Convince me to cancel my RAC & go DME

[drgnfly30]

This will be my 10th trip (as an adult) to WDW.. While we have stayed onsite & off, we have ALWAYS rented a car.. ALWAYS. DH just liked the freedom etc.. That being said, I'm going down next month for a quick (3 park days) budget trip with my DS16.

I'm a uber-overplanner.. talk me off the ledge. I keep thinking that with such a short trip do I really want to spend some of it waiting on buses?! Or do I save about $160 (car & Gas) and use Disney transportation?!

If it makes a difference we are staying at POP, no ADR's but maybe an afternoon trip to DTD; probably skipping AK this time as well.

Also, since we rent I've never done DME... we will be arriving at 10:20pm, w/ carry on only.. does that make any difference in opinions?!

 

[Lewisc]

You could supplment Disney buses with taxis for less then $160 but DME will pick you up at your resort about 3 hours before your flight. A rental car will let you leave directly from a park. I'd definitely go with a rental car if you plan on going to a park the day you depart.

 

[LWQuestie]

Are you planning to park hop or spend a full day in each park?

Do you consider $160 worth more than several hours on busses? Will it bother you to wait at a bus stop for 20 minutes?

I haven't taken DME that late, but you won't have to worry about collecting baggage, since you are using carry-on only.

 

[drgnfly30]

You could supplment Disney buses with taxis for less then $160 but DME will pick you up at your resort about 3 hours before your flight. A rental car will let you leave directly from a park. I'd definitely go with a rental car if you plan on going to a park the day you depart.

We have an 11am flight out of MCO so no park that day.

Are you planning to park hop or spend a full day in each park?

Do you consider $160 worth more than several hours on busses? Will it bother you to wait at a bus stop for 20 minutes?

We are planning on park hopping, at least 2 of the 3 days; either way, we plan on hitting Rope Drop & then heading back to the Pool during the afternoon & then heading back to a park during the evening.

Time vs. $ is my dilemma right now.. this is a 'Budget' trip so the $160 would look better in my pocket than a rental car.. if I could only find a better rate, this wouldn't be an issue!!

 

[dudspizza]

I take DME and Disney Transport..... Having a car is nice, but I don't mind the wait for buses, boats, and monorails.

Have fun.

Duds

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm a car person, myself. But, for a budget trip, I've been willing to go without. It's not the end of the world.

You could supplment Disney buses with taxis for less then $160

One caveat to this. On my last "budget" trip, I had to pick up a race packet at EWWOS. There was a bit of light rain as I was picking up my packet, and when I called the taxi dispatcher I was told that "due to weather" I would have to wait at least 30 minutes for a cab.

I was not a happy cabber.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Well since it is a short trip I would get the car. Our last trip we had a car but decided one day to take the bus and man it took forever to get from point A to point B. After that we decided to take the car.

If I were you I would sign up for Alamo Insider program which is free. By doing this you can get some great rates up to $30 off of a rental. Just look for the August car rental thread to find the coupon code.
BTW here is the link

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2633350&page=2

Also the closer it gets to your trip the better the rate can be! In May I booked a car 10 days from our trip and got a Mid size for $86 for a week.

 

[drgnfly30]

I have one reserved with Alamo (Insider) already.. $125.xx for 4 days.. I'm keeping both DME & that reservation for now.. I can always cancel at the last minute... I am holding out hope for a dirt cheap rate (2 yrs ago I scored a mid-size SUV for $17.xx per day & that included taxes etc!!

Well since it is a short trip I would get the car. Our last trip we had a car but decided one day to take the bus and man it took forever to get from point A to point B. After that we decided to take the car.

If I were you I would sign up for Alamo Insider program which is free. By doing this you can get some great rates up to $30 off of a rental. Just look for the August car rental thread to find the coupon code.
BTW here is the link

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2633350&page=2

Also the closer it gets to your trip the better the rate can be! In May I booked a car 10 days from our trip and got a Mid size for $86 for a week.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Did you use the $30 off coupon with your insider ID?

 

[drgnfly30]

Did you use the $30 off coupon with your insider ID?

Yep.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We usually stay off site & drive but the kids always pleaded for us to stay onsite so they could ride in "one of those cool Disney buses."

So for a long weekend visit, we surprised the kids with a stay at CBR. We had a car since we were doing a split stay at Universal. The 1st time at the bus stop, ds13 started pleading with us to just drive. "We would have already been there by now." After about 15 mins, a bus came and the kids were happy, esp ds10, getting to ride the cool bus.
On the way home, it was standing room only. We were packed like sardines and the buses lost their coolness that day.

My point is, you don't know if you'll like it or not til you try it. We were fine with taking the buses and it was only once being packed in like that. Most rides were easy & not crowded. Also it was during off peak time, around Superbowl weekend. Not sure that I'd want to try it for 1st time during holiday or peak travel times.

I'd keep trying for cheap rental rates. Sometimes they drop as the date nears. If it's still more than you want to pay. Try ME. After all, it's just 2 of you and it's not like he's a toddler.
Have a great trip!!

 

[chefmb]

My DH also feels that a rental car is a necessity. I have taken 2 shorter trips without DH, and used Disney buses for those trips. I used ME once---last Dec. Our plane arrived at 10, so we had to pick up our luggage and go to ME--not a bad experience at all. We enjoyed the little video you get to watch on the way to the resort, and then another video going to the airport at the end of trip. We also stayed at POP in December. Bus experiences were fine. My only suggestion would be that if you are leaving after fireworks etc, you might want to take a taxi if the line for buses is very long. We did wait quite a while--30-45 minutes---two nights at park closing. The wait seemed longer because we were tired.

 

[Singinglizzie]

For the $160 diff, I'd upgrade to one of the Mod's like POR. POR offers a boat to DTD, so you wouldn't have to drive and the boat ride is fun. I too prefer a car rental, but for such a short trip, I would go with the ME and use Disney transportation. Why not take advantage since the room rates include the cost of the transportation. Another idea is just to rent a car for 1 - 2days or 24 hour period. You can easily pick up a car from the Customer Car Center CCC with Alamo. I've done this before too and it's easy. Alamo's free shuttle will pick you up and take you to the CCC. Reserve using the kiosk and it's really fast. You might be able to score a low day rate and still save $$$. The shuttle will also drop you off at any of the parks, which I have done on last day of the car rental - I drop my kids off at one of the parks, then go return the car, then take the free shuttle to the park and meet the kids. We just bus it back to the hotel.