A Car - How Important Is It To Have One During CP?

[grinningghost]

First my daughter wanted to bring her car, then she changed her mind. Now she thinks she might need it. Opinions?

 

[Traveliz]

First my daughter wanted to bring her car, then she changed her mind. Now she thinks she might need it. Opinions?

My daughter doesn't have one and she has managed fine - and really hasn't expressed a desire for one. Her roommate has one but always uses the buses except when they are buying alot at Walmart and then will take the car there.

Liz

 

[Joanna71985]

First my daughter wanted to bring her car, then she changed her mind. Now she thinks she might need it. Opinions?

Now, let me tell you it is possible to get by without a car. I have not had one on all 3 of my programs, and won't again this summer.

That being said, if it is at all possible to bring one- bring it!! It is so much easier to get around, you won't have to wait for the busses, it is such a big help for shopping, and if she decides she doesn't want to drive that day she won't have to. But it's nice to know it's there.

 

[Evil Princess]

When I got accepted to the program, my mom asked every CM that looked like a college student if you needed a car during the CP. Literally, she must've asked about 20 CMs in front of me. EVERY ONE said bring a car if you can.

Now, from the perspective of a former CP, if she can bring one...bring one. Yes there are buses, but it means the difference sometimes between leaving for work an hour or two ahead of time versus 20 minutes. Not only that, but who wants to do grocery shopping without a car, not to mention running around on your off days. If you have a car, you really should bring one. It is do-able without one, but very inconvenient.

 

[grinningghost]

OK, so having the car would be a really good thing - not totally necessary, but a really good thing? Oh wow, back to the family discussion table.

 

[khancock]

From what I observed, my friends who lived in areas that heavily utilize public transportation (large cities like NYC) seemed to adapt to the buses faster and never really complained. The ones that weren't used to it, it took them a longer time to get used to and they usually complained the most.

The buses are on a schedule and it is all about figuring out when and where to get on the bus to get where you need to be at the time you need to be there. I can imagine that to be a pretty big learning experience if you've never had to do it before.

No one would argue that having a car at your disposal is more convenient. It just isn't totally necessary if you know how to schedule yourself and discipline yourself.

 

[shecky4185]

I have done two college programs, one with a car and one with one. Let me tell you, having a car is SO much better than not having one. While yes, you can get by with using the buses, but then you are kind of trapped just going places where the bus goes. And there is probably a good chance that one of her roommates or friends will have a car, but i know i felt bad asking them for rides to go grocery shopping and stuff. Having a car can get you off property and let you enjoy some of the other things that orlando has to offer that is not disney. SO if it is not a problem for her to bring the car, i would highly suggest it.

 

[zulemara]

I have done two college programs, one with a car and one with one. Let me tell you, having a car is SO much better than not having one. While yes, you can get by with using the buses, but then you are kind of trapped just going places where the bus goes. And there is probably a good chance that one of her roommates or friends will have a car, but i know i felt bad asking them for rides to go grocery shopping and stuff. Having a car can get you off property and let you enjoy some of the other things that orlando has to offer that is not disney. SO if it is not a problem for her to bring the car, i would highly suggest it.

I did one with and one without as well. If it's possible for her to bring it, let her bring it. It saves time and allows you to explore the area much more. It's possible to get by, but if you work at a location without a direct bus stop(like when I worked at the golfcourse) It's a pain in the butt

 

[darby01_2007]

I'm bringing mine to use for going to places other than work, although I might use it for work some days.

 

[Nyxastra]

I would tell her to bring her car because you never know if you will need it or not. It is good to have one for back-up use and to go places where they busses will not take you. I am going down there without a car; however, I'm going to be purchasing one within the first month while I'm going to be on my second program.

 

[Tide27]

1) Bring a car
2) Bring a car
3) Bring a car
4) See 1 -3


My car broke down for 2 weeks while I was here, so I got to experience this place with and without a car. This is what you will be looking at.....

1) To get to work, you will pretty much need to be at the bus stop 1 hour prior to needing to clock in. When you get ready to go home, you can plan on waiting around 30 mins or so to catch the next bus home.

It takes me 10 mins to get to my work location by car, yet I have to be at the bus stop 1 hour early to get there by bus. Only positive thing I can say for the buses is that I met some interesting people, however...you could still ride the bus if you chose too.

2) Shopping - Grocerys Strict time schedule to go shopping and stuff sucks.
I know of a Walmart bus, but not any others.

3) There is so so so much more to Orlando than Disney. Having a car , I have been able to enjoy tons of things here in Florida. Universal is about 10 mins away, Sea World is about 10 mins away, been to Tampa and arena football games, been to Clearwater beach, Daytona Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, etc.....Port Canaveral....

4) Having been here and done a CP, I can honestly say that my CP experience would have been alot worse had I not had a car. I have been able to see and do 1000x more things with a car than I would have been without a car.

Trust me...when you see your schedule and you are on reduced hours with only 32 hrs a week.....your gonna want to be able to get out and do something. Youll have plenty of enough time to enjoy Disney , many people use their cars as a get away from this place. Everyone needs a break.

 

[Dustin]

I didn't take a car last time and I was fine.....however I did feel like I missed out on exploring Orlando. I basically was stuck in Disney (not that that's a bad thing). I think this time, though, I'll bring a car for things such as going around town, shopping, and groceries, etc...I'l use the bus for work transportation...That'll really save on gas.

 

[grinningghost]

Thanks everyone. We will be having that family meeting regarding the car soon.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

BRING A CAR!

Seriously, though, I think I would have gone crazy without one. Out of the 6 of us in our apartment (from 5 different states), 5 of us had cars.

 

[Joanna71985]

I wish I could have had my car. Life would have been so much easier.

 

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

When I first was accepted into the College program I was not thinking I was going to take my car. At that point I still really did not like driving very much. As the time for my departure came closer it was decided that I would bring a car with me, cheaper travel costs. So my first week down in Orlando I rode the bus, but I noticed that it did not run exactly on Schedule. I kept getting to the bus stop earlier and earlier and kept being late for work. But the last straw and what made me start driving was the bus driver getting into an accident because he was not paying attention to the road. And the really scary part of that story is it happen in 2006 and when I was in Orlando for the Marathon in 2008 I saw the same idiot still driving the CP's same route and everything. Plus the managers in your area might not be so forgiving if the bus is constantly late, I saw someone who had to leave early due to this exact problem, yes some of it was the persons fault, but why one earth should you have to leave your apartment two hours early just to make it to work on time. It does not leave much time for classes, if you take any, or really just having fun.
Erin

 

[Andrusi]

For the whole time I was there, I got the impression that the drivers didn't follow a "schedule" so much as a "rough guideline." I regularly had buses arrive at my location so early/late that I couldn't tell which. There's a transfer between the J and K buses at Animal Kingdom, and at least twice the J bus driver merrily drove away while watching the K bus pull in. I had a K driver at one point who didn't even bother pulling in at the resorts unless he could see CPs from the road, so if you weren't immediately obviously a CP from a distance (like if you'd thrown on a jacket over your costume) or there happened to be another bus passing by at the wrong time, you got to wait another half hour. Some of them will visit stops out of order (which, again, throws the schedule off completely), and I kept getting one guy who, if he was supposed to go A, B, C, D, E, F, A, was just as likely to go A, B, C, D, B, C, D, E, D, B, C, D, B, A. And God help you if you question any of this.

The drivers aren't the only problem, either. There seems to be no concept of having backup buses ready, so if you're using a route with only one bus on it and it breaks down, get ready to wait a few hours. Some of the people who staff the front desk are quite rude--I remember one guy who walked onto a delayed bus and started ranting at everyone on it about what his drivers are entitled to do and how it's not their fault we're late because we're supposed to be waiting at the stop two hours before work starts (?!), with no apparent provocation at all. And when I called to report one of the incidents I mentioned earlier at the J/K transfer, the guy who picked up the phone asked if I could describe the J bus driver. You know, the one who was on another bus traveling in the opposite direction? And when I said there was no way I could possibly do that, he declared that he wasn't going to "sit here and take your attitude" and hung up on me.

In all fairness, there are some decent people both driving and at the front desk. But the point is, your life will be much better if you can avoid all this ridiculousness entirely.

 

[nikinicole13]

I did the WDWCP back in 2005. I took my car down from NC & am SOOO glad I did.

foa, Im speaking from a viewpoint of 2005. Im sure things are a little better now & I know they have a different bus system.

But yeah, the buses would break down. You had to get on a bus 1 or 2 hours before you had to be at work. Things were soo unpredictable. I also hated having to go through 5 stops to get to mine, but I know thats how it has to be done. I never had the (horrible) experience of going to Walmart on the bus. I heard it was bad trying to get so many people on the bus AND their bags.

But yeah, with a car you can go wherever whenever. You dont have to wake up as early (which youll appreciate when you work the longer hours). And if you end up working at MK, there is a back way into the CM parking lot, which saves a LOT of time! ha

 

[Joanna71985]

I did the WDWCP back in 2005. I took my car down from NC & am SOOO glad I did.

foa, Im speaking from a viewpoint of 2005. Im sure things are a little better now & I know they have a different bus system.

But yeah, the buses would break down. You had to get on a bus 1 or 2 hours before you had to be at work. Things were soo unpredictable. I also hated having to go through 5 stops to get to mine, but I know thats how it has to be done. I never had the (horrible) experience of going to Walmart on the bus. I heard it was bad trying to get so many people on the bus AND their bags.

But yeah, with a car you can go wherever whenever. You dont have to wake up as early (which youll appreciate when you work the longer hours). And if you end up working at MK, there is a back way into the CM parking lot, which saves a LOT of time! ha

Actually, not that much better. I would bring a car (ESPECIALLY for Walmart).

 

[disneychickforever]

I had a car my last program and THANK GOD I DID!

I ended up getting hurt and having to go to doctors appointments which were all the way in Kissimmiee and Maitland! No way would I get there on the buses! And these were places that Disney referred me to. There also isn't a bus to the local health clinic, which is right down the street, or the hospital.

Plus I had shifts that started at 5 AM, before the buses even started running. So if you are in that situation, you have to call for a "special" shuttle, and the one time I was 1 minute late (didn't want to drive). The lady snapped at me for being a minute late, but we still didn't leave for another hour!

Yeah, I will be bringing my car next time also!
If I didn't have my car I would have been driven insane lol. It's a nice little security blanket.

Also if you are bringing a car, buy gas IN Disney. It's surprisingly cheaper in there! The gas station is right around Downtown Disney.