1st DVC trip - car vs no car?

[2nd Time Bride]

Hoping this is the right place for this thread...our December trip will be our first as DVC owners AND our first as parents! We are staying in our home resort - Animal Kingdom - and are questioning if we should get a rental car for all or a portion of our trip. Guests will be DH, DD (4), DS (1), MIL, FIL and myself in a 2 bedroom. I have plenty of ADRs and plan to use the grocery service however, both my daughter and MIL are EXTREMELY picky eaters.

Looking for opinions on a rental - have you found it's helpful when having children this small? Or has the bus service been good enough? I'm super worried we will get halfway thru the week, run out of produce/that certain brand of peanut butter/etc and someone will have to cab it to a grocery store. Also thinking we may want (need) the convenience of a car at the end of the night or around nap time - I cannot imagine anything worse than a dual meltdown at the bus stop. All opinions welcome - and please let me know if I should move this to the Families section!

 

[eliza61]

We don't go without a car. ever. lol I hated doing the bus thing with strollers when my kids were little. now let me say that this was 20 years ago but we felt it was a hassle.
Next, many times we preferred resort restaurants over park restaurants. getting from resort to resort can be time consuming.
Lastly, just as you mentioned I love being able to go offsite to pick up necessities here and there. I have never found Orlando traffic to be super ridiculous (I'm a NY'er/philadelphian so take that with a grain of salt) and I hate paying 17 dollars for a 4 dollar bottle of tylenol. lol.

So, a car rental is a standard line item in my vacation budget. no car, no trip.

 

[gdrj]

In your situation renting a car is going to give you peace of mind. Doesn't mean I would use the car the whole time. I would take bus to parks as well as drive depending on what the plans are for the day. One of the best ways to avoid a meltdown IMO is, if you are out late the night b4, let the kids sleep the next morning if they are tired, No FP is worth it. Also don't be afraid to slow down and just enjoy the day and not try to rush to every Character or Ride. Don't leave your room at 7 AM and expect a 4 yr old to be smiling at 9 PM. Having the car will give you the most flexibility, just realize that it can still take you 30 minutes to get to your car from inside MK.

 

[spiceycat]

wegoshop - will get what you want and only what you want - would go with them - start making out your grocery list NOW.

you don't need a car - although since the majority of your stay will probably be at the MK - would have picked a MK resort - but definitely understand wanting the first trip to be at your home resort.

getting a rental car will mean not only picking it up but returning it as well at the airport. that say if you feel you need one once at wdw you can use I think Alamo - pretty sure they still pick you up.

 

[DenLo]

The problem with driving to MK is that the parking is at the TTC so you need to take either a ferry boat or monorail to MK. Whereas riding a bus gets you to the bus area right next to the ferry boats and you just walk into the park. We always drive to WDW, but we never drive to MK, we take a bus there. However, in your situation you might want to get a car that will hold all of you. You can still ride the bus sometimes.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

On Saturday, we leave for our 15th trip to WDW since 1999. We made two trips with one child, two trips with 2 kids, and the rest with three kids. Once our second DD was born, we took one double stroller (until they aged out of the strollers). We have never rented a car and have been happy with our decision. We have never had any huge delays in bus service and haven't had any problems lugging a double stroller on or off the bus. Changing diapers and carrying baby supplies around the park was much more of a hassle than any transportation issue.

As for potential dual meltdowns at the bus stop ... when you're at WDW, every day you will encounter many kids (and some grownups) having meltdowns at the bus stops, on the bus, and pretty much everywhere else. When it's your kids turn to meltdown, everyone around you will be familiar with your situation so it will be no big deal.

My family consists of picky eaters and a DW with some food allergies. WDW is the best place I know for food options. Everybody is different but I do not want to drive while I'm at WDW and so far I have avoided rental cars and have been very happy with that choice. Have a great trip!

 

[hardis5]

I am on the side of renting if not having our own vehicle there. Many (and taking DT you will see many) will use the buses to their full potential (and our older kids do in going back to the parks late day) but IMHO I'd rather plan my time to enjoy the parks or a resort meal and not need to factor in 30-90 minutes each way to get myself to a park for the day or a resort for dinner. Watch for good rates, book and rebook as rates drop. We also use a vehicle for convenience if needing something off-site or will look at a meal off property once or twice (which with one meal and a larger group has saved us enough to pay for the rental).

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Thanks for all the opinions! We are on the wait list for Bay Lake but at that time of year, no resorts on the monorail or within walking distance to Epcot were available. I don't anticipate we will be able to arrive at a park and stay the entire day, so for those of you who drive, can you do in and out with the parking? Is there a length of stay parking pass you can purchase? The last time I drove was 1999!

 

[Grace W]

Hoping this is the right place for this thread...our December trip will be our first as DVC owners AND our first as parents! We are staying in our home resort - Animal Kingdom - and are questioning if we should get a rental car for all or a portion of our trip. Guests will be DH, DD (4), DS (1), MIL, FIL and myself in a 2 bedroom. I have plenty of ADRs and plan to use the grocery service however, both my daughter and MIL are EXTREMELY picky eaters.

Looking for opinions on a rental - have you found it's helpful when having children this small? Or has the bus service been good enough? I'm super worried we will get halfway thru the week, run out of produce/that certain brand of peanut butter/etc and someone will have to cab it to a grocery store. Also thinking we may want (need) the convenience of a car at the end of the night or around nap time - I cannot imagine anything worse than a dual meltdown at the bus stop. All opinions welcome - and please let me know if I should move this to the Families section!

We went without a car, and it was fine! I feel that saving the money on a car would be better in the long run, and if you come close to running out, order more!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

On Saturday, we leave for our 15th trip to WDW since 1999. We made two trips with one child, two trips with 2 kids, and the rest with three kids. Once our second DD was born, we took one double stroller (until they aged out of the strollers). We have never rented a car and have been happy with our decision. We have never had any huge delays in bus service and haven't had any problems lugging a double stroller on or off the bus. Changing diapers and carrying baby supplies around the park was much more of a hassle than any transportation issue.

As for potential dual meltdowns at the bus stop ... when you're at WDW, every day you will encounter many kids (and some grownups) having meltdowns at the bus stops, on the bus, and pretty much everywhere else. When it's your kids turn to meltdown, everyone around you will be familiar with your situation so it will be no big deal.

My family consists of picky eaters and a DW with some food allergies. WDW is the best place I know for food options. Everybody is different but I do not want to drive while I'm at WDW and so far I have avoided rental cars and have been very happy with that choice. Have a great trip!

We have never rented a car when at WDW either and my DH is very much against it. I'm thinking the cost of renting something large enough (mini-van), plus renting 2 car seats (or lugging our super heavy Dionos on the plane), plus the cost of parking might outweigh the benefits. Have you used any grocery services for the picky eaters? I have heard good things on this board about wegoshop that someone above mentioned...

 

[2nd Time Bride]

wegoshop - will get what you want and only what you want - would go with them - start making out your grocery list NOW.

you don't need a car - although since the majority of your stay will probably be at the MK - would have picked a MK resort - but definitely understand wanting the first trip to be at your home resort.

getting a rental car will mean not only picking it up but returning it as well at the airport. that say if you feel you need one once at wdw you can use I think Alamo - pretty sure they still pick you up.

When you used wegoshop, were you familiar with the products at the stores they list? Or did you choose the store and hope they had the brands you needed? I live in West MI and the only stores we have on that list are WalMart (which doesn't have food) and Sam's Club (which doesn't carry my items). Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

The problem with driving to MK is that the parking is at the TTC so you need to take either a ferry boat or monorail to MK. Whereas riding a bus gets you to the bus area right next to the ferry boats and you just walk into the park. We always drive to WDW, but we never drive to MK, we take a bus there. However, in your situation you might want to get a car that will hold all of you. You can still ride the bus sometimes.

Thanks for the response - I completely forgot about the parking at MK.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Thanks for all the opinions! We are on the wait list for Bay Lake but at that time of year, no resorts on the monorail or within walking distance to Epcot were available. I don't anticipate we will be able to arrive at a park and stay the entire day, so for those of you who drive, can you do in and out with the parking? Is there a length of stay parking pass you can purchase? The last time I drove was 1999!

Parking is free at the resorts and parks for guests staying onsite. With two little ones, you will need car seats, which are pretty pricey to rent. Do you plan to lug your own car seats through the airport?

In your situation, I may be inclined to use buses. The bussing to and from AKV is generally good. Hopefully you are in Kidani, so you can have empty buses to board to the parks. We were lucky that our son was able to nap in his stroller at the ages of your kids. I would put the money towards renting a good stroller from one of the stroller companies. We liked Kingdom Stroller and Magic Stroller.

We only have one child and he is now 9, so we have recently started renting a car, which I helps save time for AK, HS, Epcot and the water parks. We still take the bus to MK, since the parking there requires transfer to the monorail or boat and the bus drops off at the front gate. We are doing 4nights in December and will forgo the car for that trip.

We use Garden Grocer for food, and love it, but WeGoShop may give you better options for your picky eaters.

 

[elcapitanJack]

We've done WDW with and without a car. We used Disney transportation primarily when our kids were younger. We will typically use a car now because we travel off property more these days.

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Parking is free at the resorts and parks for guests staying onsite. With two little ones, you will need car seats, which are pretty pricey to rent. Do you plan to lug your own car seats through the airport?

In your situation, I may be inclined to use buses. The bussing to and from AKV is generally good. Hopefully you are in Kidani, so you can have empty buses to board to the parks. We were lucky that our son was able to nap in his stroller at the ages of your kids. I would put the money towards renting a good stroller from one of the stroller companies. We liked Kingdom Stroller and Magic Stroller.

We only have one child and he is now 9, so we have recently started renting a car, which I helps save time for AK, HS, Epcot and the water parks. We still take the bus to MK, since the parking there requires transfer to the monorail or boat and the bus drops off at the front gate. We are doing 4nights in December and will forgo the car for that trip.

We use Garden Grocer for food, and love it, but WeGoShop may give you better options for your picky eaters.

I don't know how we could bring our own car seats, we have two Diono Radians and, according to Google, they weigh 45lbs each. I knew they were heavy but that is crazy. I just checked the cost of renting car seats from Enterprise and it's $12 each/day. I think my decision is getting easier...

 

[Kidanifan08]

I don't know how we could bring our own car seats, we have two Diono Radians and, according to Google, they weigh 45lbs each. I knew they were heavy but that is crazy. I just checked the cost of renting car seats from Enterprise and it's $12 each/day. I think my decision is getting easier...

There is usually a max of $60-80 per car seat per rental period, but it's still a lot of $$, especially when it's double. Put the money towards a comfy double stroller and hope the kids can nap in the parks. We had good luck finding quiet places in all of the parks to get our son to sleep. Then, we could shop or enjoy a beverage for an hour or longer!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Have you used any grocery services for the picky eaters?

No we haven't. Before DME, we would have a town car pick us up and do a grocery stop on the way to WDW. We now use the free DME service. When staying at BWV or BCV, we sometimes walk to the Hess (now Speedway) station across from the Boardwalk for snacks. We also purchase (expensive) food at the WDW resort stores. Now that Southwest flies to NYC, we can pack plenty of breakfast food and snacks in our suitcases.

 

[caracarn]

Having visited often with kids of all ages, I say in your situation a car would help. AKL is not really near any of the parks, even AK is a bus ride away and with younger kids where a mid day return might be warranted you will burn 2 hours using the transportation system getting back to the hotel. At that time you are frustrated, tired and sick of it all. It just drains all the fun away. We tried the transportation system once from VWL and once from Beach Club and would never do it again.

 

[spiceycat]

When you used wegoshop, were you familiar with the products at the stores they list? Or did you choose the store and hope they had the brands you needed? I live in West MI and the only stores we have on that list are WalMart (which doesn't have food) and Sam's Club (which doesn't carry my items). Thanks for the suggestion!

now i have not used wegoshop in a few years - I drive to WDW - but it use to go whatever store you listed.

so used Publix and Walmart = now it would be Target and Publix

there is also a Winnie-Dixie, dollar tree

 

[Glent59]

Our family has been to WDW more than 20 times in the past 15 years.. Visits ranging from 3 days to 14 days. we had ONE trip in that time frame where we relied upon Disney Transportation, and while it is efficient, and many cases more convenient ( getting dropped off at the main entrance of MK vs parking by the TTC as mentioned above ). we vowed we would never do that again... we eat off site regularly, better food options and less expensive.. Walmart on 526 is a regular stop..PLUS for night time activities "Citiwalk" is 100 times better than DTD. We are there this December ( Boardwalk )and have a premium car rented for less than 30 dollars a day.. will do that EVERY TRIP... The BIGGEST issue.. corralling your luggage and heading over to the car rental garage, Disney does make that convenient.... ( make sure your a member of what ever rental car company you use so you can head right to the garage and skip the rental car line in the terminal)... you do have to work to get the best rates.... and i always rent directly from the rental car company, not an Expedia or something like that..that way i can cancel or change my reservation without cost or penalty AND you don't get charged till AFTER you turn the car in..

One more thing... if your a AAA member.. get yourself a diamond parking pass from your local AAA office.. makes the walk in the parking lot A LOT shorter...