Golf Cart Rental Issue/Problem

[petestulipbug]

I am pretty much a lurker, but am part of the GG for October and wanted to share some info I just got...

I just called Golf Cart Enter to rent a cart for the weekend and spoke with Shawn (I believe was his name)..He said he was told last weekend by Disney that he would no longer be able to do business or drop offs at the Fort. He is trying to work something out with the leasing dept at the fort or disney(not sure), but wasn't 100% sure he would be able to continue to rent to campers there. According to Shawn, Disney stated some companies were basically running a business from their overflow parking lot and they were cracking down.

Just wanted to share and see if anyone else has heard anything...Not sure what we are going to do now for that weekend. He will give us a call if he gets things straightened out.

Angela

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Rut Row.

I knew it was just a matter of time.

WDW doesn't like folks offering their guests less expensive alternatives to their jacked-up prices.

I am surprised GCE has been able to get away with this for as long as it has.

Now, the RV detailers, they must have figured out a way to give WDW a piece of the action, because I don't see anyone slowing them down.

TCD

 

[kristler]

Wow that would be bad for the outside folks. I have a cart from Kenny at Tee Time right now. He dropped it off Sunday. I talk to him a bit and he didn't mention the Disney issue, but they might not have hit him up yet. I guess this goes along with the fact that they are reworking the overflow lot to reduce access (mentioned in another thread) and our neighbor here complaining that they told her she could not drive her new cart she brought because it didn't have a window (she ordered a window and had it delivered here yesterday!). She said they told they were cracking down on outside carts. This could get interesting.

 

[BradyBz12]

Yikes!! I hope they work something out soon.... we're heading down in 3 weeks with friends and have 4 carts reserved with GCE.

Thanks for the heads up - we'll check in with them and see what's up and keep y'all posted.

 

[BradyBz12]

Now, the RV detailers, they must have figured out a way to give WDW a piece of the action, because I don't see anyone slowing them down.

Mmm... yeah. Of course the detailers aren't competing with any service Disney offers. So much for free enterprise....

Anyone wanna bet Disney works out a deal with the outside companies that means they need to raise their rates much closer to what Disney's are?

Worst case, if this actually happens, it will put a big ol' damper on our trip, but there ain't no way we'll rent a cart from Disney. It would cost us about $1800 for our stay - more per day than our actual campsite!

We're looking to move into a bigger TT next year anyway, I guess we just have to find a way to bring a cart of our own too.....

 

[clkelley]

Yep, if they stop the outside carts, we just won't get a cart anymore. I can ride my bike and Rick can ride his ECV. We will live!!

While I do have the ability to go pick up a cart from an outside vendor by using their trailer, I generally don't want to take the time.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Our local McDonalds has a sign that says no outside food or drink. Apparently, some thought nothing was wrong with bringing in their own food to eat at McDonalds. There really is nothing different here. I am surprised Disney let this go on as long as they did.

 

[mnsprk]

It may not be just the money it may also be the liability. Ky Horse Park now charges a $25.00/visit or $50.00 per yr. license fee to bring in a cart and they don't even rent. It was done because as usual; a few bad apples spoiled the whole barrel. If there were any issues they may not have had any way to go back on the vendor or the renter.. At least with "personal carts" they know who has the insurance.

 

[BradyBz12]

I get the liability issue, but in this case I'm willing to bet it's the money. As TCD noted, they don't seem to have a problem with the RV detailing companies running their businesses actually *inside* FW.

If it is a liability concern, maybe Disney can allow only companies that they have vetted to know they're insured. Do they actually check now that the folks bringing in their own carts are insured?

I seriously doubt kicking the off-site people out is going to dramatically increase Disney's cart rentals if that's the goal. I'd be willing to bet that most folks simply won't get a cart at all.

I know it's Disney's business and they're in it to make money, but they have really created a ridiculous situation by jacking up rental rates so high and doing away with any sort of weekly discount. Seriously- a cart can cost more than your site?

I know, I know.... preaching to the choir......

If this does happen before our trip, we'll just scramble to find a way to go pick up our cart at GCE. Not as convenient, but hey, we'll save the delivery charge!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

But you see, this all falls in place with Disney's overall business plan. They feel they can charge whatever they want, and people will pay it. So far, it's worked pretty well for them, too. Until people stop paying, they will continue with this practice.

 

[BradyBz12]

All too true.

 

[BradyBz12]

DH just spoke to Shawn at GCE. Disney has pretty much shut down all cart delivery. He's trying to work something out with them but it isn't looking good.

Shawn asked for folks to start complaining here, but we all know that won't do any good.

He said they do have the ability to rent folks a trailer to go pick up their carts there instead. Depending on the cost, that's likely what we'll do, and I'll let y'all know once I get the details on that.

Not sure if they've gotten to Kenny/Tee Time yet, but it's likely that will happen eventually, so anyone with a reservation there may want to double check things are still ok.

Off to update the golf cart thread......

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I believe Disney's ultimate plan is to close down FW and replace it with a DVC property. It will be easy to justify it when they prove it is underutilized and a financial pit for the company. This is big time, prime real estate and Disney could, in their minds, make a quick buck on a DVC hotel (unless they have already saturated the DVC market).

 

[sinnika]

We rented a Ft Wilderness golf cart for our first day only on Sept 25th. We had booked it months in advance. When I returned it, I asked about extending it for our stay (DH really liked having it). They were sold out and said to check back daily which I did, but nothing came available. Even with the high cost, seems those carts are very popular!

 

[SCCamper]

I just tried to call Kenny with Tee Time and left a msg. Hopefully they will get back to me tomorrow. If we do have to cancel, I'm hoping that they won't expect a %20 cancellation fee because if it is less than 2 weeks. We rented with the understanding that it would be delivered to the overflow parking lot. We will see, I guess.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Where does this all end, does it mean that Disney will not allow rental cars at the cabins or rental RV's on the sites? what about grocery service, after all, the trading posts sell food, will I be able to bring my own beer and snacks into FW?
Its really none of their business where I get my cart from as long as it abides by the rules for equipment.

IIRC my auto insurance covers rental vehicles

 

[two4theroad]

Us too....just sent off an email to Kenny to find out if he has been affected too. Hopefully there is no issue with ttime but I'm thinking it isn't looking good. We had our reservation for a week in Dec and it was already paid in full when we made reservations. Finally thought I was all set, MVMCP tickets bought. Dessert Party ressies done, now this.

 

[mnsprk]

As a point of clarification to my earlier post, most car insurance policies do not cover golf carts unless it is a specific rider. If you owned a cart it would be covered under your homeowners policy that is why a cart rental is a total different animal from a car. If you start checkin,g many Campgrounds are now banning private carts for that reason as well. If you don't own the cart, and don't have a specific rider you could very well not be covered. It all depends on how Florida law is written.

 

[BradyBz12]

What Scott said

 

[SCCamper]

I just received a call from Kenny with Tee Time and he said it will not be a problem delivering our cart to FW. He said that he had been getting a lot of calls from people and that he hadn't heard anything about WDW prohibiting off site rentals of golf carts. We will see.