Do we need a rental?

LauraLap

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
700
We're going to WDW for a week in November and I've never not had a rental car before. We were going to try this time, but now I'm second guessing. It's SOOOO convenient to have a car.

We'll be staying at Animal Kingdom Villas (Kidani) and have heard not great things of the Disney transportation from there.

We'll have me, DH, DS (5), DD (4) and my little sister (15), so we'll need to splurge for a full size vehicle.

Does anyone else rely soley on Disney Transportation? Or do you rent a car?
 
We have always rented. This time we are there for free dining, so less requirement to eat off-site, and so are contemplating a rental only for a few days of our trip. It's not a bad place to find your way around by car, and personally we love having our own space rather than battling the buses. Do keep in mind, though, getting from the parking lot into the parks will take an extra few minutes. MK seems the worst for that to me.
 
Unless you are planning on going to some other places, I think a car is a big waste. Too many times I have parked my car at arrival time and not seen it till we are leaving!

If you want a day to hit a Mall or Universal or whatever--you can always rent for the day. I did that last year-cost me $30 for the day and I picked it up at the Dolphin or Swan..can't remember which. Easy.
 
I would definitely rent since the only transporation at AK is the busses. It can take you double the time to get to a park as it does if you rent a car. Plus, you can come and go as you please and go off site if you wish. Check the rentals from the airport. They are having a special on minivans. I believe it was Alamo.
 

I can say we have never rented a car while staying on site. I look at it as a waste of money since there is transportation. Yes, it is slower than if you had a rental car but think what you could use that money for and then decide.

If it makes sense to rent than waiting a little bit longer to get to things than I say go for it. However, you could save the money and spend it on a special meal, trip to the spa or a souvenir that is going to mean a lot more to you down the road. I doubt you will talk in length about your rental car memories (unless it was a bad experience).

Good luck with your decision.
 
We have done both and while we have no issues with the bus system I find it more convenient to have a car for park hopping or if we are going to a different resort for a meal. Also, I would prefer to have a car than use ME since they pick up so early for the flight home. We usually decide by whether or not we can get a good rental rate and if not than we are okay to use the bus. We got an excellent rate for our upcoming trip but they have since gone way up and from what I've read on these boards everyone seems to be finding the same thing...I wonder if Disney Transportation will be extra crowded?
 
We've rented both times we've been there and it has been convenient for getting to and from the parks, except MK. We've got no problem using Disney transportation either and usually take the bus to the parks. This time we are going during free dining so likely won't be going off site. However, I have booked a car. Getting from resort to resort for dining can be time consuming and we are planning on several resort restaurants. At least now I've locked in a price in case prices go up. If we decide we really don't need it, I'll cancel it before we leave.

We also like DME so we rent from Dollar at the Regal Sun Resort near DTD.
 
We don't rent a car and take ME. We really don't mind the buses as it gives us an opportunity to talk to other visitors. We aren't in a rush when we are on vacation so the time factor doesn't really matter.

This last trip we ate at Jiko and were planning to take the bus to Downtown Disney to transfer to a bus to POP. An empty bus pulled up and the driver asked where we were going and then told us to get on and he'd drive us back to POP. So we got a direct bus and a great conversation with the bus driver. Doesn't happen often but it's an experience we wouldn't have had if we'd driven a rental car.
 














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