bus or car

[Tomandtammy]

ok here is the big debate. . .
If we are planning on going back to our resort each day should we
a. rely on WDW transportation
b. Drive ourselves

I wanted to rely on wdw transportation, but I have heard horror stories about the amount of time it takes, would it be faster to drive ourselves? Is parking bad? Is it more stressful? Any ideas? This is our first trip

 

[robinb]

We usually drive everywhere except the Magic Kingdom. I detest the Transportation and Ticket Center and avoid it at all costs. The TTC is between the MK parking lot and the MK itself and you have to take the monorail or boat over to the MK. The busses drop you off near the MK's gate. For the remaining WDW theme parks, parking is very easy and your WDW resort parking pass provides free parking. A short tram ride from the parking lot and you're at the front gates. I will often skip the tram and just walk to the gate from my parking place at Epcot and Animal Kingdom, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

That being said, I see you're staying at Pop Century. The Pop Century bus is one of the best on property, IMO. It runs frequently and only services a single resort. I didn't wait long at all for a bus at Pop Century and even used it for parks other than the MK .

 

[pumpkinboy]

ok here is the big debate. . .
If we are planning on going back to our resort each day should we
a. rely on WDW transportation
b. Drive ourselves

I wanted to rely on wdw transportation, but I have heard horror stories about the amount of time it takes, would it be faster to drive ourselves? Is parking bad? Is it more stressful? Any ideas? This is our first trip

We've done both, and even tho we have a handicap placard (DS is wheechair-bound) so can park close, we almost always take Disney transportation!

Consider the choice, heading from our "home" at BWV, we could get into our car, park in MK parking, take a tram to the monorail, then monorail to the MK entrance, or we could take a bus (wait at most 15 mins) and be deposited right at the park entrance. Maybe we'd take the car to AK, but frankly I'd rather wait for an air conditioned bus to chauffeur us than go out to a hot car in the parking lot and then try to find my way back to the resort, park again and then finally go back to my room. If I am gonna have to drive, I might as well stay off-site (and IMO, friends don't let friends stay off-site).

Stick with Disney transportation. Expect to wait 15-20 minutes for the bus anywhere you go, so if it's less you'll be pleasantly surprised. Heck, ppl get in line any time the wait is less than an hour at Splash Mtn; what's the big deal waiting for a bus for 10 mins to get to or from the resort? And if you need to get back to the resort urgently, then hail a cab. All of it beats driving, parking and taking a tram.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

Disney transportation is really very good. It will get crowded at park openings and closings but otherwise they do a great job moving a lot of people daily. The bigger question is where you are staying. The Magic Kingdom resorts make it real easy to get to the MK and Epcot via the monorail. From the Epcot resorts it is really easy to walk or boat over to Epcot and the Disney Studios. Everywhere else you will be relying totally on buses. Keep in mind when deciding that you cannot drive to the Magic Kingdom. You must park at the TTC and either walk or take the tram to the boat or monorail to get to the MK. Most people who drive still take Disney transportation to the MK.
The horror stories you read are probably about trying to get from one resort to another. Disney transportation is not set up to do this. You must use a theme park or Downtown Disney as a transfer point and this can take a lot of time. For people wanting to go to another resort to either eat or just visit I always recommend plan on the closest theme park for that part of the day. It makes your travels a lot easier.

 

[Tomandtammy]

As noted by another poster, we are staying at the POP, Im am only concerned that if we take the WDW transportation back it will take too long to get back and forth, we only want a few hour break and I dont want it on a bus! LOL BUT I will trust you guys if you say use the transportationm i am a nieve woman who bows to you all! LOL

 

[robinb]

Tomandtammy: You can do a little of both. Take the bus to the MK and drive somewhere else. See how you like it. If the bus takes too long for you, then drive the rest of the week. It's not a biggie. What I like best about taking the bus from Pop Century is the food court is on the way out and on the way home. We carry a gallon sized ziplock bag in our backpack for our empty refillable mugs. We get a refill on the way out and one on the way back to our room.

 

[Tomandtammy]

bump!! I want more opinions!

 

[DukeStreetKing]

I vote for Disney transportation. Once I park the car at my resort, I don't want to see it again until it's time to go home. Well, actually I want to see it each time I look for it but I don't want to use it again until it's time to leave. I am never in such a hurry that I can't afford to wait a few minutes for a bus to arrive.

 

[sassydisneymom]

having just returned two weeks ago, I suggest you drive your own car. Do want to be on your own time? Or do you want to be on disney time? we too return in the afternoon to our resort for pool and rest, we rather get in the car and go when we are ready, rather then wait for disney schedule to do what it pleases.
That IMO, we did have handi plack, so we got to park up front anyway. But even if you get to the parks early, you still get front row parking.

Have fun

Karen