Buses vs. Car

[ngrier13]

Hello,

I'm visiting Disney the end of October. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old.. I'm just wondering if it would be easier to rent a car rather than taking the buses especially since we will have two strollers.

Thanks.

 

[all4fun]

Which resort are you staying at?

 

[tzolkin]

we had our own car (we drove there instead of flying), but we did not use it at all the 9 days we were there (except once to go to the grocery store). we have 3 kids-- 9, 4, and just turned 2-- and had two strollers with us as well. we had no issues with the busses at all and felt it was easier to get on the bus and be dropped off at the entrance than to worry about driving without getting lost, parking, etc. we were there in may over memorial day weekend and stayed at pop century. we never waited long for a bus and they were not crowded.

i know some people prefer to drive, but we had a great experience and plan to use the busses again on future trips.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I think it's totaly personal preference. We like having our own car. I do not like the long bus rides to DTD and AK. However, last trip we tried the bus for the first time and it was not that bad. A few days we were wishing we had taken the car (we had one). We took it to dtd and were glad we did. Not sure what we will do next time!

 

[ngrier13]

We are staying at the Carribean Beach.

 

[floridaminnie]

When staying onsite I park my car and don't see it again till the end of the trip. I take the bus. I even...gulped...did the bus deal when DD was a toddler and in a jogging stroller. I must have been crazy!

 

[mrstomrice]

We drove on ds's 1st trip. I think we used our van to drive to the marketplace. We have never had a bad experience with the bus system, even with strollers. We store the stroller under the seats that are face the side of the bus and are for wheelchairs (assuming that they are not needed for that reason, of course). They fit so well there. We have even waited if the bus is really full so we can be first on the next bus to be able to sit and store the stroller. I think you can probably save your money. If you find that the buses aren't working for you, then you can always rent while you are there.

 

[GOLFDISNEY72]

We like to use our own car when we go to Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. To me it is easier and faster than taking the bus. We do use the bus when we go to the Magic Kingdom because the buses actually get you to the park. If you drive to the Magic Kingom then you have to park, take a tram, then get on the monorail.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hello,

I'm visiting Disney the end of October. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old.. I'm just wondering if it would be easier to rent a car rather than taking the buses especially since we will have two strollers.

Thanks.

Since you will be there at a slower time, I would not waste the money on a rental car. The buses are efficient and we have never had any problems using them with our 4 young children and strollers. As pp stated, we usually drive down and we have never had a need for our car. We flew down last year and we still never had a need for a car.

 

[katieandallycat]

I have a friend that just got back. Her opinion was if you are park hopping, it's better to have a car. Since you have to go back to your hotel and then get another bus to the next park.
We had a car, and I was really glad we did. Don't know if I'd try the buses next time as we alway park hop.

 

[jellybeans0607]

im not a fan of the bus system. i like the flexability of having my own vehicle.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I have a friend that just got back. Her opinion was if you are park hopping, it's better to have a car. Since you have to go back to your hotel and then get another bus to the next park.
We had a car, and I was really glad we did. Don't know if I'd try the buses next time as we alway park hop.

Oh my goodness, someone gave your friend some really bad advice - you do NOT have to go back to your resort to get a transfer to another park. There is transportation between ALL of the parks - either by bus or monorail. We ALWAYS park hop using the bus system. Example: You can walk right out to the bus stop at Animal Kingdom and catch a bus to Disney Hollywood studios, or the other way around. There is a link somewhere on here that has the exact transfer routes. I will look it up and post it. But, let me reiterate again, there is DIRECT transportation between all of WDW parks.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I have a friend that just got back. Her opinion was if you are park hopping, it's better to have a car. Since you have to go back to your hotel and then get another bus to the next park.
We had a car, and I was really glad we did. Don't know if I'd try the buses next time as we alway park hop.

This info is curtesy of DIS member ROBO from another thread:

There IS, most certainly, "direct" transportation between all the WDW theme-parks.
Most routes are via Disney Buses.

Here are the "park-to-park" Disney Transportation direct connections:

>Note: The MK buses connections arrive and depart only at TTC.<

MK/TTC> Epcot = Monorail
MK/TTC> DHS = Bus
MK/TTC> AK= Bus

AK> DHS= Direct Bus
AK> Epcot= Direct Bus
AK> TTC/MK= Bus

DHS> TTC/MK= Bus
DHS> AK= Direct Bus
DHS> Epcot= Direct Bus (Epcot Front Gate) or Boat (Epcot Intl. Gateway)
......Boats ("Friendships") make 3 interim stops at the Epcot area resorts.)

Epcot > TTC/MK= Monorail
Epcot > AK= Direct Bus
Epcot> DHS= Direct Bus (Epcot Front Gate) or Boat (Epcot Intl. Gateway)
......Boats ("Friendships") make 3 interim stops at the Epcot area resorts.)

The buses have their destinations shown on them on illuminated signs.
The bus stops are also marked with signage.

 

[coolbeans]

When staying onsite I park my car and don't see it again till the end of the trip.

That was DH's favorite part of our last trip and the part that he talks about most looking forward to next month!! He loved parking the car, rolling up the windows hitting the lock button and walking away! This trip we will be toting a stroller but I still think he is looking forward to it!

 

[SplashMountainMama]

Our first 2 trips we used only Disney transportation from POP and although there were long waits and 2 strollers going on and off of buses it didn't seem that bad and we didn't mind it too much. Our last trip this past February we had our car and used it everyday to drive to the parks and it was like Heaven! It saved us so much time compared to (in our experience at least) taking the buses. I loved how easy it was to unload everything in the parking lots and just go. It was especially nice when the kids fell asleep in the stroller and we didn't have to take them out to fold up the stroller and load then into the buses. It also was very useful for getting to our ADR's in other resorts. We would never pay the money to rent a car, but it sure was a nice treat since we had our car with us.

 

[El&Asmom]

We have done it both ways. Initially we rented a car when we stayed at AKL. We did like having a car, and it worked well but we never tried the buses.
The next trip was to CSR. After a trip to AK, getting two tired, sweaty kids strapped into carseats in a hot car we wondered why we didn't just take a bus.
We also don't like having to drag the carseats on the plane and picking up the rental car at the airport. DME is so easy and it's so nice to get off of your plane, walk onto an airconditioned bus and have someone else drive you to your resort.
If you are driving to WDW, I would probably just drive to DTD but otherwise take the bus everywhere. They are so easy and stress free except for the occasional wait. Although I really think the time of walking to your car, getting the kids settled and driving yourself is worse than sitting on a bench waiting 5-10 min for a bus.

 

[jen2207]

Oh my goodness, someone gave your friend some really bad advice - you do NOT have to go back to your resort to get a transfer to another park. There is transportation between ALL of the parks - either by bus or monorail. We ALWAYS park hop using the bus system. Example: You can walk right out to the bus stop at Animal Kingdom and catch a bus to Disney Hollywood studios, or the other way around. There is a link somewhere on here that has the exact transfer routes. I will look it up and post it. But, let me reiterate again, there is DIRECT transportation between all of WDW parks.

Here is a website that gives you options of how to get to and from resorts and parks. The wait times given may be questionable (depending on busy times etc.) but it at least highlights how to get around.

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx