How do you get around within WDW?

[liznboys]

I'm wondering how my fellow DVC members get around within WDW?

We drive to WDW and we use our own vehicle for most of our transportation there. We've done it the other way too, and prefer to mostly drive ourselves now.

[jco_direwolf]

I'm a big fan of the family truckster (or rental.)

The flexibility because you can EITHER use your car or Disney transport (you aren't banned from the buses because you have a car.)

But the times I'm staying DAKV and have an ADR at Artist Point, at 8pm. That is when having the vehicle is wonderful.

Also I'm always saying this, but being able to stop at Publix/Target is always great.

johno

[mrsR123]

There are lots of variables:

If we fly, then it's all WDW transport all the time.

If we drive, then we drive ourselves to AK and water parks. It varies with DHS and Epcot. We never drive to MK-- it's not worth the trek.

[liznboys]

...The flexibility because you can EITHER use your car or Disney transport (you aren't banned from the buses because you have a car.)...

That is exactly how we feel. Flexibility and options on vacation are a good thing. :thumbsup2

[tjhsr]

we rent a car but take the buses most of the time going to the parks. but like to be able to go off property for dinner or shopping.

[fers31]

Always rent a car. Love the flexibility. There is a lot of stuff to do, dare I say, outside the parks. It's nice to also be able to run to Walmart whenever we need something. Nice outlet malls, interesting restaurants, souvenir shops, etc.

[anonymousegirl]

If I go solo, I use DME and Disney buses. If I am traveling with someone else, we usually rent a car and then use it to get to the parks in the am (except MK) and take the buses in the evening (hard to find our way home in the dark:) )

[Buckeye Fan]

DME from the airport to WDW, buses within WDW, and DME back to the airport! Absolutely LOVE it!!! :thumbsup2

[Chuck S]

We usually drive to FL, and use our car onsite because Mom uses a wheelchair in the parks, and our car has a lift. We do use the bus for the MK. When she was able to do the parks without the chair, we used WDW buses.

[WALTSAGOD]

We usually drive down, but then veg out on the bus or boat.

[jarestel]

We pretty much always rent a car, but don't use it for transporting ourselves within WDW. Off-site shopping & dining, or perhaps the occasional DTD excursion is where the car comes in handy.

[alice99]

I'm so dependent on my car.
I like the freedom of coming and going as I please. We can dine off property and get good food at better prices.
This Summer I am going to use the buses and see how it goes.

[ammo]

Our first choice for transportation is one of the boats -- VWL to MK, or OKW/SSR to DTD. Otherwise, we will usually drive. Our bus experiences have either been good or terrible, so we have decided to eliminate the possibility of terrible by driving when a boat is not an option.

[El&Asmom]

DME to get to hotel and back to airport. Buses/boat/feet within WDW.
One day, when we don't have to schlep 3 carseats around we will rent a car again. Right now it is just too much work with 3 in car seats.

[Geezer]

We rent a car for getting back and forth to the airport and other Orlando destinations, but we always use the bus system to get to the parks.

[MikeyNS]

ME to the resort, buses to the parks and DTD, but we rent a car for a few days for getting groceries and doing some shopping (usually 3-4 day rental) and ME back to the airport. I *love* taking disney transportation even with its faults.

[dianeschlicht]

We like Disney transportation too! We always have a rental car, but mostly we use it for back and forth to the airport and grocery runs etc. We also use the car most of the times when we go to other resorts for dinner etc. Occationally we will use it to make a run to AK from OKW, but for most park trips, we use Disney transportation.

[bobbiwoz]

We don't always have a rental car and have been pleased with Disney transportation. If we have a rental car, we use it to go to POR to see Bob Jackson one evening, or go to Boatwrights or to the Poly for breakfast. Poly and Boatwrights each have a stuffed tonga toast that we like a lot, and it's a treat once every year or two!

Bobbi:goodvibes

[alice99]

Our first choice for transportation is one of the boats -- VWL to MK, or OKW/SSR to DTD. Otherwise, we will usually drive. Our bus experiences have either been good or terrible, so we have decided to eliminate the possibility of terrible by driving when a boat is not an option.


That's exactly what I suspected, thanks for the info. I've heard of bus nightmares.

[ead79]

We drive down to WDW, so we have our own car with us. We almost always drive ourselves to the parks. I really hate standing around waiting for a bus, and I seem to have bad bus timing, so we prefer to drive ourselves.

[craiggers]

I think it just depends on what you like to do. If you are people who go to the parks from sun up til close....WDW transportation is fine. If (like us) you like park hop with a lot of ADR, you need to have your own transportation. If you don't, you will spend your entire trip on Disney buses. :mad:

[allshookup]

We take ME to & from the airport, we take a cab to the grocery store & we rely completely on WDW transportation & we love it! DH & I both hate to drive so the WDW transportation is a major reason why we love staying there. Sometimes we like to have a few drinks with dinner & we don't have to worry knowing that our family is safely in the hands of Disney. We even park hop, go to other resorts for dinner, etc. & we've never had a problem. We find waiting for a bus, boat or monorail part of the whole experience & we enjoy meeting other people that are waiting right along with us. :thumbsup2

[DVC-Don]

Mostly drive except for the MK. Although, if "Adult Beverages" are anticipated then it's the bus.

[magicmommy]

For us it's Disney transportation as soon as we step off the plane. If Disney had an airline I'm sure we'd use that too!

[bangzoom6877]

We drive down so there is not an added expense of renting a car. We did take the bus twice on our July 2008 trip...once to and from MK and once to and from AK. Definitely prefer the car! We have small children and had a double stroller with us so it was a pain on the bus. The only reason we took the bus at those times was because the first day we arrived, we arrived at MK at 1:30 and I knew our parking spot would be far far away enough to take a tram, so I figured just take the bus. The second day at MK was a full day from rope drop, and we drove and loved that. For AK it was an EMH morning and I had read on the transportation board that sometimes they do not start letting cars into their lot until after 8AM and I did not want to miss a second of EMH!!

Now that we are DVC members at BWV, we will be able to walk to 2 theme parks!! We definitely prefer that to a car or Disney transportation!

[dnoyes]

DME from the airport to WDW, buses within WDW, and DME back to the airport! Absolutely LOVE it!!! :thumbsup2

Same here. The last thing I want to do on vacation is drive a car. I drive 70 miles a day six days a week at home.

Besides we never would have met our new travel friends if we rented a car, met them on a bus in 2006 and have vacationed with them twice since.:thumbsup2

[rkwier]

We use Disney transporation all the way! DME to and from the airport, buses, monorail and boats within the world. Actually, one of the attractive things about DVC is that we currently can use DME and other transportation. We usually fly, so it is super convenient for us and one less thing to worry about. We have groceries delivered, so that is not an issue for us. For us, part of the fun vacation is being able to eat and shop at places that are different from where you live. The outlet mall has no appeal because I have a great one less than 10 minutes from my house. Many of the restaurants there we also have at home. Once we get tired of the food at the resorts and Giordano's pizza (not likely, that is the best pizza), we may have to consider renting a car.

[goofygal1975]

We use Disney Transportation as much as we can. I started using it when I was a single mom and ds and I went all the time. It was GREAT to not have to drive!! There is only a few times where I can remember we drove instead of taken the bus system. One time a All Stars we stood in 90 weather in the blazing sun for over 35 minutes for a bus!! Since we wouldn't even get on the next bus, we got in our car and drove.

Other times we drove because we had a ADR at a resort adn didn't have the time to take the bus and transfer to another form of transportation.

I would NEVER drive to the MK...too much effort! We take the bus every time. But I don't mind driving to HS or Epcot if need be.

[lvanleer]

Drive down however rely on Disney transportation within Disney itself.

[brianm27]

We have done a few ME trips but mostly have a rental car. When we have a car we use it about half the time to the parks, 100% of the time to DTD and water parks.

[DVC Mike]

We drive down and almost always use our car to go everywhere. Driving around WDW feels like driving around home, since I've done it so much. I know how to go everywhere and no longer pay attention to the signs.

[JimC]

We live close by so we drive to WDW. On property it is origination and destination specific. Examples: At OKW and AKV we drive. At VWL we boat to MK and drive elsewhere. At BCV we walk or boat to ST, walk to EP, drive or monorail to MK and drive to AK.

We never take bus transportation unless we are forced to for some reason. We use a wheelchair and had too much trouble with the lifts not functioning properly.

[liznboys]

...Driving around WDW feels like driving around home, since I've done it so much...

Same here! Well, almost...we do still need to use the signs a bit.

[WolfpackFan]

The only time we might drive our car is to go to either DTD or Celebration. Other than that it stays parked.

[kristenrice]

I had to vote "Other".

We just bought into DVC and I have made a tentative plan to travel in June, then spring break the next year and then take a year off. When we take our June trips, we should hopefully be able to find reasonable airfare so we will fly and use the DTS exclusively. Now, the spring break trips are a whole different story. That week would probably cost us about $500 more to fly so I am planning on driving for those trips. In that case, we'll have a vehicle so we will probably use it when we are planning on returning to the resort in the middle of the day. It will also come in handy to resort hop for meals.

I like the DTS and I think it runs as efficiently as possible, but I also like the control of being able to drive myself sometimes. I like the fact that we always have the option of NOT getting a rental car when we fly.

[kikiq]

Coming from the West Coast, we just don't like to add on the car rental. We use WDW transportation. When we need a car to go to the Space Center, my DH goes to the Swan and rents a car. Otherwise, we loves the boats and buses. Just another "ride".

[Mom_of_3_Pirates]

We always use Disney transport to get around. For us it takes the hassle out of having to deal with parking.

[Tara]

We drive down and almost always use our car to go everywhere. Driving around WDW feels like driving around home, since I've done it so much. I know how to go everywhere and no longer pay attention to the signs.

This is exactly how I feel. I have a pretty good sense of direction, so driving is a piece of cake. And I almost always do the driving at WDW rather than having my husband drive.

[alldiz]

I use WDW transportation everywhere except.....sometimes I will use a cab for resort to resort dining.
Kerri

[cogero]

We use Disney Transportation since we hate to drive on vacation.

Also it is a pain traveling with car seats. When we stayed at the Beach Club in July we also walked to DHS so loved that.

[bookwormde]

We have a car most of the time but do use the buses sometimes, but less than 50% of the time so picked the top response.

bookwormde

[D&R love Disney]

We always have a rental car. It's great for going to other resorts for dinner and to DTD. We usually use Disney transportation for the parks. Except this past trip I took with my Mom. We were at SSR in Congress Park which we loved but the bus service wasn't very good. We used the car just about every day.

[yasuern]

Always rent a car. Love the flexibility. There is a lot of stuff to do, dare I say, outside the parks. It's nice to also be able to run to Walmart whenever we need something. Nice outlet malls, interesting restaurants, souvenir shops, etc.



100% agree:thumbsup2

[christianweecare]

I voted "other" since we use both WDW transportation and our own car. We use WDW transportation when going to the parks. If we have a dining reservation at one of the resorts, we take our own car and valet park. Sometimes we use WDW transportation to DTD or take our own car or if staying at SSR, we walk over.

[Twilight Terror]

Well, until our holiday just gone, we always used Disney transportation (and regular buses when staying offsite), but just before we went on our last trip, our mum got ill and is now in a wheelchair. While the Disney transportation was wonderful in being accessible for the wheelchair, by the end of the holiday it got to be too much hassle, so when we go next time, we are renting a car, and will see which works out better for us. If we had no wheelchair, then it would be Disney Transportation all the way, but since we do now, it might be time to switch to a car, for the first time in 10yrs of vacationing!

[disneynutz]

The first several years we used Disney transportation. Starting last year we rent a car.

No more bus issues for us, plus we usually go off-site to the Boston Lobster Feast at least once every vacation. :thumbsup2

[liznboys]

Well, until our holiday just gone, we always used Disney transportation (and regular buses when staying offsite), but just before we went on our last trip, our mum got ill and is now in a wheelchair. While the Disney transportation was wonderful in being accessible for the wheelchair, by the end of the holiday it got to be too much hassle, so when we go next time, we are renting a car, and will see which works out better for us. If we had no wheelchair, then it would be Disney Transportation all the way, but since we do now, it might be time to switch to a car, for the first time in 10yrs of vacationing!

I'm sorry to hear that, best wishes to her! :goodvibes

[Mickeyfollowers]

We use to use the bus, it became to much waiting for it when you have reservations somewhere else and have to leave the park early to make sure you make it in time.:hourglass Now we drive. We mostly stay at BWV so we can walk or take the boat:boat: to HS and Epcot.

[justloveit]

We always use Disney transportation, whether we drive or fly to WDW. We like to just relax and let someone else sit in traffic getting out of the parking lots. On the buses, we are totally unaware of the driving situation on the road.

[ILuvMulan]

We take the boat to DTD whenever possible. Other than that we always drive (never even been on one of the buses). We have special circumstances though- Our oldest son (he's 11) is a bilateral amputee so we always have his wheelchair with us just in case. He does well for most of the day, but toward evening we usually make a run to the car to get his wheelchair. We like the flexibility of letting him be independant as much as possible but having a back-up plan when needed.

[rutgers1]

How much does it cost to rent a car down in Disney? I've never ever been able to get a cheap rental anywhere, so for me the Disney transportation is the way to go. We've always had good look with the buses, except for a ride or two every trip. Even then, we take it in stride. To me, part of the fun of being on property is allowing someone else to drive me around. Waiting 10-15 minutes for a bus is often a welcomed rest.

[dvcdisney]

We usually take the Disney bus and other times, we walk.

[ncsbracergp94]

Typically we fly down and use a rental car. It really depends on where we stay when we're there. Each resort has its benefits as far as getting to the specific parks and downtown. Still, saving some money by eating outside the park a few times during the say helps and can break things up a bit not to mention all of the outlets and other things to do in the Orlando area. The majority of our time is spent on WDW property of course but I still prefer to have the car rather than wait to cram on to the buss at peak times and getting to and from the airport. :drive:

[liznboys]

How much does it cost to rent a car down in Disney? ...

We used to rent minivans when we rented (we drive our own down now) so I can't help with regular car rental prices. We got some great deals using Dollar though.

[fishermouse]

How much does it cost to rent a car down in Disney? I've never ever been able to get a cheap rental anywhere, so for me the Disney transportation is the way to go. We've always had good look with the buses, except for a ride or two every trip. Even then, we take it in stride. To me, part of the fun of being on property is allowing someone else to drive me around. Waiting 10-15 minutes for a bus is often a welcomed rest.
All I can say is shop around, I've paid as little as $119.00 a week and have seen prices as high as you want to pay. Try Thrifty and go with the wild car. if mid size is ok. they give you a set price for a mid size or larger. You won't know what you'll get until you get there, idea is you get what that have. Check often and use whatever discount you have, AAA ARP whatever, you can get a good deal if you keep looking.

[Kathi OD]

We always either drive ourselves or rent a car when we arrive at MCO. Once we're at WDW, we always use Disney transportation for going to the parks, but the car if we're going to another resort.

[msd1962]

For 7 trips we only used buses. This last trip we drove down and never used the bus. On the last several trips seemed the buses were getting slower and slower and waits got longer. If we wanted to freshen up before dinner it became a hassle. Bus to hotel, freshen up, bus to Park then transfer to bus to hotel with resurant.

Last trip drove every where, cut waits to near none and cut the dinner routine down tremendously. we also packed a cooler with drinks before we lest the hotel and had them waiting for us when we got to the car. Read one report it took someone 2 1/2 hours to get back to the hotel after MVMCP, using the buses. It took us about 1 hour to get to the same resort.

Buses hot, crowded, screaming kids and adults, strange smells...

Mark

[Castillo Mom]

We use WDW transportation. If we're running late and have an ADR at another hotel, we just call down to Bell Services who arrange to have cab waiting for us. Works out well for us.

[Bekky2]

DME from the airport to WDW, buses within WDW, and DME back to the airport! Absolutely LOVE it!!! :thumbsup2

I'm with you on this one! DME all the way! :love:

[oakmanner]

We're :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: to fly so we always have our own car for transportation.