Had a so/so experience at Tropical Palms...was it just an off week?

[ms_missy66]

I had heard so many great things about Tropical Palms and wasn't, at all, nervous about staying there during our last trip, Dec 27th through 2nd. But when we got there, I ended up being quite disappointed.

The wifi was non-existent, the cable was fuzzy and we had better TV reception with a regular antenna, there was a nightly sewage smell/issue, the full-service pull-through sites were really narrow, the roads were tough to navigate with our travel trailer...and...this last one is petty, but milk was nearly $4 for a half gallon.

I won't say I'll never stay there again, but it definitely wasn't the type of place that made me feel like I wanted to hang around my site, sit back and enjoy my surroundings. Did I just have a crappy site? Could the whole thing have been dampened for me because it was crowded? Or have others left there with the same impression?

We're going in June for two weeks and staying at the Fort. I had gone into last week with a "if we love Tropical Palms, I'll gladly rebook here and save the money" but now there's NO way.

Now despite my whining, we had a great time. Everyone had me nervous about crowded at WDW the week after Christmas and it ended up being not a big deal. The only day it was ridiculous was New Year's Eve in Magic Kingdom...but still it was wonderful and I couldn't have asked for a better start to 2010!

 

[stacktester]

We stayed there in June 07 because some family from South Florida were at the Old Town Hotel for a reunion and the old car show was going on. We were past the pull thru sites on the right. It didn't seem to be the type of place to hang out. We mostly stayed at the hotel and rode bikes back and forth up there. The nice thing about the fort is having something to do after the parks close or if you just want to hang out there's always people doing something.

 

[kimluvswdw]

The last time we had to stay there was the last time I will ever stay there. The bathrooms were dirty and the toilets were leaking very bad from underneath them. It was discusting to have to walk thru that to get the sink. YUCK.

 

[ms_missy66]

The nice thing about the fort is having something to do after the parks close or if you just want to hang out there's always people doing something.

You just made me even MORE excited about our upcoming June stay at the Fort! Thank you!

 

[stacktester]

What was funny was an employee there said they'd like to get more of the fort's business and offer more stuff. If the bathrooms were dirty that's already enough to make people not stay. When we stayed at Turkey Lake in Orlando last month I used the showers in the CS and even though the tile and stuff weren't Disney fancy it was clean. I had 5 people in our 5'er so we had to use the showers and had they been dirty I'd have been disappointed.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Some of the nicest bathrooms you'll ever see is in Dolly's hills (PF) at "RiverEdge" campground, (in Tennessee)

just thought I'd throw that in there.

 

[big kahuna1]

I have never had a bad stay there and I have stayed there many, many times. We generally do not use the camp restrooms since we have an RV that has the same facilities in it but when we did, they were clean. We also do not generally watch any TV while camping and I use an air card on my lap top so wireless access is not a problem for me. I own a 40' Fiver and I do have to be picky as to the campsite but generally never have a problem getting into the site. There is plenty to do for a night or two at Old Town but after all is said and done...I still prefer the Fort.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Comparing Tropical Palms to FW is like comparing apples and oranges. FW is more on the resort level - a destination in itself. TP is basically a base camp for most people who stay there. That being said, no matter where my TT is, the room is always the same, so for a base camp the surroundings really don't matter all that much.

 

[keylime359]

Some of the nicest bathrooms you'll ever see is in Dolly's hills (PF) at "RiverEdge" campground, (in Tennessee)

just thought I'd throw that in there.

Thanks for sharing that! I think I am going to plan a trip to Vols country this summer and that looks great! Since I turned our shower into another closet for clothes bathrooms are of up most importance! I will give you a wistle if we do go up that way!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Thanks for sharing that! I think I am going to plan a trip to Vols country this summer and that looks great! Since I turned our shower into another closet for clothes bathrooms are of up most importance! I will give you a wistle if we do go up that way!

Cool, , We would enjoy meet'n ya'll.
Theres a buncha fiends in TN to meet.

 

[des1954]

Trop Palms is not the Fort by any means. It's not even what I would consider a family friendly park. In the winter it's mostly occupied by snow birds who are looking for a more reasonable place to stay than FtW.

Now, I haven't been there in maybe 6-7 years so I'm surprised by what the OP described. Perhaps the owners are "absentee owners" and think their employees/managers are doing what they are being paid to do?

Overall, I would still prefer T.P. over the KOA on 192. The KOA is a very low class park for a very high class price.

If you don't mind a little more of a drive to WDW, the park where Denny (Home Brew) is, is a nice alternative to the Fort. But again - it's mostly retiree snow birds who reside there in the winter and the park caters to them & not kids.

However - the OP proves my point. There is no other campground in the US that compares to Fort Wilderness.