bus or car?

[sditty]

I know this has probably been asked a thousand times but be gentle with me as this is the first time I have planned a disney vacation. We have been to Universal 100's of times and finally after some help from Grandma I have convinced my boys to go to Disney this May.

So, with that in mind we are staying at POR and driving down. I am trying to figure out if it will be easier to drive to the theme parks and such each day or take the bus. By easier I mean whatever will get us there fastest so that DH will not complain about how long it is taking. He is super impatient. But he pays so we cant leave him home. LOL

Thanks for any insight and help!

 

[AJKMOM]

Parking at the theme parks is free if you stay onsite. We usually rent a car at the airport, and drive to all theme parks except the Magic Kingdom. For first timers- if you aren't in a hurry, you might want to drive. After you park your car, you get on a tram to the monorail or ferry. Then you are taken to the main gates. If you want to experience the monorail, that's the way to go. If you take a bus from your resort, you get dropped off at the main gates.

Other than that, we like having a car at the park in case we want to go somewhere else, like Kissimmee, instead of heading back to the resort first.

 

[geishagirl81]

We drove everywhere from the All-Star hotel in our van EXCEPT MK. The parking situation there is crazy. Park your car, take a tram to the monorail, take the monorail to the gate. Hassle. The bus drops you off at the gate. So I'd drive everywhere but there.

It was nice to leave when we wanted with no wait.

 

[Robo]

There is the one camp that says, DRIVE,
and the other that says, BUS.

I will say that MK is the one park with the "unique" situation of guests who drive must ALSO take a monorail or ferry boat between MK and the MK parking lot.
Resort Guests taking Disney Transportation are driven to/from the MK front gate area.
-----------------------------------------------

Here are some additional threads about this:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2289816

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2280680

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2278981

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2259290

More to follow.




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[rwdavis2]

As a side note, depending on the time of year Disney is not a place for the impatient. Have DH prepared for a wait somewhere. It's inevitable, even in January.
Have fun,
BD

 

[KingdomKeepersFinn]

I always take the bus. Some years it is right on time and works out well but some years its slow and late. You will have to be the judge when you get there

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Car - go on your time!

 

[dd50]

I stayed on property (Pop) last year and loved taking the buses instead of my car. I got spoiled going to MK because in Dec we stayed at the Hilton DTD and you have to then take the ferry or monorail and I got use to being taken right to the park.

 

[vettechick99]

We like taking the buses. Sometimes you save time, sometimes you don't. You aren't going at peak times so it's unlikely you'll have to fight for a seat.

The downside to driving a car is that there is still a major hike to the parks. You park andn then have to walk or take a tram to the front. At least with a bus you can go straight to the front.

I say go for WDW transportation.

 

[sditty]

Thanks so much guys for the responses! I appreciate it. I was leaning towards driving just because it would give us a little more flexibility.
I am afraid I made DH sound horrible but he really is ok with waiting once he gets there but he is of the child in a mans body type that keeps asking are we there yet. Once he gets there he is fine but the getting there is always fun.

Thanks for the links to the other posts and sorry for asking the same old question again. You guys are great for answering though.

 

[cbg1027]

I drive and I use both! Just depends on where and when I'm going.

If I'm going to the MK, I almost always take the bus. I like that the bus takes you right to the entrance. If you drive, you still have a long trek to the entrance once you park the car. So even if I have to wait 20 minutes for the bus, it still feels faster and is less hassle than driving and parking at the TTC.

With the other 3 parks, I usually drive. This also depends on my room location. If my room is closer to the bus stop than my car, I might opt to take my chances with the buses.

Also, when I think I will be leaving the park plays a part in the decision. If I'm going to leaving around closing or right after fireworks, I'm more likely to take my own car since I won't have to wait to board it. If I think I will be leaving at some other part of the day, I might take the bus since I probably won't have to chance not getting on the first one that comes.

Sometimes it's nice to sit back and let Disney do the driving.

So assess the situation on that particular day and time, and then decide! No need to only use one or the other.

 

[Johnson1220]

I know this has probably been asked a thousand times but be gentle with me as this is the first time I have planned a disney vacation. We have been to Universal 100's of times and finally after some help from Grandma I have convinced my boys to go to Disney this May.

So, with that in mind we are staying at POR and driving down. I am trying to figure out if it will be easier to drive to the theme parks and such each day or take the bus. By easier I mean whatever will get us there fastest so that DH will not complain about how long it is taking. He is super impatient. But he pays so we cant leave him home. LOL

Thanks for any insight and help!

We have been many times and it was not until we had our son that we realized the value of having a car and getting a jumpstart on things. Now when we go a car is a 'must.' The Disney transportation is fine - we just prefer to go a bit faster. Plus if you are staying on property the parking is free. We stayed at POR in sept 09 (loved it btw) and saw that the buses went to both POR and POFQ before heading out ... it seemed that there were always people waiting for the bus.

 

[lorraine31]

Driving is usually quicker, as you can leave the park whenever you like.

We stay at a hotel in Downtown Disney, where a bus service is offered. Those buses run every 30 minutes, so if you just miss one, you can have wuite a wait. The car is a better option of you want to avoid this.

Not to mention that driving can be a little bit confusing and the roads are a bit like a maze. The parks are actually quite far apart and it can be quite tricky getting from park to park. We tend to have every person in the car hunting for signs to tell us where to go, where the bus drivers know all the short cuts and exactly where to go.

 

[si-am]

sditty, Don't feel bad about the question or that huge list of links. This board would shut down if it weren't for people essentially asking and talking about the same things over and over.

I personally prefer bus. There's something nice about parking your car at the hotel and not having to worry about it again til time to go home. I enjoy being chauffeured around on vacation, even if it is by bus.

 

[Missytara]

I know this has probably been asked a thousand times but be gentle with me as this is the first time I have planned a disney vacation. We have been to Universal 100's of times and finally after some help from Grandma I have convinced my boys to go to Disney this May.

So, with that in mind we are staying at POR and driving down. I am trying to figure out if it will be easier to drive to the theme parks and such each day or take the bus. By easier I mean whatever will get us there fastest so that DH will not complain about how long it is taking. He is super impatient. But he pays so we cant leave him home. LOL

Thanks for any insight and help!

If your husband is super impatient, and doesn't want to wait at all, then I think you have answered your own question - he is going to complain about the buses no matter what. It sounds like if he waits even five minutes, he is going to already have an attitude.

Here's what I suggest - let him use the car when you arrive. You and your children leave the driving to the World.

You can use the buses, let him drive the car to the parks. Let him see how much/little time he is saving by having a car at his fingertips, while you are enjoying leaving the transporation to others. I think he may be surprised what a real vacation is - no hassle in driving - I have been totally spoiled by Disney.

 

[sditty]

Well while I am super tempted to leave him to his own devices and send him with the car while we relax in the bus I think I will take the car the first day as we are going to Epcot and see how it goes from there. My husband drives over 300 miles a day with his job so I kinda get why he gets antsy when someone else is doing the driving. I appreciate all of you guys taking the time to answer.

It is so overwhelming to try to start planning this as I want it to go good so bad so that my boys will want to go back. It does not help that I have been bugging them for a year to go and then when another vacation fell through last week my husband says well you have always wanted to go to Disney so lets just go there. I was like and then I was like That is not enough time to get this done right. But I am game and I will get it done. Thanks again guys.

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

snip

Which one of the 34 links you posted would be most beneficial to the OP?

 

[Robo]

Which one of the 34 links you posted would be most beneficial to the OP?

I broke down the list because some were having trouble reading it.

Here are more.



http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1821740

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1818367

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1814126

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1789117

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1783096

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1852750 (Poll)



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[FlightlessDuck]

The past three times my family has been to WDW, we have had our car.

But we always leave it at the resort parking lot and take the bus.

I can understand why some people like to drive (they don't want to have to wait for a bus, need to get somewhere by a certain time, etc).

The advantages to taking a bus include not needing to find a parking space, not needing to remember your parking space, saving on gas, saving on wear and tear of your vehicle, and reducing your carbon footprint by using public transportation.

 

[anthony2k7]

A couple of other thoughts in favour of the buses are that your days are likely to be long and although you say he drives a lot of miles each day it is kinda nice when you haven't got to somehow be awake enough to safely drive back at nights. Plus it gives him the option of a beer or two