actually make reservations for the state park. At least not yet.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

They will turn you away.

1) Yep.
2) You are basically asking for a FREE NIGHT at The Fort.
3) This would be unfair.
4) Plus, if allowed, the parking lot would be crammed with people wanting to arrive early, and not paying for the space.
5) You would be better off staying at rest-stop en-route.
6) Check-in at ALL resorts is "officially" 6:00am, but actually 6:05am.

 

[tiggerdad]

Scupper is right on the 0605 time, the earlier you arrive the better your chances of getting area you want.

At the rest areas I leave slides in so as not to block neighboring sites. I nap better stretched out so I get in the camper. Wife and girls stay in truck which is idling with AC on.

 

[DKSABS]

Thanks.

 

[peg110]

We're considering driving all night too. For those of you who stop at a rest stop, do you just sleep sitting up in your vehicle, or do you sleep in your camper? If you sleep in your camper, do you open the slides, or is that not recommended? We'll be towing our travel trailer with our pickup truck with hubby and me in the front seat and our 4 year old granddaughter in her car seat in the back seat, surrounded by lots of "stuff" so there's not any way for us to sleep in a reclining position in the pickup truck. It would be nice to sleep in the trailer but we can't get around in there when all the slides are in.

We have slept in the Truck once (more of necessity because it was way to hot to sleep in the camper without AC. When boon-docking, we have no AC (Alternating Current) to run our AC (Air Conditioner) so we slept for a couple of hours in the truck. Normally, though we sleep in the TT. As for the "Slides" it is considered very bad form to put them out at other then designated camping areas. In rest stops you are likely to draw attention to yourself (assuming it is a patrolled rest stop) and are more likely to get a "Knock" on your door.

Our latest travel trailer isn't as conducive to sleeping with the slides in as our last one was but we "make it work" Since we are just "Sleeping" we may put the slides out to get ready to sleep (to get access to cabinets that are hidden by the slides or such) but when it's time to sleep we try to keep them in.

Depending on your situation, you may be tempted to leave a slide out "Just a Little" (as we have often considered because it blocks our "bathroom" such that the DW cannot "Hike" her but over the edge of the dinette to get in but I can) but be mindful that if the slide is not fully in or fully out that it's not "Sealed" and air as well as rain (and almost anything else like bugs and dust) can get in to the Living space.

Hope this helps.

 

[tiggerdad]

We have slept in the Truck once (more of necessity because it was way to hot to sleep in the camper without AC. When boon-docking, we have no AC (Alternating Current) to run our AC (Air Conditioner) so we slept for a couple of hours in the truck. Normally, though we sleep in the TT. As for the "Slides" it is considered very bad form to put them out at other then designated camping areas. In rest stops you are likely to draw attention to yourself (assuming it is a patrolled rest stop) and are more likely to get a "Knock" on your door.

Our latest travel trailer isn't as conducive to sleeping with the slides in as our last one was but we "make it work" Since we are just "Sleeping" we may put the slides out to get ready to sleep (to get access to cabinets that are hidden by the slides or such) but when it's time to sleep we try to keep them in.

Depending on your situation, you may be tempted to leave a slide out "Just a Little" (as we have often considered because it blocks our "bathroom" such that the DW cannot "Hike" her but over the edge of the dinette to get in but I can) but be mindful that if the slide is not fully in or fully out that it's not "Sealed" and air as well as rain (and almost anything else like bugs and dust) can get in to the Living space.

Hope this helps.

Sounds like your TT layout is similar to mine.

 

[peg110]

Sounds like your TT layout is similar to mine.

Whole driver side of main area is a slide with the Couch and Dinette. The Dinette slides in and the DW isn't tall enough to get her "Cheek" up over the back of the Dinette to get into the Bathroom.

Ours is similar to the above (except front room has a queen bed too and not bunk beds). Fortunately though the DW can get to the Bathroom in the middle of the night anyway as our room is in the back. During travel, however, my DD12 would sleep with the DW because apparently I am the only one that can get up over the dinette when the slide is in.

 

[tiggerdad]

Well, slightly similar. Like yours, when slides are in there's no getting to the bathroom. There is an exterior entrance to the bathroom which is handy when you need to take a quick bathroom break while going down the road.

 

[DKSABS]

We have slept in the Truck once (more of necessity because it was way to hot to sleep in the camper without AC. When boon-docking, we have no AC (Alternating Current) to run our AC (Air Conditioner) so we slept for a couple of hours in the truck. Normally, though we sleep in the TT. As for the "Slides" it is considered very bad form to put them out at other then designated camping areas. In rest stops you are likely to draw attention to yourself (assuming it is a patrolled rest stop) and are more likely to get a "Knock" on your door.

Our latest travel trailer isn't as conducive to sleeping with the slides in as our last one was but we "make it work" Since we are just "Sleeping" we may put the slides out to get ready to sleep (to get access to cabinets that are hidden by the slides or such) but when it's time to sleep we try to keep them in.

Depending on your situation, you may be tempted to leave a slide out "Just a Little" (as we have often considered because it blocks our "bathroom" such that the DW cannot "Hike" her but over the edge of the dinette to get in but I can) but be mindful that if the slide is not fully in or fully out that it's not "Sealed" and air as well as rain (and almost anything else like bugs and dust) can get in to the Living space.

Hope this helps.

Yes, that helps a lot! Thanks so much! We've never slept in the camper anywhere besides a normal campground with the camper fully set up. I didn't realize that you don't have a seal unless the slide is fully open or fully closed. That makes sense. Wouldn't want bugs getting in!

We had the bathroom access problem with our old camper, but we can actually get to the bathroom in our current camper. Our problem is that the whole foot of the bed is crammed into the wall/closet/dresser when the slide is closed, and we can't open the sleeper sofa with the slides closed. But maybe my husband can climb into the bed and I can sleep on the couch without making it into a bed and the 4 year old can sleep in a recliner chair. Or maybe we'll make reservations at Lake Louis. It would be nice to have air conditoning and electricity, if we could count on making it all the way there without falling asleep.

 

[peg110]

My "Experience" with the seal for the slide was a result of me doing just what I told you NOT to do. I had the slide part way out. We had it parked at my "In Laws" and there wasn't really room (the way it was parked) to let the slide out ALL the way, but it was "Most" of the way. It wasn't until much later in the year (when we were actually packing up for a trip) that I found that we had "Water" inside. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from.... Then one day it hit me (many MANY days later). I then put the slide part way out and saw that I could see through the "Seal" and that's when it truly sank in. We didn't have a leak in our camper (per se') Just a leak in my "Logic"

Anyway, I hope you have safe travels where ever you go and however you get there.

 

[DKSABS]

My "Experience" with the seal for the slide was a result of me doing just what I told you NOT to do. I had the slide part way out. We had it parked at my "In Laws" and there wasn't really room (the way it was parked) to let the slide out ALL the way, but it was "Most" of the way. It wasn't until much later in the year (when we were actually packing up for a trip) that I found that we had "Water" inside. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from.... Then one day it hit me (many MANY days later). I then put the slide part way out and saw that I could see through the "Seal" and that's when it truly sank in. We didn't have a leak in our camper (per se') Just a leak in my "Logic"

Anyway, I hope you have safe travels where ever you go and however you get there.

That's interesting. Sorry you had to experience a water intrusion before figuring it out. I'm thinking my husband probably knows this. He's the one who takes care of getting it all set up and torn down for us.

I found a pic of our floor plan to share:

 

[DKSABS]

Finally got the picture to work. Our dinette is the type with four freestanding wooden chairs, so it doesn't have bench seats or convert to a bed, so we can't sleep in the dinette like it appears in the picture.