Golf Cart Rental

[neffernie]

I rented from Beachline at the end of May. It was easy. I sent a request online. Spoke to Brian (maybe Bill?) on the phone to confirm everything. Paid and signed the contract online.

On the day we picked up the cart we met at the kennel down the street. I hopped in the truck with Brian while DH followed. We used my MB to get in the overflow lot to unload the cart.

For pickup DH met the same guy by the yellow poles in the overflow lot. He hopped in the truck. They used his MB to get into the lot and then drove to the cart and loaded it on the trailer.

Overall we were very pleased with the experience. It was also nice having the only yellow golf cart in the sea of green ones.

 

[sweet maxine]

Well, apparently, this is still the $64,000 question in my household. DH is not convinced of the possible ease with which an outside rental could be handled. At this point in the planning, he seems happy to pay the going rate at the campgrounds for the cart.

It is still up for discussion, though. I am reminding him of the budget of which I have been entrusted to plan for the trip.

Thanks for all of the insight. I appreciate the helpful posts. It seems the big concern with my dh is in regard to what would happen in the case of some kind of accident with an outside rental. Say, for example, you accidentally bumped someone in a Disney rental. I don't know what kind of damage that might cause, but it is one of the things he is worried about.

 

[Luv_Tink]

DH talked with Bill, the owner at Beachline Golf Carts, today because we saw a post in the Resorts forum that Disney was cracking down even more on outside vendors. We have a reservation with Beachline for two weeks in December. Bill is frantically trying to figure out a way to still honor reservations.

According to Bill, Disney now will only allow you to bring a cart into FW if the vehicle towing it is registered to your campsite or cabin. This would suggest that we can no longer drive the vendor's truck into FW to take delivery of the cart, regardless of where we meet them offsite. You would need to use your personal vehicle or a vehicle you are renting to take possession of a golf cart.

We are keeping our reservation with Beachline for now to see how things shake out and research other options. Renting from them would save us over $500 over Disney's prices. If it comes down to it, we will probably forgo the cart instead of giving in to Disney's prices.

I'm curious to see what others experience in the coming weeks with summer season now in full swing.

 

[sweet maxine]

According to Bill, Disney now will only allow you to bring a cart into FW if the vehicle towing it is registered to your campsite or cabin. This would suggest that we can no longer drive the vendor's truck into FW to take delivery of the cart, regardless of where we meet them offsite. You would need to use your personal vehicle or a vehicle you are renting to take possession of a golf cart.

For now, we are keeping a ressie with the Bike Barn. That's a shame that it has become so difficult for outside sources to provide rentals at the fort.

 

[Luv_Tink]

For now, we are keeping a ressie with the Bike Barn. That's a shame that it has become so difficult for outside sources to provide rentals at the fort.

We are going to make a reservation with Disney just in case. Hopefully, we'll be able to cancel it and stick with Beachline. I hope Disney can keep up with the demand during the busier seasons.

 

[double r]

We were able to get our cart with Tee Time with no problem, things went well and the cart was where he said it would be when he called us, the only thing was no rain shield but he told me if we wanted them he could get them to us.

 

[Mfisc]

I just got back from my trip and had a rental with Beachline... I was able to meet him off site and drive in with him, But he did tell me that I was one of the last ones he was able to do that with (at-least for the moment)

Overall his service was great... The tire had a small leak so he swapped out the whole unit for me (he always keeps one cart unrented to make anything issues easy to resolve) and I ended up needing a EVC for my dad .. texted him at 11pm and had one at 8am.

I wonder if you just added him to your reservation if he could then just come and go with no problem

 

[cgerdon02]

Any updates on this policy? Still unsure if we should go through all the hassle to get a golf cart or if we should just go without?

 

[HCFR DE 531]

Hmmm...We weren't able to rent with Kenny since he was booked solid the week we are going, but we were able to reserve two carts with Beachline. We were told that they would need to meet us off property to pick up the carts, but we don't have a way to tow them in. If anyone has experience or a some-what easy way to get them in, we'd love to hear about it.

 

[Luv_Tink]

I suggest calling and discussing it with the company you'd like to rent from. From what I understand, it's a very fluid issue and things can change on very short notice. I did hear of one company having their cart confiscated by Disney within the last couple of weeks but I do not know the details.

If you want to be guaranteed a cart for your trip or you want the least amount of inconvenience, then rent from FW. If you're willing to try working with an outside company and don't mind a bit of a gamble, then give it a shot.

Our trip isn't until December, so we currently have reservations with an outside company as well as with FW. We'll wait and see how things play out before we decide what to do.

 

[double r]

Rumor has it that Disney has lowered their rate to rent a cart, sorry not sure what it was but heard this when we were there last week. I believe it was under $60 a day(not sure) but still higher then the outside vendors.

 

[cgerdon02]

How do you reserve a Disney cart?

 

[mapmakerj]

FYI I just booked a cart for one night in Dec thru Disney and it was $59, so $62.84 with tax. For one night we figured it was less hassle to just get one from them then go offsite. For the poster above who asked, you just call (407) 824-2742, which is the Bike Barn, to make your rental. They just take a credit card to hold and charge you the day before pickup. You have until 48hrs before your rental to cancel without penalty.

 

[sweet maxine]

I realize that this has something to do with loss of revenue for Disney, but I also wonder if it has something to do with an over-run of outside carts in the campground.

 

[bama_ed]

Rumor has it that Disney has lowered their rate to rent a cart, sorry not sure what it was but heard this when we were there last week. I believe it was under $60 a day(not sure) but still higher then the outside vendors.

rr,

The $59 rate for a 4-seater was the going rate, I believe. I've told people to budget $65 per day to add in tax as well. The 6-seater is $79/day or $85/day in the budget process.

It would be nice if Disney "right-sized" their pricing because the total revenue collected would probably increase given the convenience factor of renting and returning on-site. But I don't believe it will EVER happen.

Bama Ed

PS - Oh, BTW here is the number to call if you want a Disney cart from THE MAN....

 

[dalspot]

I just got off the phone with Kelly at Tee Time - setting up the rental for our November stay.

We will have to drive to the Winn Dixie on South Apopka Vineland Road which is 5 miles from FW. If we have a ball hitch on our trailer, we will hook up to their trailer containing the golf cart and drive it to our site and unload, then return the trailer to them. They do this in the afternoon. Reverse that for a morning pickup. If you do not have a ball hitch, they will let you drive their truck back to your campsite to unload the cart and then return.

She told me this is the closest place that WDW will allow them to meet with a customer.

 

[sirenia88]

Hi,

This royally sucks. My wife got wind of this whole issue a few months ago when we were planning our trip for November. The company my parents are renting the trailer from said they can bring one cart to the site in which the trailer being set up at. However, to rent a second cart, the were not going to be able to fulfill the request.

Since my wife has been observing this from afar, she felt it was best i handle this aspect as I a) will have the truck and know what I have to tow with. b) I will be there 2 days beforehand. Now I am coming up to speed about this with this thread.

So I called around local to me, no company was going to rent with the unit going out of state. The one company said "they would think about it." They asked why I was looking into renting for Disney, I told them. They thought it was pretty silly.

Now calling around the Orlando area is another thing. A few of the rental places were closed for the day. Some wanted to leave a message. After calling a few places, Bill from Beachline Golf carts was the only to pick up and answer the phones. He said right now to place the reservation for the rental. He would meet at a designated location for the exchange. If things change between now and our vacation in November, he would contact us to let us know this sooner than later. He said the possibility is lurking Disney could try banning local off site pick ups or outside carts in general. (That would be the Disney way.)

As for the on site rentals, this is looking like the 4 wheel version of the precious cable modems to have the Internet in your trailer. Good luck to all who are going in the next few months.

 

[tiggerdad]

Sirenia,

I been watching this situation for my November trip as well. I was debating bringing my own cart or renting from Kenny. My cart really wont ride in the bed of my truck with the rear seat footrest sticking out it will make turning difficult.

So Kenny is looking more realistic. I have to wonder how Disney can hope to ban all local rental carts without also banning people from bringing their personal carts as well. I do believe Disney is trying to figure this out though to get more cash.

The common sense thing tells me that if I am Disney and I am charging twice what the local renters are charging I don't think it would take me long to realize that if I brought my price down I would rent more carts...thus offsetting the lost profits and actually increase profits. Even if they came down to just a little more than the local renters charged people would choose them over local renters simply based on convience.

I'll touch base with Kenny this week and have the backup plan of bicycles ready if needed.

 

[bigblock396]

Hi,

He said the possibility is lurking Disney could try banning local off site pick ups or outside carts in general. (That would be the Disney way.)

I've been wondering/waiting for Disney to ban all outside carts but I would be really surprised if they did. Can you imagine how many upset people there would be if they couldn't bring their own golf cart. However, some of those "beefed-up" fast private carts need to be banned. I know my kids would not be happy. They enjoy riding around on our cart.

Agree with tiggerdad, they really need to lower their price and they would probably rent more carts. Win-Win for everyone.

 

[Madonna3]

Has anyone been successful yet at an off-site rental as of June or July? We're scheduled to arrive August 9th and I have a reservation with Disney and the offsite company and trying to decide which one to cancel.