Golf Cart idiots

[1derfultigger]

First off, if any of you regulars notice the negativity in my posts and some of my recent replies, it's just because I'm getting them out of the way first. We had a great time and will certainly return to FW when we get the chance.

With that said, I have to say I'm disappointed with the apparent lack of enforcement of golf cart rules. There doesn't seem to be anyone patrolling to make sure that the rules are enforced and followed and someone has and will again get hurt as a result of these idiots that think the the golf carts are a FW version of the Indy Speedway ride. I'd see a maintenance guy calm people down now and then but, for the most part, it was a free-for-all.

I saw kids driving that were obviously too young (under 16) - some without their parents even. I saw a group that was asked by a camper that was walking to please slow down and they proceeded to speed up and then tell the guy "where to go and what to do with himself" as the sped off (and these were adults).

What really concerned me were the vehicles FW was allowing to be used. Not sure if everyone is familiar or not with the Kawasaki Mule or Polaris Ranger but they are far from golf carts. They are basically multi-passenger ATV's on steroids and most are capable of speeds exceeding 40 mph. We saw several people with these that seemed to be prepared to run over anything in their way.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

First off, if any of you regulars notice the negativity in my posts and some of my recent replies, it's just because I'm getting them out of the way first. We had a great time and will certainly return to FW when we get the chance.

With that said, I have to say I'm disappointed with the apparent lack of enforcement of golf cart rules. There doesn't seem to be anyone patrolling to make sure that the rules are enforced and followed and someone has and will again get hurt as a result of these idiots that think the the golf carts are a FW version of the Indy Speedway ride. I'd see a maintenance guy calm people down now and then but, for the most part, it was a free-for-all.

I saw kids driving that were obviously too young (under 16) - some without their parents even. I saw a group that was asked by a camper that was walking to please slow down and they proceeded to speed up and then tell the guy "where to go and what to do with himself" as the sped off (and these were adults).

What really concerned me were the vehicles FW was allowing to be used. Not sure if everyone is familiar or not with the Kawasaki Mule or Polaris Ranger but they are far from golf carts. They are basically multi-passenger ATV's on steroids and most are capable of speeds exceeding 40 mph. We saw several people with these that seemed to be prepared to run over anything in their way.

Despite the fact that I agree with you, I have gotten myself in trouble in the past dealing with golf carts and safety issues so I won't comment further than to say you may have opened Pandora's box.

 

[1derfultigger]

Maybe so but it seems pretty cut-n-dry to me. Riders - obey the rules, FW enforce them for safety's sake. A little visibility now and then by security would go a long way in making sure people obey the rules. I never saw a soul with any authority monitoring these things my entire trip - just a maintenance guy now and then on their own little carts asking people to slow down.

I suppose the pandora's box you speak of is more related to the types of vehicles being allowed by FW. Hey, I'm all for toys - I have many of my own - golf cart, 2 4-wheelers, dirt bike, Harley, etc. And, I have no problem with people riding them if they obey the rules. In a place like FW, I shouldn't have to worry about my kids out riding bikes being hit by a vehicle that is going faster than even cars are allowed (20 mph). I didn't have a problem with the noise and I enjoy looking at the creativity behind some of these souped up vehicles. Just don't drive them like a maniac and we'll get along just fine.

As they say, "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt". I wonder how these people would feel if they were horsing around and accidentally ran over a 5 year old on his little bike because they were going to fast for the terrain and weren't paying attention.

 

[big kahuna1]

I have personally aksed about the Rangers and Mules as I own a Ranger and I was told they are not allowed...But like you, I have seen them my past two trips and keep wondering how they get away with it. The Ranger will do in excess of 40 mph and the Mules does 25.

As to kids driving the carts...I see this alot also but it is usually the teens who are old enough to drive but no where near responsible enough as they treat them like toys.

As to a camper telling someone to slow down...I would agree if you are driving in a camp loop as children may be playing, if not, I may have had something to say in reply also.

 

[Gatordad]

Disney rarely enforces rules. any rules.

 

[1derfultigger]

I have personally aksed about the Rangers and Mules as I own a Ranger and I was told they are not allowed...But like you, I have seen them my past two trips and keep wondering how they get away with it. The Ranger will do in excess of 40 mph and the Mules does 25.

As to kids driving the carts...I see this alot also but it is usually the teens who are old enough to drive but no where near responsible enough as they treat them like toys.

As to a camper telling someone to slow down...I would agree if you are driving in a camp loop as children may be playing, if not, I may have had something to say in reply also.

I saw the older kids treating them like toys too and would have probably done the same at that age if I knew nobody was watching. But, I'm talking 11 or 12 year olds with no adults on board. With that said, however, I didn't see any of those doing anything stupid like some of the older ones, including adults.

The incident with the guy that got cursed at occurred on the walkway just in front of the settlement trading post that is also often congested with golf carts and bicycles with people going to and coming from the boat ramp. The people on the cart had it "matted" and were weaving around everyone and would have been screwed if one person took a side step or zigged when they thought they might zag. The man asked them to please slow down (a reasonable and respectful request) and they told him to do something to himself that is normally physically impossible and continued on at full speed. Just uncalled for under any circumstances, especially with kids around.

I saw rangers, I saw mules and I even saw some that I had never seen before that more resembled a dune buggy than a golf cart or ATV. As far as I'm concerned, they are just like a car and make good transportation for getting from A to B but they should fall under the same rules as anything else - period.

 

[Gatordad]

what disney needs to do, is take a few back that are their own, and impound a few private ones. That will stop the mess once and for all. They talk a tough game with the stupid water mice, but look the other way with golf carts and the ilk.

 

[big kahuna1]

The incident with the guy that got cursed at occurred on the walkway just in front of the settlement trading post that is also often congested with golf carts and bicycles with people going to and coming from the boat ramp. The people on the cart had it "matted" and were weaving around everyone and would have been screwed if one person took a side step or zigged when they thought they might zag. The man asked them to please slow down (a reasonable and respectful request) and they told him to do something to himself that is normally physically impossible and continued on at full speed. Just uncalled for under any circumstances, especially with kids around.

Yep. This is one of those other places where common sense should prevail along with the bridge, pool, movie area area behind the meadows trading post. Of course, common sense seems to be lacking among many these days.

 

[becky1960]

On our last trip in Dec. I was pushing my son in his Wheelchair and one of those big ones cane down the walkway by the trading post and the adult driver got mad because I did not move out the way fast enough. I always see kids running stop signs and almost hit them a couple of times. A lot of the others are courteous.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I would encourage everyone who has a complaint about reckless driving of carts to email Disney. I think the only hope of better enforcement would be if enough complaints are received.

 

[Colson39]

Disney rarely enforces rules. any rules.

Quoted for emphasis. This is just how Disney works. Disney is supposed to be "magical" and "carefree", and people constantly being told what to do and what rules to follows goes against that. The rules are more in place to protect against lawsuits, however the majority of people that visit the Fort don't care about golf carts, or peacocks, or smoking, or any of that jazz.

It might not sound fair, but it's a business model that Disney has used for ages now, and it's why people come back.

It's the same reason you don't see cast members going out of their way to tell people to stop smoking in non-smoking areas, or stopping kids on those shoe wheely things. Cast members DO NOT want a confrontation, unless it's something obviously life threatening. That leads to complaints on your record, and it doesn't take many of those until you don't have a job anymore.

 

[stacktester]

When we left the fort last month there were 2 golf cats in front of us driving close to the shoulder near the 1000 loop. One was being driven by a girl about 16 and one by a boy about 14-15. All of a sudden without any warning the girl does a 180 and the boy follows her. I was inches from hitting him because when he turned around he was coming right back at me. I had my 5'er in tow so I had to stop about 15k pounds quick.

I saw a lot of security during the week of the 4th but never saw a golf cart stopped by them. I am not a cart basher I just want rules to be followed. Rules are made to keep people safe so they should be followed. Like another poster I think if FW pulled the carts from kids who's parents let them drive and didn't let them rent again they would stop some of this. I go to a place every year near Gainesville called Ginnie Springs and if you disobey the rules on 4 wheelers, golf carts etc.... they put the vehicle in the Ginnie Jail until you leave. If this happened at the fort things would be different.

2 areas I will warn you about to be extra careful is the blind corner by the Meadows and the sidewalk from the Meadows Pool to the road the 1500 loop is on. People coming on that sidewalk from the pool can be hit easily if they're not careful.

 

[Gatordad]

The problem is, golf cart misuse is a much bigger issue than someone smoking where they shouldn't be..... one of these days a kid or someone is going to seriously hurt someone.. I can almost guarantee, that if a cart were to hit someone and was found to be in the wrong, they are going to pay out their *** in a lawsuit for failing to provide a safe campground. All a judge needs to do is look and see that adequate protection of park guests was not provided and then look out.

I know it's their business model, and we learned in business law that Ford figured the few dollars in lawsuits they'd pay out in Pinto cases would be cheaper than recalling the car and making it safe. I also know personally, that any money given in a lawsuit can't bring back what was taken through negligance. However, magical or not, they need to provide a safe campground and enforce some rules. It's not fair to those of us who pay money and obey the rules. The first thing they will do is pull all the carts out of the park, and who does that make happy? no one.

 

[Colson39]

I can almost guarantee, that if a cart were to hit someone and was found to be in the wrong, they are going to pay out their *** in a lawsuit for failing to provide a safe campground.

People have been hit before, it's not something that has never happened. No matter what you do, no matter how safe you try to make it, accidents will happen. And people will sue.

Also, I think that the majority of the "uproar" about golf carts is limited to these internet message boards, not the majority of people that visit the Fort. I obviously can't speak for everyone, but if I was going to guess, I think it's mainly the people that come here to post about it that have an issue with it, not the general public.

Doesn't make it right or wrong, but I'm just trying to put it into perspective. A common issue on internet message boards is people believing that because they have a problem with something, that means everyone must have a problem with it. What we don't realize, is that we are a VERY small portion of the people that visit the Fort. It doesn't minimize people's thoughts on it, or the importance, but it does put it into a bit more perspective.

I have been reading Disney message boards for a long time. And I have heard some of these same issues as far back as 10 years ago. It's not that I think less of anyone's point of view here, but sometimes I kind of think we make these issues out to be much bigger deals than they are to the general public and/or Disney.

Disney is one of the few places where the squeaky wheel might not always get the grease :/

 

[Gatordad]

I realize that people will be hit and accidents will happen. An accident by definition is something that happened with due diligence supplied, ie unintentional. However, grossly disregarding the duty to protect the park visitors is a task that should not be taken lightly. I can guarantee you, that if someone who shouldn't have been driving a cart, or chose to drive one in a reckless matter injures someone in my family, they will have more to worry about than any lawsuit in Orange County.

 

[1derfultigger]

Colson, I respect a lot of what you have to say here and appreciate some of the responses you've given me and others. But, I think you are stretching it when you try to imply that people that post here are the only ones that have a problem with the misuse of golf carts. What kind of logic is that anyway? We have no way to measure the other's opinions because they aren't here to post them. That doesn't mean they don't have one. I saw enough rampant misuse of the carts and enough looking the other way by FW that I know there have to be others that believe it's a problem.

 

[Gatordad]

I would encourage everyone who has a complaint about reckless driving of carts to email Disney. I think the only hope of better enforcement would be if enough complaints are received.

I just forwarded off a nice, to the point, but blunt email to the folks. Here is their email address:

WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com

I also responded to the survey I received in the mail. Let them know there as well.

 

[4daubers]

I thought previous posts about golf cart abuse were dramatic and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary the first few days we were there and then...the wicked children arrived. It seemed like everything was niceville one day and changed overnight. There were two groups that we saw every where, were nearly hit a few times, dreaded each time they drove through our loop and they had no fear of adults.

DH and son even had a experience with them on a bus one night. When the bus left the settlement, several of the boys began screaming at the top of their lungs when the driver turned the lights outs. Not out of fear but out of rudeness. The bus driver turned on the lights and didn't say anything. As soon as he turned off the lights, they screamed again. The bus driver stopped the bus, turned on the lights and refused to move until they left the bus. DH is a high school principal so also intervened and gave them a scolding. They just laughed and gestured as they got off the bus. The bus driver appeared to be reporting them to someone and dh reported them to outpost personnel and was able to tell them which loop they were in. We don't know the outcome.

I did see buses honking at golf carts who were interferring with bus progress.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I have worked in public safety for over 18 years and have seen that the adage of "nothing will happen till someone seriously gets hurt" is quite true.
Colson is right on the money that Disney is not going to confront anyone, the rules are there and its nice if you follow them, but dont expect any random enforcement short of a blatant act right in front of Disney security. The people acting in the outrageous manner will usually make a huge scene if confronted in order to deflect attention from the original issue, sort of like a misbehaving small child who when confronted will throw a tantrum in hopes that the original misdeed will be forgotten. These type of people have worn out the CM's, I seriously think they are tired of in your face poorly mannered people. Given the lack of support from some management at Disney its just not worth it. If something unsafe (and I do have a unique perspective on what is unsafe) happens in our area or I see something about to happen, I will speak up, otherwise I mind my own business and let Disney run their business.
I always have a well stocked first aid kit, if you know where I am, stop by and I can fix your boo boo....

Scott

 

[Gatordad]

usually when i need first aid, it comes in a nice cool container. hopefully your cooler is well stocked, lol