“Camping” at Walmart the night before?

[DCWarrior]

Hey all, we are doing our first long haul camping trip with our travel trailer to Fort Wilderness in June. We are coming from Maryland. All other camping trips we have ever done have been within three hours from home.

I want to follow the advice of trying to check in early and in person when we arrive. So, I would like to be as close to the Fort as possible the night before. I’ve always heard of people parking at a Walmart parking lot and staying the night there. There is a Walmart Supercenter right off of Route 4, just 12 miles from the Fort. Has anyone ever stayed in a Walmart parking lot? Have you stayed at one of the ones close to WDW? Would you suggest that or not, would you do it again?

 

[bama_ed]

In high tourism area like Central Florida, overnighting at a Wal-mart is not permitted due primarily to local ordinances. Local laws do not permit it. In an area like Florida you would have people boon docking in droves year round. Snow birds in the winter months. Families in the summer months. College kids on spring break. It would be a zoo. The local laws are enforced and folks should find a pay site for the night. Disney does not allow boon docking in their parking lots either.

This also applies to any other commercial establishment that allows overnight RV stays elsewhere (restaurants, gas stations or truck stops), etc. You can usually still do it up on the east-west I10 corridor.

Now if you drive in at 5am to the Fort they will stretch it to allow you to wait until the check in time starts at 605am. If you try it elsewhere in Central Florida at 8pm, for example, you will get a knock on the door and be told to leave.

So find a pay site and plan on that. There are probably spots between Daytona and WDW you can snag one night at. Or come in and stay somewhere on the eastern side of WDW on Hwy 192 also. Or stay further out and sleep at a interstate rest stop. But the boon-dock-close-to-Disney thing won't fly.

Bama Ed

PS - you will love camping at the Fort

EDIT - and I just thought about boon docking in June at night with no shore power could be hot and stuffy inside...

 

[DCWarrior]

In high tourism area like Central Florida, overnighting at a Wal-mart is not permitted due primarily to local ordinances. Local laws do not permit it. In an area like Florida you would have people boon docking in droves year round. Snow birds in the winter months. Families in the summer months. College kids on spring break. It would be a zoo. The local laws are enforced and folks should find a pay site for the night. Disney does not allow boon docking in their parking lots either.

This also applies to any other commercial establishment that allows overnight RV stays elsewhere (restaurants, gas stations or truck stops), etc. You can usually still do it up on the east-west I10 corridor.

Now if you drive in at 5am to the Fort they will stretch it to allow you to wait until the check in time starts at 605am. If you try it elsewhere in Central Florida at 8pm, for example, you will get a knock on the door and be told to leave.

So find a pay site and plan on that. There are probably spots between Daytona and WDW you can snag one night at. Or come in and stay somewhere on the eastern side of WDW on Hwy 192 also. Or stay further out and sleep at a interstate rest stop. But the boon-dock-close-to-Disney thing won't fly.

Bama Ed

PS - you will love camping at the Fort

EDIT - and I just thought about boon docking in June at night with no shore power could be hot and stuffy inside...

Good info, Ed!!! Makes perfect sense about not being allowed in such a place. It really would be a madhouse and a mess I’m sure. I will certainly look into where we want to pay to stay that night. Maybe a KOA in Jacksonville or St. Augustine.

 

[PaHunter]

Good info, Ed!!! Makes perfect sense about not being allowed in such a place. It really would be a madhouse and a mess I’m sure. I will certainly look into where we want to pay to stay that night. Maybe a KOA in Jacksonville or St. Augustine.

There is a KOA in Titusville that we stayed at before. Then just a short trip over 528, but it is a toll road.

 

[DCWarrior]

There is a KOA in Titusville that we stayed at before. Then just a short trip over 528, but it is a toll road.

Great! I will look into that one!!! Thanks

 

[bama_ed]

There is also a KOA in Kissimmee on Hwy 192 a few miles east of WDW. We had a DISser stay there a while back and had complimentary things to say.

https://koa.com/campgrounds/kissimmee/

It just depends how close you want to be and how much you want to spend (and who has space available).

Bama Ed

 

[Brett Wyman]

Theres a rest area on I95 just north of Mims. Then you could take 407 to 528. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes out. If quick and free is the game.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I'm from Maryland as well. We usually overnight at the KOA in Savannah on our way down.

I can also vouch for the KOA in Kissimmee. On my first visit to WDW with DH in the RV we stayed there rather than at FW. More recently, sometimes when I go to Orlando for work, DHDaandthe kids will drive down in one day and stay there and I'll meet up with them later in the morning to check in at FW.

 

[Kagoguen]

Another option may be the Flying J in St Augustine, it's about 1hr and 45min. from the Fort

 

[michelb]

As mentioned by others, most Walmarts in Florida do not allow overnight stays but some do. Coming down the I95 / I4, there do not appear to be any that do once you pass Jacksonville. There's a Walmart in Four Corners, FL (near the 27/192 - which is quite close to Disney) that may allow it (they have multiple signs that say "No overnight truck parking" but there is one sign at the far entrance that simply says "No overnight parking" which would make me think that they might not allow RVs (I've never stayed overnight there)). There are quite a few Orlando Cracker Barrels nearby which appear to allow overnight (I think many travelers do like stopping at Cracker Barrel but we've only stayed a few times as I find their parking lots are often not that big and I need to use too many parking spots (with our car in tow, we're probably around 60') so I'd rather find a place where I'm not using up so much of their parking). It appears that the I4 rest areas near Lake Mary permit overnight stopping so that could be your best bet (although in general, I find that rest areas can be quite loud and I suspect this one might be the same). If you want a cheap campground for one night, I believe Lake Louisa State Park (On 27 between 50 and 192) is quite inexpensive (I've heard around $25 but I've never stayed there).

 

[J.Scott Cape Cod]

We drove down this past February and overnighted at the Cracker Barrel at 5400 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee.

There were about 5-6 other RVs there, and we all rolled out by about 8 am. It was about 10 minutes from Disney property, and perfect for us.

Last year we stayed at a Cracker Barrel off of I-95 near Daytona and that was fine too, although over an hour away and a much smaller parking area.

 

[Sjm9911]

Just call ahead to make sure. Ive been told that some places the towns dont want the campers there anymore and create ordinances to that effect. Ive not used them, they dont like pop ups setting up shop! Lol

 

[PaHunter]

Our first trip to Disney, our cable to connect the travel trailer was too long, it ended up getting rubbed thru a couple wires. Here we were ready to leave Disney when we found out we had no lights. 5am what is open, went to the local Walmart just up the road to purchase wire and the rest of the supplies to fix it and security kept driving around us....over and over and over. Got it fixed and hit the open road for home. They never said anything to us, but they watched us like hawks.

 

[StormyCA]

I 'second' boondocking at truck stops (Pilot, Flying J, Loves, etc). It's what we do every night on our drive from California. We've never had a problem with anyone.

Just please fuel up where you overnight, buy a cup of coffee or breakfast, and be very mindful of 'turn space' for the big rigs. We try to park way out of the way and avoid corners where there is turning space. The truckers we've met have all been very nice, one came to us as we were leaving to let us know about an accident that had closed the main highway we were going to take and he provided us with an alternate route suitable for towing.

 

[michelb]

I 'second' boondocking at truck stops (Pilot, Flying J, Loves, etc). It's what we do every night on our drive from California. We've never had a problem with anyone.

...

We tend to avoid truck stops only because they are usually quite loud because of trucks pulling in / out at all hours (like the rest areas off the highway).

Also, unfortunately, I do not believe there are any that close to FW. The two closest are in Haines City and Polk City (both quite a bit past Disney if you are heading on the I4 S). If you are going to do that, I'd ask FW if you can stay overnight in the overflow.

There are several Cracker Barrels closer to FW and the are "on the way". There are is also a rest area on the I4 (past FW) on the way to Polk City so you might as well stop there.

 

[StormyCA]

We tend to avoid truck stops only because they are usually quite loud because of trucks pulling in / out at all hours (like the rest areas off the highway).

Also, unfortunately, I do not believe there are any that close to FW. The two closest are in Haines City and Polk City (both quite a bit past Disney if you are heading on the I4 S). If you are going to do that, I'd ask FW if you can stay overnight in the overflow.

There are several Cracker Barrels closer to FW and the are "on the way". There are is also a rest area on the I4 (past FW) on the way to Polk City so you might as well stop there.

We live sort of near railroad tracks so I guess the noise doesn't bother us. We'd rather the noise than pay for an RV spot for 8 hours overnight. lol

We're good as far as near WDW. We have someone who lets us park on their property.

 

[MudQueen22]

Wouldn't boondocking in the summer in Florida be miserable? Even after dark, how would you get your RV to cool down enough to get to sleep?
Having said that, we booked Lake Louisa State Park for the night before we check in at the Fort.

 

[tigger92662]

Lake Louisa is a wonderful place. Inexpensive, very close, nice pull thru sites (google maps is wonderful). Depending on length of your rig it's a little snug but very doable.

 

[bama_ed]

Lake Louisa is a wonderful place. Inexpensive, very close, nice pull thru sites (google maps is wonderful). Depending on length of your rig it's a little snug but very doable.

I agree, Joe, I'm a LL fan myself but the OP is coming down the east coast of FL on I95 and I4 (more or less) so LL is a little out of the way. It's more attractive for people like me coming down I75 and the Turnpike.

Bama Ed

 

[scot@dvcstore]

You might want to consider Lake Louisa State Park...hwy 27 in Clermont. Less than 30 minutes from FW. Great location and very nice State Park. There is even a Walmart on the way to FW for any last minute shopping