Best Transportation Options for Getting Around Disney?

[jacobleo]

Planning a trip to Disney always comes with the big question—what’s the best way to get around once you’re there? Some people prefer sticking with Disney’s own transportation system—buses, monorails, and boats—since it’s free and connects most of the resorts and parks. Others feel more comfortable renting a car for extra flexibility, especially if they want to head outside Disney for shopping or dining. For those who’ve been recently, how reliable did you find the buses and Skyliner during peak times? Is it worth waiting, or does a rideshare/taxi end up saving more time in the long run? Families with kids and strollers especially might find one option more convenient than another.
Would love to hear what transportation choice worked best for you—Disney’s own system, car rental, or rideshare—and why.

 

[sam_gordon]

Even when we've driven down, we've always used Disney Transportation once on site.

Although I don't have a problem driving, and can read a map/use a GPS, any time I can have someone else drive and deal with all of the other idiots on the road, the better. Other benefits... busses & monorails (can't vouch for skyliner) are already cooled down, you don't have to wait on AC to kick in. You don't have to worry about finding a parking spot. Pickup/drop off is generally close to the resort, don't have to walk to/from the parking lot.
Added bonus, it's a lot cheaper. Even if you have your own car, you are spending $$ on gas (or electric).

The cons... you may have to wait to board the transportation. To me that seems a strange thing to complain about. You're at Disney. You KNOW you're going to be waiting... for lines, for park admission, for trams to get you closer to your car, for food, etc.
You will be on transportation with others, possibly standing room only. That doesn't bother me. I can either be friendly and outgoing, or stick to my party. Again, you're in parks & lines with tons of other people.
You may have to wait for your available transportation to show up with room for you. But, when you're leaving a park to get to your car you have to wait for the parking tram.
And it is probably slower to use Disney Transportation. The length will depend on where you're starting from, where you're going, and when you're going.

Ride share/taxi, we've never used. But if I was going to do that, I'd probably just rent a car.

It's definitely a personal decision.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Have been here for 10 days and used Disney’s free transportation exclusively and it’s been great!!

Occasionally private transportation would have saved time (Epcot to Pop at park close) but honestly, that’s the only time.

Skyliner: There are a great number of guests who require assistive devices so at park close they ‘regular’ Skyliner line is used by gusts with scooters, wheelchairs, etc as the wait would be far too long for them if they all needed to wait for the cars that pull into the area where they normally board. Due to this the Skyliner needs to come to a full stop often to load/unload these guests into cabins that are normally moving. Twice this week the Epcot to CBR portion took almost 45 mins due to above but it’s understandable, just long.

That is the only time I feel private transportation would have saved a significant amount of time.

We’ve met so many wonderful people using Disney transportation and next visit we’ll use it exclusively again!

 

[kanerf]

Parking at the parks is now around $30 a day.

 

[eticketplease]

Parking at the parks is now around $30 a day.

Since the OP mentioned using Disney Transportation I'm assuming that means they are staying on site so this doesn't matter as resort guests park for free at the parks.

 

[eticketplease]

Planning a trip to Disney always comes with the big question—what’s the best way to get around once you’re there? Some people prefer sticking with Disney’s own transportation system—buses, monorails, and boats—since it’s free and connects most of the resorts and parks. Others feel more comfortable renting a car for extra flexibility, especially if they want to head outside Disney for shopping or dining. For those who’ve been recently, how reliable did you find the buses and Skyliner during peak times? Is it worth waiting, or does a rideshare/taxi end up saving more time in the long run? Families with kids and strollers especially might find one option more convenient than another.
Would love to hear what transportation choice worked best for you—Disney’s own system, car rental, or rideshare—and why.

If you are just trying to get to the parks the complimentary transportation options work well. Yes you may have a little bit of a wait and have to allow some extra time but all in all they are a great way to get to and from the parks.

If you are doing a dining reservation at a resort however I would avoid it and drive or take a uber/lyft/minnieVan unless it is something at a hotel connected to a mode of transportation for where you are currently staying. For example if you are at AoA or POP and had a reservation at Topolinos the skyliner would be fine. If you had a dinner at Ohana and were staying at Contemporary or BLT Monorail but if at Grand Floridian take the boat as you would have to circle almost the entire monorail to get to Poly.

 

[easyas123]

While we use the buses & monorail on occasion, we utilize Ride Share a lot as well. Why? It's quick & reliable and gets us from point A to point B in no time.

 

[_19disnA]

If you are new to this forum you will find a lot of 'what is best......' types of questions and the reality is the answers are very subjective based on personal preference. Where you are staying and which park(s) you plan to visit makes a difference. If you are only going to MK, then staying at a monorail resort makes sense to get you to/from the park. However, if mostly visiting Epcot/HS then staying on the other side of the property wouldn't be my first choice.

Some people enjoy certain forms of Disney transportation more than others. Some dislike buses or waiting for them, others don't mind. No one Disney resort is closest to every park, so your budget and where you actually plan to go makes a big difference since the property is huge. Taking one of those online taxis may see 'fastest' but likely at the end of the night when a park closes, you won't be the only ones attempting to exit that way. The cost to do that a few times quickly adds up and likely would cost more than renting a car (assuming you flew to Disney vs driving from home).

 

[jimmymc]

I rented a car once because I was doing a day trip to Universal, but I don't think it saved me any time over using Disney transportation. I use an occasional Uber to get from resort to resort, but otherwise stick with Disney transport.