Driving vs. shuttles

[mnkev]

Staying at POR week after Easter. Fear the crowds. Any pros/con about driving to the parks vs shuttle buses?

[wildeoscar]

crowds on the buses, vs. cost of rental car

Bus stops clearly marked, vs. finding your car in the lot

bus routes are established, vs. getting directions, navigating in the dark at night

[goofyboyzmom]

Out of all of our trips, we have only relied on the bus system once. It works for some, but not for us. If you stay to park closing, you may have to wait for 2 or 3 busses. When you are at your resort, you can get very resentful when you are waiting for a Magic Kingdom bus and THREE MGM busses come in the meantime!

Also, sometimes it is hard to go from park to park with the busses. I think we wanted to go to Animal Kingdom from MGM and the supposed busses never came. We had to go back to a resort and wait for an AK bus from there.

Plus we like having a car to go off site for dining, drug store, etc. Also, the time we relied on Magical Express to get back to the airport our flight left at 6:00 p.m. and we had to be on the Magical Express at noon! A LONG time in an airport!

Good luck with your decision.

[mnkev]

We have a car as we will spend the last 1/2 of our vaca at Ft. Myers Beach, so I will be paying for the rental if we drive it to the park or if it stays at POR. Kinda leaning towards driving...

[ammo]

We usually drive for the sake of flexibility. The one place I would consider Disney transportation is going to the MK. The process of parking, getting a tram to the TTC, and then taking the monorail or ferry to the MK takes a bit of time. The idea of being dropped off at the turnstiles is very appealing.

[WDW-DJ]

I've only been on one major WDW vacation, last April. Personally I loved using the buses for everything. Saved us money, and possibly the headache of getting from place to place. We'll be at the buses mercy again in April this year. :thumbsup2

There were a couple times that we had to wait a little longer than we would have liked for a bus, but overall it was worth that rare drawback.

[Lori S.]

We are considering driving. We will be driving down to Disney and will already have our car, I wouldn't rent just for these reasons, but:
We will have a 2 year old and one of us may return to the room for an earlier break. She usually falls asleep in the car when very tired, I'm thinking getting off of a bus with a sleeping toddler and a stroller will be hard. Stroller could stay in the car when we return. I have never driven around disney, we've always used their transportation. Is it easy or confusing? How far from cars to turnstiles at each park, etc.

[goofyboyzmom]

Driving around Disney is relatively easy. There are park signs all over. You may have to park far from the park entrances themselves, but there is tram service so you just have to walk from where you park your car to the end of the row. We LOVE having our car and not relying on the busses.

[shmedly123]

like a poster above I would probably recommend the bus for the MK and the rental car for the rest of the parks. Because you park at the TTC for the MK you have to rely on disney transportation to get out of the park anyway, so you are really only increasing your wait time on the way in... which in most cases is negated by the fact that you are dropped off right at the front gate.

[DanceRC28]

I would say go for the car, search around, you can find good deals. I'm not sure if you have Entertainment books where you live, but I used a coupon out of there for the car rental on our last trip and we saved tons. We paid around $110 for a full-size car with unlimited miles for 6 days- you can't beat it! :cool1:

[goofyboyzmom]

I would say go for the car, search around, you can find good deals. I'm not sure if you have Entertainment books where you live, but I used a coupon out of there for the car rental on our last trip and we saved tons. We paid around $110 for a full-size car with unlimited miles for 6 days- you can't beat it! :cool1:

Which company did you use and which coupon if you don't mind my asking?

[shmedly123]

Which company did you use and which coupon if you don't mind my asking?

look on mousesavers.com...they have coupons for several car rental companies updated often

[dburg30]

We used the busses. If going on a 'Disney' vacation, and not just an 'Orlando' vacation, I think we'll always use the bus. Less stress getting around, parking, remembering where you parked, parking 2 miles from the entrance and riding a tram etc etc. Yes, at closing you'll probably have to wait a while to get a bus. That was about the worst part IMO and it wasnt bad.

[standleyent1]

If you already have a car you should go ahead and drive to the parks it soooo much easier. You can go to ebay and buy a AAA VIP parking pass and park in the VIP section of each park it is very convenient and close and you don't have to worry about catching the tram and loading and unloading a stroller if you have one. Plus staying on property you get a pass to get into the parks for free and you have the freedom of going off property if you need to. It beats waiting on the buses and they are never consistent.
Have Fun!
pirate: pirate:

[Leleluvsdis]

The past two trips we have driven but never used our car. The buses although you may have a little wait are well worth not having to fight traffic, and navigate your way though disney.

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

I'm a bus-lover.

I've driven in Orlando once. NEVER AGAIN.

We used to do Mears, then came Disney Magical Express (and there was much rejoicing.)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting off the plane and taking the bus to my hotel and never having to find my luggage. I LOVE never having to park or read a map.

I have always stayed at the All-Star resorts, and have never had any problem with the busses. I love the door to door service at any hour. I love leaving the fireworks late at night and boarding the bus and closing my eyes for a little nap, knowing the driver was taking me to my room and my bed. I have always felt great pity for the poor souls who have to drive themselves.

[shmedly123]

knowing the driver was taking me to my room and my bed.

What kind of bus service are you using??;)

[mallons]

we loved the bus, when we stayed in CBR in sept, we our planning to use it again,, no car, no worries...

[Dawn68PA]

We drive to WDW and have always used the busses while we are there. However this trip we are thinking of going half and half. We are staying at AKV so DTD, AK,and probably DHS, we will bus. For the others we'll take our minivan, especially since most of our dining is going to be at other resorts. After we eat we would have to transfer back to a park and then to our own resort. Time waster.

After going through a couple different scenarios, I think half and half will work for us.

[Rora]

I would use the buses. The buses are worth the little wait and avoiding the traffic. But, if you have a stroller or wheelchair I would suggest taking your own car. While it'd definitley possible to bring a stroller or wheelchair on the bus, it's a bit of a hassel. Good luck and have a great trip! :)

[kykatt2]

We always "rent" a car in Orlando. Just driving 3-5 exits around WDW is not so bad. The "Magical Express" can be a hassle when you want to get to YOUR resort as you arrive... and having to leave as early as you sometimes have to do to catch a bus back to the Airport is no fun either. Then you sit with kids and WAIT.:headache: :headache:

The "Park Shuttles" ..... We like using the MK bus as parking at MK can be overwhelming. ( Park.. take a tram to the boat or the Monorail... wait for it... ) :confused3 BUT.....The MK buses take longer coming back to the Value Resorts.and I have heard they do at some of the Moderates
For the other Parks, the Shuttles are better than driving EXCEPT when you are TRYING to catch a BUS and LEAVE when it is CLOSING TIME.

We like the "Cheaper" options for eating outside the parks, and cheaper Souveniers.Options for us are best.

[Jchance]

We love the buses. Like stated above, They are clearly marked, they run every 15-20 min.(more during peak hours) and saves the expense and headache of gas, directions, parking, parking fees, forgeting where you parked, etc....

[sha_lyn]

One of our favorite things about WDW is once we park at the resort, we don't go near the car until time to go home. There is no way I would go through the hassel of driving around WDW when I can take WDW transportation instead.

[Goofyz3girls]

Every stay at WDW we have rented a car.BEST thing you can DO!I still can't see how people would want to use the bus system when you could get in your car and go where you want when you want rather then being on a schedule.Your on vacation you shouldn't have to be on a bus schedule...This is for all the bus riders that say it's so great to use WDW shuttle to get around.What happens if you get on a bus to go somewhere (say back to the resort) and then while on the bus decide to go somewhere else how do you do it?......I.......just turn the steering wheel of the car and head that way. What do you have to do? :lmao:

[Eganclan]

Well, having just returned I will post my two-cents. Because we were staying off-site and doing a few non-disney things renting a car was a must this trip.

I got a great rate through Alamo used their kiosk check-in and walked out and picked out a car. Navigating around Orlando and Disney is easy and traffic was never too bad.

We did however never make it to a park opening even though we were about 7 miles from WDW. While we had a wonderful trip we all came home saying that we missed staying on-site and using the bus. Stepping off the plane and onto a ME bus is great and puts us immediatly in vacation mode. We have never had any problems using Disney transportation and love the conversations with fellow passengers and Disney drivers. In the event that we are tired and cranky we hop in a cab and at the most it has cost us maybe $10.

Hope this helps. Have fun. :rolleyes1

[Dimaline312000]

I much prefer using the transportation service around WDW than just driving to the parks myself. It feels like you get there faster. You don't have to waste your gas (which is a big issue now) you don't have to wait in the line in your car. It gives you a chance to relax instead of worring about traffic and everything there.

[crazytp93]

I love taking the bus. In the 2 times we have went to Disney never rented a car. Taking the bus....you feel like you never "leave the magic." Plus it's fun to meet and talk to new people on the bus.

[Step]

Every stay at WDW we have rented a car.BEST thing you can DO!I still can't see how people would want to use the bus system when you could get in your car and go where you want when you want rather then being on a schedule.Your on vacation you shouldn't have to be on a bus schedule...This is for all the bus riders that say it's so great to use WDW shuttle to get around.What happens if you get on a bus to go somewhere (say back to the resort) and then while on the bus decide to go somewhere else how do you do it?......I.......just turn the steering wheel of the car and head that way. What do you have to do? :lmao:

The uh, bus driver turns around if he goes the wrong way? If you got on the wrong bus... well, that would be your own fault, lol.

Why would I want to drive myself around when I can be chauffeured? I love the idea of being bussed to where I have to go. If you aren't used to buses I guess you wouldn't realize that the bus system at Disney is superb compared to most city bus systems. Since I don't drive anyway, the buses are ideal. :)

[RussellDisney]

We've done both, but actually prefer driving ourselves. We stayed off site in December and to be honest, I was a little nervous before the trip about driving, parking, etc. In reality, it couldn't have been easier! If you can't find the Disney exits on I-4 you are blind and need not drive ANYWHERE!! :rotfl2: As others have said, on Disney property there are plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction. After the first day we didn't sweat our location in the parking lot, as the trams are wonderful. As to the "traffic" pp have mentioned, I must say "WHAT traffic???" We never waited in ANY congestion, at ANY time of day, at ANY park! Summer or Christmas Day may very well be a different story, but we saw no traffic at all.

As to Disney transportation, I have many of the same gripes as others: ME is a great concept, but spending an hour and a half on the bus getting to your resort is not very magical - Orlando International Airport is only 20-25 minutes away. Leaving your hotel at 8:30 a.m. for a noon flight is just silly. As to the park busses, I never had any long waits for them but they were crowded and I stood almost every time. To be fair, the kids were smaller then and we had a stroller to contend with. Still, we like the flexibility a car provides.

Our perfect trip would be staying on site with our own car.

[azgal81]

I think the disney bus transportation system is great. I have been really happy with it and I wouldn't even consider renting a car.

[sha_lyn]

right direction. After the first day we didn't sweat our location in the parking lot, as the trams are wonderful. As to the "traffic" pp have mentioned, I must say "WHAT traffic???" We never waited in ANY congestion, at ANY time of day, at ANY park! Summer or Christmas Day may very well be a different story, but we saw no traffic at all.


Spring Break 2000
1st day 1st trip we are on the bus to MGM for EE. Pass the huge crowd waiting to get onto WDW property and the huge line to get into MGM parking,
DH looks at me and tells me he's so glad I insisted we stay onsite and take the bus to the park. and this was after we stood forever waiting for a bus because our driver overslept (he forgot to set his clock ahead an hr for DLS).

2002...going from CR(or might have been another resort. We stayed at CR but dined at Poly and GF during the trip) to DTD just as MK was closing. Driver starts driving toward FtW. Several start complaining including my sister "oh he doesn't know wehere we are going", "hey he's not suppose to pick up at other resorts" etc. I said Mmmm look out at all the traffic leaving TTC. I think our driver might just know how to avoid all that. You could see him smile ear to ear when I spoke up. Yep sure enough he took back and access roads and got us to DTD without 1 bit of traffic.
Same trip we were at AK until it closed and took the bus over the AKL to eat at Boma. MK had closed about 30 min before we finished dinner.
My plan was to take a DTD or Epcot bus then transfer to a CR bus.
The first bus to pull up was an MK bus. We start to jump on and the driver says MK is closed. I told he we were staying at CR and was going to walk or monorail over to CR once we got to MK. He tells us to hop on. He gets on the radio and gets permission to drop us at CR.

ETA...1st trip we drove to TL because we thought it would be eaiser considering we had towels, change of clothes etc. Driving wasn't worth it. The busses were already nice and cool when we got on them. The car however was unbearably hot leaving the resort and TL. Didn't cool off to a comfortable temp during the drive either.