Car vs Disney Transport

[Julia Ann]

When we have been to orlando, as a couple, we have always hired a car. We now have DD and next time we go we are thinking of staying in a disney hotel probably one of the budget pop century or all stars and thinking of not having the hire car. We enjoy going to down town disney in the evenings and we also like going to universal - how reliable is the disney transportation system. i assume there is no transport to the competition universal!!! how much is a taxi to universal?

 

[disneyholic family]

When we have been to orlando, as a couple, we have always hired a car. We now have DD and next time we go we are thinking of staying in a disney hotel probably one of the budget pop century or all stars and thinking of not having the hire car. We enjoy going to down town disney in the evenings and we also like going to universal - how reliable is the disney transportation system. i assume there is no transport to the competition universal!!! how much is a taxi to universal?

the onsite transportation is very reliable, especially from the Pop Century (that has its own dedicated buses - not shared with any other resort)..

to get to universal from WDW, you'll have to take either the mears shuttle or a taxi...
a taxi is something like $40 each way...
the mears shuttle i think is $16 round trip per person.....
you call them up and they pick you up at your resort (they stop at several resorts picking people up)...

having said all that, we usually rent even when we're staying onsite....better flexibility...
and it's easier to get to the parks in a car (except for the magic kingdom).....

 

[Hilary]

When our trips have been exclusively to Orlando we haven't hired a car. We've used Disney transport with taxis to non-Disney parks, and spent far less than the car would have cost

On trips when we've had a car to visit other parts of Florida, the car sits in the WDW resort parking lot once we're back in Orlando, and we use the Disney transport. The only time we might take the car instead would be to play mini golf or maybe go to one of the water parks. We like not having to think about driving / parking / directions, and it means DH can have a drink with his meal if he wants to.

Driving or not driving isn't better or worse, it really is down to what you think will suit you and your family best.

 

[mikki.young]

We like the flexibility of a car but we do make a lot of use of Disney transport. Sometimes there are long waits but usually it is ok. A car lets us be impulsive when we want to go out to eat or to shop or if we just fancy going to a park and then on somewhere else. If you use Brits guide discount or somewhere like USrentacar you can good some good rates. I reckon we may save the car hire cost on the meals we eat outside of Disney

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We always hire a car - even if staying onsite. Like others have said we like the flexibility of just going out to eat on the 192 or elsewhere, or going to the malls etc.

When we stayed at WL we only used transport to get to MK as that was easier than the car

 

[Elise79]

We always hire a car even when onsite - like others have said it gives flexibility

We like to visit the supermarket (we buy cereal/milk for breakfast and next yr will need nappies for DD) as well as the malls and other attractions.

 

[Goofyish]

We never have a car while staying in WDW. To get off-site we use taxis or towncars.

But it really depends on how flexible you want to be and where and how many times you want to venture off-site

You can hire cars from the Disney car care centre or from the Dolphin hotel - they will also pick you up from your resort to collect your hire car. So if you thing you may need a car for a few days this may be a good option for you.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I think having your own transport is a must - even if staying on-site I would want my own car.
Couldn't imagine just being on WDW for the whole holiday so to just spend a few $$$ on taxi's just wouldn't work for us , it would just be disney overload.

For trips to the mall, supermarket , the other theme parks such as Universal which we enjoy just as much as WDW.

Guess it all depends on the type of holiday you like to enjoy, but just being able to go where you want, more importantly when you want is such a big advantage and it gives you the freedom to leave Orlando too.

I can see the advantages of using Disney transportation, certainly will be making full use of the monorail system for our Polynesian stay next year but....we still have a car.
If you shop around I don't think it is that expensive either, for a minivan we are paying £300 for 2 weeks, inclusive of all taxes (not taxi's!)
I would do that every time.

I guess also we have been lucky to have explored more of Florida in general, certainly many of our earlier holiday's were the old-fashioned 2 centre type which included the likes of Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples, Palm Beach, Sarasota and the Key's - so with that we have become confident in exploring further afield, I guess the car is much a part of our holiday as the theme park's.

 

[wicket2005]

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World gives the comparison times between Disney transport and your own car from getting to the different parks. In all cases the times spent using Disney transportation is considerably more than if you had your own car. Seeing the average length of times getting from A to B with Disney would put me off using it, time is of the essence when we are over there and the less wasted travelling the better.

Personally I would always hire a car if I had someone to drive it for the flexibility it gives us and also as Johnny says I would not want to be at Disney all of the time.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Completely agree with Johnny,I love the freedom of having a car (even though I dont drive Dp does)...we arent just limited to Disney.
It makes life easier when going shopping/travelling to St petes's,so on.

However I do see the perks in going by just Disney transport if you arent fussed with travelling too far offsite.

 

[Lizzybear]

I drove in the US for the first time last year and i'd never go without hiring a car again unless I was staying onsite the entire time (say a week just doing WDW) We did intend to use Disney buses sometimes but I only did once when I visited Epcot on my own, much easier and quicker to just hop in the car and go rather than waiting around for buses which were sometimes really full. With all of this said, though, I have done holidays (offsite) without a car so I can see it from both sides. We got by without one because we had to (I was too young and my mum wouldn't drive in the US) and there are plenty of other transportation options available.

 

[budicesi]

Just a quick question to add. I am staying on site for the first time in a couple of weeks and have hired a car as for the reasons above - other parks, resaurants and shopping. Would it cost me to park the car at the parks or is it free to those staying onsite??

 

[Lizzybear]

Just a quick question to add. I am staying on site for the first time in a couple of weeks and have hired a car as for the reasons above - other parks, resaurants and shopping. Would it cost me to park the car at the parks or is it free to those staying onsite??

Parking is free for onsite guests

 

[budicesi]

hi lizzy

thanks for that i hadnt realised that.. do they give you a permit to display?

 

[Lizzybear]

hi lizzy

thanks for that i hadnt realised that.. do they give you a permit to display?

Yep, you get it at check-in and at the parks they will just wave you through. Also when you re-enter the resort the person manning the gate will ask to see some ID (we just showed one of our 'key to the world' cards)

 

[budicesi]

thanks again..... and now another.....

I quite fancy looking around other resorts If I just show this will they let me through or are they marked with a specific resort or would I be better off getting there from a park on the buses

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Car all the way

We stayed one year at Carribbean Beach, and still got the car.

Came out of Hollywood Studios after Fantasmic, the queue for the buses was horrendous, and I thought right then, glad we got the car, we can walk to the parking lot and just drive back.

 

[AlanUK]

I think you can do Orlando both with or without a car. The choice is yours....

Taxi's are available and Mears do shuttles.

 

[higgy66]

I've been a couple of times and had a car and it's been great.

However this time we're stopping on site and as the girls are young we're only really planning on doing Disney this time with maybe Seaworld added on. So for the first time we're not bothering with a car as the girls LOVE buses! We don't use them very often here in the UK but when we do they get so excited.

We'll see how it goes and if we decide we would rather have a car we'll hire one for a week in the middle from the Dolphin or Downtown.

Having said that I keep seeing people say they wouldn't be without a car and as you'll see from my ticker there's plenty fo time to change my mind!!

 

[fulles]

thanks again..... and now another.....

I quite fancy looking around other resorts If I just show this will they let me through or are they marked with a specific resort or would I be better off getting there from a park on the buses

We did this a couple of years ago. We were staying at CBR and had already booked the next year for POFQ. We went to have a look around. The "guard" wanted to see some ID. I showed him our CBR room key but he wanted photo ID. I showed him my work's car park pass (which has a photo on) and he did accept that but I would take your passport.

Regards,
Steve