With 2 kids and a wife relying on me to make sure we have a place to stay on arrival, we do NOT just show up and hope for a spot.
Picking a particular site vs just grabbing whichever one pops up first as "available" depends on the CG for us. I had to make reservations at several parks this year that we've never been to before. I tried to find pictures online or to get site recommendations here but most of the time I just picked one.
Waiting 5 hours for a heavenly spot for a week's stay would stink but probably sooo worth the earned brownie points(;
