Disney Transportation or Drive to the Parks?

[STCIANN]

Driving to Disney, staying at the Port Orleans Riverside... Is it better to take the Disney transportation to the parks or drive our car?

 

[WEDWDW]

The general advice is drive to Epcot,DHS,DAK and bus to MK.

And WELCOME!!!!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We rarely use the car..............we find the Disney Transportation the easiest and best way to get around. The Disney transportation bring you almost to the gates, much closer then the parking lots.

It sometimes may take a few more minutes, but avoiding having to deal with the traffic and and parking and getting the trams etc. To us it is well worth it.

AKK

 

[verleniahall]

Disney Transportaton 100%

 

[hookedonears]

Disney Transportaton 100%

Agree Disney transportation all the way.

 

[matheke]

It depends on how you do the parks. If you are staying until closing, driving may be your best bet. The busses are very busy especially if there is a big event at closing such as fireworks.

If you plan to get to the parks late, you could be parking far away and lose any advantage to driving while waiting on a tram/riding in to gate area.

While many give the busses a bad rap (It was well deserved in the past) it has gotten much better over the last 5 years or so.

One problem you may encounter at PO Riverside is that there are 4 stops in the resort and you could be on the bus 10-15 minutes before it ever leaves the resort. Add more time with wheelchairs and ECV loadings.

 

[CAS239]

I'd always go with driving myself. Can't stand waiting forever for Disney buses

 

[WEDWDW]

It depends on how you do the parks. If you are staying until closing, driving may be your best bet. The busses are very busy especially if there is a big event at closing such as fireworks.

If you plan to get to the parks late, you could be parking far away and lose any advantage to driving while waiting on a tram/riding in to gate area.

While many give the busses a bad rap (It was well deserved in the past) it has gotten much better over the last 5 years or so.

One problem you may encounter at PO Riverside is that there are 4 stops in the resort and you could be on the bus 10-15 minutes before it ever leaves the resort. Add more time with wheelchairs and ECV loadings.

And remember driving to MK requires a ride on the Monorail or Ferry after parking to cross Seven Seas Lagoon and get to MK,while the buses go straight to MK through the tunnel under the water bridge.

 

[Parker Clan]

You'll find differing opinions, like with most anything.. We are the always drive people!
Not once have we used Disney transportation. We go in August and I'm not too keen on waiting outside for buses in 100 degree weather
Plus, we LOVE being on our own time- not having to plan things around when the buses come and go. We love driving so much that one summer when our transmission went on our first day in Disney, we rented a car so we could still drive ourselves around lol

 

[2Infinity&Beyond]

While it has been many years since I stayed at that resort, I do remember the bus service to be very reliable. Also, like some other posters have already mentioned, the buses will drop you off much closer to the entrances to the parks!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I like the bus system for the most part. If I can leave my car in the parking lot my entire vacation, that's a plus for me. Got to deal with other idiot drivers? Find a parking space? Walk to the gate? No, thank you.

 

[woodynjessiesmomma]

We like both. At AOA last fall the buses could get so backed up, particularly leaving the parks at night. We left HS after F! and my friend drove herself and got back to Wyndham Bonnet Creek before we even got on a bus headed back to AoA. Other times the buses went fairly smoothly. DH and I stayed at WL a month later and split the time riding the buses and driving and typically found driving nicer for us. The boat to MK was fun though. In 2012, we enjoyed the buses and boats from BWV.
This year we will have a rental car and plan to drive all except MK. We aren't opposed to buses, but this will be our first time driving to parks with kids and we want to try it.

 

[mindeola]

We park our car at the resort and never enter it again until we head home. I've never had a problem with Disney transport. We have stayed at Riverside and we got pretty luck with being the last picked up and the first dropped off most times.

 

[redsbe]

We also never had a problem with the Disney Bus system, actually amazed at how WDW can move so many people throughout the day. Never had long delays at resort or parks, except right after parks close - those full to the gills bus rides late at night are never fun, but we usually set up close to park exit and make quick exit or hang back in the park until peak crowds are gone. On vacation so why bother with extra driving and parking.

 

[Indio]

We park our car and don't get in it again until we leave to come home. We like being in the bubble and consider the buses/boats/monorail part of the experience. We're on vacation so don't sweat having to wait a few minutes on a bus. We love it!

 

[Shellyb84]

We use Disney transportation most of the time, but if we're running late in the morning we would drive to the parks to be there on time for RD. Most of our ADRs are in resorts so we usually drive to those.

 

[STCIANN]

Thanks for all the great tips!

 

[2009CAN]

We always drive. I don't want to have to wait on transportation and I really don't want to be around all the other families and their kids who are melting down. Not that my own kids don't have meltdowns, but I don't want to be around them either when they start

 

[snayak]

We stay in the Epcot area, so we walk to 2 parks (love it!) and take Disney transportation to MK & AK.

Though, for AM EMH to AK we actually ended up taking an Uber - it was like $6, we didn't have to wait for a bus and actually got to leave a couple minutes later vs taking the bus (like 10 minutes, not thaaaaaaaaaat much time)

However - our touring style is AM in a park, and then PM at Epcot (we go during FWF or FGF) to pig out at the kiosks - we weren't able to see Wishes last time we went due to MNSSHP, but did catch Fantasmic! and Illuminations (but walked back to the resort after, so no worries about crowds/waiting). We'd probably still take the bus back from MK/AK if we stayed through their nighttime shows.

 

[EagleG17]

Stay at a monorail resort and use the monorails for MK and Epcot....convenience at its finest.