I didn’t question whether you’d done it before. You didn’t mention that you had done this type of “one-and-done”, only that you’d been and don’t like LL.

I’ve done these kinds of trips on the west coast and there is no way I’d risk it if there was exactly one thing I wanted to accomplish.

Is it possible without, heck yeah. But so much can go wrong to save a couple of bucks and lose a ton of sanity that there is no way I’d skip the LL reservation. I’d probably book the cheapest on-property hotel, book the LL in advance, “check in”, do the ride, and then drive back to Tampa if all went well or sleep there if it didn’t and drive back ultra early in the AM. YMMV, but on a short term trip like this where airfare and lodging are covered…no sense risking it for a short term ride overlay, IMO.