Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, FL Thousand Trails

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Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort was our first Florida campground experience and had been highly recommended by friends. It didn’t disappoint. Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort consistently rates among the top 5 of all Thousand Trails and Encore properties. It’s one of the nicest Thousand Trails parks we have stayed at so far. We stayed 3 weeks on our first visit and 2 weeks on our second visit. And we have returned for many more visits in following years.

Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort & Campground

Address: 2110 US Highway 27 South, Clermont FL, 34714. Telephone: 352-394-7575
Reservations: Call TT Member Services on 800-388-7788 (Option 2) or book online

Dates of Stay & Site Numbers

December 1 – 17, 2015: G83 (50A at no additional charge)
January 24 – February 5, 2016: I24 (paid $3/night for 50A)

Plus many stays in the 2018-2019 season.

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Overview

This is an enormous campground with 840 sites! We had heard the rumors that all Florida campgrounds were cramped with RVs packed in like sardines. But that is not the case here. Most sites seem roomy and both of our sites (G83 and I24) were very spacious. Our G83 site had no sites/neighbors on 3 sides of us. The majority of sites are presently 30 amp full hook-up. But there are still many 50 amp sites available. Thousand Trails is in the process of upgrading more sites to 50 amp. So this ratio will likely switch to mostly 50 amp in the not too distant future.

Update 2022: Thousand Trails Orlando now has 1017 RV sites. They have updated their pools, bathhouses and upgraded their ameneties.

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All roads are paved as are many of the sites. The park is so large that different sections of the park can have a completely different feel to them. Sections G & I are mostly open but other areas are among dense pine trees. Some areas are near what looks like a marsh. Others are heavily wooded with large oak trees with Spanish moss hanging down.

The campground is only 10 miles from Disney, and 24 miles from Universal Studios. You can actually see the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom over the lake on the far east end of the campground. The Welcome Center is so nice that it almost feels like a hotel lobby. The Activity Center and grounds are well maintained and have great amenities. This includes boats you can borrow to take out on the lake. Just don’t swim out there with (or feed) the gators. Sandhill Cranes, squirrels and turtles are commonly sighted throughout the campground.

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Pros

  • Proximity to Disney World, Universal Studios and many other Orlando attractions
  • Great place for snowbirds in the winter
  • Active events calendar
  • Peaceful and quiet (no noise from traffic, train line or airport)
  • Feels like it is in a rural setting but it is actually just outside of a neighborhood
  • Close to shops and services, with a Publix grocery store less than a mile from the campground entrance
  • Well maintained and managed
  • Great amenities including 2 swimming pools, spa, tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard, volleyball, exercise room, mini golf, boats, croquet, bingo, ladderball, horseshoes, giant chess board, ping pong, kid’s playground etc.
  • A number of diverse settings, so folks can find a site that appeals to their preference
  • Great for casual bike rides and strolls since it is mostly paved and level
  • Social and friendly people who are regularly out and about due to the warm weather
  • Newly upgraded 50 amp in Section A, some with pull throughs
  • Some 50 amp sites are available no additional charge
  • Mini Farmer’s Stand twice a week near the Activity Center
  • RV Show on site during peak season (January – March)
  • Several clean laundry/bathhouses located around the park with a good number of washers/dryers
  • Nice, big areas for loading and unloading tow vehicles at both the Welcome Center and Activity Center (or even at some campsites)

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Cons

  • Some sites are not quite as level as you would expect being paved sites (we used all of our leveling blocks at G83 but none at I24)
  • 30 amp only sites may make it a challenge to keep a larger coach cool on hot days
  • Section A has a shared post style pull-through sites and seem much narrower than other sites in the park
  • Some 50 amp sites are charged at an extra $3 per night (eg. Section H and I, but for us it was worth it)

WIFI Signal

  • At both of our sites, our Verizon MIFI and iPhones got 2 bars 4G LTE unboosted, which went up to 3 bars for the device cradled in our Wilson Sleek 4G booster, but we noticed other areas of the campground had a slightly stronger signal.
  • We heard from multiple people that the campground WIFI is very good at this park but we did not use it (we never use campground WIFI as it’s simply not secure or consistently reliable for our needs. If you have questions about this, please contact the campground directly)

Mail

  • We received multiple packages and Priority Mail without any issue, which we collected from the Activity Center, but they don’t accept regular (First Class) mail unless you have a mailbox
  • Mailboxes are available for annual and seasonal guests
  • We always recommend checking with the campground first regarding their latest mail and package policy before having items sent, as the rules can change at any time (as determined by management or head office)

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Other Comments about Orlando RV Resort

Most Thousand Trails parks have garbage and recycling bins spread out around the park.  This is the largest park we have been too. Yet the only one with a single, centralized garbage and recycling area. Some might see this as an inconvenience, but we saw the positive side of this. It encourages you to go for a nice walk or bike ride to throw out the trash. And you won’t have the noise of garbage trucks driving around and waking you early in mornings.

Note that the laundries here use a “token” system instead of coins (quarters) like most campgrounds. So be sure to purchase only the amount of tokens you need for your laundry loads so you don’t have leftover tokens that you’re unable to use anywhere else. Otherwise your laundry may end up costing you more than it should! You can buy tokens at the vending machines located in the laundry room using $1, $5 and $10 bills. We recommend having $1 bills on hand so you can buy exactly the number you need. $1 gets you one (1) token and you will need 2 tokens ($2) for each load, whether it’s a washer or dryer.

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Challenges We Faced

During our first stay here in December 2015, we lost water lost pressure a few times. This was mostly because of the upgrades taking place in section A. Water shut offs meant the water was on a boil recommendation before drinking for several days. Even if the park is not on a boil restriction when you arrive, we recommend putting at least a half tank of fresh water on board when you arrive so that you don’t find yourself without water.

The ranger mentioned that it was not unusual to have the water shut off in Orlando area, but especially at this park. We also lost power once during our stay in December 2015. So we had to run our generator for a few hours until power was restored. But we presume that was again due to the construction. So far, it hasn’t happened during our stay in January 2016 – and the construction in Section A (50A upgrades) are now complete.

We had to cancel our Thousand Trails Peace River reservation unexpectedly in mid January after it got flooded the previous week. Initially when we tried to get into Thousand Trails Orlando it was completely full. However, with some persistence, we managed to secure 13 consecutive nights. This was despite it being short notice and January/February being their peak months. And with an influx of campers coming in from the flooded Peace River campground. When we returned to Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in the third week of January it felt like ‘coming home’ and friends of ours shared a similar sentiment. It’s easy to feel really comfortable here.

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Summary

We consider this to be a really great RV campground near Orlando Florida. It is one of the better ones in the Thousand Trails network. It’s one that we are happy to recommend to others and look forward to visiting again. Some may debate our 4/5 rating compared with more expensive or exclusive campgrounds. But we have found this campground to actually be nicer than some campgrounds we have paid $60+ a night for and therefore excellent value.

We stayed here at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort ‘for free’ with our TT Elite membership which makes us very happy campers! The social, friendly atmosphere of the park was welcome to us. We’ve have made some great new friends here and also reconnected with others we’ve met on the road through the Thousand Trails parks. Plus, the weather in Florida in the winter especially is pretty hard to beat. The rest of the country was experiencing crazy storms, snow and subzero temps. This Orlando RV Park is open year round. October through April are the most popular months. January-March is the most crowded due to the influx of snowbirds like us.

Click any of the following to read other Florida RV Park Reviews:

Video from our December 2015 stay at Thousand Trails Orlando Florida

Have you stayed at this campground? Please share your experience in the comments below.

Disclaimer

These reviews are based on our own personal opinion and experience at the time of our visit. Please be aware that campground service, sites, facilities and amenities can change at any time. As full-time working RVers, our main focus is on staying in pleasant and affordable RV parks in areas that give us a solid WIFI signal, using our own Verizon devices.

We do not use (or try to use) campground WIFI as these are generally not sufficient for our needs, therefore we do not review campground WIFI. As we live in a self contained Class A motorhome, we generally do not use bath houses but we do try to take a peek if we can. 

10 thoughts on “Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, FL Thousand Trails”

  1. Happy Birthday, Julie. I continue to enjoy reading your blogs, especially the one that detailed the TT memberships which my husband and I nailed down with Chad. Thanks again and have a great birthday!

    Reply
  2. Hi Julie
    Happy birthday ?
    I enjoyed the review and look forward to many more. Just one question, why was 50A no charge in December but $3 extra in January.
    David

    Reply
    • Hi David, very good question! Another one of the many little confusing and inconsistent things about TT. Most campgrounds have 50A and 30A sites. All 30A sites are free and many 50A sites are free, some campgrounds charge for 50A on some sections but not others. For example in Orlando, 50A is free in section G, but $3 a night in section I which is right beside it! Go figure!? We have also seen 50A sites charges at $4 and $5 a night (in Morgan Hill, CA July 2014). I have not yet been able to work out the reason for this inconsistency. So I will give TT a call and try to make some sense of it as I would like to know myself! But in our 19 months on the road. We have only paid $ for our site (our choice, we could have selected a different site and not paid anything) maybe 3-4 times. Often we simply like the sections better and so on occasion we don’t mind paying the extra.

      Reply
      • Happy late birthday from Ron and Jodie Ray ( and Boo) in Soth Carolina. We just realized we were in Miami at the same time you guys were. dang we could have met you down on South Beach with all the Beautiful People! Did you guys take the boat trip around Miami Bay. We did and it was great fun seeing the houses of the rich and famous. Again , Happy Birthday and Aussie Day! Ron Ray

        Reply
        • Thanks for the birthday wishes! No we didn’t take the boat ride to look at the houses but heard it’s amazing: Christmas Day was the best day for us to do that but of course they were closed, so we ended up taking a drive around the state park at Key Biscayne instead and saw the beautiful cars! lol

          Reply

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