Car Rental Or Not

[TBAKER215]

Coming In 8/26-9/1 Have Adr's For Dinner At Parks & Resorts Every Nite
1st Trip Since 1999 & Dont Know When The Next Will Be Staying At Okw Van Rental Would Cost Me $146.00 Going In With Another Family Think Its Worth It?

 

[Devil_Dog99]

The advantage to having a car is being able to go where you want, when you want. If you do not have a car, and are trying to go from your resort to another resort, you will have to take a bus from your resort to a theme park or DTD, then catch a bus from there to the resort your ADR is at. That can be time consuming (took me over an hour to get from CSR to CBR via DTD last year).

If you are going from a park to an ADR at a resort and then back to your resort, then the time it takes would not be that big a deal (unless you have tired members of your party who are getting cranky and just want to get back).

Of course, you could always take a cab.

DW and I always get a car. We don't use it much but I like the freedom it affords me.

Looking at your rate, if you are splitting cost with another family - go for it. Could end up being a nice-to-have while on your trip.

 

[M2DD's]

Were also staying at OKW at the same time. We are debating about renting a car.(We don't have a family to split it with) We are going to need the car for 13 days and can't find anything cheaper than 373$$ . So I would pay the money to spilt the car. Are you guy's eating at the same TS. If your not I can see that being a problem
Laura

 

[mrstamil]

try thrifty, sign up with blue chip and use corp. code 004M00101. I've got 2 wks. in Sept. right now... $105 wk. After fees it's $280 on airport.. $260 off airport. Also, if you DEFINATELY want a car... hotwire had 2 wks. for $260 after fees... but you can't cancel and don't know who you're renting from...

 

[PrincessMinnie28]

As long as you think you can make it fit in your budget, I would definitely rent a car. DBF and I had one on our recent trip, and I couldn't have imagined trying to make it to all our ADRs, parks, etc. without it! It just really gives you A LOT more flexibility. We took the monorail one day from the Poly to Epcot because DBF had never ridden on the monorail, and it took forever! Needless to say, that was the one time of the entire trip we rode the monorail... we never tried the buses. I'm not sure if you have kids or what ages they are, etc., but I'm sure it would be priceless to have a car if you needed to take an unplanned break in the afternoon or if something else came up.

 

[hematite153]

You know your family's patterns better than anyone.

I have been to wdw with a car and without. Overall, I didn't really notice much difference in time spent in transit. The extra 5 minutes that it takes to take a bus somewhere is cancelled out in the hour spent picking up and dropping off the rental car.

If you plan your resort-to-resort hopping carefully you can head from a theme-park or choose your bus transfer location to make a fairly direct routing.

I would also worry that sharing a car with another family would cancel time savings because you'd spend a lot of time deciding when to leave, where to go and waiting for people to get ready.

But, overall, you are the only one with enough information to know how these things will work with your family.

 

[Detailor]

We've never not had a rental car but then we've not stayed on property (our first on property stay will be in a couple of weeks - SSR - and we'll have a rental car for that trip).
It sounds to me like you're not planning to leave Disney while you're there. If that's the case then you should be just fine without a rental car. We like a mix of on-site and off-site restaurants, shopping in some of the outlets and malls, and going to non-Disney attractions in addition to spending a lot of time in Disney World. So, for us, a rental car is a must.
A van for $146 sounds like a really good deal (taxes and fees probably extra?), so if you or the other couple have thoughts of doing anything off-site that might be money well spent. But I'd strongly suggest that you join the rental company's frequent renter program and have that designation added to your rental - that will save you from having to wait in a long line and you'll be able to check-in and pick up your car in minutes.

Dick Taylor

 

[eliza61]

Coming In 8/26-9/1 Have Adr's For Dinner At Parks & Resorts Every Nite
1st Trip Since 1999 & Dont Know When The Next Will Be Staying At Okw Van Rental Would Cost Me $146.00 Going In With Another Family Think Its Worth It?

We first started renting a car before ME because the cost was usually comparable to mears transportation for 5 people. Now we are hooked because of the convenience. I will pay a lot for convenience while on vacation. We just love being able to throw the kids in the back at the end of the night and go. Since your staying at OKW you'll have a kitchen, very easy to pick up supplies for the fridge with the car.

 

[TBAKER215]

Thanx For Your Input $146 Is The Total Price & We Are Doing Some Off Site Things

 

[50 years Too!]

I think you will be very happy to have a car.
Especially to get to the hotels for ADR's.
The first trip we took was sans car. I felt like we spent so much time waiting for busses. Especially at DTD when they didn't come for 90 minutes for our hotel.
(Driver error).
It is so stress free to know all you have to do is jump in your air conditioned vehicle whenever you want to go wherever you want.
This last trip we stayed at Boardwalk Villas. Our large group split up. I was left to use bus transportation to MK. Well 3 stops later with tons of stroller loading and people standing, we arrived 45 minutes later. Could have done it in 1/2 the time with a car.
Also, if you are an AAA member go to your office and see if they will give you a pass to park closer in the parks. Some offices only give them with packages, but I've always had luck just asking.
Have fun!

 

[mgilmer]

We first started renting a car before ME because the cost was usually comparable to mears transportation for 5 people. Now we are hooked because of the convenience. I will pay a lot for convenience while on vacation. We just love being able to throw the kids in the back at the end of the night and go. Since your staying at OKW you'll have a kitchen, very easy to pick up supplies for the fridge with the car.

I agree with you completely on the convenience factor. I am also a bit of a control freak and just cannot turn myself totally over to Disney transportation. Couple that with the ability to do my own grocery shopping, knowing I can get to my ADR at the CR or the MK ontime from the Beach Club, and the fact that we like to visit a restuarant of two offsite during our stay makes a rental car a must.