Comparing car rental vs. bus transport

[jeannief]

We went to disney last year for the first time and rented a car. We loved the fact that we could go pick up anything, eat off site (Olive Garden) and the ease of getting around the parks with 2 small children. We're looking at going in April/May and now with the Magical Express we don't know if it makes sense to rent, espcially when we can put that $200 into the dining plan.
Has anyone done both and can you compare the experience? We're planning to stay at All Star Movies if that helps and our favourite parks were MK and AK, but will go to MGM, Epcot and DTD as well. And we will be using the park hopping feature most likely quite a bit.
I tried to search but didn't find anyting specific to anyone who's done both car rental and transport. thanks!

 

[usetheforceluke]

From our POV, it just depends on whether you're used to travelling by bus or not. If you don't like bus travel, then rent a car. If you can get by with resort buses, then you're wasting your money renting a car. Other people will obviously have different opinions.

Last time we were down, we rented a car for 10 days, used it to and from the airport, one trip in to town for bottled water and one trip to get to Coronado Springs for dinner. We stayed at Pop Century. All of the other times we needed transportation, we used the resort buses; they're fast, efficient and you don't have to worry about where you parked. One night we had a really late dinner at Le Cellier, and I was sure we'd have to walk back to the resort or take a taxi... When we got to the bus station at Epcot, they assigned us our own bus to get us back to the resort. Can't beat that kind of service, and I swore they knew we were coming because the bus was waiting.

We both agreed we had no need to rent a car the last time, and the next trip we're taking in December we'll use DME. The $200 will go to something else.

Jim.

 

[CharlesTD]

We drive down and other than going to get groceries and to go to the coast the car never leaves the parking lot after we arrive. The bus transportation is very good and the parks are not a big deal for the bus ride we do it with 3 kids and never have a problem.

 

[surfer_ed]

You can always rent a car for part of the trip. If you rent from Alamo, you can return at MK no charge. We rented for the first half of our trip and then returned it and took ME back to the airport. Having the car for the first few days allowed us to pick up groceries and do some off property shopping.

 

[jeannief]

Thanks everyone. I like the part rental idea, I'll try to convince DH to skip the car this time and we'll get the car later if we find we are missing it. We got a car last year so never tried the buses and didn't know how quick/often they ran.
thanks again