Tropical Palms Blog: RV Resort, Cottages, Vacation Home Rentals in Orlando, Florida near Disney

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy so the old saying goes. Which is why Park & Leave is getting more and more popular with our neighbors in Central Florida. They bring their RVs and Campers and park them at Tropical Palms, return to their homes and work lives during the week, then come back on weekends to unwind and enjoy all the good times. We decided to talk to a couple of the people who take advantage of Park & Leave and get their take on the program.

Michelle Smart
Monday through Friday, Michelle Smart works as Vice President of Member Services for the Publix Credit Union opening accounts, managing problems like identity theft, and helping folks balance their accounts and handle their online bill paying. Michelle has been at Publix thirty-two years ago. The credit union helps employees and their families with everything from obtaining mortgages and car loans to getting money for computers and personal loans. It’s a service Michelle is proud to be a part of.

But come Friday afternoon, she’s ready to get away. She jumps in her car and heads straight from the office to her motor home at Tropical. The drive from Lakeland may be only forty-five minutes, but it takes her a world away. When he can, husband Terry, a Lakeland firefighter, joins her. If he can’t, she spends the weekend with the friends she’s made here.

Upon arrival, her first stop is at the Publix across the street from Tropical Palms where she stocks up on her provisions for the weekend.

“My wine is a necessity,” Michelle says with a laugh you hear frequently when talking to her. “And I’ll get some snacks. But I don’t bother to cook. It’s too easy to just jump on my golf cart and head over to the poolside caf’e, Checkers, KFC or Red Lobster.”

Michelle unwinds by hanging out with friends, laughing and listening to music at the pool. She also enjoys feeding the local deer carrots “from Publix, of course,” she’s quick to add with a smile. Terry, an auto aficionado, enjoys the weekend car shows in Old Town. Riding around in her golf cart or joining in the parades are other favorite activities; last year she decorated hers for the Memorial Day and July 4th   parades. Then at some point on Sunday, she closes the door to her motor home and heads back to Lakeland and Monday morning, waiting for the next TGIF to arrive.

Gary & Tina Hayes
For Gary & Tina Hayes, who visited Tropical on and off in the ’80s and ’90s but who only became regulars Park & Leavers the last three years, a weekend here is a mix of business of pleasure – though certainly more of a pleasure because they have made so many friends doing business.
The Hayes’ are in the RV accessory business, J & J Sun Shades LLC, manufacturing and selling awning sunscreens and breathable ground mats. Their plant and showroom are in Lake Wells, about a forty-five minute drive from the twenty-six foot travel trailer they keep parked here from May 1st through October 31st.

The couple ships their sunscreens all over to the world, and introducing the product to fellow RVers has made them a lot of friends at Tropical. It hooks easily to the RV’s awning and drops down, keeping the porch cooler, affording a bit of protection from the sun, and providing privacy because while you can see out, people passing by can’t see in. If you want to learn more about sunshades, give Gary and Tina a call at 863-679-5428.

Though Gary and Tina come to Tropical Palms for pleasure, their products have become so popular through word of mouth, they do a fair amount of business at Resort.

If not at their camper, you can usually find them around the pool with friends. They’re big fans of the live entertainment, the gator shows and weekend events that make Tropical so much fun. And of course, there’s Old Town where Gary, like Terry Smart, loves the Thursday night motorcycle parades, the family cars on Friday and the classics and muscle cars on Saturday. Afterwords the Hayes’ like to stop in at Flippers for their favorite pizza.

Then Monday morning, it’s back to the plant and showroom where, like Michelle Smart, they wait eagerly for their next chance to escape to Tropical Palms.

Let’s kick off summer the right way! Three weekends of inflatable pool toys, the blow-up water slide, live entertainment and a DJ, all kinds of special stuff for the kids and a chance to hang with friends. It all kicks off the weekend of May 13^th with a Pirate Pool Party, continues with a Armed Forces salute on the 20^th, and then really gets hot on Memorial Day.

Get the details and make plans to join us.

The third season at Tropical Palms under Royalty Resorts management is coming to an end – all too quickly for those who have had the pleasure of spending the winter here far from the snow up North. We took this anniversary opportunity to sit down with Royalty Resorts President Ian Wilbraham to talk about what the company has been doing since assuming control and what its plans are for the future.

Ian Wilbraham of Royalty Resorts

“We’d been interested in Tropical Palms for quite some time because of its proximity to so many great Central Florida attractions,” Ian said. “We also liked that, while it was close to so much, you had the feeling you were in a special environment, far from crowds and the cares of everyday life.

“We thought it had tremendous possibilities. We envisioned a resort that could provide a truly unique experience for owners, renters and RVers who would stay for the season, those that came in summer for vacations and even weekenders. It was with that goal in mind that we leased the property in 2008.”

There’s no getting around that when Royalty took over, the property was in need of some loving care and attention. For years, its owners had been content to operate Tropical as a transient rental community. As a result, its reputation had suffered.

But Ian believed that the Royalty Resorts’ team had the experience and expertise to turn that around. Award winning Sun-N-Fun RV Resort in Sarasota, their other Florida property, has long been considered one of the very finest vacation home and RV resorts in the U.S. and Sherkston Shores, on Lake Erie, is thought of as one of Canada’s premiere venues. He knew restoring the property – and its reputation – would be a formidable task. To accomplish it, the company has invested more than a million dollars in renovations over the past three years.

“We started with cosmetic things like resurfacing and resealing roads, fixing lights, improving drainage, and doing a lot of landscaping. It’s incredible what a difference pruning the palms made to the look and feel of the place and to the experience of our visitors,” Ian explained.

“Stage 2 for the turnaround was to make infrastructure changes. We began adding new facilities, such as a miniature golf course, bocce ball and a fitness room. We upgraded rooms within existing buildings to provide activity space for guests. And we’ve added an electric gate at the entrance for the safety of our owners and guests. We’ve even put in a pet run and a hot and cold pet bath station.

“The biggest improvements have been made around the pool because the pool is the heart of Tropical Palms. We’ve nearly doubled the deck area. We’ve put in new loungers and tables. We’ve resurfaced the area around the children’s splash pool to make it more attractive and safer for kids and we got safer, more up-to-date play equipment for them. We’ve also made improvements to the poolside cafe, like adding air-conditioning for comfort.”

Making upgrades to both cottages and RV sites are ongoing projects that are moving along quickly. “We’ve replaced forty older rental cottages to date and are refurbishing existing cottages. And to make Tropical more accommodating and to attract more RV residents and rallies, we’ve been upgrading RV sites on an ongoing basis, providing more concrete pads and upping electrical capacity to 50 amps.”

Going forward, Ian expects that Tropical Palms will offer, as Sun-N-Fun and Sherkston do, more lifestyle activities that foster a greater sense of community, not only for Sandcastle owners but also for RVers who choose to spend the winter here. He was particularly gratified that this past January, Sandcastle owners held a block party that more than 75 people attended. They set up tables, brought potluck dishes and one of the owners even did DJ duty.

“It’s exactly this kind of spirit that we’re trying to foster with all we’re doing to make Tropical Palms a premiere resort for our owners and guests. This shows us we’re headed in the right direction,” Ian says. We couldn’t agree more.

We’ve decided to make St. Patrick’s Day a whole weekend of corned beef, cabbage and green beer March 18th – 20th. And we’ll end March with a Hawaiian Luau.

View all of our events!

When Miriam and Walter Sumpter told their four children they were planning to buy an RV and travel the country as work-campers, their adult children, Beth, Michelle, Sean, and Megan thought they were crazy. They don’t anymore.

The Sumpters took off less than twenty-four hours after Walter retired from his job managing the Academic Computer Department at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where they couple made there home. Miriam, who had worked in a doctor’s office, had already left her job in a doctor’s office.

The odyssey that eventually brought them to Tropical Palms began with a trip to Yellowstone Park, where they worked in Guest Services during the Park’s six month season. The couple quickly fell in love with the RV lifestyle.

They’d always loved the ocean so Sumpters next made their way to Camp Hatteras National Seashore and stayed for year, again working in Guest Services before returning to Yellowstone, where this time at the front desk of a hotel just outside the park. Their next stop was Apache Junction, Arizona, where they spent the winter. At each of these stops, their children would visit. Slowly the wisdom of their parents decision became apparent.

At a job fair in Apache Junction, the Sumpters applied for work at Disney World(R), where Miriam had always had a fantasy of playing a character. They were told to report for the following winter season, and so they headed back to Camp Hatteras from Apache Junction for the summer. But before the season started at Disney, the economy crashed and the Sumpters were told there wouldn’t be work at the Park after all. They decided to come to Florida anyway.

While in Camp Hatteras a friend told them about Tropical Palms and they came here to look it over, liked what they saw and stayed through the winter as work-campers, Miriam in the front office, greeting guests and checking them in, Walter assisting folks who’d arrived in their RVs get set up, and introducing them to the Resort’s amenities. It’s work he loves. “I want people to feel at home here. A lot of people show up stressed out from their time on the road – they’ve just had a long trip from Michigan or Ohio – and if I can make them feel good, I feel good,” Walter explains.

In fact, Walter and Miriam enjoy Tropical so much they’ve purchased a cottage in Sandcastles, which they occasionally rent – unless one of the children comes for a visit. And all of them visit, happy with the lifestyle their parents have chosen. The Sumpter plan for the future is to keep the RV until they can’t RV anymore, sell it and split their time between North Caroline and their Sandcastle cottage, One and all the kids agree that getting the RV was one of the smartest things Walter and Miriam have ever did.