Transportation/Car seat delima

[Picabo]

We'd LIKE to stay 2-3nts at a moderate resort OR Offsite and then switch to the Poly for 4-5nights. We'll have an almost-4 yr old and 2 1/2 yr old. We'd LIKE to rent a car vs take the bus while at Disney. (Obviuosly, we'd use monorail at Poly for MK and Epcot) But with 2 toddlers, 2 strollers, etc...we are thinking it'd be less hassle to avoid the busses.

If we rent a car, how are the rental car seats?? I really, REALLY hate the idea of bringing ours from home. Figure we have enough to keep track of in the airport with luggage, kids, etc. I just don't want to deal with bringing car seats as well...risking them getting beaten up on the flight, etc. Normally I'm not sure I'd use rental car seats however we really only need them back and forth to WDW and a few jaunts inside the park.

Notsure if it makes a diff but we'll be there first week in Dec, not sure how crowded the busses are. I just can't imagine dealing wtih 2 strollers, 2 kids on the busses. Is it any FASTER to take your own car between resort and park vs taking the bus or is it the same time by the time you park, take a tram, etc?

If we just planned to go out ONCE a day, it wouldn't be a problem But we plan to go back to our room for mid day breaks for the girls and then head back out in the evening. So that's 4 times on the busses each day.

Thanks for any advice you have!

 

[imthatgirl]

im right there with you, i would never ever use the bus system.
if i were you i would bring my seats from home. is your 4yo in a harness or a booster? when we took my son he was in a booster we found buying one at walmart cheaper than renting one. so we brought one for the 2 yo and bought one for the 4yo. i think it was 15 dollars a day to rent each seat. we didnt want to bring 2 seats and didnt want to rent any, so that what worked for us.
oh and then we left the booster to be donated. i think to buy one was about $20.

 

[Picabo]

Well she won't quite be 4 yet, when we go. She'll be a month shy of 4...so still in a harness seat.

I just hear how people get upset at people with strollers on the bus. I'm a rather sensetive person and know I'll get bent out of shape if people start giving me evil eyes and nasty remarks for having 2 strollers, etc. It's not really the hassel, in and of itself. It's the inconveniece perseived to others - I read about ithere on the boards all the time hwo people are annoyed with those of us with strollers. UGH!Not sure what to do!

 

[brymolmom]

I love using the buses - especially with kids. DH and I have it down to a science though - i can totally understand those who don't like it or THINK they won't. Personally - by the time you get your stroller(s) out of the gates, break them down to go on the tram, get everyone on the tram, ride to your car, get the car loaded up, get the kids buckled in. I think the buses are WAY more convenient than all of that (unless you go at a REALLY crowded time).

We usually don't wait more than 5 - 10 minutes for a bus - it is a nice break and gives us a chance to empty out the stroller (I bring a big shopping bag and lay it flat in the under-basket - then scoop everything that has accumulated out into the bag so I'm not carrying 10 things PLUS my kids). I bring the kids on the bus and dh goes to the far bus door and stands near the door with the double stroller - so he can lean it against the pole. I keep one kid on my lap and the other right next to me for the trip. DH has the stroller out and setup and ready to take tired kids into it right when we get off the bus.

Anyway- I'm sure it depends on many factors which is 'easier' - where you end up parking (how far away and if it's easy to walk to your car or if you have to take the tram), how long the bus wait is, etc. - but my guess is that most of the time we have gotten back to or hotel in the same or slightly LESS time by taking the bus system.

Just wanted to give you that as an option!

 

[Fall1]

We are doing our first trip with our kids in October, they'll both be 17 months. As much as I hate the idea of lugging the car seats around the airport, I think it will be best to have our own and a rental car. We're planning on mid-day breaks too and I can't stand the buses with just DH and I never mind the kids!
I've read that the rental car seats aren't the greatest, so we bought 2 Cosco Sceneras from Sears for $49.99 each. They are very light and come with a travel bag. Good luck!!

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

Although my DDs are older now, the first time we brought them to WDW they were almost 3 and almost 1. We foolishly rented strollers and had to drag them back to the bus and to the hotel without a stroller. The following year we wee able to go again and we brought our dbl stroller. We had no problems (we went during a slower time like yourself). I would never drive ourselves. The buses are really easy to use. I have never had a problem bringing a stroller. If someone has a problem with a stroller family they should given a Grumpy sticker and Nap!

 

[scjo68]

I can't say much about rental cars/car seats. We always drive, so we have our own carseat. But I can say that you may want to keep an open mind about the buses.

Even with always having our own car, we usually take the bus the vast majority of the time. It has never been a big problem You asked about time: it is always quicker to take the bus to MK due to having to park at the ttc. Otherwise, I think driving is usually quicker overall.

There are folks who love the bus and who never, ever ride the buses. So it really is personal preference.

In five trips (always in Jan.) I can only remember one time when we really waited a long time for a bus, and there was an unusual circumstance to explain that one. Since then, we have not had problems. I have actually met some really nice interesting folks on the bus. Regarding strollers, we have usually had one with us on the bus, and it has not once been an issue. Even with the bus packed. No one's ever been rude about it (to my knowlegde- who knows what goes on behind my back-LOL!), lots of folks have strollers, it's WDW fact of life. I have only taken an umbrella-style one, either a cheap, small one, or a Peg P3, which is bigger, but still has the umbrella-fold. I do think a huge book-fold type (like my old Graco) would be hard to get on the bus.

I will add that when I knew I would be bringing my ds1 and his stroller back to the room by myself (when dh and dd were planning to stay for illuminations), I did drive the car. I didn't think I could handle ds1 and the stroller on the bus alone. This last trip he was 3, so I handled it fine alone, since he can get up the bus steps on his own, etc. In fact this year anytime I suggested that we drive to a park, the kids preferred to take the bus. They love it, and really think of the buses as rides/attractions.

So, use whatever transportation you prefer, but I really wouldn't worry what others think of the strollers.

 

[laughinplace199]

We have three kids and we always rent a car. We've always brought our own car seats/boosters. First of all, we need them to get from our house to the airport and from the airport back home again. Second, although it's kind of a pain to lug the carseats through the airport, I feel it's safer for the kids to ride in carseats on the plane. Third, when we land, we can install our seats in the rental car and we're all set for the rest of the week.

 

[Picabo]

THANK YOU to all of you for your advice and sharing your experiences! It's been VERY helpful and comforting to me to know that the busses probably won't be as "scary" as I envision it to be. And I'm also happy to hear that it seems most kids enjoy the bus.

I love using the buses - especially with kids. DH and I have it down to a science though - i can totally understand those who don't like it or THINK they won't. Personally - by the time you get your stroller(s) out of the gates, break them down to go on the tram, get everyone on the tram, ride to your car, get the car loaded up, get the kids buckled in. I think the buses are WAY more convenient than all of that (unless you go at a REALLY crowded time).

We usually don't wait more than 5 - 10 minutes for a bus - it is a nice break and gives us a chance to empty out the stroller (I bring a big shopping bag and lay it flat in the under-basket - then scoop everything that has accumulated out into the bag so I'm not carrying 10 things PLUS my kids). I bring the kids on the bus and dh goes to the far bus door and stands near the door with the double stroller - so he can lean it against the pole. I keep one kid on my lap and the other right next to me for the trip. DH has the stroller out and setup and ready to take tired kids into it right when we get off the bus.

Anyway- I'm sure it depends on many factors which is 'easier' - where you end up parking (how far away and if it's easy to walk to your car or if you have to take the tram), how long the bus wait is, etc. - but my guess is that most of the time we have gotten back to or hotel in the same or slightly LESS time by taking the bus system.

Just wanted to give you that as an option!

GREAT info! Thanks for sharing your strategic plan. I hadn't realized that the stroller carrying person could enter at the back doors. That's great! And yes, I do think parking the car would be even more of a hassle!

We are doing our first trip with our kids in October, they'll both be 17 months. As much as I hate the idea of lugging the car seats around the airport, I think it will be best to have our own and a rental car. We're planning on mid-day breaks too and I can't stand the buses with just DH and I never mind the kids!
I've read that the rental car seats aren't the greatest, so we bought 2 Cosco Sceneras from Sears for $49.99 each. They are very light and come with a travel bag. Good luck!!

I think you could be right with kids that age. They wouldn't be able to get up and down the bus steps on their own,etc. I don't blame you for taking your own car with twin 17mos olds. The Sceneras are a good option for a cheap portable car seat. (I wouldn't even use them as a permanent car seat though...we had one once and it was always twisting up and DD was always uncomfortable...just an FYI) But it is definately a great option to have on hand for travel purposes!

 

[imthatgirl]

I love using the buses - especially with kids. DH and I have it down to a science though - i can totally understand those who don't like it or THINK they won't. Personally - by the time you get your stroller(s) out of the gates, break them down to go on the tram, get everyone on the tram, ride to your car, get the car loaded up, get the kids buckled in. I think the buses are WAY more convenient than all of that (unless you go at a REALLY crowded time).

youre assuming that people who drive use the trams. some of us dont. i dont use buses or trams...ever, they are a time waster. without using them i can be at me resort gate in 10 minutes from any park. there is no bus thatsmore convenient than that.

 

[thepeach80]

Never rent a carseat, you have no idea what you're going to get, plus it's safer to use them on the plane as well.

We took the bus everywhere last time we went. We had more adults though, lol, but we still had 3 kids (10 mos, 33 mos, and 4.5yo) and a double stroller. It was never a problem at all.

 

[brymolmom]

youre assuming that people who drive use the trams. some of us dont. i dont use buses or trams...ever, they are a time waster. without using them i can be at me resort gate in 10 minutes from any park. there is no bus thatsmore convenient than that.

Yes, I was saying the worst case scenario as MOST people don't end up close enough to walk to their cars. And, even if you walk if it is farther away - it can be a 10 minute walk TO your car so no way you'd be at the resort gate in that amount of time.

If it was just dh and I - we would always walk too. But ds6's little legs are really tired already after the full day - so we usually end up taking the trams. I'm going with the assumption that at least someone in the group is going to be too tired for that additional walking after a full day at the parks. I'm guessing that's by far the majority of families.

But you're right - if you have a front row parking spot - then driving would likely be quicker (except possibly MK, where you can't just walk to your car cuz you have to go to TTC).

 

[imthatgirl]

Yes, I was saying the worst case scenario as MOST people don't end up close enough to walk to their cars. And, even if you walk if it is farther away - it can be a 10 minute walk TO your car so no way you'd be at the resort gate in that amount of time.

If it was just dh and I - we would always walk too. But ds6's little legs are really tired already after the full day - so we usually end up taking the trams. I'm going with the assumption that at least someone in the group is going to be too tired for that additional walking after a full day at the parks. I'm guessing that's by far the majority of families.

But you're right - if you have a front row parking spot - then driving would likely be quicker (except possibly MK, where you can't just walk to your car cuz you have to go to TTC).

sorry, 10 minute walk, nope, try about 2. we park in the diamond parking lot or the employee parking at epcot, which ever is closer. at mk we valet at poly or the contemporary. so you dont need to get there early, you just need to put some thought into where youre parking. if you get to a park at 3 or 4 you dont have to park in the back, let the attendant know youre looking for a better spot, theyll let you go.
but even if you were to park in the front row of regular parking, its still not anywhere close to a 10 minute walk, unless maybe youre crawling