laura428
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2010
- Messages
- 1,025
My in-laws are staying offsite at the Orlando Vista for our upcoming trip in January, and have decided to not rent a car but rely on the hotel shuttle for transportation. I called the hotel yesterday to get a idea of how the shuttles run - sounds like it won't be a problem for simple trips, like getting to any of the parks in the morning, but am concerned about a few things...
1. No shuttle to Downtown Disney until 7PM - we're meeting them there mid-afternoon on our arrival day. Is the walk short enough (and doable) from their hotel? If not, any idea on the cost of a cab? They'll need a way back, too, and definitely will not be there til the return shuttle leaves at 10pm.
2. We're doing quite a bit of park hopping, plus dinners at resorts. For example:
Monday - HS at open til mid-pm. Rest at POR for an hour or so, then head over to Fort Wilderness to HDDR for 6:15 show.
Tuesday - MK at open til mid-pm. Rest again, then dinner at 1900 Park Fare, then maybe back to MK.
Wednesday - MK at open til mid-pm. Rest again, then to Epcot and dinner at Coral Reef.
Thursday - Epcot all day, but in-laws leaving early pm to catch 5:30 flight.
With a car, this is all doable. But without.... I'm thinking waiting for hotel shuttles and using Disney transportation to get to FW for HDDR and to GF for 1900 PF is going to be so terribly inconvenient, and will be exhausting and take too much time away from park and family time. They could take cabs (which we've done when we didn't rent while staying onsite), but that's gonna rack up pretty quickly. FIl has suggested we just pick them up after dropping our family wherever we're going (our car only fits us 4 with the carseats - driving there). But while this may be doable for Dntn Disney, it's really not for MK, HS or Epcot. And honestly, I really don't want to spend my week at Disney as a chauffeur.
I looked at rentals for them - they can get a car for $54 for the week, plus the cost of parking while at the parks. I'm considering offering to either pay for the rental or pick up a few dinners to cover the cost to save everyone headaches later.
What do you think? Is transportation easier than I'm remembering without a rental? Or should I make the offer?
1. No shuttle to Downtown Disney until 7PM - we're meeting them there mid-afternoon on our arrival day. Is the walk short enough (and doable) from their hotel? If not, any idea on the cost of a cab? They'll need a way back, too, and definitely will not be there til the return shuttle leaves at 10pm.
2. We're doing quite a bit of park hopping, plus dinners at resorts. For example:
Monday - HS at open til mid-pm. Rest at POR for an hour or so, then head over to Fort Wilderness to HDDR for 6:15 show.
Tuesday - MK at open til mid-pm. Rest again, then dinner at 1900 Park Fare, then maybe back to MK.
Wednesday - MK at open til mid-pm. Rest again, then to Epcot and dinner at Coral Reef.
Thursday - Epcot all day, but in-laws leaving early pm to catch 5:30 flight.
With a car, this is all doable. But without.... I'm thinking waiting for hotel shuttles and using Disney transportation to get to FW for HDDR and to GF for 1900 PF is going to be so terribly inconvenient, and will be exhausting and take too much time away from park and family time. They could take cabs (which we've done when we didn't rent while staying onsite), but that's gonna rack up pretty quickly. FIl has suggested we just pick them up after dropping our family wherever we're going (our car only fits us 4 with the carseats - driving there). But while this may be doable for Dntn Disney, it's really not for MK, HS or Epcot. And honestly, I really don't want to spend my week at Disney as a chauffeur.
I looked at rentals for them - they can get a car for $54 for the week, plus the cost of parking while at the parks. I'm considering offering to either pay for the rental or pick up a few dinners to cover the cost to save everyone headaches later.
What do you think? Is transportation easier than I'm remembering without a rental? Or should I make the offer?