Buses vs. driving your own car

[mrsklamc]

Do you find onsite transportation to be an advantage? I can see if you are say, staying at the Poly and can hop the monorail, but I'm thinking we might want our own car anyway?

 

[bhodonne]

If you know your way around the area. Car is much quicker than buses.

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[bhodonne]

Monorail is just fun. It's own attraction

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[Disworldluv]

We always rent a car when visiting the World. Primarily, it saves us time and freedom to go where ever we choose. We usually visit Sea World, Universal or Busch Gardens every visit to the World. If staying on site, you do not pay for parking at the Disney parks.

 

[sam_gordon]

There are pros & cons to both. Personally, I like using Disney Transportation simply because I like having someone else drive when I'm on vacation.

But I can also see the advantages cars have.

 

[Blessedwith3boys]

We take Disney transportation to the magic kingdom but drive to the other 3 parks.

 

[cfriend416]

The advantage is that it's free and you don't have to drive. Honestly, I have never had a problem with transportation TO the parks. However, it's awful waiting for a bus to get back to the resort when you're tired and cranky and all you want to do is go to bed! But I still don't think I'd ever rent a car. I just wouldn't want to have to drive myself so the waiting at the end of the night is worth it to me!

 

[pepe of ohio]

49 trips so far and never used a car yet... Rented or our own ...Disney transportation has worked and suited us fine... Money saver!

 

[Dacky619]

If I'm at a Disney resort I'd prefer to have them take care of all the driving. Yes it will usually take longer but there is something nice about parking at the local airport and not getting behind the wheel again until we are coming back home.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've had very good experiences with using just Disney transportation, pretty much all the time. BUT...recently, there have been more and more instances where I wished that I had rented a car! I have been late for ADRs (twice on one trip) because of overly long waits for buses. Yes, I know how much time to leave to get from point A to point B. But in all reality? It shouldn't take close to 2 hrs to get from AoA to the GF or Polynesian.
I find that using a grocery delivery service if food is needed and then just using Disney transport works very well. The few times that I have had a car with me, it has sat in the parking lot. I never took it to a park. Why did I have one then? I needed it to get over to Tampa to see my son and his wife, or I had landed in Sanford and it was far cheaper to rent a car vs a towncar service. Or, I was heading to port before or after my WDW stay.

 

[maxiesmom]

We stopped driving once the kids were all a bit older. It is so much easier and much more relaxing to hop on a bus. I like being able to look around and take it all in, instead of having to keep my eyes on the road.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We rent a car. We usually stay at the BW so we just walk or boat to EP & DS, take the bus to MK and drive everywhere else - DTD, water parks, other resorts or off sight for dining plus to & from the airport. It's faster and more comfortable.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

In the past, I've normally used Disney Transportation.

But on my May 2013 trip, the buses were slow to arrive, filled up all the time, and I found myself very frustrated with them. Getting back to the Airport on DME was an exercise in frustration. With 3 resort stops and confused people, I made it to the airport with 45 minutes to spare and used 30 minutes of that time struggling to get thru security. It was a mess.

On the family June 2013 trip, we drove our own SUV pretty much everywhere. It was so easy to get around, we didn't get lost and it was much faster.

So I'm going to try renting a car on my Sept. 2013 trip when I fly down and see how it goes.
If all goes well, I know I'll do that again.

So I say if you have your own vehicle handy, use it. You'll be much happier transportation wise.

 

[aubriee]

In the past, I've normally used Disney Transportation.

But on my May 2013 trip, the buses were slow to arrive, filled up all the time, and I found myself very frustrated with them. Getting back to the Airport on DME was an exercise in frustration. With 3 resort stops and confused people, I made it to the airport with 45 minutes to spare and used 30 minutes of that time struggling to get thru security. It was a mess.

On the family June 2013 trip, we drove our own SUV pretty much everywhere. It was so easy to get around, we didn't get lost and it was much faster.

So I'm going to try renting a car on my Sept. 2013 trip when I fly down and see how it goes.
If all goes well, I know I'll do that again.

So I say if you have your own vehicle handy, use it. You'll be much happier transportation wise.

I used to always use the Disney transportation and never could understand why people would even want to rent a car. I always thought the buses were fine and loved letting Disney do the driving. Then a couple of trips I met a friend down there who had rented a car. I finally realized why people rented cars. It was just soooo much faster, easier, and nicer---no waiting on crowded standing room only buses with hot sweaty people squeezed in there like sardines, with a bunch of screaming kids and then have the bus making multiple stops. Instead just walk out and get into a nice air conditioned, quiet car and get to the parks (or back to your resort) in just a few minutes. A car makes going from resort to resort for ADRs so nice and quick.

I rented a car down there last Sept for me and my mom (who uses an ECV). It was so easy to assemble and disassemble the ECV in just a minute or so, load it into the trunk, drive straight to the park, park in the handicap section, and just get quickly to the park, without dealing with all the looks and comments people in an ECV get, when loading onto a bus. No way would I ever use the buses again if she is with me.

We rented a car again for our Oct/Nov and also our May trip. My husband was with us on those trips, so did the driving. However, I'll be back down there in Sept and will be solo. Even being solo, I am renting a car. With all their signs, WDW makes getting around down there sooo easy. I'm carrying a GPS, but you don't really need one with all the signs.

Plus we've found we like going offsite to Universal, the outlet malls, and just for dinner. With a rental car, we just find ourselves doing more down there.

 

[KrazeeK120]

We used to use Disney transportation, primarily because it was "free." However, on my last trip, we rented a car. We flew into Sanford and got a good deal on a rental car. It was a world of difference!

I do not find it "relaxing" to be standing on a jam-packed bus full of cranky adults and crying/tired kids at park closing. Nor do I find it "stress-free" to get from one resort to another. I now much prefer renting a car and going directly from point A to point B. I'm guaranteed a seat and it's much quicker. The roads around Disney are super easy to navigate - everything is very well marked. I had also printed maps out before we went and we took our GPS with us. We never got lost once.

 

[jillianml]

We have done it both ways and what we prefer to do is use Disney transportation and supplement with taxi's when lines are long!Works great!

 

[thummyt]

I went back and forth between renting vs buses. Decided to rent a car for faster entry/exits for my trip with my boys this Sept. Plus we have a 7 am return flight and the thought of ME at 4 am pickup was more than I could fathom. Great deal on Priceline.com from Dollar!

 

[dvczerfs]

we drive down and for the most part I take Disney buses to the parks. it must just be me but it seems I end up with $300 worth of damage from car doors every time I drive to a park.

we were in a bit of a bus accident in june when we were down. we were sitting at a red light, the left arrow turned green and the pick up truck next to us thought he was driving a rig and had to swing it!!!

hit the side of the bus and kept going. felt bad for the bus driver. only one guy standing on the bus seen it happen. the rest of us felt it but that was it.

transferred us to another bus and we were on our way in 20 min. there was a cast member giving family fast pass tickets to each of us on the bus when we arrived at the mk.

 

[ktate82]

We always used to use the buses as well, until this last May when we needed a car to go to the beach. We ended up getting a rental car for the whole trip for not much more than we were going to pay for a few days. We drove every where except MK and wow was it nice! No waiting for buses, crowding for a seat, and so much faster! The trip to AK took around 7 min in our car vs 25 on the bus! We are renting a car when we go back in Sept.

 

[willowsnn3]

We live close enough to drive so we always have our car with us. We drive to all the parks, even MK. Love riding the ferry or monorail from the TTC. And like I always say.......the trams are one of my favorite rides....