Bike Riding

[Goofyseven]

If one should have brought bikes to FW, is it ok to ride them to other resorts?

I was thinking of visiting POFQ complex and exploring.

Thanks,

 

[Tri-circle-D]

You are not supposed to ride bikes on the roads outside of the Fort.

But people do.

There are no bike paths or sidewalks, and it is dangerous.

You can ride to Wilderness Lodge, but that is it.

TCD

 

[clkelley]

That is one of my biggest "Huh??" things about WDW. Why so few sidewalks around the property.

Getting to POFQ or Riverside from the Fort would be a 15 minute bike ride, or a 30 minute walk if there were sidewalks.

Believe it or not, getting to Epcot would be a 15 - 20 minute walk as the crow flies if there were a sidewalk.

Getting from OKW to POFQ would be only 5 minutes if there were a sidewalk.

 

[Goofyseven]

You are not supposed to ride bikes on the roads outside of the Fort.

But people do.

There are no bike paths or sidewalks, and it is dangerous.

You can ride to Wilderness Lodge, but that is it.

TCD

I havn't noticed any signs prohibiting riding bikes on the roadways, are there laws/rules published? It's been about 18 months since we camped at the Fort.

Yes, it is always a bit dangerous to ride on roads, but that's true where ever one rides.

 

[clkelley]

I've never seen any rules published, but I have read reports on here and other online forums that folks have been picked up by Disney security and driven to their location if seen walking/jogging in any area that didn't have a designated sidewalk or walking path.

Not sure about bicyles.

 

[Magicbus]

For those of you wanting to ride bikes from resort to resort on roads that are not specifically built to accept bikes safely, here's a question. Are you out of your minds? That goes for walking, jogging, etc.
If the answer is yes, well ok, I don't have a comeback. If it's no, then you won't do it.
Every other car is being drivin by someone that hasn't a clue where they're going, not to mention a lot of buses.

 

[John VN]

For those of you wanting to ride bikes from resort to resort on roads that are not specifically built to accept bikes safely, here's a question. Are you out of your minds? That goes for walking, jogging, etc.
If the answer is yes, well ok, I don't have a comeback. If it's no, then you won't do it.
Every other car is being drivin by someone that hasn't a clue where they're going, not to mention a lot of buses.

I bicycled 62 miles this morning on roads ranging from 30mph to 55mph. Felt fairly safe and had a great time.

NOTE: I have bicycled on WDW roads in the past and quite honestly I don't think I will be doing it again. Local yocal drivers around here pretty much know what's up but at WDW, there are way more crazy non local yoculs and it's not worth it.

 

[Magicbus]

If you're a CM, then you know better than anyone that CM's are by far, I stress by far, the worst drivers on WDW property.
You biked 62 miles in one morning. I have a tough enough time driving that distance, never mind doing it on a bicycle.
Where did you bike those 62 miles and felt safe doing it?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

If you look at the bottom right corner of this scan from the Fort Wilderness Gazette, you will see the rules about bike riding at the Fort:

This states that bicycles may be operated on the roads, as long as Florida law is followed. But, does this refer just to the roads in Fort Wilderness, or to the WDW resort as a whole? It doesn’t say.

By the way, this scan is from a 2009 edition of the Gazette. Since late 2009, the Gazette has been replaced by a combination map/newsletter. But the text in the new document regarding bicycles is the same. There are some marked differences regarding other topics, including pool hours, but that discussion will be on another day.

As has been recently mentioned, a big triathlon is being conducted at the Fort this coming weekend. There will be over 2000 participants. How will they get their bikes to the Fort?

Well, according to the website for the event, they are supposed to park their vehicles in the Magic Kingdom parking lot, and bike it to the Fort:

http://www.danskintriathlon.net/florida.html

Here is the text from that site that I am referring to:

TO MANDATORY BIKE RACKING: Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Participants staying at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort or Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort & Campground: Please walk/ride your bike to the Transition Area.

Participants NOT staying at the above Resort:
You will be REQUIRED to park at the Magic Kingdom® Park Main Parking Lot. From there, participants will be REQUIRED to walk/ride their bikes to the Transition Area which is approximately 1.5 miles from the Magic Kingdom® Park Parking Lot.

NOTE 1: It is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED that athletes walk/ride their bikes to the Transition Area on Saturday, non-participants should ride the shuttles. Shuttles will be provided back to the Magic Kingdom® Park Parking Lot.
NOTE 2: There is NO PARKING at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. If you try to park at the Campgrounds, you will be redirected to the Magic Kingdom® Park Parking Lot.

In my opinion, this is very unsafe.

Here are a couple of aerial shots of Vista Boulevard, which is the road that you drive on to arrive at the Fort entrance.

This is a shot from higher up. You can see a bus and some cars on the road:

Here is a more zoomed-in shot. You can see that there is no paved shoulder on this roadway, nor any kind of median:

As I mentioned, I have encountered bicyclists on this road in this area. It creates a very dangerous situation for everyone involved.

But, I have not found anything in writing that says you can’t bike on Vista Boulevard. I have some recollection of seeing this in writing somewhere, but I can’t find it. And, clearly, the triathlon participants are being expressly told to ride their bikes from the Magic Kingdom parking lot to the Fort.

So. maybe you can ride your bike over to the Port Orleans resort.

I think it is a very bad idea.

But, I guess it's up to you.

TCD

 

[Magicbus]

Disney makes special provisions regarding walking or riding bikes before during and I believe even after the race. Lots of cones, barriers, and crowd control CMs. I remember last year waiting for what seemed forever at the Seven Seas, World Drive intersection.

 

[ftwildernessrick]

I agree, I would not ride around on the roads now and they should have more sidewalks & bike paths.

Having said that I will plead guilty of having done it in the past. Back when it was only the Magic Kingdom, Disney had some sort of advanced waste water recycling system that used plants and some sort of solar collector in the service area behind MK and I wanted to see it. Well, I got on my 10 speed, made off FW property, went under the water bridge, past the Contemporary, Space Mountain & then got nabbed by security. So, I played the dumb tourist, "Gee, I didn't know; I sure am sorry (that I got caught); and I'll head back to the campground (mission failed).

So, I now stick to the paths around the Fort & WL.

 

[ElementCamper]

OP, you are a brave soul and a far more accomplished rider than me if you dare venture outside the Fort on the main roads riding a bike. As the above folks have said, if you don't get run over by someone looking at a map or CM late for work, you are likely to meet the Disney PoPo.

Unfortunately poor planning on Disney's part, limited to non-existent shoulders and sidewalks outside the resort area.

 

[YodaGirl]

Wasn't a 10 yr old boy hit by one of the WDW buses while biking in FtW not too long ago? Did they change any of the bike rules after that?

You biked 62 miles in one morning. I have a tough enough time driving that distance, never mind doing it on a bicycle.

Maybe he meant 6.2 miles? 62 is quite a lot...biking in a half ironman is 56; a full ironman is 112. Or maybe he's in training? Either way, my butt would go to sleep biking that much.

 

[retired and happy]

The boy was on a part of the sidewalk that ran close to the roadway and also where the bus had to move around a middle road island, so they were very close together. Apparently the boy veered into the roadway and hit the side of the bus and was pulled under. I haven't heard of any rules changes since then for bikes. It was a very sad incident.

 

[YodaGirl]

The boy was on a part of the sidewalk that ran close to the roadway and also where the bus had to move around a middle road island, so they were very close together. Apparently the boy veered into the roadway and hit the side of the bus and was pulled under. I haven't heard of any rules changes since then for bikes. It was a very sad incident.

Ah, okay. I had heard briefly about it, but never knew what happened during the accident or afterwards. Very sad, indeed.

 

[schmitty]

It is 100% legal to ride on any public road at WDW. Will you die riding around the property? Probably not, but the roads are tight and lots of busses travel on the back roads.

 

[Magicbus]

OP, you are a brave soul and a far more accomplished rider than me if you dare venture outside the Fort on the main roads riding a bike. As the above folks have said, if you don't get run over by someone looking at a map or CM late for work, you are likely to meet the Disney PoPo.

Unfortunately poor planning on Disney's part, limited to non-existent shoulders and sidewalks outside the resort area.

Tell me about non existent shoulders.
How would you like driving a 40 foot bus on those roads where there is no more than a foot of pavement beyond the white line. It's my biggest concern.
Drivers have to guess where the line is. Crossing the white line and going onto the grass hasn't happened to me, but I've heard other drivers talk about it. It's pretty scary.

 

[John VN]

......Maybe he meant 6.2 miles? 62 is quite a lot...biking in a half ironman is 56; a full ironman is 112. Or maybe he's in training? Either way, my butt would go to sleep biking that much.

Nope, not 6.2 miles or in training. Actually, 62 miles is a warm up for me. My longest to date was last Halloween when I rode 201 miles. Took a little over 11 hours. Not too bad for a 59yo.

BTW, Fl. has a 3 foot law. When passing a bicycle rider the vehicle must be at least 3 feet away from the rider and bicycle riding is WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.

Please wear a helmet when bicycling. Children under 16yo must wear a helmet when riding per Fl. Law.

 

[jeeprider09]

My Fiance and I always ride over to Wilderness Lodge. There is a path connecting Fort Wilderness Campgrounds to the Wilderness Lodge. We just park our bikes over there and explore the Lodge or even take the ferry to the Contemporary Resort to get on the Monorail. Have fun!

 

[YodaGirl]

Nope, not 6.2 miles or in training. Actually, 62 miles is a warm up for me. My longest to date was last Halloween when I rode 201 miles. Took a little over 11 hours. Not too bad for a 59yo.

BTW, Fl. has a 3 foot law. When passing a bicycle rider the vehicle must be at least 3 feet away from the rider and bicycle riding is WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.

Please wear a helmet when bicycling. Children under 16yo must wear a helmet when riding per Fl. Law.

201 miles in 11 hours = avg of 18 mph. Looking at Ironman bike leg speeds, right there.

Yes, I understand FL state law. I just feel sorry for the car in the oncoming lane when a bus comes upon a bike rider and has to give them 3 ft passing distance.