Disney Transportation vs. Rental Car?

[chip91]

Just curious for all "on-site" veterans, do you spend the $ on the rental car or just use Disney Transportation..If you have tried both, which do you find to be "quicker".. Also, if you take mid-day breaks, do you just use Disney Transportation & leave your vehicle where it was parked?

What about eating, like say your at MK & you want to break & go eat in DTD? Do you just use Disney Transportation to get there? I can understand using it for monorail resorts, wasn't sure about any other resort restaurants..

Thanks, just trying to plan ahead, WAY ahead I know, but is it ever to early to start planning for a Disney Vacation ?

Chip

 

[imlazar]

We rented a car on our first trip - we'll never do it again unless we want to travel off-site (e.g. seaworld, universal or elsewhere).

Disney bus service is quicker, more convenient, and of course, much cheaper. Keep in mind that at most parks you have to park, then wait for a parking lot tram to take you to the main gate. If memory serves me right, at MK the tram just takes you to the ticket & transportation center where you can then either take the monorail or a boat to MK.

Of course you also have to pay to park at each park.

AFA downtown disney, we just walked there from Saratoga Springs, otherwise you can take the bus. BTW, one of the things we loved about Wilderness Lodge was the quick trip via boat from the resort to MK.

 

[sue1013]

We don't rent a car, did it once and it sat in the lot all week. I enjoy someone else doing the driving while on vacation do too much at home. If you are the type person that will not get aggrevated waiting (longest wait we've ever had 20 min) then use Disney transportation. But if waiting at all will upset you then rent a car.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

We have not rented a car since we started staying at a Disney resort. WDW transportation is very convenient and they do a very good job moving a large number of people daily.
Sure it is busy at park closing when everyone is trying to leave at one. But I cannot imagine it being any easier driving to drive out with hundreds of other people. We just take our time at park closing. Last June we watched Wishes and then sat on a bench across from the castle as the mobs stormed down Main Street. After twenty minutes or so we walked slowly to the exit. By that time the bus station was very quiet.
For eating at other resorts always use the nearest theme park. Spend some time in that park before heading over to a resort to eat. This will save a lot of travelling time. The MK resorts are easy with the monorail. You can even walk from the MK to the Contemporary in just a few minutes.
From the Epcot International Gateway (near United Kingdom) you can easily walk to the many restaurants in the Epcot resort area (Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan and Dolphin). You can also get to this are by walking from the Disney Studios or by taking the Friendship boats that travel between the two parks throughout the day making three stops at the Epcot resorts.

 

[DiznEeyore]

We've only NOT rented a car once, and we said never again!! We always use our car ... we can't stand being at the mercy of the WDW transportation system. It's so nice at the end of the night to just jump into your own car rather than waiting in lines for buses (especially if you have to wait for more than one bus 'cuz they fill up so quickly at closing!). We've never encountered any kind of "traffic jam" when leaving the parks, either. We just zip on out!

Plus, we often go offsite to the grocery store or the outlets, and we like to visit the other hotels for meals, shopping, etc. Having a car makes things much easier!

 

[pepe of ohio]

We don't rent a car, did it once and it sat in the lot all week. I enjoy someone else doing the driving while on vacation do too much at home. If you are the type person that will not get aggrevated waiting (longest wait we've ever had 20 min) then use Disney transportation. But if waiting at all will upset you then rent a car.

and never used it. Now we train to WDW and do not rent nothing. Disney transportation is just fine for us. Its part of the experience and as this poster stated, I like someone else having to watch traffic and pay attention to rules. We sit back, relax and we get to where we're going, just as fast as those people using their cars or rentals and paying for the use and time to fine and park the thing. We have never waited over 20 minutes for a bus or boat but if we did, who cares, Disney isn't going to run away, we'll get there and on Disney's dime.

I bet if Disney took away all the free transortation, others that always drive their own cars or rent would complain about Disney charging for transportation service. Then they would want something else for free, like free bottled water, towel animals, MK castle views from every resort room. Its endless, enjoy what they provide and not worry about what others have, and use what they provide, the transportation is good, reliable and free, not too many things on property are.

 

[Uncle Donald]

Just wanted to correct a previous post. If you're staying on site, you don't have to pay for parking if you drive to the parks.

That said, we still use Disney transportation most of the time. The most common times we would choose to drive are going to DTD during the day (DTD buses seem much less frequent during the daytime), or if we want to dine at another resort that would involve a transfer. By the time you wait for Disney transportation twice, and the actual travel time, it could take up to an hour to get where you need to go. That's where a car comes in handy. Last trip we stayed at WL and needed to get to the Poly for dinner. I can't tell you how quick and easy it was to just drive - took less than 5 minutes. The other option would have been boat-monorail, which, depending on wait time, could have taken at least 45 minutes.

 

[hawkeyesparks]

For us Disney Transportation is the only way to do it. We're on vacation, I don't want to drive, I don't want to worry about the traffic getting around, I want to enjoy myself and relax, even if its waiting 5 minutes for a bus or monorail.

Even when we go to universal we use Tiffany Town Car to pick us up at the resort and take us their. It's just better for us.


86 Off Site
98 CONT
2000 CONT
2002 Dolphin
2004 WL
2006 GF

 

[ricka47]

Before we lived in Florida we just used a limo to get to the resort and used WDW transportation and didn't miss the car. Now, that we live in Florida, we drive to the resort, park the car, and don't move it until we drive home.

 

[rileyroosmom]

I use both now. Last trip my dd had a tantrum while waiting for a bus. People were staring (as usual) and I felt there was no way I was getting on that bus after her fit so we took the car instead. We really liked it. It was an easy drive from hotel to park. We always had a seat. Didn't have to hold a stroller on our lap. It just worked out nice. Even kept cold drinks in a cooler.

We also love the buses for what others have said. It kind of adds to the magic. This trip I'm thinking of taking the bus in the morning and then when we return at night, take the car. This way we aren't standing in a mob with tired kids waiting for a bus.

 

[daisax]

I'm one who prefers to have a car, and we travel at non busy times of the year. I've never waited more than a minute and a half for a tram (and most of the time no time at all, and we visit at all times of the day -- admittedly low season!), and I've ridden the shady tram right past the bus shelters at Animal Kingdom while people were hiking in full sun from the buses to the park entrance. That's one park where I can't imagine choosing the buses if you have your own car. In September we had a spot in the 1st non handicapped row, and the tram got us to it before the people leaving the park for the buses could have made it to their bus.

We like to dine out at other resorts and a car makes this smooth and easy. Since we do go offseason we don't generally have any traffic leaving the park --even on Halloween night at closing it was certainly nothing approaching the rush hour traffic I sit in daily for work in Boston (better road design!)

We count the tram as the first ride of the day, and it's such a relief to hop on it right outside the park, and then climb into our cars and put on the AC full blast and the radio on what we like to listen to (or total silence). It stinks if you get a space at the end of a row and have to hike it, but we've generally had excellent luck in that department, and I'd rather be walking in the heat and sun with a quiet air conditioned ride with plush seats at the end of the hike than standing waiting to ride a bus with other people and their children

 

[eliza61]

Just curious for all "on-site" veterans, do you spend the $ on the rental car or just use Disney Transportation..If you have tried both, which do you find to be "quicker".. Also, if you take mid-day breaks, do you just use Disney Transportation & leave your vehicle where it was parked?

What about eating, like say your at MK & you want to break & go eat in DTD? Do you just use Disney Transportation to get there? I can understand using it for monorail resorts, wasn't sure about any other resort restaurants..

Thanks, just trying to plan ahead, WAY ahead I know, but is it ever to early to start planning for a Disney Vacation ?

Chip

I going to play devils advocate to the other post. I rent a car every time I go down love it, love it, love it. First of all, if you stay on-site you do not pay for parking anywhere. I usually stay at OKW which means I pull up to the door of my villa. I've never had any traffic problems (I go the last week of August so I do admit the parks have a little less guest than high season) and I find it's much, much quicker than the bus system especially if you want to visit another resort, for example to get to the broadwalk from the Wilderness lodge is at least a 45 minute ride by the time you transfer.
The only time I may take disney transportation is if it's a boat to the MK

This year we are staying at the villas at Wilderness lodge, we're renting a car right from the airport. This will be our 6th trip to WDW and except for the 1st year we've rented a car.

 

[chip91]

You have all gave me great pros/cons to this issue, I appreciate it I definately will have to take not of both sides, and work something out with DH who is for renting a car, I'm for saving a few hundred dollars and using Disney's transportation...

Have a nice day everyone!

 

[5boyz]

Chip91.....sorry did not read the replys yet but just to let you know we drove down from Canada so obviously had a car.....we parked it when we got there and never used it again until we left. We went back to our cabins every day for rest and whatever and then took the bus back to the parks!!! Very easy but sometimes time consuming (don't know if spelt right!!)!

 

[1000th happy haunt]

We used to use Disney transportation. One day we were sitting at WL waiting for a bus to take us to Disney-MGM Studios. While we waited (and waited, and waited) three busses for Animal Kingdom came by, and two for Downtown Disney.

I decided on our next trip we would rent a car, and so far I haven't looked back. For us, a car is much more convenient. I don't mind driving, and my husband serves as navigator. I like the ease of getting from hotel to hotel without an extra stop in between (this was particularly important during our December 2004 trip when we wanted to see the hotel decorations). And instead of needing to allow an hour to get from point A to point B, we can get there in 10-15 minutes.

The only time I've found a car to be really inconvenient is trying to park at Downtown Disney. The parking lot there is horrendous!

If you're staying on site, parking is free.

Now that doesn't mean I always use the car. If we're staying at WL and going to the Magic Kingdom, of course I'll take the boat. But POR to Epcot is a lot faster by car.

And it's gotten to be a ritual on our last day to stop at Disney-MGM Studios for the morning, grab lunch at the Sci-Fi, then head off to the airport for our late afternoon flight.

For a week's stay we usually put on between 100-200 miles.

 

[skooniebird]

Just curious for all "on-site" veterans, do you spend the $ on the rental car or just use Disney Transportation..If you have tried both, which do you find to be "quicker".. Also, if you take mid-day breaks, do you just use Disney Transportation & leave your vehicle where it was parked?

What about eating, like say your at MK & you want to break & go eat in DTD? Do you just use Disney Transportation to get there? I can understand using it for monorail resorts, wasn't sure about any other resort restaurants..

Thanks, just trying to plan ahead, WAY ahead I know, but is it ever to early to start planning for a Disney Vacation ?

Chip

Disney Transpo all the way for us. We had several character meals that were not tin the park we were visiting that day and just used the buses,monorail,or boats to travel. It's rather fun using all the different ones and figuring out which you can use to get where you want to go.
I planned our trip for 6 adults and 5 children. I started 18 months ahead of time, and took a Disney planning class at our local community college. A big reason we decided to stay on site and just use Disney transpo was my instructor's reminder that inside the disney property it is much larger than you can imagine, or even sometimes remember even if you have been. They have more paved driving road surface than Rockford, Illinois-which is Illinois' second largest city. Disney transpo lets you foo so near entrances to parks and attractions, whereas driving yourself can lead to alot of extra walking from those neverending lots when you do find a spot. It was easy, to use their services and convenient. And like I said fun to research ahead and try to find different kinds of transpo to get different places. The kids really loved the monorail, and ferry rides. It was a big part of our experience and we didnt have to worry about traffic, or maps or anything.

 

[imlazar]

I going to play devils advocate to the other post. I rent a car every time I go down love it, love it, love it. First of all, if you stay on-site you do not pay for parking anywhere. I usually stay at OKW which means I pull up to the door of my villa. I've never had any traffic problems (I go the last week of August so I do admit the parks have a little less guest than high season) and I find it's much, much quicker than the bus system especially if you want to visit another resort, for example to get to the broadwalk from the Wilderness lodge is at least a 45 minute ride by the time you transfer.
The only time I may take disney transportation is if it's a boat to the MK

This year we are staying at the villas at Wilderness lodge, we're renting a car right from the airport. This will be our 6th trip to WDW and except for the 1st year we've rented a car.

We just completed a stay at WL, we used Magical Express to get to/from the resort, and bus/boat service to get everywhere else. The weekly rental rates for a minivan for in the $300-500 range, so we figured that was our total savings. We also saved the time/hassle of lugging our bags to the rental car and fitting of child saftey seats (the ones available from the rental car companies are generally pretty poor, and bringing them from home means more luggage).

 

[jloz]

We just came back and had a rental car since we were off property at the beginning of the trip (I-drive for convention) and decided to keep it since it wasn't that expensive. If you can get a good rate, (we found Alamo the lowest price, quick service, in terminal at airport) the get the car even if you only use it once or twice it is worth it. If not using Magical Express, you will spend about $80-90 for taxi to/from airport. It has not been determined if ME will remain free. You can register on the car rental websites for updates on rates.

We used the car several times but our kids preferred using the buses. Except for MK, the buses are a further walk then the parking lots (we had AAA Diamond Preferred parking in the front of lots) but they liked them. If you are going to other hotels for dinners, it is easier to drive since buses do not go direct.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We always use our car--last time we used a WDW bus was any # of years ago--so much easier getting around with a car and so many more options.
Would add tho that if ALL you want to do is get from your resort to a Theme park and directly back, Disney Transportation should be fine.