Busses or car

[longt2]

7 of us will be staying at ASMo in Dec., Our first trip. I have been reading a lot of negatives about the busses, would we be better off driving to the different parks or riding the busses. I would think that having to find parking would negate any advantage of driving, thanks.

 

[madalex]

Driving to AK, DHS and Epcot is not bad. You park, walk or tram to the front gate and you are there. The buses pull up to a place where there is a shorter walk from the bus stops to the front gate, but the advantage is not that great.

If you drive to MK, however, you park, walk or tram to the TTC and then take a monorail or the ferry to the front gate. The buses, meanwhile, go right up to the front gate. Due to this extra step of monorail or ferry, when going to the MK, using Disney transportation can be more convenient than driving.

And, the Disney bus system is generally quite good. There are waits for buses and trying to get a bus at a very busy time (such as park closing time when everyone is leaving all at the same time) can take awhile. But, the system overall is very efficient. That doesn't mean there are not individual complaints that are justified, but for the most part those are the exception rather than the rule.

 

[GailT]

I always rent a car. when my son ewas little even though we had a car wanted him to experience the buss so off we went and tried it from the park to the hotel, need i say we never did it again, you are crunch in like sardines, I love kids but after along day at the parks I want peace and quiet untill i get to my room If you can afford a car I say rent one, then you also can go outside the parks and see other things

 

[mrsz06]

I would ride the buses they are not that bad in my own opinion. Plus they drop you off right at the entrance of the parks. My hubby and I went to Disney in July 2 years ago during one of the busiest times and we never had a problem with the buses and always had a seat and never had to stand. I would however not take the bus to Downtown Disney. It's much quicker to drive.

 

[LGH1946]

The buses drop you off right at the entrance?????? I don't call half a mile or more right at the entrance!!! But I know that young people have a different point of view than older people with some arthritis and walking difficulty.

 

[Disney_Dawg]

Who wants to drive around all vacation

Ride the bus !!!!!

 

[3darlings]

We just returned and for the first time, we relied on buses exclusively for a few days including ME. We have always rented a car before but the rates were so outrageous that we decided, after finding a decent deal, to rent a car from the Car Care Center after a few days and then for later to go to Universal. I will say the Disney bus system is well run. I can't imagine the complexities of running it. However, we were so tired of the buses after three days and thrilled when we got our car even though it was stripped down compact. The wait for buses was never that long (except ME which was probably 25-30 minutes at the airport) but we had to stand on almost every bus. Some of those bus rides seemed so long! It seemed especially hard for those with little ones/strollers. I, and especially my kids, really hope we never have to rely exclusively on the buses again (although I wouldn't rule it out). But even when we have a car, we alway take the bus to MK since parking there is a pain.

 

[mrsz06]

The buses drop you off right at the entrance?????? I don't call half a mile or more right at the entrance!!! But I know that young people have a different point of view than older people with some arthritis and walking difficulty.

Giggles I suppose you are right. I am young and in great shape so the little walk that is involved doesn't seem very long for me. But you are right if you are older and have a harder time getting around it may seem a lot longer.

 

[Disney DieHard]

Renting a car is something that really depends on what you’re doing on your vacation and how you plan on doing it. Another factor in renting a car to consider is “where are you staying”?

If you are staying at a Disney World Resort then you will have complimentary shuttle service from the airport to your hotel and vice-versa when you leave. (MAKE SURE WHEN YOU BOOK YOUR DISNEY ROOM YOU MENTION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE DISNEY’S MAGICAL EXPRESS SERVICE). When staying at a Disney Resort you will be provided with complimentary transportation to and from any Disney locale.

On the other hand, booking a car DOES have many advantages! For one, with a rental car you are not limited to Disney attractions and properties. Therefore, you may be able to save some money by eating OFF property as off site restaurants are almost always less expensive than on property establishments. Also, when you have your own car you are not subject to other people’s timetables … at the end of the day when you are ready to go back to your hotel you can get in your car and go with out the waiting in line for the right bus and then waiting on the bus until it finally makes the stop at your hotel.

Hope it helps!

Have Fun, Be Safe, and ... HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!!!

Frank
Disney DieHard

 

[ccgirl]

The only way I got my DH to agree to stay in a Value resort (same one as you BTW - 12/2-12/07) was to rent a car. We tend to stay until park closing and can't stand waiting 45 minutes just to get on a crowded bus and stand with a sleeping child trying to balance the stroller. We would much rather go to our car and be guaranteed a seat. Time is important to us and we like to be on our own time schedule. I have posted this before...we went with friends of ours. They stayed to wait for a bus and we took our car. We got back to the resort 45 minutes ahead of them. If you can't stand driving and don't mind waiting the busses are fine. I know people seem to have had good luck with them. I didn't have so much luck. We got the car for $240 for 10 days BTW. I have never had trouble finding a parking spot at the resort or at a park.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Pakey]

We, too, just returned 2 weeks ago and rode buses (usually rent a car). I did a lot of standing and waiting. We rode a lot of SRO buses. It's fine for adults only but I'm not sure I'd want to do it with children.

 

[madalex]

The buses drop you off right at the entrance?????? I don't call half a mile or more right at the entrance!!! But I know that young people have a different point of view than older people with some arthritis and walking difficulty.

There is no WDW park at which there is a 1/2 mile (or more) walk from the bus drop off area to the front entrance.

 

[eliza61]

I started renting a car when my sons were little. I hated dealing with strollers on the buses end of the night and we loved it for getting to another resort if we had dinner reservations. buses can take forever to do that.

Now we never go without.

 

[mupt02]

I think it depends on the make-up of your group. We have 3 little ones, had a double and a single stroller. For us, it was much, much easier to drive. We took the bus once and it wasn't bad. It just wasn't as easy for us with all of our stuff and little ones. It also made it much easier to get to other resorts for our ADR's.

If you don't have little ones and don't mind a little wait, the buses are fine. If you have little ones (still in strollers) or any of your group would have difficulty standing on a bus, then I would recommend driving.

 

[wcpamotm]

I think the Disney Bus system is run just about as well as anybody can expect a complex operation of that size to be run. But the fact is, when a large number of people want to go someplace at the same time, there are going to be waits. Unless demand is relatively constant (and it seldom is), it's just not practical to have a system that can handle peak demand at peak efficiency.

My observations: it's always faster to take Disney Transportation to MK than to drive yourself. If you're staying at an Epcot resort, it's faster to walk than drive (though you'll be starting at the International Gateway). With few exceptions, going to any other destination is faster by driving rather than taking a Disney bus, much faster going resort-to-resort.

That said, however, for those among us who are laid-back and can accept the limitations with a smile, using the busses is a carefree way of getting around WDW, and a must for parties who might split up during the day.