Car Rental? Yes or No

[livingskies78]

Wondering if we should rent a car/van as we have 3 kids

Here is our story
We are from Victoria, BC Canada, (first time ever to Disney World), we have been to Disneyland. We will be flying in 7-8 days before we go on a cruise. We will do Disney first then our cruise

We will be staying a POR (due to family of 5) 9dd, 4ds and 2ds (which we will probably be bringing our BOB.

We will fly out Seattle as it is way cheaper, don't know where we will fly into yet. We are going on the Oasis of Seas out of Fort Lauderdale.

Wondering if we should rent a vechile as we already have to get transportion to and from DW and Ft. Lauderdale

Amtrax - is about $245 return

We are going to be doing a lot of character meals, as that is what kids love, and a lot will fall in the morning.

Have you rented before, would you do it again, where did you rent from

ideas, suggestions all welcome

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We always rent a car. If you're doing character meals, are these mostly at the parks or resorts. If they are at the resorts and they are in morning, it's going to be a slow process going from Resort to Resort for breakfast.

I pretty much exclusively rent through Hertz and I am a Hertz Gold member so I just go to the assigned parking spot and drive away.

 

[rvchat]

I actually think that since it's your first time ---to go without a car. You will see so much more of Disney this way. We do. When we use the boats and buses we're so relaxed and Disney makes even this pleasurable.

Just my opinion.

 

[figment_jii]

We rented a car for the first time in December and I have to say it makes things much easier and more efficient. We stayed at the Boardwalk, so getting to and from Epcot and DHS aren't really an issue, but it made it so much easier to get to AK and DTD. We didn't try MK, but you'd end up parking at the TTC and taking either monorail or ferry over to MK.

As the PP said, if you're planning on any early morning breakfasts or activities at other resorts, it's much easier to get there by driving (or taking a taxi). There are no direct resort-to-resort buses (at any time during the day).

I rented the car from Alamo/National. They have a counter at the Dolphin Resort (next to Boardwalk in the Epcot area). There is also the Car Care Center and many of the hotels near Downtown Disney also have car rental counters.

WDW is a lot bigger than DL. At DL, once you've parked, you can pretty much walk to everything. That is not the case at WDW. If you're going to use the bus transportation system, allot about 45 minutes to get from place to place (so allot about 45 minutes to get from POR to a park). It might be faster or slower depending on how crowded things are.

 

[Mickeygolf]

Renting a car is nice for so many things, especially when it comes to meal times. But since this is your first trip getting around might be a little overwhelming. The Disney transportation has always been great for my family, so we stick with it most of the time. Good luck!!!