Please help me decide if I need to rent a golf cart

[talulabelle]

I have read all the golf cart threads I can find. Everyone agrees they are FUN to have, but it seems there are differing opinions on the necessity of the golf cart at the fort. Seems to me that it depends on what type of Fort visiter you are. ie, a person that is using it a place to stay and will be at the parks most of the time, or a person enjoying the fort.

So - I would very much appreciate opinions on whether my family needs one on our late July trip.

This is us:

1. Hubby, me, and four kids between ages of 5 and 12.
2. This will only be our second vacation ever to WDW. First time we stayed in 2 rooms at ASMo with the DDP and loved it. This time to save moneywe are staying in a cabin to have a kitchen to use for many meals to save money. (which means we will be returning to the fort via bus and boat often for dinner, and then heading back out for more fun.)
3. I'm thinking since this is only our 2nd trip, and the 5 year old doesn't even remember our 1st trip, we are pretty much still park commandos, and will be spending most of our time at the parks. We have 7 day passes for our trip and will be doing waterparks.
4. I usually like to do at least one or two loads of laundry while on vacation, but don't have to if it is a pain to get to the facilities.
5. We ARE NOT CAMPERS (no offense to all of you wonderful people) and even though I think it would be fun, my husband just does not have the "camping mentallity" and I don't think either of us will have a huge desire to "go looping". He won't have an interest in all of your cool set-ups. (we did take a horse and buggy ride through the fort last time we were at Disney when we went to the Hoop-de -do, and it was Halloween so we loved seeing all the cool Halloween decorations on that trip. This time it is end of July and I doubt there will be too many decorations. Also, since it is something we have already seen and done, I don't think we have a huge need or desire to do it again. (although, if we do have a cart, it is something will will definately do at least once. )
6. My main concern is getting to and from the busses and boat launches in the morning and evening coming and going from the parks and maybe once or twice to the pool, and to the campfire, and Mickeys Backyard BBQ.
7. We will have a jog stroller for the 5 year old, so if he is exausted on the way home after the parks we can stroll him, but that also means that it is something we will have to haul on and off the internal busses as well as the park busses.
8. I can afford a cart from an off-site company listed in the GC thread, but when I say I can afford it, I'm not saying I'm made of money. With 4 kids , I can find plenty of good uses for the money if I don't blow it on a GC. I won't mind spending on the GC if it makes our trip so much better and we can't imagine having not had it. But if we are rarely using it, or piling in it for short trips, that parking and walking aren't worth the trouble of taking it, then I am gonna be TICKED that I wasted the money. I scrape and do without for a long time to be able to afford the vacation to begin with, I don't like wasting one penny. (mind you, we WILL be piling as there are 6 of us - and I think I can only afford a 4 seater)

So that's us. Whaddayall think? cart or no cart?

 

[becky1960]

We have gone to FW for many years and never had a GC we use the buses which seem to do fine for us. We are not campers as campers go, we use ours as a motel room. We do breakfast and not much more cooking, after all its a vacation. We also do laundry and try to get close to a comfort station.
I will say the camper gives us a lot more freedom while traveling. I have done real camping trips in the past even using a canoe to get from town to town but as you get older you slow down.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I think this question might come down to money versus convenience for your family. If I were you, I might think of the Fort as another "park". I personally don't think you'll "NEED" one to get back and forth to your bus and boat tranportation. The real question is how much you might want one while inside the Fort. Are you walking to the pool, the store, to rent bikes, to grab water bottles, to the campfire, to the front desk etc. Depending on where your cabin is, that can be quit a haul. There are internal buses, but it's not as easy as running to get where you want to be when you want to be there. You absolutely don't "NEED" a golf cart to enjoy the fort. For us (family of 5) it was a convenience and a luxury we "needed" to enjoy our vacation.

Using one of offsite rentals, it's about 250.00 for the week. For us, coming back late from the parks with tired feet and exhausted kids, it was wonderful to jump in our cart and buzz right back to our front door. If you are planning any "short" days or down time in vacation to relax by the pool, you might try renting one for just those couple of days. Just beware, once you rent it you won't give up easily!

 

[Shan-man]

Generally, for able-bodied folks I would say that carts are pure luxury, and a great way to enjoy the Fort. But given your specifics, it might be worth considering. You are going to be commandos, and shuttling back and forth to the cabins frequently... so you sure don't want to spend any more time than necessary waiting for buses. Though renting a car might save even more time unless you are going to be spending all of your time at MK. Plus, 4 youngin's at the end of a day commando'ing will be VERY unhappy being roused to walk from the marina (after sleeping on the boat) and walking from the bus stop (after sleeping on the bus!). You didn't say WHEN you are going, but I'd be willing to bet that if it is during Christmas that even the most adamant non-camper will enjoy looping... if only to laugh at the craziness the silly rednecks engage in with their decorations!

 

[talulabelle]

Generally, for able-bodied folks I would say that carts are pure luxury, and a great way to enjoy the Fort. But given your specifics, it might be worth considering. You are going to be commandos, and shuttling back and forth to the cabins frequently... so you sure don't want to spend any more time than necessary waiting for buses. Though renting a car might save even more time unless you are going to be spending all of your time at MK. Plus, 4 youngin's at the end of a day commando'ing will be VERY unhappy being roused to walk from the marina (after sleeping on the boat) and walking from the bus stop (after sleeping on the bus!). You didn't say WHEN you are going, but I'd be willing to bet that if it is during Christmas that even the most adamant non-camper will enjoy looping... if only to laugh at the craziness the silly rednecks engage in with their decorations!

Oh, I wish it was Christmas, and if it was I would definately get a cart to enjoy the decorations!!! (or at least rent bikes) It is goingto be last week of July - so HOT HOT HOT - I'm guessing this is another good reason to get one...especially for any trips to the pool .

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

I think it boils down to how you feel about waiting 5-20 minutes every time you catch a bus coming and going. If you have the mental mind frame that.....Hey, I'm on vacation; I'm at Disney; I can just chill and people watch while waiting, you'll be fine without a cart. However, if you are time obsessed, watching your watch, trying to cram everything you can into your time at Disney, then a cart is definitely for you.

 

[sharadoc]

Have you looked at the cost of a rental car? It may honestly be cheaper for you and give you more flexibility. Even if you want to take the buses to other parks, you still have to get out to the main bus stop. You'll have to get a big golf cart to fit all six of you, plus a jog stroller.

Just a thought. I am very averse to renting a golf cart just to drive to a bus stop, but we will have our car. I don't know how I would feel if I didn't have a car. We're not commandos, so we're perfectly fine waiting for the bus to get to the marina and boat to the Magic Kingdom. We'll drive everywhere else.

 

[magicforever]

I have gone with and without. Truthfully, if you can swing the cost, go for it. This is when I love having a golf cart... coming back from any park and it being EXTREMELY hot and getting on the cart immediately and heading back to your place.

It is a luxury, no doubt!

What I agree with most is that if you are ready to be laid back about waiting for a bus and not a watch watcher, the buses are great.

Whatever you do, have fun.

 

[TinkNMinnie09]

I just got back from a trip on the 11th. We stayed in the 2800 loop of the cabins. We had my hubby, myself, a 10, 4 1/2, and grandparents with bad knees. We also had a combi stroller for the 4 1/2 year old. We decided to not get a cart.

I can say we did ok without the cart. We were park commandos since it was kids and grandparents first trip. We came back for afternoon breaks, pool time, and also did some resort hopping. The main thing I would have liked it for was to see more of the resort. We did some touring, but not as much as I would have liked.

The big question that came to mind for me was - can I keep the youngest occupied while waiting for a bus? Luckily for us the Geeko's took care of that for us And really we never seemed to wait more then about 10 minutes for a bus.

Like others said it really comes down to, are you ok relying in the internal/external transportation? If you are and looking to save some money, I personally would not get the cart. But everyone's family is a little different.

 

[talulabelle]

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'm leaning toward getting the cart...


So is waiting for the internal busses at the Fort the same as waiting for the regular Disney Transportation busses? Do they run about 15 min apart? So if your lucky you might hit one right away, but on a backed up day you might have to wait 20 min, only to get to the main bus and have another wait there. Then that bus might be full, and you have to wait again for a bus? Do the internal busses load wheelchairs, which slows them down sometimes? If all this is all the case, I'm getting the cart.

I am fine with Disney transportation regularly and I am patient waiting for busses, but if I have to do this twice on every trip in and out, I don't think I can take it. If the internal busses are running at quicker clips (like 5 min) then I might go this direction. Anyone know about this?

 

[glavine47]

We just got back from the fort monday, we stayed 10 days. We road our bikes the first seven and rented a cart the last three (57.00 a day including tax). The fort is a big place.

 

[Conan the Librarian]

Walk or Bus, save your $57.00 a day, and buy the kids some nice trinkets so that they can remember the trip always. Or buy yourself some really cool Hawaiian shirts at World of Disney.

It's just not that big a place. I have arthritis in both knees and still have no problem walking around FtW.

 

[tungpo1]

Yes you need to buy a cart!!!!!! Call me

 

[team bradfield]

Get a cart, we tried the biking one year, never failed every night we got back to the outpost, it was raining....bikes are no fun in the rain. this year, we went back to the cart, we save for it as part of our vacation budget..