Renting a Camper?

[DisneyJillian18]

Not sure if there is already a thread for this, sorry if so!
We had a camper when I was younger, we ended up flipping due to road issues a few years back, obviously a little traumatizing and we haven't wanted to pull a camper since. But we loved the experience! We always planned to bring our camper to WDW but never had the chance. Renting seems like a great idea! Any advice on this would be great, companies to go through, price, pros and cons, do we need a golf cart, all in all any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!!

 

[Sundancer330]

If you do a search on this site for trailer or RV rental you will find lots of info. There are maybe 3 or 4 companies that rent trailers at the Fort. Last year we used GreenburgRV for our rental and had a great time. You can check out their web site at http://www.greenbergrvflorida.com, it has pricing, pictures of the various trailers, what comes with the trailer and other FAQs. A golf cart is fun but not something you have to have, the internal bus will get you where you need to go. We were in loop 1300 so we were close to the pool, maybe a 5 minute walk.
You can use a service like Garden Grocer to deliver food right to your site, we didn't have a car since we flew in so we pre ordered some breakfast items and snacks, they delivered early the next day. This is the only way we will do Disney in the future, the Fort was a great place to spend the week.

 

[CDNCruiser]

We rented a trailer for my wife's elderly parents last February. They camped right beside us!
I wrote a blog about it for AllEars.net, you can find my comments and pictures here:
http://land.allears.net/blogs/guestblog/2014/03/no_rv_no_problem_fort_wilderne.html

We rented from Moore Camping Rentals and they were terrific to deal with.
In fact, it was so good that we've booked again for next February!
You can find Rodney Moore's family-run business here: http://www.mcrfl.com/

 

[DisneyJillian18]

If you do a search on this site for trailer or RV rental you will find lots of info. There are maybe 3 or 4 companies that rent trailers at the Fort. Last year we used GreenburgRV for our rental and had a great time. You can check out their web site at http://www.greenbergrvflorida.com, it has pricing, pictures of the various trailers, what comes with the trailer and other FAQs. A golf cart is fun but not something you have to have, the internal bus will get you where you need to go. We were in loop 1300 so we were close to the pool, maybe a 5 minute walk.
You can use a service like Garden Grocer to deliver food right to your site, we didn't have a car since we flew in so we pre ordered some breakfast items and snacks, they delivered early the next day. This is the only way we will do Disney in the future, the Fort was a great place to spend the week.

We are currently looking at Greenburg, have yet to hear back from them yet with a quote, hopefully soon! Was the golf cart included? We are thinking of getting one just for fun, but not really a necessary thing. I've heard of Garden Grocer, was it expensive? We are a 12 hour drive, but I think we will still drive, but I don't want to have to luge all those groceries down! Thanks for your help!

 

[DisneyJillian18]

We rented a trailer for my wife's elderly parents last February. They camped right beside us!
I wrote a blog about it for AllEars.net, you can find my comments and pictures here:
http://land.allears.net/blogs/guestblog/2014/03/no_rv_no_problem_fort_wilderne.html

We rented from Moore Camping Rentals and they were terrific to deal with.
In fact, it was so good that we've booked again for next February!
You can find Rodney Moore's family-run business here: http://www.mcrfl.com/

Thank you! I actually read your article yesterday and it really persuaded us to give this a go! I have looked at them as well, I believe I sent a quote, but not sure. Thanks so much for the help and great article!

 

[bama_ed]

Jillian,

Lots of folks rent campers with satisfying results.

There are different kinds of campers for rent. The most affordable are popup campers starting at about $70 per night. Or you can get travel trailers with various sizes up to about 10 people. Do you want a camping experience? An RV-like experience?

Fort Camper Rental, Florida Camper Rental, Greenberg, Moore, they all have websites. And there are others. If you saw a prior thread on our Camping Board, the option to bundle a golf cart might no longer be an option. Of course, I'm on record as saying no one NEEDS a golf cart unless they have serious mobility issues. The internal busses, your two legs, and bikes have gotten people around the Fort since 1972. Carts are an expensive convenience. I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.

There are 4 types of campsites at the Fort. The Partial/Tent sites are the cheapest but they're for tents and popups. Only the rental popups from Fort Camper Rental would go there. The other types are Full and Preferred (the same in amenities only different locations in the Fort - Preferred are up by the beach/lake and Full are back in the quiet woods) and are next expensive. Premiums are extra wide, extra long, centrally located in the Fort, and best for long RVs or trailers with slideouts, etc. Your vendor can tell you if they need a specific type of site for the rental but I think other than Partial/Tent they could put the rental unit on any of the other three.

Since you are driving, there is no need to lug groceries on a 12 hour drive. There are Wal-Marts, Winn Dixies, and Publix grocery stores 10-15 minutes from the Fort entrance. I have a thread on here somewhere with aerial photographs and routes marked to them. We eat most meals at the camper to save money. We've packed lunches into the park and stashed them in a rental locker until mealtime to save money. We eat at 1-2 table restaurants and 1-2 counter service places during our stay.

Does your husband like to grill? All sites have a charcoal grill. I fire it up the first night and grill lots of different types of meat for several days and then heat it in the microwave each night as needed. For sides I either cook or buy take-out sides from Trails End. Trails End also has a take-out menu (I've got the menu posted in a thread somewhere too).

I've done groceries both ways - I prefer to get them right before checking in to the Fort but I've also had trips where I want to get there, set up, then head out again to grocery shop.

Staying at the Fort is different than the resort hotels. Campers are more neighborly, people spend time around the Fort and not the parks, and it's a great place for kids to ride bikes, participate in the Rec activities (see the Movie/Rec list each month posted here), and enjoy the Campfire/movie/Chip & Dale singalong (bring the marshmellows to roast).

If you're a theme park kamikaze who spends every day in the parks from rope drop to closing every day, you will miss the magic of the Fort. It is a place to relax at while on vacation.

Bama Ed

 

[Sundancer330]

We are currently looking at Greenburg, have yet to hear back from them yet with a quote, hopefully soon! Was the golf cart included? We are thinking of getting one just for fun, but not really a necessary thing. I've heard of Garden Grocer, was it expensive? We are a 12 hour drive, but I think we will still drive, but I don't want to have to luge all those groceries down! Thanks for your help!

If you don't hear back from Matt real quick give him a call at 407-668-8980, he is always quick to respond. Greenburg did have a few golf carts but he doesn't advertise them, you will have to ask and it also looks like Disney is changing policies on gold carts from outside vendors, Matt should be able to tell you what he can do. As you check out the various companies that rent at the Fort check the age if their trailers, some were very old and worn out looking, the reason we went with Greenburg was most of their trailers were very new , and when we arrived we had a brand new trailer. Garden grocer was great to use, their web site is set up like a grocery store so you can shop the different departments. They have everything you could ever want and everything is priced out, they charge a fee based on what you spend, for us it was great without a car. As BamaEd stated if you have a car the local grocery stores are close by.