Hey DIS camping forum members...we need your advice

[jdvm]

Can we ask you to share your thoughts??

Owner’s Locker is a new company and DIS Board sponsor—there’s a link to our site at the top of this forum. We allow frequent visitors to WDW to store personal items that they would like to use while they’re here between visits.

We’ve been a big hit with DVC members and we’d like to know how we can make visits to Fort Wilderness more convenient for you all.

We provide you with a container that you load up with your personal items. We have it waiting for at check-in when you arrive, pick it up when you depart and keep it in a climate controlled warehouse until you tell us that you’re ready to return.

You can see from one of the DVC threads the types of things vacation club members want to store here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....ner's+locker

But we’ll bet you camping forum members will have different ideas of things you prefer not to be hauling back and forth…decorations…cooking gear…special Disney camping/Fort Wilderness items…

Let us know how we can serve the camping market and make your visits more convenient.

Thanks!

John

 

[clkelley]

I had thought about this very thing a few weeks ago. I used to tent camp and fly to Ft. Wilderness quite frequently. As recently as three weeks ago, I had a reservation at Ft. Wilderness for 3 nights in December where I was going to tent camp and fly, and I changed it to a resort because that just didn't seem like enough time for all that work.

I was kicking myself because I read about your service, and had driven down in October. I could have ordered your service, stored what I needed for December with you, and it would have been waiting for me when I arrived. (Your annual fee would have been less than the upgraded hotel costs were for those 3 nights).

For those that want to tent camp and fly, owner's locker would be ideal IF the bins were big enough.

If I had not bought my camper, I would definitely have been interested in storing my tent, awnings, bedding, shower bag, toiletries, string lights, air pump, air mattress, extension cords, maybe a microwave, mini fridge

The winter snowbirds might be interested in storing their Halloween/Christmas decorations.

The only downside to storing camping gear only at your facility, as it would have to be dedicated gear only for WDW/Orlando area.

Most folks I know use their gear other places and need it home with them.

These are just my rambling thoughts on the subject, I hope it helped!

 

[clkelley]

Another thing I thought about that might deter folks from storing actual camping gear is if you have to pack up wet, then no way to dry stuff out while it's packed up in bins.

 

[Rhonda]

Hi John!

I'm already using your service (actually just used it for the first time recently) and I already love it!

My first trip I brought a bunch of duplicates of stuff (shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, etc) and I loaded up the container for the next time. So, now I can't wait to go back, and use all the stuff in there! It will be so nice to not have to think about packing all that junk!

I'm sure you'll get lots of responses here!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Well, John, since you asked, I'll give you my $.02.

I am not sure this service will appeal to many campers.

Those who own their own rigs typically have plenty of space to haul their gear. As clkelley already said, most campers RV owners don't limit themselves to Ft. Wilderness, and would probably want their "stuff" with them for other trips.

I agree that your service would be great for tent campers who fly, but that is a special breed, and again, I am not sure that they would want their gear where they can't use it.

I see the benefit to a DVC member who might want some special items to use in a resort villa- but campers are different.

Good luck.

TCD

 

[Donna]

Well, John, since you asked, I'll give you my $.02.

I am not sure this service will appeal to many campers.

Those who own their own rigs typically have plenty of space to haul their gear. As clkelley already said, most campers RV owners don't limit themselves to Ft. Wilderness, and would probably want their "stuff" with them for other trips.

I agree that your service would be great for tent campers who fly, but that is a special breed, and again, I am not sure that they would want their gear where they can't use it.

I see the benefit to a DVC member who might want some special items to use in a resort villa- but campers are different.

Good luck.

TCD

This was my exact thoughts also. I have more space in my RV than i can even use at this point, there is storage places i am still finding out about! I can see tenters possibly using it for disney stuff, or inexpensive stuff they can duplicate at other camping spots, but the majority i think would be RVers who already have a ton of storage space. I am also a DVCer and not sure if i would be using the service but i see alot of them do and it seems to work out great for them. It's a great service for the right family!

 

[zakerdog]

We have an RV and like to spend time at FWCG the first 2 weeks of December, of course as most of you know this is the time of year when we can all become the "Griswalds". I have extra decorations just for that trip and I think it would be great to be able to leave them there for the next year. Ours take up quite a bit of room and we only use them that once a year, so for us I think this is a great idea. Plus I won't have to find space at home to store them the rest of the year.

 

[stacktester]

Too bad you couldn't rent some items or have like a share type thing with campers who know each other. Kind of like a timeshare where different people use the same items over and over. Just so I'm clear make sure it's understood I said too bad you COULDN'T rent these items. I know it's illiegal to advertise services on this forum unless of course you're a sponsor which you are so maybe it's not. I said something a while back about renting campers in the Orlando area and my thread got locked. I don't want that to happen to you. I'm sure a lot of good ideas will come up.

 

[Rhonda]

Yes, Owner's Locker is an official Disboard sponsor!

I agree about RV campers. But there are many of us tent campers that this could be good for. Here's some stuff off the top of my head:

extra tent stakes
flashlights
small propane canisters
sheets/blankets
toiletries
laundry soap
clothespins
towels
paper towels
paper plates/cups/plasticware
batteries
extension cord
grilling utensils

 

[stacktester]

Propane canisters for sure because you can't fly with them and they're very expensive at the fort.

I use a lot of the Ryobi tools in my camper including the flashlight. It's a little heavy but it's rechargable as are the other tools. Batteries could go bad. I'm wondering how much it would be to store my golf cart there for about 3 weeks. I'm wanting to leave it close by as a friend is going to use it after we leave Thanksgiving. I'm coming back to pick it up shortly before they go home. If it's ok for the outside grocery places and golf cart rental folks to bring things over why would it be wrong for you guys to stock some of those "forgot it" items we seem to forget. I once paid $18 for a 25' extension cord at the Meadows. Now that is robbery.

 

[Colson39]

I have to agree that for tent campers this could be a really good thing, I don't see as much use for RV campers, but most tent campers will be much more limited in space.

 

[zakerdog]

We just got back from WDW - FWCG and used our owners locker for the first time. We go every year for the first two weeks of December and do lots of Christmas decorating at the camp site. This year when we took the decorations down I packed all of my interior decorations into my owners locker. It was full to the brim We then took it to the Outpost for pick up. We got a nice note by email that the locker was picked up and stored until we needed it again. It was great to not have to find room for all the decorations while travelling home and when we got home less stuff to unload and store. I wasn't sure at first if it was something I would really need when we travel with and RV, but for this particular scenerio it is perfect.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Personally, I store my toothpaste, toothbrush, soap etc in a section of used sewer hose that I bury in a secret location on FW property.

Sorry, you know I couldn't let this go. Anyway, like others have said, I keep most of our stuff in the camper, ready to go at a moment's notice.

 

[LarryJ]

Can we ask you to share your thoughts??

Owner’s Locker is a new company and DIS Board sponsor—there’s a link to our site at the top of this forum. We allow frequent visitors to WDW to store personal items that they would like to use while they’re here between visits.

We’ve been a big hit with DVC members and we’d like to know how we can make visits to Fort Wilderness more convenient for you all.

We provide you with a container that you load up with your personal items. We have it waiting for at check-in when you arrive, pick it up when you depart and keep it in a climate controlled warehouse until you tell us that you’re ready to return.

You can see from one of the DVC threads the types of things vacation club members want to store here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....ner's+locker

But we’ll bet you camping forum members will have different ideas of things you prefer not to be hauling back and forth…decorations…cooking gear…special Disney camping/Fort Wilderness items…

Let us know how we can serve the camping market and make your visits more convenient.

Thanks!

John

I can see where this type of service would be great for DVC members where they can stow things like coffee pots, certain cooking items etc., but except for a minority of tent type campers most FW (not sure about FW Cabin junkies ) folks carry what they need with them.

Larry

 

[mamaloya]

Well, I have a camper, but with 7 of us (and 8 or 11 this next trip) the storage space fills up fast. I would think about renting a small bin and just keep our disney specific stuff there like the character light up spin things that I keep so I don't have to spend $16 at the park. The mickey ears that we only wear there. Oh, don't forget the refillable mug from 1980, can't forget that. LOL I really can't think of anything else that I would need I keep in the camper as I need it on other trips.

Now, that said, there are people who tent camp at FW only because they want to save money. They, like me, have a large family and it is the only way they can stay on property. They may not tent camp anywhere else. Depending on the cost, this may appeal to them. If they could store their camping gear that they only use there, then it would be much easier to get there. More room in their car, could bring a smaller car to save money on gas, or could fly if time is short. With the cost of gas, every pound counts.

For those who do camp elsewhere, if they got a good deal on a spare tent and/or supplies, they could keep it there for the same ease of a trip to the fort.

I know I am considering going back to tent camping at the fort with the price of gas and campsites going up. Also, it is much easier to get a last minute partial hookup site than a full one.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

 

[clkelley]

I think I am going to get one (starting next October) (this is my off year). I get an AP and go as much as possible during the AP year and once it expires, try to go at least 9-10 months without going again.

Anyway, during my "on year" I have a combination of big trips pulling the camper and short trips flying in and resorting it. Well with the owners locker, I might be able to consider tenting at the Fort for those short trips.

I'm thinking toiletries, laundry stuff, underwear, a couple changes of clothes, bedding, tent stakes, tent mallet, air mattress, pump, linens, maybe even my poles, extension cords, power strip, cell phone charger, fan, batteries, a string of lights, then only take the tent and awning material back and forth to make sure it's dried out well. (I have lots of extras of all this stuff, as myself and both my boys did lots of Scout camping, and we each had an identical set of "stuff". They aren't using that "stuff" right now so it's just sitting there on my garage shelves.)

Now, if you added the "out of the box" option referred to on the website, then I could also leave my EZ-Up frame and use that instead of a shelter that has to be put together.

 

[merryweather20]

In the past I have always brought a car down when I tent camped. I saw a note on your site about storing oversize items such as golf clubs. I immediately thought tent, and started fantasizing about flying down and having my tent waiting for me with a box of gear at the front

I hadn't thought about the wet tent scenario though. Thats a pretty big problem.

 

[jdvm]

Thanks for your candid comments. They are extremely helpful. The OL purple van was at the Outpost at Fort Wilderness four times last week with Lockers!!

And I've got to tell you that the Outpost is my new favorite building on property. Disney at it's best. I just wish they'd make the front desk a bar and build a roaring fire in that fireplace!

Before I drift too far off topic.....many of your thoughts echo what we heard when the DVC and resort crowd first heard of Owner's Locker...gee that's an interesting idea but I really don't need it.

And you know what, they were absolutely right. And, you've been going to Fort Wilderness for a long time without Owner's Locker and getting along just fine. But although you may have room to bring along the things you need or have figured out a way to do without, for some folks it's nice to head to WDW without having to do any special packing. OL Members leave special things here that they use only while at WDW and duplicate other things so that the packing is far simpler.

Keep your thoughts coming!!

John

 

[Rhonda]

Wow - cool van!! Can I keep one of those down there too for my visits??

Reminds me.....I have to enter my 4th of July reservation into your system for my OL....heading over to do that now!