Cruise America in Kissimmee

Atlanta WDW Fan

Can I just live at FT. Wilderness?
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
I am in the early planning stages of our next Fort Wilderness trip. We love it there! Our last trip we tent camped. It was fun, but I think I want to do an RV this time. I have done a ton of research on the services that set up units for you. That sounds fine. Then I thought about renting from Cruise America in Kissimmee, and just driving the motor home to FW. Has anyone ever done this? Thoughts? Thanks!
 
Used them once extremely overpriced. In fact they were the reason I bought my MH. I've had campers in the past and wanted to try the MH thing when I did the numbers all the extras included I found it paid me to buy my own. If I was just going to the fort from Kissimee it would have been much cheaper but the units are nothing special and the Tt's that some rent seem much nicer. JMHO
 
We looked at renting as well in the past. VERY VERY costly (at least for us.) Just checking now, a smaller Class C was about $200/night. As I recall it included 1000 miles but additional miles were something like $0.15 - $0.20 / mile above the allotted miles. Since it was a minimum of 1100 miles ONE way, there is an extra ~$200. PLUS you had to pay for Gas. Gas for the vehicle and Gas (Propane) for the RV. So for a 10 day trip (which was only about 7 days at the campground) and we are already at $2500 and we haven't even gotten to the cost of the campground. Plus all the "Additional" fees and deposits ($1000 deposit, cleaning fee, extra driver fee, etc....) We very "Quickly" scratched that off our list.

We do have a TT so that's what we prefer to use. Yes.... We pay a lot of money for it too, but at least at the end of the day... It's ours and we can do with it what we please. :)
 
Thanks for the input ya'll! I have looked at several options. I agree the CA units are a little "plain Jane". But the idea of picking it up in Kissimmee, and just driving the 20 miles to FW sounds appealing to me. Very little mileage charged, and quick ride to the DW. Still have made a final decision yet.
 


I see a couple Cruise America Class C's as well as some from a company called El Monte on just about every trip to the Fort. It's an interesting option and if you want to try it once, I say go for it. Especially if you ever thought about buying one, use this as a "try-before-you-buy" opportunity. They also sell their former rentals and we had one poster here buy a used rental and was happy with it (it's well maintained but used of course).

Here was a CA unit in 1400 loop on a past trip.



El Monte has an Orlando location too. Camping World in Kissimmee used to but I think they got out of that business. Might check with them though if they still have some sort of rental program.

Good luck!

Bama Ed
 
We rented from them years ago and considered them for our trip next year, but the $500 down and having to pick up/set up/return, as well as having to rent all the linens, etc separately turned us off this time. I decided to rent from a company that will set up a TT for us for about the same price and include everything. Pulled the trigger on it today for Thanksgiving 2018.
 


We rented from CA both locally and in Kissimmee. Happy each time. We weren't looking for the cheapest alternative but rather another variation on a vacation. When we packed up at home, it was the easiest trip with little kids. When they were teens, we took the train with an additional suitcase of linens and some pots and pans and rented with CA in Kissimmee using the motorhome for our transportation while in Orlando. Saved us on eating out for every meal too. We have since bought a 32 foot travel trailer and now use that at the Fort. We have also used the popular trailer rentals in the Orlando area and had wonderful experiences in that they set them up and were very responsive to our questions. All experiences were great. Perhaps it is the magic of Disney ...pixiedust:
 
We used CA a couple of times, then moved to a private rental (from Broward county and loved it), and finally got a popup we remodeled.

The worst part of CA was the lack of awning. It's so nice to sit outside but sort of out of the elements. We also found that it was inconsistent with cleanliness depending on the pickup site. I think each facility that rents is responsible for cleaning, and let's say, by the second time, I learned to take cleaner and clean it myself. We also had bug issues. I won't recommend the Fort Myers or Dania beach rental locations. Maybe the Kissimmee location is better.

Regardless, we loved renting and driving even with the costs. Loved the comfort and convenience and the air conditioning. Your plan sounds like a great idea to me!
 
Thanks for all the input! We have opted for using our own gear one more time. We have CA in my city in GA, so I am going to rent for a local trip soon and see how it goes. we leave in 12 days! Can't wait.
 

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