Creative Ideas for those who find Disney golf cart rental prices out of budget?

[jenhelgren]

We stayed at the Ft for the first time last week and loved it! I did rent a golf cart after my daughter's begging and did not regret it-we had a ton of fun but the total rental fee for more than a night or two would be way out of budget for me, so I am looking for creative ideas and know the boards is the best place to ask!!

We have bikes but would need to get a rack to transport them so that is a valid option for us. For myself and both kids, the Disney bike rentals came to 60 and the cart was only 70 so I have crossed bike rental off the list. I saw some with motorized scooters and was going to price that option. I saw that Disney makes it very difficult to use off site rentals for golf carts, does anyone have any advice for the easiest way to attempt it? or other money savings tips to have our own ride around the Fort?

I appreciate any and all advice and suggestions!

 

[bama_ed]

According to Disney's own current rules, electric (motorized) scooters are not permitted.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/r...ilderness-resort/services-amenities/#readLess (go to the "Vehicles and Recreational Devices" section and click "Read more").



Enforcing rules is a weakness FW has but I feel compelled to point out what the rules are.

DW and I are bike people. We tow a pop-up camper behind our SUV and I got a hitch to put on the FRONT of the SUV to carry our bikes when we go to campgrounds.

We have rented a Disney golf cart before but not for every day of our stay. If you rent it to drive to one end of the Fort to get to a park (and back), that's an expensive taxi. We've gotten it when we could string together some non-park days when we spend most time at the Fort itself.

Third party cart rentals are certainly cheaper but yes, Disney makes it inconvenient (on purpose) to prop up their own rentals. It does take time out of your vacation to pick it up and then to return it as well. In my head, anything over 3 days would be a 3rd party rental but 3 or less would be a Disney rental (were I to want a cart at all).

Personally I like the bike/bike rack option as that's something you can also use to take the bikes to a city park, the beach, or other places. Also, note that in the screen grab above, if you click the 'official rules and regs' link, it says bikes are to be ridden on the sidewalks at the Fort fwiw.

That's my two cents (since you asked).

Bama Ed

PS - and e-bikes are not permitted on "e-" per the rules. They must be put in manual (pedal) mode per the Disney rules.

 

[Jimsig]

I have rented golf carts every Fort stay from Kenny's Tee Time and they have been great. It sounds like you have your own vehicle so that can make things a bit cheaper as you don't need to Lyft/Uber to the pickup/drop off location. As Kenny is a 3rd party you do have to go off property to pick it up and drop it off. He does have the proper Fort required insurance. Every time it has taken just under an hour from the time you leave the Fort until you get back for either pick up or drop off. If you have a hitch you can use to take his trailer if not he has a pickup truck you can use. His pick up/drop off location is usually located in LBV near the corner of Winter Garden Vineland Rd and 535. It's near a Winn Dixie and A Walgreens if you need to shop or pick anything up.

As @bama_ed said anything over 3 days is worth it IMO.

 

[StormyCA]

There are a couple of places in Celebration that rent bikes. We were going to use one, but ended up bringing our own, so I can't really vouch for them. But that may be an option if you want to use a bike as your main mode of transport at the Fort.

The downside of Disney bikes is that you can only rent them on a daily basis, returning them every evening. The outside bike rentals allow multi-day rental and in some cases will pick up and deliver for a small fee, or at no cost if you rent over a certain number of days.

Caveat: The last time we were there (Feb 2024) e-bikes were not permitted at FtW. We were told that if you do bring one, you can ride it in manual but you aren't allowed to use power-assist.