Bus or Car to Magic Kingdom

[woodyrn]

So we have only used a car for our last Disney trip, and loved having one. My question is when you go to Magic Kingdom, the buses actually drop you closer than when driving. Do you actually save time by taking the bus or should we just drive like usual?
We are staying at Art of Animation.

[WDWChloe]

We usually take the bus everywhere from our resort. That way, we don't have to worry about getting to the tram + finding our car + driving back to the resort. Especially if we are out late and get sleepy

Plus, this was saves gas for us and the buses usually drop you off closer to the entrance of MK rather than the extra stop at TTC. Have fun!!

[Tricia's mom]

We always rent a car... We get our car... Drive straight to our resort or stop for water and etcs...

I don't have to wait for the bus to fill... I don't have to travel to other resorts.... I can make stops on the way to pick things up...

The best part.... I leave when I want to leave !!! Not when Disney thinks I should leave....

I like getting up in the morning and getting to the park when I wanted... And leaving when I want to leave.... Going to another resort for and ADR. Quickly.

I can't imagine having to wait at a bus stop

It is worth it to me... The car rental is never really that pricey.

[pigletto]

When we rent a car we drive everywhere but the Magic Kingdom. I don't find it saves us any time or hassle to have to park and take the tram to the monorail or ferry and then ride over to the MK. We are usually dog tired at the end of the night and prefer just walking over to the bus line.
However, we find the car convenient for everywhere else.

[toodycat]

We rent a car. We like to head straight to the resort with no stops. If we are staying on the monorail, we will take that to MK and Epcot, but drive to DHS, AK, DD and the water parks. We like the flexibility of having a car.If we are at AKL, we use the car for everything. If you shop around for a car rental, you can get a good deal.

[cjsm&d]

I love the WDW transportation. I love the ME, and I love not having to drive anywhere during my vacation. I find it one of the best perks of my vaca. We used to rent a car pre-ME, and it would not move for most of the vaca, unless we did a split, or had SeaWorld plans...

I have never had a truly bad transportation experience at WDW that would make me not want to use it.

The only way I'd consider a car when staying on is if I stayed at the Cabins, OKW or SSR.

Of course, everyone is different.

[grimley1968]

Originally Posted by pigletto

When we rent a car we drive everywhere but the Magic Kingdom. I don't find it saves us any time or hassle to have to park and take the tram to the monorail or ferry and then ride over to the MK. We are usually dog tired at the end of the night and prefer just walking over to the bus line.
However, we find the car convenient for everywhere else.

This.

For all other parks and DtD, though, we drive as much as possible, since there's no TTC to get in the way at the other places.

Also, in re another poster, Disney's not "deciding" when guests leave. They send buses continually. Luck, not Disney, "decides" if your bus happens to be there or if there's a wait for it.

[Marthasor]

I would take the bus from AoA. Yes, you will get closer to the park and the AoA bus isn't shared with other resorts. I took a cab to MK last year to try to avoid the bus hassle only to find it was a hassle to walk to TTC and get on a monorail. Lesson learned!

[tobikaye]

It really depends. I, personally, love to take the boat from TTC to MK and watch it get closer. It is just something I have always loved since the earliest trip I can remember. That said, it can be a bit too busy earlier in the morning for using the TTC to get to MK. I like to use the TTC if I am going in the afternoon, maybe park hopping from another park I drove to that morning.

If AoA does not share buses, which I think I read they do not, I would probably take the bus, especially for getting there at opening. TTC can be a bit of a madhouse early in the day. I know the bus area can as well, but at least there, everyone usually knows which way they want to go. At the TTC, you have lots of people trying to decide where they need to go.

[figment_jii]

Another vote to take the bus to MK. I like to drive to most of the parks and DTD, but MK is the one park that I find it easier to take the bus. I think it saves time, but it probably depends on how long you have to wait for the bus to arrive.

[ElizabethB]

We always rent a car. And, we take it everywhere except Magic Kingdom. For MK, we suffer on the bus so that we don't have to park, take the tram, and then take either the monorail or the boat.

[froggy922]

We drive to WDW so we always have our car. We still use WDW transporation for nearly everything, because not having to drive everywhere is a welcomed relief. The only times we DO use the car is if we have an ADR at another resort. It's wonderful to just drive straight there and back. But we use WDW transporation to all parks. My DH did take the car almost daily to a local store or gas station for something like drinks or snacks. So it is nice to have the flexibility of having a car at our conveneince, but I could totally see us being just fine flying, using ME, and only using WDW Transporation if driving wasn't an option for us. Personally, I don't see using the car at MK, because, like you said, busses drop you off right there, but I could see where it could be handy at the other parks, especially if it's park closing and you have a sleeping kid

[KrazeeK120]

I've done both and I prefer driving. I have the AAA parking pass, so can park reasonably close to the front of the TTC. I watched Wishes from the Main St. train station and caught the 2nd monorail out of the MK afterwards. I think we were back to our resort (Pop) about as fast as if we'd taken the bus. Plus we didn't have to deal with other people and their too-tired kids (or too-tired parents!).

I think the only way I'd go to Disney and not rent a car now is if I had a child that needed a carseat. I wouldn't want to drag it through the airport. Otherwise...having the rental car was FANTASTIC.

We even drove all the way to Disney once and didn't use our car at all while there. Sheesh, I was missing out!

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

another vote for driving

I feel trapped by the bus system - waiting for it or for it to do it's stops.

We also like riding over to MK via the ferry or the monorail - leaving the outside world behind and arriving the way Walt intended.

[buzznina]

Originally Posted by froggy922

We drive to WDW so we always have our car. We still use WDW transporation for nearly everything, because not having to drive everywhere is a welcomed relief. The only times we DO use the car is if we have an ADR at another resort. It's wonderful to just drive straight there and back. But we use WDW transporation to all parks. My DH did take the car almost daily to a local store or gas station for something like drinks or snacks. So it is nice to have the flexibility of having a car at our conveneince, but I could totally see us being just fine flying, using ME, and only using WDW Transporation if driving wasn't an option for us. Personally, I don't see using the car at MK, because, like you said, busses drop you off right there, but I could see where it could be handy at the other parks, especially if it's park closing and you have a sleeping kid

We are the same, drive to WDW and use their transportation. Plus our DD's love the buses, it's a treat to them. We have tried driving a few times, but never felt like we saved much time and you have to deal with a lot of drivers who do not know where they are going We will use our car if we need to go to another resort or DTD (when not staying at one of the PO resorts).