Thinking of renting an RV

Mary2e

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 10, 2001
We're thinking of trying to rent an RV for a week in January. IIRC, there are never any discounts offered for the campsites, correct?

We also want to be close to the boat dock and Trails End. I assume that would be the 100-300 loops, and perhaps 700.

We've never done this before and the plan is to use one of the services that set up on the site for you. We're not driving in :)

Any hints or advice? Rental companies?
 
OMG... I just tried to find a week, any week, in January and Feb and all that's available, for one week only, is a tent site.

Any tricks? I know I should keep checking, but does it ever open up?
 
The Fort is a very popular place, we always book a year in advance, you can keep calling and hope for a cancellation
 
Last edited:
Yep as @team bradfield noted you want to book a year out, Jan/Feb is a very popular time of year as well as holidays. A lot of full time RVers escape winter and head sound, plusit's just flat our a popular place to stay. I really wish they would expand the size of FW.

Might look at something in POP or another option.
 


OMG... I just tried to find a week, any week, in January and Feb and all that's available, for one week only, is a tent site.

Any tricks? I know I should keep checking, but does it ever open up?

Unfortunately, it is very popular. You may be able to find a last minute cancellation as final payments come due. Have to book way in advance.
 
Well here's the thing, Mary2e. January has a lot going on.

The first week of January is still the New Years-school's-still-out crowd Jan 1-6.

The second week of January is the Disney Marathon weekend Thurs-Sun Jan 10-13 and the Fort fills up for it (been there, done that).

The third week is clear but the weekend on the end of it feeds into MLK Day on the Monday after Jan 21 so people come in for a 3-day weekend and make plans well in advance.

Plus we have the snowbirds that have migrated in for the winter season (or never left last spring :teeth: ).

The one thing you can do is to try to book desired dates one night at a time (example: in on Jan27 and out on Jan28). You pay one night as a deposit on a one night reservation (essentially you have pre-paid). I checked one night at a time from in on Sun Jan 27 to out on Fri Feb 01 with either Full or Premiums (also consider 400 along with 700). Thing is, though, the same level is not available all the way through. Premiums are missing a day or two and Full are missing a day or two. You can try booking multiple one-day at one level for what you can get and keep trying multiple times a day to pick up the gaps in that week. The weekends (Fri and Sat night) before Jan 27 and after Feb 1 show nothing for a single night. Locals book weekends well in advance.

What you do when you get all the dates you want at the same level, there is a way a special group called "Guest Relations" can stitch your multiple reservations together into one.

This may be more work than you want on such short notice as well as trying to juggle a trailer reservation into the mix (deposit, cancellation window, etc.). Up to you. You can also try the one day at a time thing in February but weekends will be tight and President's Day weekend is like MLK on that Monday (a 3-day weekend for many). Plus prices go up in February.

Sorry it is what it is. :crazy2: A week long reservation at the Fort set up 2 months in advance is hard to do these days.

Bama Ed

PS - for those reading, campsite discounts (rare) only come for late August into September. And they aren't released until late spring (in other words, last minute).
 
Last edited:
If you search the forum, you'll see other threads related to this.

IMO, as much as I like staying FW, I don't think it makes sense financially to rent an RV and pay a campsite as you can arguably get better accommodation for less. After the site cost, rv rental and setup costs, I don't think you'll be able to do it for less than $250-300 per night and that's likely to stay in a popup or small trailer (i.e. very limited space, limited kitchen, small or no bathroom, etc).

For someone with their own RV, staying at FW offers a lot of benefits : great location and staying onsite (which can be a great part of the Disney experience), comfort and convenience of staying in your own place with your own things but given the abundance of cheap accommodations around and the limitations of staying in an RV (we have a 40 motor home which is likely much bigger and better equipped than anything you'll rent but it's no bigger than a 1 bedroom apartment).
 


Thanks All, and particularly Bama_Ed for the one-day-at-a-time trick. I've done it with hotels/cabins, but didn't think to try for a campsite (duh...)

I managed to piece together 4 nights in a row mid-week after MLK day in a Premium loop. At worse, we will stay in an off-site hotel for 2 or 3 nights. Why offsite? We will have a dog with us and we're just training him to be a good traveler :)

Money isn't really a factor here, though I appreciate the advice. We used to travel 5-6x per year, and since getting the puppy, we haven't been anywhere since last November.

I knew FW was popular - we've stayed in the cabins many times - but I didn't realize just how popular.

Any other hints/tricks/tips appreciated.
 
As far as the rental itself, you might be able to get a decent deal renting privately from 'outdoorsy.com' or 'rvshare.com' or similar (I've also seen RVs on AirBnb but I think those are pretty much just fixed site). Just search for something in the area and ask them if they'll setup at FW. Also ask about the pet as that could have an impact on the price (my friend rented a trailer this summer and there was a $200 pet surcharge and an extra $50 cleaning fee).
 
Thanks!!

Anyone have an opinion about Kissimmee Orlando RV rentals?

They are pet friendly, and set up and removal fees are $95 each

The 2 that are official Disney vendors are much more expensive.
 
Thanks!!

Anyone have an opinion about Kissimmee Orlando RV rentals?

They are pet friendly, and set up and removal fees are $95 each

The 2 that are official Disney vendors are much more expensive.

I believe someone said long ago that the two official vendors pay for access to Disney property. Not sure if Joe's RV set up shows up to the security shack they are going to let them in. Wouldn't be much of a savings if I showed up and had no where to sleep. Maybe someone with a better memory will help out here.
 
I believe someone said long ago that the two official vendors pay for access to Disney property. Not sure if Joe's RV set up shows up to the security shack they are going to let them in. Wouldn't be much of a savings if I showed up and had no where to sleep. Maybe someone with a better memory will help out here.

PaHunter, I think the "official" vendors get information shared with them earlier in the day such as "we have PaHunter assigned to site 1108 so go ahead and set them up at 3pm". Maybe WDW has a deal with the officials to clean/prep their sites first and make them ready (I would for what the officials pay. :confused3 ).

The non-officials have to wait until the guest, PaHunter, gets the text or notification of their site being available (could be 5pm) and THEY have to send that info to the vendor to allow them to set up while the guests wait. Being an "unofficial" vendor makes it a little more inconvenient for the guest (but less expensive for the guest as well). The vendor knows the policy under which they can deliver the trailer and set it up and communicates that to the guest well in advance.

Disney 'don't do nothing for free any more if they can help it' (said in my best Queen's English). Paying Disney for the privilege of being an official WDW vendor means you have to have some differentiation from the non-official competition. Or, put another way, they "inconvenience" the competition to provide a competitive advantage for which the vendor ends up charging a higher fee to the guest and then passing on some $$$ to "The Man".

Bama Ed

PS - it's like at college football games, they started selling "Stadium Radios" for $20 a season to fans attending games to hear the radio broadcast in real time. But, you might say, ANY fan can bring a radio to the game and listen in (near) real time. Oh no, my friend, when they introduced the Stadium Radios, they also put in a 7-10 second delay on the public/regular radio broadcast per a rights contract to "encourge" fans to pay up (for which the University gets a cut of course). As a season ticket holder from the day I graduated, I HAVE NEVER PAID FOR A STADIUM RADIO. And after a decade+, now it's only 3-4 seconds of delay (still not paying). :music: Bottom line, they will take anyone's money but they will charge more (through the vendor) for getting the site sooner. No trailer vendor has ever been turned away that I've heard of.

PPS - anyway, that's what they do in my college conference. Don't know what they do in other minor conferences like the Sunbelt, SWAC, and Big10....

PPPS - they inconvenience the golf cart only vendors the same way. If I were a guest using these services, I would simply leave my arrival day open to take care of getting in and getting set up (with maybe an evening dinner ADR over at Raglan Road in Disney Springs).
 
Last edited:
PaHunter, I think the "official" vendors get information shared with them earlier in the day such as "we have PaHunter assigned to site 1108 so go ahead and set them up at 3pm". Maybe WDW has a deal with the officials to clean/prep their sites first and make them ready (I would for what the officials pay. :confused3 ).

The non-officials have to wait until the guest, PaHunter, gets the text or notification of their site being available (could be 5pm) and THEY have to send that info to the vendor to allow them to set up while the guests wait. Being an "unofficial" vendor makes it a little more inconvenient for the guest (but less expensive for the guest as well). The vendor knows the policy under which they can deliver the trailer and set it up and communicates that to the guest well in advance.

Disney 'don't do nothing for free any more if they can help it' (said in my best Queen's English). Paying Disney for the privilege of being an official WDW vendor means you have to have some differentiation from the non-official competition. Or, put another way, they "inconvenience" the competition to provide a competitive advantage for which the vendor ends up charging a higher fee to the guest and then passing on some $$$ to "The Man".

Bama Ed

PS - it's like at college football games, they started selling "Stadium Radios" for $20 a season to fans attending games to hear the radio broadcast in real time. But, you might say, ANY fan can bring a radio to the game and listen in (near) real time. Oh no, my friend, when they introduced the Stadium Radios, they also put in a 7-10 second delay on the public/regular radio broadcast per a rights contract to "encourge" fans to pay up (for which the University gets a cut of course). As a season ticket holder from the day I graduated, I HAVE NEVER PAID FOR A STADIUM RADIO. And after a decade+, now it's only 3-4 seconds of delay (still not paying). :music: Bottom line, they will take anyone's money but they will charge more (through the vendor) for getting the site sooner. No trailer vendor has ever been turned away that I've heard of.

PPS - anyway, that's what they do in my college conference. Don't know what they do in other minor conferences like the Sunbelt, SWAC, and Big10....

PPPS - they inconvenience the golf cart only vendors the same way. If I were a guest using these services, I would simply leave my arrival day open to take care of getting in and getting set up (with maybe an evening dinner ADR over at Raglan Road in Disney Springs).

See I knew someone with a better memory than I would stop by to help out.
 
Mary2e, we have rented many times from Wilderness Camper Rentals they are amazing, they do not charge a delivery, pet or any other fees. There campers are always spotless and they have the absolute best customer service. We have a stay coming up with them in a few weeks and have already booked twice with them for next year. We have rented from other companies and even tried Outdoorsey once (never again zero customer care and the camper was not even cleaned) but none compare to these guys. Check out their website wildernesscamperrentals.com and see for yourself.
 
Thank you so much everyone!!! I really appreciate all the info. I looked at Wilderness Campers, and they don't have one available with a king bed and the price was comparable to KOVRentals. They don't charge a pet fee, but do charge a $250 refundable security deposit. The deposit is 25%, and cancellation is 30 days.

Now, if I'm in a preferred loop do you think we need a golf cart? We normally got one when staying in the cabins.
 
Thank you so much everyone!!! I really appreciate all the info. I looked at Wilderness Campers, and they don't have one available with a king bed and the price was comparable to KOVRentals. They don't charge a pet fee, but do charge a $250 refundable security deposit. The deposit is 25%, and cancellation is 30 days.

Now, if I'm in a preferred loop do you think we need a golf cart? We normally got one when staying in the cabins.

You don't 'need' one, but it's your preference. Most things are in walking distance, and from the settlement to the outpost, you can take 'any' color bus and it takes you direct. Then you can take the correct bus to any park or Disney Springs. We always camp in preferred and have never rented a cart.
 
Hi again Mary2e, I just called Wilderness Camper Rentals to see if they started to charge a security deposit because they never have. They assured me that they do not charge a security deposit. There deposit is one nights rental and for there cancellation policy it says on their website that full refund to cancel before 30 days and $50.00 refund if cancelled within 30 days. I know the other companies charge security deposits and wont refund any of your deposit because we have used most of them before we found WCR.
 
Hi, I have used Mouse House Camper Rentals before. I was just out there a couple weeks ago and used their hybrid camper at the tent loops. They were awesome. The camper was very clean and lots of amenities. They also have a bigger bunk house camper that I will be renting in a few months. They deliver to FW for free and set up and take down also. They are a small family business and are awesome to do business with. You might want to give them a try.
 
It's costing us about $250 per night (11 nights) in a full hookup with absolutely huge camper over July 4 next year. This also comes with outdoor chairs and everything we need, including a golf cart, setup, delivery and pickup etc. There are five of us so I think it's a pretty good price. We did look around at all the companies that offer rentals. We went with the one we did, not just because of the price (although a big factor) but also the great reviews we had read about them. We certainly could have stayed offsite in a villa cheaper. We could have got a hotel cheaper but we would have been cramped. This has two separate bedrooms so a little more privacy. Small bathroom but we will cope. But honestly it's about the atmosphere. Fort Wilderness is beautiful. We love to get up and sit outside for coffee in the morning before the park. It's a great relaxing way to start the day.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











Top