Do I need a rental car?

[Phil'sFrontier]

I will be going to WDW in January and staying at the Radisson Lake Buena Vista, which is quite close to Downtown Disney I believe. We did not plan on renting a car, but after reading on here stories about poor public transportation such as the disney buses, or the resort bus. Would it be too expensive to rely on cabs? I was thinking maybe taking public transit in the mornings, and cabs back to the hotel in the evening. Also nice not having to pay for parking too.

In all of your vast experience, would you recommend me getting a rental car, or just going with the flow of the transit system?

Thanks for the help fellow DIS'ers

 

[kaytieeldr]

If you consider Disney's buses to be poor public* transportation based on relatively few experiences in comparison to the number of people who use these buses every day, then yes, you would be better off renting a car. Also, while you are under the impression that the Radisson is close to Downtown Disney, you should find out absolutely. If it's one of the seven Hotel Plaza Boulevard properties, they do have their own shared bus system which runs every half hour or every hour depending on the destination/time of day. If it's NOT one of these hotels, it's at least a mile from Downtown Disney and further than that from any of the theme parks.

*It's actually private transportation, moving multiple thousands of people daily and not leaving anyone stranded if at all possible, i.e. no buses at 4 AM.

 

[andywilliams38]

That's a good option Phil. This way you can manage yourself some comfort and in the bargain save some money as well.

 

[seashoreCM]

Under the circumstances given I would rent a car.

After you have chosen to rent a car, your airport transportation is covered too.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

This part is only hearsay as I haven't tried it although I have read similar descriptions in tour books such as Corey Sandler's Econoguides. Some hotels require that you sign up in advance for their Disney transportation, notably which trip times you want and are available and you must commit to. I could only guess what happens at park closing and the hotel shuttle is full. While it is possible the hotels send one final trip to catch stragglers, the folks who missed or who were unable to get on the official last trip would have to wait another 45 minutes or so and may well give up and get a cab back to the hotel. Others might take Disney transportation as far as they could (probably Saratoga Springs in your case) and take a cab from there.

 

[Brian Noble]

I almost always get a car even with Disney transportation at my disposal. With the DTD-area hotels, bus service isn't even quite as good as at Disney's own resorts, so it's even a better bet to get a car.

 

[andywilliams38]

Yes, Disney transportation is one of the finest and what more can you ask for.

 

[RoutemanDan]

The Radisson Lake Buena Vista isn't that close, better rent a car.

Map-Click Here

 

[taliategan]

I would call the Radisson and check on the frequency of their compl. shuttle. The hotel likely shares its shuttle service with some other hotels. If some the times meet your needs, possibly you can do a combination of the hotel's shuttle and cabs. If you decide to rent a car, you will have to consider the rental cost of the car, parking at the Disney parks (which is now $ 14.00 a day) and the possibility of your hotel charging a daily parking fee (you should also check this with your hotel.) The rental car will give you a lot more flexibility with your schedule in going to both the parks and other places, but it will likely be more expensive than using the hotel's shuttle and cabs.

 

[richmo]

No question -- I'd rent a car!

Off property hotel shuttles are a dicey proposition, at best. You lose all flexibility in your schedules and if you happen to miss the bus, you've got a problem.

Disney resorts, of course, are best for traveling to the parks, the Downtown Disney hotels have their own system, plus a short walk to the Marketplace. The Radisson may be in LBV, but it is not a Downtown Disney hotel.

If you decide to go with the car, you might want to price it out, including Disney parking, tolls, gas, the rental itself and see if it still makes sense to stay at the Radisson. In some instances, you may be able to stay at a Disney moderate (which I'm guessing is about the same quality as the Radisson) for about the same, or less.

 

[Brian Noble]

Good point. For some reason I was thinking the Radisson was a DTD area hotel, but I sit corrected. I would absolutely have a car.

 

[andywilliams38]

Good Brian! Finally decided.

 

[prncess674]

Also remember you will need transportation back and forth from the airport. Taxi service is $60 one way.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Is it possible we can walk over to DTD and catch a bus to the parks? I am fairly certain it is around a 10-15 minute walk to DTD from the hotel. I acctually went on Google earth, and used that to mark waypoints in my handheld gps.
Also unsure of walking around the busy freeway that separates our hotel from DTD and how to cross it.

 

[Tara]

Is it possible we can walk over to DTD and catch a bus to the parks? I am fairly certain it is around a 10-15 minute walk to DTD from the hotel. I acctually went on Google earth, and used that to mark waypoints in my handheld gps.
Also unsure of walking around the busy freeway that separates our hotel from DTD and how to cross it.

DTD does not offer bus service to the parks anymore for this very reason - too many people taking advantage of free parking at DTD to then transfer to the parks.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

DTD does not offer bus service to the parks anymore for this very reason - too many people taking advantage of free parking at DTD to then transfer to the parks.

So I would have to rely on either the hotel shuttle or taxi?

 

[Tara]

So I would have to rely on either the hotel shuttle or taxi?

Yes, that's the case. Or rent a car, as you were wondering about to begin with - I really can't recommend having your own car highly enough, and I ALWAYS stay on site.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Thanks a lot for the info Tara.

Do you think I would need to rent a car in advance, or being as Im going in off season, will I be OK to just rent when I arrive in Orlando?

....

 

[CarRentalSavers]

Always book in advance and use discounts and codes to drop your rates. If you find a better rate you can always cancel and rebook. Walk up rates tend to be much higher. In addition, due to lower inventories locations may be sold out of the vehicle you want.

 

[Tara]

Thanks a lot for the info Tara.

Do you think I would need to rent a car in advance, or being as Im going in off season, will I be OK to just rent when I arrive in Orlando?

....

Definitely make a reservation in advance - I'd recommend spending a bit of time doing research on codes (mousesavers.com is what I usually use) and testing out different ones to see what sort of rates you come up with. None of the major companies charge a penalty or cancellation fee for canceling a reservation, so it doesn't hurt to book something right off and then shop around and rebook if you find a better rate.

 

[richmo]

To qualify one of your earlier questions...if you think you can walk in about 15 minutes to one of the DTD hotels (the Doubletree would probably be closest), you could probably take one of the Downtown Disney Hotel buses to the parks. If you walk to the Downtown Disney Marketplace (another 10-15 minute walk from the Doubletree), Disney transportation will not directly take you to the park. What people do there is bus (or boat) to Saratoga Springs, then pick up a park bus at Saratoga.