Golf carts and bikes

[kaytieedid]

We rented a camper that's being delivered to Ft. Wilderness this summer for a week. We thought this might be a more economical way to do Disney, but things are quickly adding up. Is a golf cart and or bikes a total necessity? We would prefer not to have the added expense but we don't want to have trouble getting around either. Thanks!

 

[Pstecker]

The bus system in the fort goes all around the campground pretty regularly. Having a golf cart or bike is more an enhancement than a must.

 

[Chkysbak]

We typically get golf carts, but its a want versus a need. We don't get them through Disney we get them at TeeTime Golf Rentals. We have used them in the past and are great to work with. This coming up trip, I am renting two

 

[bama_ed]

We rented a camper that's being delivered to Ft. Wilderness this summer for a week. We thought this might be a more economical way to do Disney, but things are quickly adding up. Is a golf cart and or bikes a total necessity? We would prefer not to have the added expense but we don't want to have trouble getting around either. Thanks!

Neither are a necessity.

If folks have $65 a day to pay for a 4-seat golf cart, more power to them. I don't feel the need to spend the money.

Bikes are nice if you are driving in from home and already have them because they give kids and you greater mobility but again they aren't necessary. There are sidewalks all over the Fort which are safe for kids to ride on.

But can you get along without either one? Sure - people have been doing it for decades. If you are a Type A personality and the thought of having to wait 10 minutes for a bus gives you hives, well, you might have issues. So relax and enjoy the experience.

You'll be fine.

Bama ed

 

[peg110]

I concur with what others have said. It's not necessary to have either. The buses are regular and pretty reliable every time I have been there. One time we did rent the Carts for our trip. It was more for the DW and kids though. We were in the 300 loop and my wife really didn't want to walk to the pool with the kids. That being said, it's really not that far. The sidewalks are great and safe too.

If you have it to bring with you, then bikes would probably be awesome too. We haven't brought our bikes in the past, I but I think I will be bringing them next time (June 2016).

If you are looking to save the $$$$ then I would nix the rental of bikes or a cart. If you want the Bikes for seeing more (like riding all through the fort and going to Wilderness Lodge or similar) then maybe the bikes. This would be more for enjoyment and less for necessity of transportation.

 

[veraletta]

I love renting golf carts when I have extra money to do so, but there are times that I don't want to spend the extra money for the golf cart. The bus are just fine, they come about every 20 minutes or so. You can walk to some of the stuff depends on where your site is. I think this trip I'm going to rent a golf cart for one day, just so I can show the people we are bring with us to Disney. I will miss the golf cart as they are fun, but Disney is asking to much to rent them any more. So your answer is no that you don't really need them, but they are fun... but again you are renting something that will spend most of your trip parked...As you will be at the park..

 

[JETS70]

We have rented from Kenny's twice. As seems to be the consensus, the golf carts are not a necessity but I believe enhance the Fort experience. The DW and I enjoy looping and seeing the other campsites as well as meeting fellow campers. We enjoy getting a cup of coffee and taking a ride around the Fort early in the morning. I will say that I have always considered myself somewhat of a patient person but I have to admit being able to ride up to the main bus stop (not waiting for an internal bus) and hop on a bus to your destination is nice as well as when you return from a long day being able to get off the first bus, jump in your cart, and start back to your site without having to wait on an internal bus. We enjoyed the carts so much that we decided to purchase a used one to use at the Fort as well as at Kentucky state parks who have just recently started allowing cart use.

 

[grumpyaggie]

Last year we did not rent a cart and DW had hip problems. So this year we rented from Kenny, half the price of Disney. We brought 2 of our dogs this trip and they loved the golf cart. If it moved with them in it, we are going to the doggie park. We were it site 728, which is pretty much across the street from the settlement and boat dock. Not much of a walk, but the cart was nice after a long day at the parks.
We gave 6 or 7 couples rides to their RV, as I think it rained almost every night. Trying to take care of the old (i'm 73) and couples with young children.
Enjoyed looping and talking to the campers.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Recently got back from our first trip and were so happy we brought our bikes. It was so much fun and a lot faster than walking. The buses aren't too bad, you have to catch the bus from your area of the campground to the main area, then catch another bus to get to the parks, unless you are doing MK, then you can take the boat. The boat ride was very enjoyable. We went over to Poly and GF to eat by taking the boat over, then hopping the monorail. We also rode our bikes to Wilderness Lodge to eat, that was really enjoyable! The golf carts did seem convenient tho, we wouldn't do them personally as the prices at FW were high and we were happy with how we were doing it.

 

[7KLucky]

Is this applicable for all areas or are there some "worse" than others? This will be our first time at the Fort and I'm wondering the same thing. We don't mind walking but I know we are always tired after the parks.....

 

[Teamubr]

Is this applicable for all areas or are there some "worse" than others?

It really depends on what loop you get into and what you plan on doing during your stay. We spend most of our time at the parks. Because of the convenience of the boats and the bus depot at the Settlement, we book a Preferred site and request Loop 100 that is right next to the Settlement. There are only 3 Preferred loops and all 3 are fairly close to the beach. This makes a really short walk to the boat dock and the Settlement bus depot. It is a good walk or internal bus ride to the pool or Outpost, but we don't head that way nearly as often as the other. My DW won't ride a bike and we are too cheap to get a cart, so Preferred sites are the best option for us.
The cabins and full/partial sites are a good hike/bike/cart or bus ride to the Settlement or Outpost. Some are a good walk to the pools. The most loops are Premium. They are scattered throughout the Fort and you may not get into the area you would really like to be. (close to the Settlement or by the pool/campfire) Loop requests are just that, a request.
I'm with you on being tired at the end of the day. Remember, the Fort is about a mile from the Settlement (boat dock) to the Outpost at the other end. If I couldn't get a Preferred site, I would probably consider getting a cart since the DW doesn't bike or walk that far, especially after a long day walking in the parks.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Is this applicable for all areas or are there some "worse" than others? This will be our first time at the Fort and I'm wondering the same thing. We don't mind walking but I know we are always tired after the parks.....

Shauna,

One thing to consider is how you plan to get back and forth between the parks. And that depends on if you have a car or not (drove to WDW from home or got a rental).

Personally, I only use Disney external transport to the MK (we take the boats). That's the only time we might depend on internal Fort transportation (it's also one reason we have requested a Preferred campsite the last three trips which are closest to the boat docks so we can walk it). We drive to the other Disney theme parks which has free parking as an on-site guest perk. Makes sense since we drive to WDW pulling our camper.

If you have the option to drive up to the door of your camper or cabin, that negates some of the need for internal Fort transportation to reach external transportation to reach the parks (other than MK).

Golf carts are an expensive convenience and if you have the money to spend then go for it. But I don't want folks to get the impression that you HAVE TO HAVE a golf cart to enjoy the Fort. Everyone's situation is different and if age or some physical limitation makes a cart more attractive, that's a no-brainer. Off-site rental options run about $40 a day versus Disney's $65 a day (4-seater prices).

I rented a cart once back during a Thanksgiving trip to the Fort since we had some "seasoned citizens" in our party and it was good for them and sure it was fun. But in all my trips to the Fort that's the only time I've done it and we still love the Fort.

Bama Ed

 

[7KLucky]

Thank you for your replies. We will have a car and I think we will use it for HS and AK. We plan to use the boat and monorail otherwise. The advice on here is always so wonderful. I don't mind spending the money on a cart but it just seems like a waste for us because we won't spend a ton of time at the resort....we just aren't that type of group.

 

[amylevan]

I just thought I'd chime in that we rely solely on Disney transportation (that's on DH, he says he has to drive the 1000 miles to get there, he is NOT driving while we are there..); we do not rent a golf cart because it just isn't how I want to spend vacation dollars, and I am a total Type A personality who does get hives if things aren't going to plan. And we survive just fine.

Our last few trips have all been in the 400 loop, so we've walked to the Settlement and either hopped on the bus to the outpost for the park buses or got on the boat to the MK.

 

[7KLucky]

I just thought I'd chime in that we rely solely on Disney transportation (that's on DH, he says he has to drive the 1000 miles to get there, he is NOT driving while we are there..); we do not rent a golf cart because it just isn't how I want to spend vacation dollars, and I am a total Type A personality who does get hives if things aren't going to plan. And we survive just fine.

Our last few trips have all been in the 400 loop, so we've walked to the Settlement and either hopped on the bus to the outpost for the park buses or got on the boat to the MK.

I requested 400 loop too.

 

[kaytieedid]

Thanks everyone! We've decided to pass on the golf cart. We're flying in and won't have a car or bikes. We like to do the parks in the morning and spend the afternoon at the pool. Any suggestions on a good loop for that scenario?

 

[peg110]

Well the (main) Pool is fairly central to Fort Wilderness, and the Settlement and Outpost (both points to access transportation to the other parks) are on either end of the fort. So that being said, what do you want to walk/take transportation to "Less"?

I would say that being close to the pool would be ideal. Use the internal buses to the Outpost or Settlement to get to the parks. That being said, the 1300, 1400 or 600 loop is a short walk to the pool. Last time we were there we were at site 1401. It was about a 5 minute walk to the pool so it's not bad. It's a bit of a longer walk to the Settlement, however the internal buses are fairly reliable and timely.

Check out the map of the fort here ----> http://www.disneydrawingboard.com/WDW/MKArea/Fort Wilderness/OldFortWildernessMap.gif

 

[austinwildflower]

We stayed in the centrally-located 2000 loop over spring break without a golf cart. It would have been more convenient to have one at times, but not worth the expense to me. It's only an issue if you're the type to run late for things and you have tightly scheduled reservations, or if the weather is bad. During the pleasant spring weather, walking was nice, and the buses weren't terrible to wait for. Relax, you're camping- that feeling is one thing I love about Fort Wilderness that no other Disney resort can provide.

 

[peg110]

Relax, you're camping- that feeling is one thing I love about Fort Wilderness that no other Disney resort can provide.

That's good advice. I find that when it comes to getting to the Parks, the stress level goes up. When it's downtime at the fort, it's nice to relax and not worry.

I think a big issue for some is that when spending so much money (whether for the fort or the parks) that they want to maximize the value. I know I can easily fall into that trap too. I do find, however, that if I don't focus on that, I have a better time.

 

[NightGuardianAngel]

We rented a camper that's being delivered to Ft. Wilderness this summer for a week. We thought this might be a more economical way to do Disney, but things are quickly adding up. Is a golf cart and or bikes a total necessity? We would prefer not to have the added expense but we don't want to have trouble getting around either. Thanks!

As for me, if you have no medical conditions that prevent you from riding and peddling a bicycle, I would recommend bringing a bicycle instead of renting a golf cart. They are easier to pack and store and they get you around just as fast. Make sure to bring a lock for your bicycle as well too.