Car or bus?

[Sunshineminnie]

Hi there,

We will have a rental car for the Marathon weekend. Can anyone tell me if there is any advantage to taking the bus as opposed to driving ourselves?

We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Also, I am running Goofy so will be doing the half on Saturday. My running buddies are hitting the parks that day, so I would like to go back to my room, shower, stretch, take a nap and then catch up with them later.

I know that when I go with my family, we always drive ourselves because waiting on the bus after a long day drives us crazy. But if there is a good reason to take the bus for the marathon, I will certainly do it!

Thanks!

 

[dsnyfan21]

Hello, I drive up to Orlando from South Florida, Fort Lauderdale area. SO once I get on property I park the car until its time to go home. I DO not drive and waste more of my gas unless for some reason Disney trans can't get me there. I like someone else to do the driving. Why get you car all stinky?

The bus/monorail transporation for the races works very well and I have never had a problem with them. (Plus you get to meet and talk with some fun people who you are sharing the experience with!)

Tracy

 

[10nis]

Hi...

The negative thing that comes to mind about driving: traffic before and after the races. Also, I don't think it will save you much time if you drive.To be safe, I would make sure to be to the parking lot by 5am -- at the very latest. (If I were driving I guess I would probably leave the resort around 430). Now that we have done the bus routine that is how I feel most secure in knowing we will be to the start on time, if I drove -- I think I would be nervous.

I have read posts in previous years from people who drive to the start and hang out in their car until just before the race. If it is cold on race morning that would probably be a good thing! I do enjoy the pre-race experience -- gets me in the mood!

Riding the bus to the start is just part of the experience for us! We stay at an Epcot resort and walk back through Epcot to our resort (we bring our park pass as you must have it to get back through the park after the race). One time we did take the race bus back to the resort afterwards and that was fine, too.

Good luck. . . I tossed this idea around last time we ran and couldn't convince myself to drive. We do drive to the Expo instead of taking the bus - parking is always a nightmare!

 

[twoWDWfools]

We'll take the bus to the races to avoid being late, parking, traffic, etc. However after that we drive ourselves around. Tried using the WDW trans couple times, just not for us. I like to easily move between parks and resorts. Personal preference.

However for the races - use the trans.

 

[JimB.]

I will be driving my car to the 5K, but riding the buses to everything else.

 

[Sunshineminnie]

Thanks for the input and opinions.

However, the jury is still out for me.

If I were to drive from the Animal Kingdom lodge, does anyone have a good idea of how long it might take?

Also, what time do you need to be in your coral? How long does it take to get to the coral?

Thanks again!

 

[gsu1988]

I have done it both ways. And this time I will probably drive over again. Here are the things I liked about driving over:

1. Had a place to get in case of bad weather
2. Had a whole cooler with ice and drinks ready right after the race
3. Was able to leave right away and did not have to wait on a bus to fill up before leaving

If you leave the hotel about the same time you would leave riding the bus there is not much traffic before the race (at least in my experience). After the race the traffic was no worse than if leaving the park on a normal day because the crowd was spred out finishing and milling around etc.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Sunshineminnie]

Ahhh, I didn't think about have a cooler available. I do like to have my ice cold recovery drink....