1st DVC trip - car vs no car?

[Disneychick75]

OP, we used to always rent a car and did in April. While we were there, we saw 2 accidents and were almost in a couple. My husband drove and we don't call him. Papa driver without reason. He is an extremely cautious driver- thank God! Some guests at WDW drive like they're kids at Tomorrowland Speedway and must leave their brain cells at home. I used to rent a car when it was just me with the kids but I won't anymore.

Don't forget besides the buses, there are always taxis at the stands in each park. We have used those a bunch and when I go with friends in Sept., that is probably what we'll use for sure to get to the parks. For going back to the resort, we might take a bus- depends on the day. Oh and for our MK days, we'll get the taxi to drop us at the CR and then we'll walk to the MK. If the kids want to ride the monorail, just go on into the CR and get to MK that way.

 

[2nd Time Bride]

OP, we used to always rent a car and did in April. While we were there, we saw 2 accidents and were almost in a couple. My husband drove and we don't call him. Papa driver without reason. He is an extremely cautious driver- thank God! Some guests at WDW drive like they're kids at Tomorrowland Speedway and must leave their brain cells at home. I used to rent a car when it was just me with the kids but I won't anymore.

Don't forget besides the buses, there are always taxis at the stands in each park. We have used those a bunch and when I go with friends in Sept., that is probably what we'll use for sure to get to the parks. For going back to the resort, we might take a bus- depends on the day. Oh and for our MK days, we'll get the taxi to drop us at the CR and then we'll walk to the MK. If the kids want to ride the monorail, just go on into the CR and get to MK that way.

Good call on the taxis - I wonder, does Disney allow Uber drivers inside the parks/resorts? I was just at O'Hare and was told Uber cannot pick you up at the airport, you must take a taxi or car service and that was the first time I have run into that issue. If a couple adults could Uber to a grocery store, that may be an option.

 

[2nd Time Bride]

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...

Thanks! I was looking at the price of rentals yesterday and yikes! renting a mini-van is expensive! I am going to see if I can get a discount thru my employer but that may be the deal maker/breaker!

 

[Disneychick75]

Undercover Tourist had great prices for our 8 day trip in April. All you have to do is buy a ticket-any ticket- in order to be eligible for their car rental discount. I bought a $10 ticket for VIP access at Planet Hollywood and got a minivan for $360. Every other place I checked was at least $700.

 

[sharona]

Love having our own car at WDW. Soooo much more relaxing. But for you, the car seat issue is a bummer. If you're flying in, don't they recommend you use the car seats on the plane? Not sure how that works these days...

 

[SusieBea]

We always have a car and frequently drive to each park except MK. However, the busses from Kidani are good in my experience. We tend to have a lot of ADRs at resorts and the car is convenient. We've used Garden Grocer and had a good experience. Also, there is a very nice Publix and Target not far from the AKL.

 

[Humphrey_Bear]

We were in the same situation last summer. We've never needed a car in the past, but we are now parents and last summer was the first time going as ones. We did decide to rent a car, and we are sure glad we did (except for missing out on the Magical Express!)

We got to the parks right at open and had great parking spots most times. Even taking the tram at AK with the stroller, was fine. Plus getting from one resort to another takes 10-15 minutes instead of an hour or more with changing buses, etc. The only time we took the bus was to DTD and MK. Much much easier than driving in those cases.

I really liked being able to just leave and get back quick when we had all had enough. In fact, we had a bit of a situation that required us to get to a pharmacy, and thank goodness we had the car. Were there and back in a jiffy. It also enabled us to go off property for a cheapie dinner night.

I'm a bit more skeptical about the taxi's. My sister ended up having to walk from the POFQ all the way to POR with 2 kids (2 and 7) in tow because the cab driver told her that's where he had to drop her for the Riverside. YIKES!! Of course, I'm sure that was an isolated incident, but still . . . .

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Undercover Tourist had great prices for our 8 day trip in April. All you have to do is buy a ticket-any ticket- in order to be eligible for their car rental discount. I bought a $10 ticket for VIP access at Planet Hollywood and got a minivan for $360. Every other place I checked was at least $700.

Awesome, thanks! I am going to take a look at that!

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Love having our own car at WDW. Soooo much more relaxing. But for you, the car seat issue is a bummer. If you're flying in, don't they recommend you use the car seats on the plane? Not sure how that works these days...

We are flying Southwest, I called and asked about the car seats, they said we could bring them if we want but not required. They seemed surprised we bought a seat for our son, who will be 14 months at the time. The woman told me numerous times I could have just held him on my lap. Both the lap sitting and the no car seat rules surprise me!

 

[Humphrey_Bear]

We flew JetBlue when we went with our 20 month old. There was no requirement that I remember that he be in a car seat. Also surprising. He was perfectly able to be in my lap, but what if there was turbulance?
We bought the extra seat and put him in his regular car seat. With all the extra bags and stuff we needed, the extra storage room was a blessing!
Plus everyone had plenty of space to be comfortable. Especially if its a longer flight. . .the space is nice.
The only pain was getting thru the airports. We used a bungie cord to sling it on my back so I can carry the other stuff - along with our little guy.

 

[Quellman]

I'm with @Kidanifan08, with young kids just use the resort transportation. You will otherwise have to rent car seats or bring your own, and that's just crazy. We've done both, but had our own car so we didn't worry about car seats or renting. A bonus if you rent, you won't have to worry about hot car temperatures in December.

But Disney does allow Uber, but then again you have kids needing special assistance with car seats and boosters.

Disney does have some grocery items available onsite. If you see yourself starting to run low, either order more from grocery delivery or if possible, just order from Amazon and have it delivered to the resort, bonus if you have prime.

 

[Nikodemos]

For our first plane trip when our DS was under 2, we just bought a thinner/lighter car seat (we found our first car didn't fit on the plane) from Walmart that was very inexpensive. When we went to WDW when he was 3.5 year olds, we bought a Safe Traffic System Ride Safer 3 Travel Vest which saved a ton of space/hassle. That combo might be easier for your two children at 1 & 4. Then a rental car may not be so bad.

 

[2nd Time Bride]

Well, we found a minivan online at Alamo for $199/week before taxes and fees and didn't have to pay anything up front so we pulled the trigger. We decided we are going to bring the little guy's car seat in an attempt to get him to sit on his own during the flight. Nikodemos, we are thinking of doing the same thing and picking up a cheaper, light weight seat for our daughter.

If we wanted the add the seats, Alamo would charge $66/week per seat. This has been an eye opening experience for sure, lol!

 

[DenLo]

. . .

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...

There are no Diamond lots at WDW anymore. http://disneyparksmomspanel.disney.go.com/questions.aspx?pgm=2&pid=43&cid=142&qid=273523

 

[jillgunter]

You could try without and see how it goes. You can get a rental car at the Dolphin if needed. We did a car for one day last trip to get groceries.

Seen your update. For that price I would do it too. Also don't rent a car seat. Better to buy a cheap $40 one that is light then to take a seat that you don't know if it's safe. We used bungee cord to strap our daughters car seat to a carry on for airport.

 

[Rosebud123]

I am SUCH a fan of the rental car!!! Always get one for a great deal by stalking the Transportation board ($163 for 10 nights for my upcoming trip, full size at Alamo!). It's so easy, and you are guaranteed never to have to wait for a bus. I'm so OCD that I'd be at the bus stop 90 minutes before RD because I'd be afraid that I'd have a long wait. I know that's not typical, but I certainly read enough TR's on here to know that it's not unheard of, either.
Love going to the grocery store myself, love picking up the car right in the garage with no stops (so fast!), love leaving the resort 2.5 hours before my flight instead of 3.25 and love the freedom to come and go to the parks, water parks, and DTD as we please.

 

[SCSL]

For our first plane trip when our DS was under 2, we just bought a thinner/lighter car seat (we found our first car didn't fit on the plane) from Walmart that was very inexpensive. When we went to WDW when he was 3.5 year olds, we bought a Safe Traffic System Ride Safer 3 Travel Vest which saved a ton of space/hassle. That combo might be easier for your two children at 1 & 4. Then a rental car may not be so bad.

I just learned about this "Ride Safer Travel Vest" yesterday and everything sounds so great with this (and kinda sounds too good to be true). I am considering getting one for my 3.5 years old for our upcoming trip. Just wonder if I can really replace the bulky car seat with this travel vest in the rental car for a few days?

 

[TeeterTots]

Well, we found a minivan online at Alamo for $199/week before taxes and fees and didn't have to pay anything up front so we pulled the trigger. We decided we are going to bring the little guy's car seat in an attempt to get him to sit on his own during the flight. Nikodemos, we are thinking of doing the same thing and picking up a cheaper, light weight seat for our daughter.

If we wanted the add the seats, Alamo would charge $66/week per seat. This has been an eye opening experience for sure, lol!

I have a 4 yo and 1 yo and having a car is great!

 

[jimmytammy]

We drive to WDW most trips, but I miss not having a car when flying. If we fly into SFB, we definitely rent a car. Here is the upside for us having car on property...being able to go at your leisure, vs waiting for bus, having better opportunity for going to resort eats, or offsite if you prefer and having little ones in tow plus your MIL, making the grocery run or pharmacy, etc., having that car, big plus!

 

[laughinplace199]

We used to use Disney buses...until we had kids. Then we found it easier to rent a car. We didn't want to be waiting as a bus stop with hot, tired, cranky kids. We purchased inexpensive lightweight car seats and used the seats on the plane and for the rental car.

Our kids are older now (16, 14, & 8) and we still rent a car. I don't think we'll ever go back to buses - we like to be able to leave a park when we want to and not have to wait for a bus. We drive to all parks, even MK, but we enjoy the monorail ride so parking at TTC doesn't bother us.

We also use gardengrocer for grocery delivery. We used to just drive to a supermarket, but decided that we didn't want to use up valuable vacation time with shopping.