Parking in Fort Wilderness

[DKSABS]

Hi, we are planning our first visit to FW in May. I was telling my husband that many people here highly recommend renting a golf cart to get around inside the campground. He asked me to find out if we are able to drive our truck to the pools, and to the bus stop or the ferry boat, the trading posts, etc, or if the only option to get to those places is to walk or ride the bus or rent a golf cart. Also, I will be renting a scooter for myself. If we do rent a golf cart to get around the campground, on the days that we go to the parks, I would need to drive my scooter to the bus stop or the ferry boat. Are there roads that have sidewalks right next to the road, where he can drive the golf cart with our 4 year old and I can ride on the sidewalk at the same time and we can drive there together in the scooter and golf cart?

We won't really have a lot of time in the campground area to enjoy the campground. We're driving down from NW Florida on Thursday, May 11, and towing our 36 foot travel trailer. We'll get to FW probably mid to late afternoon that day. Then we're going to the parks the next 4 days (Friday through Monday), and checking out and driving back home on Tuesday the 16th. So the only day we'll have to actually do anything in the campground besides sleep and eat, will be the day that we arrive in the late afternoon. We are really looking forward to this trip. I haven't been to Disney in over 10 years, and it has been even longer than that for my husband. We have custody of our 4 year old granddaughter, and she has never been there before. When we told her we were going to Disney, she got excited. Then we asked her if she knew what they have at Disney, she said "Bouncy Houses and Ice Cream!!!" She is in for a real surprise! We can't wait to see her reaction when she sees the Cinderella Castle for the first time.

 

[North of Mouse]

Hi, we are planning our first visit to FW in May. I was telling my husband that many people here highly recommend renting a golf cart to get around inside the campground. He asked me to find out if we are able to drive our truck to the pools, and to the bus stop or the ferry boat, the trading posts, etc, or if the only option to get to those places is to walk or ride the bus or rent a golf cart. Also, I will be renting a scooter for myself. If we do rent a golf cart to get around the campground, on the days that we go to the parks, I would need to drive my scooter to the bus stop or the ferry boat. Are there roads that have sidewalks right next to the road, where he can drive the golf cart with our 4 year old and I can ride on the sidewalk at the same time and we can drive there together in the scooter and golf cart?

We won't really have a lot of time in the campground area to enjoy the campground. We're driving down from NW Florida on Thursday, May 11, and towing our 36 foot travel trailer. We'll get to FW probably mid to late afternoon that day. Then we're going to the parks the next 4 days (Friday through Monday), and checking out and driving back home on Tuesday the 16th. So the only day we'll have to actually do anything in the campground besides sleep and eat, will be the day that we arrive in the late afternoon. We are really looking forward to this trip. I haven't been to Disney in over 10 years, and it has been even longer than that for my husband. We have custody of our 4 year old granddaughter, and she has never been there before. When we told her we were going to Disney, she got excited. Then we asked her if she knew what they have at Disney, she said "Bouncy Houses and Ice Cream!!!" She is in for a real surprise! We can't wait to see her reaction when she sees the Cinderella Castle for the first time.

Hi, and

There aren't any places to park your vehicle at the pools, camp stores, or boat dock areas. You can only use your vehicle while entering or exiting the Fort, except for a very quick stop at the meadows trading post (with availability).

There are sidewalks all along the roads for you to ride your scooter, and the larger boat to MK will accommodate it.

The buses make getting around the campground very easy, IMO, or you can rent a cart. I assume you are renting a scooter offsite so you can have it all day.

Your g'dau. is indeed in for a great surprise! Next to impossible to help a little one know all the exciting moments awaiting her!

Have a great stay!

 

[G719]

Hi, we are planning our first visit to FW in May. I was telling my husband that many people here highly recommend renting a golf cart to get around inside the campground. He asked me to find out if we are able to drive our truck to the pools, and to the bus stop or the ferry boat, the trading posts, etc, or if the only option to get to those places is to walk or ride the bus or rent a golf cart. Also, I will be renting a scooter for myself. If we do rent a golf cart to get around the campground, on the days that we go to the parks, I would need to drive my scooter to the bus stop or the ferry boat. Are there roads that have sidewalks right next to the road, where he can drive the golf cart with our 4 year old and I can ride on the sidewalk at the same time and we can drive there together in the scooter and golf cart?

We won't really have a lot of time in the campground area to enjoy the campground. We're driving down from NW Florida on Thursday, May 11, and towing our 36 foot travel trailer. We'll get to FW probably mid to late afternoon that day. Then we're going to the parks the next 4 days (Friday through Monday), and checking out and driving back home on Tuesday the 16th. So the only day we'll have to actually do anything in the campground besides sleep and eat, will be the day that we arrive in the late afternoon. We are really looking forward to this trip. I haven't been to Disney in over 10 years, and it has been even longer than that for my husband. We have custody of our 4 year old granddaughter, and she has never been there before. When we told her we were going to Disney, she got excited. Then we asked her if she knew what they have at Disney, she said "Bouncy Houses and Ice Cream!!!" She is in for a real surprise! We can't wait to see her reaction when she sees the Cinderella Castle for the first time.

For the pool, the boat launch, and the trading posts, there is no car parking. At the Meadows trading post there is a tiny parking lot for cars but it's only supposed to be for a quick stop. At the outpost depot for the buses to the other parks, you could park in the overflow parking lot near there and take the bus to the park. There are sidewalks throughout the campground. It's very pedestrian friendly.
Try to get to the campfire sing a long your first night. Chip and Dale are there and it's a good way to kick off the trip.

Have a great trip!

 

[DKSABS]

Thank you both very much for the information. I will be renting my scooter from Best Price Mobility, one of the offsite vendors on the preferred list. I thought about renting from Walker, but didn't like having to meet the delivery person in person to receive and to return the scooter. They said they allow a one hour window for the driver to deliver and pickup. By using a preferred vendor, I can have them leave it at the bell stand and not have to waste an hour each time to rent and return.

 

[Hockeytchr]

Thank you both very much for the information. I will be renting my scooter from Best Price Mobility, one of the offsite vendors on the preferred list. I thought about renting from Walker, but didn't like having to meet the delivery person in person to receive and to return the scooter. They said they allow a one hour window for the driver to deliver and pickup. By using a preferred vendor, I can have them leave it at the bell stand and not have to waste an hour each time to rent and return.

Good to know this, as we will be renting a scooter for my mom when we visit later in May. We need to be able to have a pick up and drop off like this.

 

[jwfla422]

There are a lot of areas in the campground where you need to drive your golf cart in the street so you would have to follow on the sidewalk on your scooter.

We used to rent a golf cart when we'd stay at FW, but then one trip we got frugal and decided to do the internal bus and although it is more convenient with the golf cart the cost that it adds every night just got to be too much and we found it's really not bad busing through the campground and we could do a nice dinner for the amount we saved each day from not renting a golf cart

Every bus comes equipped to load a scooter onto it so no worries there. It only takes a few extra minutes but you will have to load/unload 2x when going to parks other than MK if you take a park bus as well (since you transfer buses from the internal bus to the park bus upfront (Outpost))-- we love the campground! We stay in the cabins and just love the peace and tranquility of the area, yet it's just a quick bus or boat ride to the parks. ENJOY!

 

[DKSABS]

Hockeytchr, I was pleased to find out that I wouldn't have to spend any time meeting a driver when renting the ECV from Best Price Mobility. If I'd gone with Walker or another of the non-preferred vendors, I would have needed to make an appointment to meet the driver, and we don't even know for sure what time we'll be getting to the park. We're going to try our best to get on the road early on the day that we drive there, but we don't always get on the road at the time we planned, for various reasons. And it's usually about a 6.5 to 7 hour drive from here to there, in a normal car or van. We don't know how much longer the driving time will be when we're driving in my husband's pickup and towing a 36' travel trailer. I really didn't like the idea of having to schedule an appointment time to get the ECV well in advance of our arrival date. I probably would have had to pick a fairly late appointment time, just to be absolutely sure that we've made it to the campground and received our site assignment and unhooked the camper by then. If we actually managed to get there by early afternoon, I would have to wait for many hours before being able to receive the scooter at the predesignated time. And it's also always a big hassle on the final morning when we have to get up and get the camper closed up and hitched to the truck, and actually leave the park by 11am. It will be so much nicer to have the scooter just waiting for me when we get there, and not have to deal with spending an hour meeting a delivery/pickup driver on that final checkout morning when it's already going to be so hectic as it is. We're only going to have one afternoon and evening, or maybe just one evening to enjoy the campground on the day we check in, and I'd hate to have to waste any of that precious time waiting to get my scooter.

I was also pleased with their rental prices. I rented from them in 2007, the last time I was at Disney, and they offer a return customer discount of 10%, so it will only cost me $27 per day for the scooter rental (plus tax). They have a canopy/shade that I can rent for $18 (after the discount) for the entire 5 days. I noticed that some of the other companies charged by the day for the canopy, so it would have cost a lot more than $18 for the shade. And they'll give me a free cup holder for the duration of the rental, and they don't charge extra for loss/damage insurance. Some of the other companies charged $5 per day for the cup holder and $20 for insurance. So it was going to cost me a LOT more to rent it from someone else. I'll be sure to post a review of their service here after I use them, since this site has said that the company hasn't had much feedback on this forum.

 

[DKSABS]

There are a lot of areas in the campground where you need to drive your golf cart in the street so you would have to follow on the sidewalk on your scooter.

We used to rent a golf cart when we'd stay at FW, but then one trip we got frugal and decided to do the internal bus and although it is more convenient with the golf cart the cost that it adds every night just got to be too much and we found it's really not bad busing through the campground and we could do a nice dinner for the amount we saved each day from not renting a golf cart

Every bus comes equipped to load a scooter onto it so no worries there. It only takes a few extra minutes but you will have to load/unload 2x when going to parks other than MK if you take a park bus as well (since you transfer buses from the internal bus to the park bus upfront (Outpost))-- we love the campground! We stay in the cabins and just love the peace and tranquility of the area, yet it's just a quick bus or boat ride to the parks. ENJOY!

Thanks so much for this information. I was wondering if the internal buses could handle the scooter too or not. It's good to hear that they can. Do other people get irritated when they have to wait for the bus drivers to load and unload scooters? I told my husband about the lack of parking in the campground, and he said we'll just go ahead and bring our Surrey cycle to get around the park. It's huge and will take up a lot of space in the bed of the pickup truck, so he doesn't always like to bring it. It's also really hard to peddle up hills, but he's hoping the campground will be relatively flat.

 

[G719]

Thanks so much for this information. I was wondering if the internal buses could handle the scooter too or not. It's good to hear that they can. Do other people get irritated when they have to wait for the bus drivers to load and unload scooters? I told my husband about the lack of parking in the campground, and he said we'll just go ahead and bring our Surrey cycle to get around the park. It's huge and will take up a lot of space in the bed of the pickup truck, so he doesn't always like to bring it. It's also really hard to peddle up hills, but he's hoping the campground will be relatively flat.

The campground is mostly flat. Many people bike around the campground.

 

[Hockeytchr]

Hockeytchr, I was pleased to find out that I wouldn't have to spend any time meeting a driver when renting the ECV from Best Price Mobility. If I'd gone with Walker or another of the non-preferred vendors, I would have needed to make an appointment to meet the driver, and we don't even know for sure what time we'll be getting to the park. We're going to try our best to get on the road early on the day that we drive there, but we don't always get on the road at the time we planned, for various reasons. And it's usually about a 6.5 to 7 hour drive from here to there, in a normal car or van. We don't know how much longer the driving time will be when we're driving in my husband's pickup and towing a 36' travel trailer. I really didn't like the idea of having to schedule an appointment time to get the ECV well in advance of our arrival date. I probably would have had to pick a fairly late appointment time, just to be absolutely sure that we've made it to the campground and received our site assignment and unhooked the camper by then. If we actually managed to get there by early afternoon, I would have to wait for many hours before being able to receive the scooter at the predesignated time. And it's also always a big hassle on the final morning when we have to get up and get the camper closed up and hitched to the truck, and actually leave the park by 11am. It will be so much nicer to have the scooter just waiting for me when we get there, and not have to deal with spending an hour meeting a delivery/pickup driver on that final checkout morning when it's already going to be so hectic as it is. We're only going to have one afternoon and evening, or maybe just one evening to enjoy the campground on the day we check in, and I'd hate to have to waste any of that precious time waiting to get my scooter.

I was also pleased with their rental prices. I rented from them in 2007, the last time I was at Disney, and they offer a return customer discount of 10%, so it will only cost me $27 per day for the scooter rental (plus tax). They have a canopy/shade that I can rent for $18 (after the discount) for the entire 5 days. I noticed that some of the other companies charged by the day for the canopy, so it would have cost a lot more than $18 for the shade. And they'll give me a free cup holder for the duration of the rental, and they don't charge extra for loss/damage insurance. Some of the other companies charged $5 per day for the cup holder and $20 for insurance. So it was going to cost me a LOT more to rent it from someone else. I'll be sure to post a review of their service here after I use them, since this site has said that the company hasn't had much feedback on this forum.

Thanks for the great information, didn't mean to hijack your thread. We are bringing our golf cart, but that's a perk about having our own (We've had many over the years because we use them at our seasonal site) I'll be getting in touch with Best Price. We are in the "same boat" when it comes to arrival and check-out. We don't know when we will arrive at the Ft. and we want to leave when ready when we check out and don't want to mess up our last day at Magic Kingdom with having to leave early to return a scooter (the park has emh that night) and I wouldn't want mom to have to leave early to go back to the Ft. to return the scooter and not be able to enjoy the last few hours in the park.

 

[DKSABS]

G719, thank you for that information!

Thanks for the great information, didn't mean to hijack your thread. We are bringing our golf cart, but that's a perk about having our own (We've had many over the years because we use them at our seasonal site) I'll be getting in touch with Best Price. We are in the "same boat" when it comes to arrival and check-out. We don't know when we will arrive at the Ft. and we want to leave when ready when we check out and don't want to mess up our last day at Magic Kingdom with having to leave early to return a scooter (the park has emh that night) and I wouldn't want mom to have to leave early to go back to the Ft. to return the scooter and not be able to enjoy the last few hours in the park.

You're welcome. I'd love to have our own golf cart one of these days.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hi, we are planning our first visit to FW in May. I was telling my husband that many people here highly recommend renting a golf cart to get around inside the campground. He asked me to find out if we are able to drive our truck to the pools, and to the bus stop or the ferry boat, the trading posts, etc, or if the only option to get to those places is to walk or ride the bus or rent a golf cart. Also, I will be renting a scooter for myself. If we do rent a golf cart to get around the campground, on the days that we go to the parks, I would need to drive my scooter to the bus stop or the ferry boat. Are there roads that have sidewalks right next to the road, where he can drive the golf cart with our 4 year old and I can ride on the sidewalk at the same time and we can drive there together in the scooter and golf cart?

We won't really have a lot of time in the campground area to enjoy the campground. We're driving down from NW Florida on Thursday, May 11, and towing our 36 foot travel trailer. We'll get to FW probably mid to late afternoon that day. Then we're going to the parks the next 4 days (Friday through Monday), and checking out and driving back home on Tuesday the 16th. So the only day we'll have to actually do anything in the campground besides sleep and eat, will be the day that we arrive in the late afternoon. We are really looking forward to this trip. I haven't been to Disney in over 10 years, and it has been even longer than that for my husband. We have custody of our 4 year old granddaughter, and she has never been there before. When we told her we were going to Disney, she got excited. Then we asked her if she knew what they have at Disney, she said "Bouncy Houses and Ice Cream!!!" She is in for a real surprise! We can't wait to see her reaction when she sees the Cinderella Castle for the first time.

there are some sidewalks that are not right next to roadway. having done what you are talking about I would leave a few minutes ahead of them and meet them where you are going. not sure I would want to be in the golf cart going slow enough to keep with you with a bus right behind me and yes there will be buses on road with golf carts. at night I would wait and ride a bus back to your loop. yes ECV has a light but did not feel it was enough at night. one thing to think about one of the highlights of our trip for our 4.5 year old granddaughter was riding the buses in the campground. did not end up having enough money to rent golf cart but she loved going to the back of bus. it was another ride to her. she did get to ride in golf cart with cousins but she loved the buses

 

[DKSABS]

Thank you for that perspective. You've mentioned several valid points that I hadn't thought about.

 

[DKSABS]

My husband is thinking about bringing our Surrey Cycle for getting around the campground. It looks like the one shown below. Are the sidewalks wide enough for him/us to drive this on the sidewalk? He could drive it on the road but he'd be moving a lot slower than a golf cart, and I'd hate to see all the buses and other vehicles stacking up behind him on the road.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

It would be difficult to use that bike on the sidewalks. If youre on the road, golf carts are supposed to yield to car traffic to avoid backups.

 

[North of Mouse]

Seeing the size of your 'bike', not sure it would be narrow enough for the sidewalks - you could not pass when meeting anyone else. It would probably have to be considered as a 'cart', and go where they are allowed.

This is a new one for me - have never seen them at the Fort. Maybe you could call and ask for info on where they could be used - would think, for sure, the cart paths and road only.

As pp said, you would need to yield to busses and could not just hold up traffic and let it back up behind you.

Good luck whatever you decide and have a great trip!

 

[DKSABS]

Thank you both. Is there enough space on the grass on the side of the road for him to just pull over to the grass every time a vehicle comes up behind him?

 

[Jimsig]

Well according to this page:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/campsites-at-fort-wilderness-resort/services-amenities/
it seems like they might be as it says Surrey Bikes

Vehicles and Recreational Devices
Cruise around the woods with the use of an officially authorized vehicle or recreation device. Read More


Cruise around the woods with the use of an officially authorized vehicle or recreation device. The following are permitted at Disney’s Fort Wildness Resort:
Licensed Vehicles

• Automobiles
• Motorcycles
• Neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs)
• Global electric motorcars (GEMs)
• Moped scooters

Recreational Vehicles

• Golf carts
• Bicycles
• Surrey bikes
• Segways
• Skates and roller-skates
• Kick and electric scooters
• Electric mobility devices

Though not listed there here is pdf about what is allowed and not allowed when it comes to other vehicles, carts, and recreational devices for info:
https://wdpromedia.disney.go.com/me...ecreational_Devices_Rules_and_Regulations.pdf

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Thank you both. Is there enough space on the grass on the side of the road for him to just pull over to the grass every time a vehicle comes up behind him?

are you talking about golf cart. not always can you pull over but remember you will not be the only golf cart and speed limit is very low in campground

 

[DKSABS]

I was asking about the golf cart or the surrey cycle. Thanks.