We decided to try out winter in Florida this year and learn everything we could about the “Florida shuffle” that Thousand Trails (TT) members often refer to! I wanted to write an article to explain how it works and share some tips I’ve picked up throughout the winter so far. To summarize before diving in… is it work? Yes. Is it worth it? In my opinion, definitely. Enjoying the perfectly warm winter with so many of our traveling friends FOR FREE has made the hassle of making reservations worth it! 

***Edited to add.. this piece was written before the rollout of the Adventure membership. I have added some info at the bottom of this article with details on this.

Memberships:

If you do not have the Trails Collection (TC) added onto your TT membership, you will only have 3 TT parks in Florida to choose from. If you only have a camping pass or zone pass, you will be able to stay at one of the TT parks for up to 2 weeks, then leave the TT system for 7 days, then come back in for up to 2 weeks. You can bounce around for 4 days at a time and not have any time out, but that’s a LOT of moving around!

If you DO have the Trails Collection add-on, you now have access to a LOT more Encore parks throughout the state.

*** I do want to mention that memberships vary greatly, and you need to read ALL the fine print in YOUR contract to see what your specific rules are. 

High Use Parks

Florida during winter is considered a high use area, which changes some things. High use areas can only be reserved 60 days in advance, no matter what membership level you have. You can also only stay 2 weeks at each park, where with most memberships you can usually stay up to three weeks per stay. You can only have 2 high use bookings at a time. The day you check into a high use park, (with one reservation still on the books) you can make another high use park reservation. 

High Use Dates For Thousand Trails Parks

• Orlando RV Resort (TTO) : December 15 - April 1

• Peace River : December 15 - March 30

• Three Flags : November 1 - April 1

Unless you have the newest, most expensive level “Adventure” membership, you can’t go from Encore Park to Encore Park. There must be 7 days in between Encore stays. You CAN spend the “week out” in a TT park. So your calendar could look like this:

Encore Park for up to 2 weeks >> TT Park for up to 2 weeks >> Encore Park for up to 2 weeks 

Since there are only 3 TT parks in Florida, if you want to stay in the system and pay nothing all winter using your membership, you have to shuffle between the TT parks, hence the name The Florida Shuffle! You’re shuffling even more if you have the Trails Collection and want to check out some of those parks too!

It’s also important to note that there are a few Encore Parks that require an extra fee if you stay there, which is around $20/night.

Encore Parks with extra nightly fees:

• Fiesta Key

• Sunshine Key

• Fort Meyers Beach

• Miami/Everglades

• Pine Island

• Ramblers Rest

• Royal Coachman (which is also an age qualified park)

• Silver Dollar

So if you want to stick to a completely free winter, you should avoid these parks. I would encourage you to check them out online though, as I feel some of them are absolutely worth the surcharge!

Booking

Before experiencing Florida in winter, I had never had trouble booking the parks I wanted to visit. Booking Florida in the winter takes some patience, some time, and some planning. You can book online or by calling their member services number. You can also call the parks directly to book.

Tip #1: BE FLEXIBLE.
You have to go into the booking process with the understanding that you won’t be able to plan out your whole winter on paper with specific parks you want to be at in specific times and have it all work perfectly out! I had somewhat of a “plan” on paper in the beginning and quickly realized most of it went out the window! There have been weeks I was just happy to have a place to stay as everything seemed to be booked solid!

When you go to book, have several parks in mind to try for if you don’t get your first choice. 

Tip #2: Pay attention to your booking window and set reminders on your phone.
You need to be booking on the first day of your 60 / 120 / 180 day window to have the best chance at getting a reservation (check your membership details to see what booking window you have). To really have the best odds, you’ll need to stay up late and book it online at midnight! The system will allow you to book it at midnight CST. 

Tip #3: Be diligent.
If you can’t get in, don’t stop trying. Every time you get on your phone or open your laptop, try to get the dates you want. You can call multiple times a day. Is this a lot of work? YES! Is it annoying? YES! But is it worth it when you finally log in or call at the right time, right after someone makes a cancellation and you snag those dates at that park you really wanted??? YES!

Like I said earlier, it’s work but it’s worth it. We are having an incredible winter in Florida with sooo many friends. The weather has been absolutely perfect, averaging 75 degrees and so much sun. Are there any tips for booking Thousand Trails parks that I left out? Let me know in the comments below! 

**If you are interested in a Thousand Trails membership, give our buddy Aaron a call. He’s a membership specialist and can answer all your questions about which membership is right for you!

Aaron Massa

aaron_massa@equitylifestyle.com

360-489-4407

UPDATE:

In 2021, Thousand Trails released a new level of membership called the Adventure membership. It’s the most expensive level of membership, but comes with the following perks:

• Only membership that gives you the ability to add Trails Collection Plus, which has a 90 day booking window for Encore parks, which means you’ll have first choice if you want 21 day stays and the ability to go park to park inside Encore.

• Allows you to turn the Trails Collection parks into pass through parks (you can stay for one night and not get kicked out of the system for 7 days.)