***Official April 2013 thread*** SEE POST # 4028

[USAND3KIDS]

Just thought of something else. For the first time we will be renting a car and driving down to Disney sooooooo anyone have any advice on whether or not we should use the car to go to the parks every day or stick with the Disney transportation.
I was thinking in terms of being able to leave at the end of the day and not have to wait in yet another line to get back to the resort it would be good, but then again we do a lot of park hopping and such and it may turn into a hassle. I do kind of like taking the monorail and the water taxis. It's just those dang buses that sometimes get to me.

 

[kpmdjm]

Just thought of something else. For the first time we will be renting a car and driving down to Disney sooooooo anyone have any advice on whether or not we should use the car to go to the parks every day or stick with the Disney transportation.
I was thinking in terms of being able to leave at the end of the day and not have to wait in yet another line to get back to the resort it would be good, but then again we do a lot of park hopping and such and it may turn into a hassle. I do kind of like taking the monorail and the water taxis. It's just those dang buses that sometimes get to me.

Once you have a car you will want one all the time. My husbands only request is a rental car. After a long day in the parks it's so much better to just get in your car and go! No waiting for a bus to arrive and worrying About having a seat.

 

[USAND3KIDS]

What about parking fees? Are there any at the resort or at the parks? Also, is it difficult to get from your car to the main gate after you arrive at the park? I imagine it is a shuttle situation.

 

[Johnson1220]

If you are staying on property there is no charge for the parking. We love renting a car and having the freedom to not wait for a bus. I know it is not necessary there but it has helped us save alot of time on our trips.

 

[Johnson1220]

Speaking of car rentals ... has anyone seen any good deals come out for April 2013 yet?

 

[USAND3KIDS]

Speaking of car rentals ... has anyone seen any good deals come out for April 2013 yet?

I don't know about where you are looking to rent from but we got a full size from Dollar rental $425 for exactly two weeks. Thought it was a good price. I definitely didn't find any better deals.

 

[Johnson1220]

I don't know about where you are looking to rent from but we got a full size from Dollar rental $425 for exactly two weeks. Thought it was a good price. I definitely didn't find any better deals.

Hmm that is a good price. We usually go with Avis but I will look into Dollar as well.

 

[trtl6941]

We rent a van now and will never go back (as long as the kids are little). SO much better than dealing with the buses at the end of the day, etc....

We just got a great price at Budget using code
BCD X474200, BTW!

 

[TJDisneymama]

hmmmmm, I like not having to worry about driving anywhere at WDW. I'd much rather sit at a bus stop and then on a bus then deal with driving -- finding your car in the lot (and those lots are HUUUUGE), traffic, navigating your way around, etc. I'm lazy tho, lol.

 

[trtl6941]

hmmmmm, I like not having to worry about driving anywhere at WDW. I'd much rather sit at a bus stop and then on a bus then deal with driving -- finding your car in the lot (and those lots are HUUUUGE), traffic, navigating your way around, etc. I'm lazy tho, lol.

I am normally the same way, but with a double stroller AND a single stroller to deal with, bags, etc....it was just easier to drive. I liked passing the long bus lines and getting right out. The only long walk we had was at MK and even that wasn't bad, but we really like walking!

 

[wdw4rfam]

Just thought of something else. For the first time we will be renting a car and driving down to Disney sooooooo anyone have any advice on whether or not we should use the car to go to the parks every day or stick with the Disney transportation.
I was thinking in terms of being able to leave at the end of the day and not have to wait in yet another line to get back to the resort it would be good, but then again we do a lot of park hopping and such and it may turn into a hassle. I do kind of like taking the monorail and the water taxis. It's just those dang buses that sometimes get to me.

We have drove down the past 4 years, and we still uses buses. I remember from the days of living in FL with AP's....parking at MK SUCKS!!! Yes, the buses suck, but so does sitting in traffic lines trying to get in and out of the parks, parking far away, and trying to find your car. Thanks, but I'd rather stand on a bus then sit in traffic in my car. But thats just me. We only drove once, and that was last year at POR- waitied 45 min for a HS bus, then one pulled up full. Another one 20 min later- FULL. When I say full, I mean it didnt even stop) So we hoped in the car because we had an ADR. But each person is different. I hear a lot of people say that they drive to the parks every day and would never have it any other way.

 

[Mousemommy1]

hmmmmm, I like not having to worry about driving anywhere at WDW. I'd much rather sit at a bus stop and then on a bus then deal with driving -- finding your car in the lot (and those lots are HUUUUGE), traffic, navigating your way around, etc. I'm lazy tho, lol.

We have never had an issue with the buses either! We would much rather let Disney do the driving than us. Plus, the buses are soooo nice and air conditioned, instead of a hot stuffy car that's been sitting all day in the heat...

Even when we stayed at WL, we still took the bus to MK. We only used the boat twice over 11 days because it was tooooo slow for us. We always find nice people to talk to on the buses...we are talkers.

We are looking forward to walking to two parks while staying at YC, that will be a nice change.

 

[Jays2013]

After my MIL had a medical emergency while we at Animal Kingdom and wound up at Celebration hospital, DH insists we always rent a car. I can't really argue with that ... even though that was sort of a once in a lifetime thing. I hope.

 

[pegrad1]

April 23-30th, 2013/POR/Royal Room/Riverside View!!
Very excited to share that I am taking my kids, DS is 20 & DD is 16 for the very first time! I was there last as a young adult & once I had kids, it was my dream to share the thrill of Disney with them. This has been a long time coming so the excitement (although I booked in August) is so out there it's insane! LOL!
My incredible travel agent sent me an email last week titled, Pssst...I got you a promotional discount! I opened the email thinking a hundred, hundred fifty discount would be so cool. There it was...approx $520 discount thanks to the Spring promo!!! (those are all of the smilies I could think of using) HA! All I could think of was...can this get any better? Well, of course it can, I still have the trip coming!
I have been her biggest fan since this whole process began. Most of our correspondence has been via email and I have asked her over 44 email questions throughout! She has patiently answered everything for me. I have scoured Disney websites for tips, ideas & helpful hints ever since. I'm starting to feel addicted! LOL!
I am looking for a rental car for one day only as I plan to take the kids to Cocoa Beach for a day. I figured if we are in Florida, they should have a chance to see/swim in the ocean!
--I know you see my link below for my ticker, I still haven't figured out how to make the picture appear!

 

[USAND3KIDS]

I think my plan is going to be to use the Disney transportation unless it seems way too busy. There are so many good and bad points on both sides.

 

[pwdebbie]

Just thought of something else. For the first time we will be renting a car and driving down to Disney sooooooo anyone have any advice on whether or not we should use the car to go to the parks every day or stick with the Disney transportation.
I was thinking in terms of being able to leave at the end of the day and not have to wait in yet another line to get back to the resort it would be good, but then again we do a lot of park hopping and such and it may turn into a hassle. I do kind of like taking the monorail and the water taxis. It's just those dang buses that sometimes get to me.

We've driven from PA each time (about 16 hours). Once we get there, we don't WANT to get in the car again until we leave, so we use all Disney transportation. I can't imagine what it would be like trying to drive from a park at closing.

Your drive from NH is going to a whole lot longer than ours. You might feel the same way we do and not want to get back in the car for a while.

That said, my bil and his family fly from NJ and then rent a car for the week and drive everywhere on Disney property except to MK.

 

[pwdebbie]

We always find nice people to talk to on the buses...we are talkers.

That's part of why we like the buses. Dh loves to start chatting with kids and hearing about what they are looking forward to for the day in the morning or what they loved best about the day in the evening (if they are even awake enough to talk). Or talking to adults and finding out where they are from and miscellaneous chit chat. He's a talker whereas I'm quieter, so it is a good outlet for him to have while we are there. Of course, he has learned how to draw me into the conversations. "Are you on the DIS? My wife goes there all the time and she knows a lot of stuff about WDW because of it. If you have any questions, she can probably give you some answers."

 

[pwdebbie]

April 23-30th, 2013/POR/Royal Room/Riverside View!!
Very excited to share that I am taking my kids, DS is 20 & DD is 16 for the very first time! I was there last as a young adult & once I had kids, it was my dream to share the thrill of Disney with them. This has been a long time coming so the excitement (although I booked in August) is so out there it's insane! LOL!
My incredible travel agent sent me an email last week titled, Pssst...I got you a promotional discount! I opened the email thinking a hundred, hundred fifty discount would be so cool. There it was...approx $520 discount thanks to the Spring promo!!! (those are all of the smilies I could think of using) HA! All I could think of was...can this get any better? Well, of course it can, I still have the trip coming!
I have been her biggest fan since this whole process began. Most of our correspondence has been via email and I have asked her over 44 email questions throughout! She has patiently answered everything for me. I have scoured Disney websites for tips, ideas & helpful hints ever since. I'm starting to feel addicted! LOL!
I am looking for a rental car for one day only as I plan to take the kids to Cocoa Beach for a day. I figured if we are in Florida, they should have a chance to see/swim in the ocean!
--I know you see my link below for my ticker, I still haven't figured out how to make the picture appear!

Sounds like you have a great TA!

We are all addicted to some degree or we wouldn't be here. I don't live and breathe Disney, but I do think about our next trip a lot and find that planning and talking with others here keeps me from imploding.

Great idea about going to the beach. We've stopped twice at the beach, once the weather was so bad we cancelled our reservation and continued on to WDW and the second time our room was so bad I wished that the weather had been bad and we would have cancelled our reservation and gone on to WDW. Not even planning a beach stop this year. Our thirteen-day trips (includes one night on the road each way) need to be seven days longer, but dh, a preacher, won't miss more than one Sunday. If I had that extra week, I'd do a road trip around FL and see everything from the Atlantic coast to the Gulf coast. Maybe one day. . .

 

[Jays2013]

I love the buses for that reason, too.

So, we just pre-ordered the PhotoPass+. We were planning on the regular PP, but I did the math and realized that even if we only got one or two of the extra photos, it would be worth it. (And I'd like to get a look at the stock photos CD.)

One problem: We have a Chef Mickey dinner planned our first night, but no park plans that day. I need to figure out how to redeem our PP+ voucher before the meal without going to a park. I've seen references to the PP+ viewing centers but conflicting info on exactly where they are. (Especially whether or not there's one in the Contemporary.)

I submitted a question to the Moms Panel, but was just told that "You can pick up your PP+ at a viewing center! Ask when you check in!" Has anyone else noticed that the Moms Panel is very good at answering questions without really answering them?

If we have to, we can make a trip over to DTD that afternoon, but the boys will be clamoring to swim and I'd rather just do that. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I love the buses for that reason, too.

So, we just pre-ordered the PhotoPass+. We were planning on the regular PP, but I did the math and realized that even if we only got one or two of the extra photos, it would be worth it. (And I'd like to get a look at the stock photos CD.)

One problem: We have a Chef Mickey dinner planned our first night, but no park plans that day. I need to figure out how to redeem our PP+ voucher before the meal without going to a park. I've seen references to the PP+ viewing centers but conflicting info on exactly where they are. (Especially whether or not there's one in the Contemporary.)

I submitted a question to the Moms Panel, but was just told that "You can pick up your PP+ at a viewing center! Ask when you check in!" Has anyone else noticed that the Moms Panel is very good at answering questions without really answering them?

If we have to, we can make a trip over to DTD that afternoon, but the boys will be clamoring to swim and I'd rather just do that. Any advice appreciated.

To answer your question...

There are Photopass viewing stations at the Polynesian (outside of Trader Jack's) and at the Grand Floridian (in the lobby). I don't believe there is one at the Contemporary, but you could hop the monorail over to one of the other two resorts.

Only problem is...they don't have regular hours and are often on "breaks", so you have to catch them just right.