If you are planning on staying in a motel, you had better be making your reservations as soon as possible. In addition to the AR going on that weekend, the Chiefs will be playing in town so rooms will be scarce. If you do not know your neighbors at the Royal, I think I would leave someone at the site to monitor and guard your belongings. (Just ask Scottie about what can happen.) We had all of our beer stolen at the event back in 1990. Although these are rare occurrances, they do happen.
The rules stipulate that you are allowed one vehicle to park in your designated area. These rules are strictly enforced, although they are a little more lax on Sunday. Liberty Lot, the designated parking area for contestants fills up quickly on Friday so I would recommend getting there by 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Friday night is the big party night and that is when the big crowd of 50,000 or more shows up. The crowd on Saturday is not near that many people.
In the past, I have had no problem driving into the cooking area between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. Any later than that, I cannot tell you if the guards are at the gates or not. Just make sure you have a spot to park in your area. I would strongly advice setting up your area before Friday. It can be rather difficult getting a 20 foot trailer in some particular spots on Friday. Last year it seemed almost two-thirds of the camps were set up on Thursday.
Lager,
Juggy D Beerman
Celebrating my 24th year at the Royal