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Old 08-20-2013, 07:42 AM   #1
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Topsail SP Reservations Reminder-Book Early!

Just made our booking for the annual family beach pilgrimage for summer 2014...even with me reserving 11 months out still didn't get my preferred site but still in the preferred loop...gotta act fast, this place is like liquid gold! LoL



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Old 08-20-2013, 08:47 AM   #2
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Let me throw a little grist for the mill out there regarding reservations, especially at popular destinations like Topsail. Many people know this already, but it is worth repeating. The reservation window is based on the first day of your reservation, not the last. If you are reserving for anything shorter than 2-weeks, that puts you at a disadvantage competing against 2-week reservations. In other words, the window is 11 months, but with a 2-week stay, it is actually 11 months + 2 weeks. So by the time you make a shorter reservation, the 2-week people have already reserved days ago and gotten all the good spots (like sites #72 - #75 at Topsail, for example). Here is the trick people use: they make a 2-week reservation as soon as the 11-month window opens, then down the road cancel those bogus days and take the $10 hit for reservation modification and get a refund. I have been the victim of this little trick in the past when reserving at popular campgrounds. If you can afford to carry those extra days on your credit card for a little while, that is the only way to beat the system. Of course, if you are reserving for 2 weeks anyway, it doesn't matter. And places like Topsail, you need to be on-line at 9:00AM sharp (or whenever the window opens), and be quick.

Bob
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Old 08-20-2013, 09:20 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by w4drr View Post
Let me throw a little grist for the mill out there regarding reservations, especially at popular destinations like Topsail. Many people know this already, but it is worth repeating. The reservation window is based on the first day of your reservation, not the last. If you are reserving for anything shorter than 2-weeks, that puts you at a disadvantage competing against 2-week reservations. In other words, the window is 11 months, but with a 2-week stay, it is actually 11 months + 2 weeks. So by the time you make a shorter reservation, the 2-week people have already reserved days ago and gotten all the good spots (like sites #72 - #75 at Topsail, for example). Here is the trick people use: they make a 2-week reservation as soon as the 11-month window opens, then down the road cancel those bogus days and take the $10 hit for reservation modification and get a refund. I have been the victim of this little trick in the past when reserving at popular campgrounds. If you can afford to carry those extra days on your credit card for a little while, that is the only way to beat the system. Of course, if you are reserving for 2 weeks anyway, it doesn't matter. And places like Topsail, you need to be on-line at 9:00AM sharp (or whenever the window opens), and be quick.

Bob
Same issue down here for the popular SC SP's. Hunting Island is notoriously hard to get into during the summer. I've been out there 3 times since purchasing the RV in March of 13. Each time I got "in" was from me constantly hitting refresh for days at a time until someone cancelled and I happened to snag it. Someone I know told me about the trick you described above. Thanks for posting it to this forum. Using your trick is exactly how I got the spot I wanted for Spring Break of 2014.
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Old 08-20-2013, 09:56 AM   #4
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Same issue down here for the popular SC SP's. Hunting Island is notoriously hard to get into during the summer. I've been out there 3 times since purchasing the RV in March of 13. Each time I got "in" was from me constantly hitting refresh for days at a time until someone cancelled and I happened to snag it. Someone I know told me about the trick you described above. Thanks for posting it to this forum. Using your trick is exactly how I got the spot I wanted for Spring Break of 2014.
As a matter of fact, I ran into this same problem at the State Park on the next island up the chain....Edisto Beach. I wanted to make a reservation for one week, and just couldn't bring myself to book two. (It just seems dishonest to do it that way). Anyway, as soon as the window opened, and at 9:00AM sharp I jumped in there, just to find all the good sites were already taken.

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Old 08-20-2013, 10:03 AM   #5
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As a matter of fact, I ran into this same problem at the State Park on the next island up the chain....Edisto Beach. I wanted to make a reservation for one week, and just couldn't bring myself to book two. (It just seems dishonest to do it that way). Anyway, as soon as the window opened, and at 9:00AM sharp I jumped in there, just to find all the good sites were already taken.

Bob
Funny you should mention Edisto Beach.... DW and I are headed there this weekend. I was on the web yesterday and happend to see a spot opened for Friday and Saturday night. I snagged it up.......I also learned a new trick recently. DW is a school teacher so I can't pick up the phone from work and speak with her. I have to wait until she gets her break to speak with her. So when I find something I think we may want, I select "book these dates" and it places that site in my "cart" for 15 minutes (no one can reserve it while it's in my cart). If the 15 minutes runs out, I empty the cart and immediately add it back to the cart. I did this for almost an hour and 15 minutes yesterday in order to keep it from getting reserved while I waited for her to call me.
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Old 08-20-2013, 10:59 AM   #6
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Funny you should mention Edisto Beach.... DW and I are headed there this weekend. I was on the web yesterday and happend to see a spot opened for Friday and Saturday night. I snagged it up.......I also learned a new trick recently. DW is a school teacher so I can't pick up the phone from work and speak with her. I have to wait until she gets her break to speak with her. So when I find something I think we may want, I select "book these dates" and it places that site in my "cart" for 15 minutes (no one can reserve it while it's in my cart). If the 15 minutes runs out, I empty the cart and immediately add it back to the cart. I did this for almost an hour and 15 minutes yesterday in order to keep it from getting reserved while I waited for her to call me.
It's amazing all these devious tricks we are forced to employ just to get a reservation.

Bob
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Old 08-20-2013, 12:38 PM   #7
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It's amazing all these devious tricks we are forced to employ just to get a reservation.

Bob
Yep...and who says this camping stuff would be stress free! LOL



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Old 08-20-2013, 02:10 PM   #8
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I'm glad all the kids are back in school!!! I can finally get into Top Sail. Heading down Monday (Labor Day as you guys pullout) or Tuesday. Have a good and safe Labor Day!!
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Old 08-20-2013, 03:01 PM   #9
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I'm glad all the kids are back in school!!! I can finally get into Top Sail. Heading down Monday (Labor Day as you guys pullout) or Tuesday. Have a good and safe Labor Day!!
Yep...I have a strong feeling once our kids are out the home & we're retired, this whole reservation debacle gonna be much easier!



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Old 08-20-2013, 03:10 PM   #10
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Yep...I have a strong feeling once our kids are out the home & we're retired, this whole reservation debacle gonna be much easier!
You're right, but cherish those moments they go by fast!!!!!!
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Old 08-20-2013, 03:18 PM   #11
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Yep...I have a strong feeling once our kids are out the home & we're retired, this whole reservation debacle gonna be much easier!
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You're right, but cherish those moments they go by fast!!!!!!
Yes enjoy them while you can. Now we get to sneak of once or twice a year with the 3 grandkids ages 3, 7 and 10. They love going to the beach for the weekend with us and NO parents!!! HAHAHAHA
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Old 08-23-2013, 12:55 AM   #12
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You can always check back a couple of months before you want to go as well and see if anyone has cancelled. We were able to get 5 nights in September back in July for two sites 64 & 66. Looking forward to it! First Topsail visit.
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Old 08-23-2013, 05:34 AM   #13
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I hope I am not opening up a can of worms here but her goes. There seems to be an unpublished fact about Topsail. There are about 28 sites that "some" people book for 30 days at a time. That is about 17% of the sites. You call Reserve America and they don't know about them. I book two weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall, I go by the published rules. There are always people on certain sites that are there when I get there and they are still there when I leave two weeks later, they are some of the same people I see year after year. That is one reason it is very difficult to get a site at Topsail. You will be hard pressed to get any information concerning these "longer term sites". I was told this is the only Fl. State park this is done in. I don't know if "they" allow this in the middle of the summer or not, because I am usually there in May and September.
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Old 08-23-2013, 08:06 AM   #14
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I hope I am not opening up a can of worms here but her goes. There seems to be an unpublished fact about Topsail. There are about 28 sites that "some" people book for 30 days at a time. That is about 17% of the sites. You call Reserve America and they don't know about them. I book two weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall, I go by the published rules. There are always people on certain sites that are there when I get there and they are still there when I leave two weeks later, they are some of the same people I see year after year. That is one reason it is very difficult to get a site at Topsail. You will be hard pressed to get any information concerning these "longer term sites". I was told this is the only Fl. State park this is done in. I don't know if "they" allow this in the middle of the summer or not, because I am usually there in May and September.
Interesting. I was not aware of this. Is it possible, since Topsail was a private RV resort up until a few years ago, that some people may have been granted special privileges when it was sold to the state? Some (or all) of the sites may have been timeshare sites, and the state would buy them out and/or offer some kind of deal like extended stay options. I'm only guessing here. I have a few friends that spend a lot of time at Topsail and I will inquire.

Bob
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