Bicycles in Lieu of Cart for Fort Transportation

[bozley0621]

I’d like to hear people’s experiences of relying on their bikes to navigate around Fort Wilderness. As it stands presently, Hubbs and I are planning to bring our bikes to scoot around (we have heavy duty locks appropriate for city use) and forego the golf cart.

We are two healthy adults with no mobility issues.

Rain has been a passing thought, so we’d get wet either way I think. We’ll cover our seats with shower caps while they are parked.

We’ll have our three goldens with us. My in-laws use their cart to take their dogs to the dog park, but I honestly don’t know if my boys would even stay in the cart.

What are your experiences relying on bikes for your fort transportation with the pluses and minuses?

 

[amcc]

We rarely rent a golf cart (and then it’s only for a day if the kids bug us enough). We love the bikes. I hate waiting for the buses so we like the feeling of just going when we want plus I feel so much more engaged with the campground at the speed of a bike. We never lock them and have never had a problem but then they aren’t great bikes. You do need a light in them for night time. The paths along the main roads can be dark.

You can also bike to Wilderness Lodge which is a GREAT path.

 

[KristinU]

We've rented a cart only once, for a July trip where we thought the heat might be an issue tooling around. Worked out well, but I'd just as soon not mess with a cart and just do bikes. Sounds like it is just you and DH, but what we like about bikes is the ability to split up here and there. DS wants to hit the arcade on the way back from a park, I go and take our dogs out, and DH wants to grab his gear and go drop a fishing line in somewhere...no problem! My dogs don't really use the dog park much, if we're in short walking distance we'll go over, but one guy gets over-zealous when playing and one guy has knee issues...so our romps at the dog park are pretty short if we have them. We prefer walks and sniffs anyway

Like @amcc said, grab some lights for front and rear for riding in the dark.

Oh, and rain - if it is pouring when we want to ride somewhere we just take an internal bus. If our bikes end up somewhere away from our site because of rain, we just bus back and pick them up when it isn't raining. No biggie.

 

[michelb]

Echoing the other comments, we never rent a cart and instead rely on our bikes to get around FW. Although we will use the buses to go to the parks and back mostly because we usually have stuff to carry and by the time we get back, it's typically late and dark and we'd rather not bike with the kids at that time.

 

[cruising spud]

We have only rented a cart once, and that was just for the day, for fun, when our youngest was little. My only issue with bikes involves the time of year you go to Disney. During the summer months, my husband and I take our bikes to the fort and use them in the morning. But, honestly, it is usually way too hot to bike (at least for us) as the day goes on. We walk to the buses or the boat.

 

[team bradfield]

we tried the bikes once, it was june, it was a mistake. going to bus stop in am was great, but every night upon return, hard rain, tired kids, tired parents=miserable day. golf cart you get a little wet in hard rain, but it is much faster than waiting for 8 & 9 yo's riding/crying in the rainstorm...

 

[bozley0621]

... but it is much faster than waiting for 8 & 9 yo's riding/crying in the rainstorm...

The only whining we hear out of our eight-year-old is the howling when he's hungry.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Never stayed at FW but have used bicycles for internal and external transport at other private and state camp grounds. A front basket or rear panniers make for great storage usage. Nothing like attending the annual Pancake Flip fundraiser and bringing precooked breakfast back to the campsite- ahhhh!
As long as you feel your bodies are up to it, go for it.
Good advice regarding lights and reflectors. We own a bit o' multifunctional equipment and opted for a headlamp for front bike usage since it can also be used off the bike.
Inclement weather? They make ponchos for that and in FL the rain tends to be fast and short. We used to bicycle tent camp in the NE when my kiddos were young (they are now in their 30's and 40's) and good weather or bad, it made for some of the best vacations my kiddos' memories retained.

By the time DGD started camping with us we'd moved on to car camping but still used the bikes for short jaunts. 7 times out of 10 she'd jump on her bike during a rainstorm to catch up with friends on different loops.

I say give it a try and if you don't like it you'll still have a memorable vacation.

 

[tinkerjo]

We are taking both on our next trip. I got a golf cart for my birthday “yay me” but does not have a back seat so we are taking bikes for the kids. (They are all preteens and college aged) but I have to say when we rented a golf cart last year for a day, they are a ton of fun!! BUT not worth what they charge. We just had a fort day planned and it made the day a little more fun depending what loop you get, it could be a jaunt, and in shape or not, you may not feel like riding a bike after all day in the parks. Sometimes the bus air conditioning is a welcome reprieve

 

[Disneypeach]

I always take my bike. I enjoy riding around looking at others’ sites...also ride up to Wilderness lodge. Allows me to exercise differently from all the walking at the parks...giving my feet a break!

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

We have taken the cart or the bikes, I prefer bikes.

 

[Sleepy425]

we tried the bikes once, it was june, it was a mistake. going to bus stop in am was great, but every night upon return, hard rain, tired kids, tired parents=miserable day. golf cart you get a little wet in hard rain, but it is much faster than waiting for 8 & 9 yo's riding/crying in the rainstorm...

My husband tried arguing that we don't need a cart for our two weeks at the Fort in August. Our kids will be 5, 5, 7, and 9. I told him there was no way they would ride back after a day in the parks. Thankfully I won this one - we will bring the bikes, but also rented a cart from an outside company. I figure the bikes will be perfect for riding to the pool, or to grab something from the store or over at WL. But the cart will be for night time and when we are taking the boat anywhere.

 

[Shanti]

When we camped at the fort we just relied on the buses to get around and that was fine. We rented bikes for recreation and that was fun: the fort is a great place to ride bikes.

Aside from rain, the biggest issue with bringing bikes is keeping them from getting stolen. There have been a fair number of bikes stolen from the Fort, and it doesn't appear to just be opportunistic. Some criminals seem to have decided that the Fort is an easy mark to steal from. Be careful.

 

[J.Scott Cape Cod]

We camped in a preferred site last Feb and will be back this Feb. No cart. We used our bikes to get to the pool, and were able to easily walk to the boats. We preferred taking the boats to either the MK or the Contemporary and use their buses or monorail to get to other parks. We hated sitting at an internal bus stop and then sitting at the external bus stop.

 

[FFstreetDoc]

We only use our bikes. We love riding through the loops and looking at all the campers, sites and decorations during the holidays. Added bonus to bikes is the path that goes from FWCG to the Wilderness Lodge. There is also a dirt path along the lake that if you turn your head at the perfect time, you will not "see" the "cast members only" sign and end up at the back side of the old river country site. WE may or may not have watched the fireworks from that road on one trip...lol

 

[Annie Michelle]

We stay Jan-Feb yearly and never rent a cart unless maybe for 1 day to explore with friends. We honestly never bike anywhere but the fort. Our bikes only come out then! We love to bike around and even walk. I even walk from the outpost to the boat sometimes just to enjoy the campground. If you are fairly fit, you can certain bike or walk anywhere It is much more enjoyable then the rush in my opinion.

 

[Breezy2]

Bikes are the quickest, easiest and most reasonable way to travel around the Fort for experienced/comfortable riders. The paths are windy/curvy and its interesting to watch people who haven't been on a bike in 20 or more years try to navigate them. Pros: quickest mode of transportation - ride them to the Outpost or Settlement. You'll be there long before the internal buses. Enjoy the fresh air (no sweaty/wet grumpy people) and the abundant wildlife. Also no long waits for a ride. Cons: Rain-enjoy it, laugh, be a kid again, put on a poncho and go-smiling all the way. If its really bad, i.e. lightening-ride the bus home and go back later and pick up the bikes.
Words of caution : Lock them up. Also, LIGHTS and good ones are a must to ride at night and be confident in your bike skills. The trails are quite dark and unforgiving. For our family the freedom and feeling of why we all ride bikes is much preferred to a bus anyday. Plus for some people it makes them feel like a kid again-what joy!

 

[JPDtheJD]

We had both for a trip in October and decided in the future we would not need a cart. The bikes are actually faster and easier to park close to the marina or outpost. Golf carts can only go so fast. Sometimes there are even “golf cart traffic jams” that bikes can get around if you know the back way out of the marina. We enjoyed having both for our first trip but will not rent a golf cart in the future.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I’d like to hear people’s experiences of relying on their bikes to navigate around Fort Wilderness. As it stands presently, Hubbs and I are planning to bring our bikes to scoot around (we have heavy duty locks appropriate for city use) and forego the golf cart.

We are two healthy adults with no mobility issues.

Rain has been a passing thought, so we’d get wet either way I think. We’ll cover our seats with shower caps while they are parked.

We’ll have our three goldens with us. My in-laws use their cart to take their dogs to the dog park, but I honestly don’t know if my boys would even stay in the cart.

What are your experiences relying on bikes for your fort transportation with the pluses and minuses?

That's the way we roll and it's just the two of us also. LOVE biking there, one of the nicest places ever to ride a bike. We put bags on our seats if it's raining or you could take the bus around if bad weather. Bike you'll love it. And we love to ride over to Wilderness Lodge at least once while we're there, there is a nice path, very easy ride.