How do we do this...have to enter FtW separately

[we3peas]

I'm going over on the morning of the 29th to check us in. DH will come after lunch with our MH. This way I will get to scope out the site they give us and possibly ask for something else if it doesn't suit us. I will park in front lot and ride our bikes in and hang at pool or ride over to WL. Will I have to come back to front area to give a key card to DH when he comes with MH or will he still have to wait in the check in line?

 

[rapriebe]

I don't know how you would handle this officially but since you are leaving your car at the front parking lot, I would suggest leaving him a key card to gain entrance and a note with the site number in your car.

After you check in, you will need to park your car in the larger overflow lot (the one by the kennels which usually has several RV's parked in it) and he will be able to enter that lot without going through the guard shack. After getting the card from your car, he can drive back out to the main road and enter through the front gate by using the key card and just drive to the site and you can meet up with him when you get back from the pool or WL.

 

[michelle9343]

We have done this many times... Can you call your husband and tell him what your site number is? If yes then he can just tell the gaurd that you have already checked in and you are at site... No problem at all.

 

[we3peas]

Sounds good will this work without him having the keycard though?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Sounds good will this work without him having the keycard though?

Yes. There are two lanes as you approach the guard shack. If he does not have a KTTW card, he should not be in the returning guests lane, which is to the left, and has a card reader. He will need to bear right, and show the guard a photo ID. The guards have a list of guests, and they will let him in after checking for his name on the list.

TCD

 

[we3peas]

Thanks a lot for telling me how to do this. I really appreciate it.

 

[dtum]

Depends on how early you are on getting a site number. Check in is at 1:00 and when we were there this year we didn't get to check in early. If it's not busy, they may let you check in early.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Depends on how early you are on getting a site number. Check in is at 1:00 and when we were there this year we didn't get to check in early. If it's not busy, they may let you check in early.

Re-reading this thread, I think that there could be some confusion about how this could actually go for the OP.

If you arrive before 1 pm on the day of your reservation, you can check-in. That means that you go ahead and make your final payment, and you will be issued your parking pass and KTTW cards. If your site is ready early, they will give you your site number then, too, and you can go right to it and start setting up camp.

But, if your site is not ready early, you are still checked in, but you will have to park in the overflow lot, and find something to do until your site is ready. You cannot drive into the Fort, as there is no place for you to park other than your site(which you won't have the number of yet) or the overflow lot. The procedure used to be that they would give you a phone number to call after 1 pm to get your site number. I think I heard somewhere that they may now be offering to send you a text message with your site number, but I have not experienced this first hand.

And, also, I should have mentioned to the OP that when she first arrives at the Fort, she will also have to give her name and present a photo ID to the guard. I have observed that they cross names of those with reservations off of a list when each guest arrives. If you are arriving separately, you should tell the guard that, just so your DH's name is still on the list in case of a shift change, or list update, or whatever.


TCD

 

[dtum]

When we were there in June we got a text telling us our site was ready and the number...problem was we had no idea how to get to the site so we had to go into the check-in building and get some type of directions. It was very confusing for us, especially towing our 5r which means you don't want to go the wrong way and turn around.

We also found the overflow lot was not marked at all and we actually drove right out of the fort and had to go back around. The CM that checked us in would have been more helpful if she had told us where to park while we waited, but she just seemed more annoyed that we would even think of arriving early....coming from Ohio, we can't exactly time things to the minute...the whole thing was a mess as far as we were concerned.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

When we were there in June we got a text telling us our site was ready and the number...problem was we had no idea how to get to the site so we had to go into the check-in building and get some type of directions. It was very confusing for us, especially towing our 5r which means you don't want to go the wrong way and turn around.

We also found the overflow lot was not marked at all and we actually drove right out of the fort and had to go back around. The CM that checked us in would have been more helpful if she had told us where to park while we waited, but she just seemed more annoyed that we would even think of arriving early....coming from Ohio, we can't exactly time things to the minute...the whole thing was a mess as far as we were concerned.

Wow, sounds like you got a dud for a castmember. I have met a dud there from time to time, too. It's a shame. A black mark to Fort management- some of the folks who work in the check in lanes are very poorly trained. You should have been given a map when you checked in, so finding your site should not have been a problem. In my experience, they will usually tell you what loop you are in, but not give you the site number, and mark the loop on the map. The castmember also should have given you directions on where to park.

TCD