Do we need a car ?

[virginatlantic]

We have been going since 1992 and from that 1st time, I rented a car.

Have always stayed on site at Disney, but never used the buses as way too busy,and you cant park hop,( the monorail does go WDW to Epcot though)

Have always gone with Virgin, and yes hired the car from them, but thats just an easy option as its all done for me (the car is included in their packages,its just the insurance that is the cost), even if they are a little dearer, mind if you get a discount be it 5% or 10% as I do, that comes off the total of the insurance.

Thats my positive on car hire but,if your fine with Disney buses,and stay at Port Orleons for the Down town Disney boat that would work

 

[wayneg]

Have always gone with Virgin, and yes hired the car from them, but thats just an easy option as its all done for me (the car is included in their packages,its just the insurance that is the cost), even if they are a little dearer, mind if you get a discount be it 5% or 10% as I do, that comes off the total of the insurance.

Car hire with Virgin can work for some and not for others. Depends how many in your family, how long you are going for and what size car.
For shorter trips & smaller car there is sometimes little difference but I compared a 25 night trip, only 3 of us wanting a full size car. Virgin almost £700(before any discount) got it with a broker for just over £400.
Always worth comparing.

 

[wicket2005]

In the Unofficial Guide to Disney it lists the times taken using Disney transportation compared to cars and in the edition I got I was quite shocked at the times taken using Disney transportation. We have never stayed onsite at Disney and I think we would find it very frustrating waiting around for buses when we are used to just nipping from a to b and back to c very quickly. To us the most valuable time is the time spent in the parks and not the getting there and I would hate to be wasting time (in my view) travelling on buses.

I personally would not go to Orlando and not visit Universal, Islands and Sea World because to us they are just as important as visiting the Disney parks. We also like to go to the shops as and when we want so having a car for us is a must and well worth the price. The car also comes in handy when it rains as we can just nip to the Mall for an hour or two then go back to the parks when the rain stops.

 

[mrstamil]

NEED a car? No.... but we WANT one.

The buses provide transportation to everywhere, but... if you just missed your bus, you may be waiting in line for a while. You also may be waiting a while for wheel chairs to load. When you finally get on you may be standing. Sometimes the buses are VERY crowded. Sometimes you have the joys of an overtired, screaming child. Also, if you want to eat at another resort... you have to bus to DD or a park, and then take ANOTHER bus. Some of the bus stops are quite a walk.

We also liked the advantage of walking straight to our car, driving straight there, and being able to run to a store at anytime if we wanted to.

Check online rates at the Car Care Center on Disney. The airport is much more expensive. We'll take the Magical Express to our resort and have National pick us up at our resort to pick up the car.

I booked a week with National using the Emerald Club (free) and discount code ND1276FD and got a subcompact for $143 (american) after taxes. My personal car insurance covers rental cars, so insurance isn't necessary for us.

 

[Lizzybear]

I think it depends on how often you want to go offsite and/or you and your group's tolerance for waiting as it's almost inevitable with public transport. For me and the bf it's a car every time.. Can't be doing with waiting around for possibly packed Disney or Lynx buses or paying for taxis (hate using them in this country and abroad is no different, the bf used to work in a taxi office and shares my sentiments.. Apologies to any taxi drivers on the dis!) IMO the convenience of being able to go where you when you want is priceless. For this reason we'll be renting a car in Orlando this year despite only doing WDW (onsite) and one night at HHN.

 

[kevin harrison]

I work damn hard all year round for my holiday.

Do I want to spend a lot of my holiday stuck on buses? The answer is no.

Most of the people who ride buses, have never actually hired a car to get around. I spent an evening getting back from MK one night. Never again.

 

[virginatlantic]

I work damn hard all year round for my holiday.

Do I want to spend a lot of my holiday stuck on buses? The answer is no.

Most of the people who ride buses, have never actually hired a car to get around. I spent an evening getting back from MK one night. Never again.

Says it all, good quote, valid reasons if your in doubt. Gotta have a car for more time in the Magic