Do we or don't we need a rental car

[Disneymooners]

Hello all:

We are very excited about our first trip to Florida and WDW for out honeymoon and were wondering if we should rent a car??

Flying into MCO and staying our first 3 days at Universals Royal Pacific then it's off to WDW and the WL for the next 8 days.

We plan on visiting the other WDW resorts and I have heard that it can take up to 90 minutes to get from one to the other on the buses.

Is this true? if so, I'm thinking the rental car is worth the extra cost.

Can anyone give me other reasons why we should or should not rent....

thanks so much

Disneymooners YAHOOOOOOOOOO

 

[pathubia]

When we stay at universal we usually dont rent a car because you can walk to everything, but wdw is another story. I hate buses, so we always rent a car when there. We are going to the Royal Pacific next week and we are renting a car cause we are going to visit some relatives that live in Florida.

If I were you, I would rent a car.

But that is just my opinion.

Have a great honeymoon!

Patty

 

[kdibattista]

We have stayed onsite for the past 3 years and have always had a car. We did use the Disney transportation but loved having the car. It was nice when you wanted to go to the grocery store or drive to Universal. I would say go for it!!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Having a car gives you the freedom to come and go as you please. At WDW since you are staying onsite, you don't have to pay for parking at any of the parks. Sometimes the buses are nice, but other times my DW and I do a park for awhile, then head off into Orlando for a less expensive dinner.

Having a car makes it MUCH EASIER to resort hop, too. I would recommend a car -- it's worth the expense.

 

[CarolMN]

There may not be all that much of an extra charge to rent the car. You are going to need transportation from MCO to RPH, from the RPH to Wl and then from the WL back to MCO. In your situation, I'd compare the costs, and then base the decision on that. Before you decide, (f you haven't already), check out the www.MouseSavers.com section on WDW ground transportation. You may be surprised at how many discounts are out there for rental cars.

That said, we usually only rent a car if we have plans to spend time off site. You don't NEED a car if you stay on site at WDW. Yes, Disney transportation between resorts can take longer than the transportation to the parks, but it gets you there. We consider it part of the experience. You can always opt for a cab if you have an occasional "need for speed". If you are not planning a lot of "resort hopping", Disney transportation works just fine.

In your situation, I'd probably opt for a car (due to your stay at RPH and need for transport from there to WDW). When we do have a car, we drive to other resorts (if we want to eat at one) and to DD. We either walk (usually stay at BWV) or use Disney transportation to visit the parks.

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. IMHO, WDW is a wonderful place for a honeymoon!

 

[sgtdisney]

Here is another vote for getting a car. Since it is only two of you, you could rent an economy or compact car and that should be more than enough space. You will be almost spending as much on the ground transportation to and from your resorts and the airport as it would cost to get a small car. Plus you would have the extra freedom. As far as I know there is no direct resort to resort transporation to the Disney Resorts, except of course the monorail between the Polynesian, GF and CR.. You would need to make a transfer. If you are staying on Disney Property, parking is free at the themeparks, etc.. The other plus, is you could go off property to explore one day if you wanted, i.e. to Celebration or a Disney Outlet store. Ultimately it is whatever you feel comfortable with, but I personally would never be at WDW without my own car. I HAVE to be free to come and go as I please...

 

[soccer mom]

Okay, you need at least one opinion from the other side! We have never rented a car. Even when we use to drive from Michigan we always parked the car and used their transportation. We are not in a hurry to do anything (we leave that for home) I can only remember one bus ride that was horrible and that was trying to get from the luau at the Poly back to POFQ. I will admit resort to resort can be difficult, but not impossible. Now we would just take a taxi. But everything else is very manageable. You can just take a taxi or a towncar from Universal. For us its part of the magic. We like not having to drive and walk through parking lots to get everywhere. Just another way to pamper ourselves on vacation.

 

[DVC California]

Hi Disneymooners!

From one Californian to another...Rent a car. We almost always stay on Disney property and rent a car each and every time.

Why?...We enjoy the freedom of being able to go where we please when we please. I've found that as efficient as the Disney Transportation system is, it is still public transportation.

In the morning, you wait for the bus, monorail, boat to pick you up. You wait while the bus, monorail, boat to pick up others along the way. After you've toured the park, it's the same in the afternoon and evening. Although, it generally more than a 15-20 minute wait, it's still a wait.

Don't get me wrong, we don't drive to every park, every day. We usually take the bus to Magic Kingdom because that is faster than parking at TTC. And Pleasure Island is sometimes a pain to find parking. But we like to drive to the waterparks, MGM, and Animal Kingdom.

And, as CarolMN states, it is sometimes as economical to rent. You have to get from the airport somehow, and will also need to have transportation from Universal down to WDW. Even if you don't use the car, other than as an airport transfer, it might make sense.

My two cents, Steve

 

[ahoff]

My vote also goes to the rental. The costs are comparable, though usually a little more, to other types of transport to and from the airport. But you are going to several places, so it definatly is the way to go. Once at WDW the park transport is usually sufficiant. The buses drop you right off at MK, rather than the TTC. Sometimes the waits at the bustops can be frustrating, but you get lucky sometimes. Resort to resort probably is better by car also. Rentals are also good for the emergency trips to the grocery store, or any trip off-site.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We always rent a car. Aside from any waiting for the bus, you may well find yourself w/o a seat and having to stand up. Not fun--especially if you've been walking around WDW all day!
The only exception we make is once in awhile taking the resort bus to the MK. A car will get you only to the TTC--and you then need to take a boat or monorail after that. But if we've decided to eat breakfast at Kona, we take the car anyway.

 

[Disneymooners]

Thanks everyone for the good advice, we went ahead and booked a car for the first 7 days of our trip to start. Your posts were enough to convince FH...thank you. He couldn't pass up the deal I found through Alamo $166.00 for 7 days.. YAHOOOOO!!

thanks again

Disneymooners