The weekend is 7 and 8 November
Repticon returns to Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds for two days. Saturday 7 November 2026 runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday 8 November runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The address is 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa, FL 33610. Expo Hall’s next booking is the Junior League Holiday Gift Market, 13 to 15 November.
Saturday rewards an early gate. Sunday opens at 10 a.m. with four other events on the grounds.
Gate 1 is the entrance to plan around
The Fairgrounds assigns Expo Hall to the U.S. Hwy 301 Entrance, Gate 1. Its parking catalogue repeats the instruction on the Repticon product: “Good for One Time Entry Only. Enter thru HWY 301 entrance.” Two other venue records name the same gate, the site-wide venue roster and the Holiday Gift Market event page on the same calendar. The Repticon event page’s own Where to Enter line reads MLK JR BLVD. Plan the 301 gate and confirm at the window if a sign disagrees.
Sunday carries five shows
The venue calendar lists five events on 8 November. The Spirit Clash Cheerleading Competition runs 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Entertainment Hall. The SFRHA Green Spectacular runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Equestrian Rings. The Tampa Bay Fall RV Show runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Midway. The 67th Annual Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Special Events Center. Repticon opens at 10 a.m. in Expo Hall.
Saturday is lighter. The SFRHA event opens at 8 a.m. and the other three shows at 9 a.m.
Two of those Sunday shows sell parking through the U.S. Hwy 301 entrance: Repticon and Spirit Clash. The cheer competition opens three hours before Repticon, so the 301 lane already carries traffic when the reptile buyers arrive.
Settle the parking before you leave home
Parking is $10 in advance and $12 at the fairground gate. The Repticon item in the venue’s pre-purchase catalogue covers 7 and 8 November and buys one entry through the 301 gate. Each ticket is good for one parking entry, parking does not include event entry, and tickets are not refundable, not transferable and carry no rainchecks. All sales are final.
One entry inside a two-day window catches people out. A family that drives out Saturday, returns to the hotel and comes back Sunday pays twice, $20 prepaid against $24 at the gate. Buy one ticket per day you park.
What the gate charges
The event page prints admission as a range from $12 to $15, with children 4 and under free. Two single-day adult tickets cost $24 to $30. Budget the top of the range and check the show’s ticket page for the day price.
The room within a short drive of the gate
The Fairgrounds lists seven hotel partners with its own distances. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino is 0.2 miles out and sits directly across the street, inside walking range of Gate 1. Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino is 1.5 miles, opened in 2025 and parks guests free. Staybridge Suites Tampa-Brandon is 2.7 miles with all-suite rooms and full kitchens. Hilton Garden Inn Tampa East/Brandon is 2.8 miles. Courtyard Tampa-Brandon is 4.4 miles, Cambria Hotel Tampa-Brandon is 5 miles and Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa East is 5 miles.
Free parking at the Wyndham is a lever on the hotel side of the budget. The property charges nothing for the space and sits 1.5 miles out, and a guest who drives up still buys a $10 lot ticket each day.
Which nights the schedule needs
Saturday and Sunday both on the floor needs two nights, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November, with a Sunday checkout. That shape covers the 9 a.m. Saturday open and the 10 a.m. Sunday open. It gives up Sunday afternoon, because a checkout falls before the 4 p.m. close.
A third night, Sunday 8, holds the room through the last afternoon and turns Monday into the departure. A Sunday-only visit needs one night, Saturday 7, with a checkout before the 10 a.m. open. Doors start late enough that a standard checkout and a ten-minute drive both fit.
What to put in the room request
Ask for a Sunday late checkout in writing if you hold two nights and want the final afternoon. Ask what the property charges for overnight parking, because a $10 gate entry each day sits on that number. Ask the 0.2-mile property to confirm the walk to Gate 1 in writing. Then price the third night against Sunday afternoon at the close.
hotelhuddle cannot process hotel booking requests from or for Florida residents. The seller of travel notice, dated 21 October 2026, names Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. Route a Tampa block to the property sales office and ask for the rate, the cancellation term and the overnight parking charge in writing.