Do you drive to the parks when staying on site?

[sharonk]

We like to have the flexibility of having a car and we use it occasionally, depending on where we're going.

Personally, I HATE Disney's busses. Our last few trips have been with infants and toddlers, and folding a stroller (sometimes with a sleeping baby inside) and getting onto a bus while holding the stroller AND the children can be a nightmare. And if there are no seats available on the bus, it's even worse.

When it's crowded, I hate having to wait 20 - 30 minutes for a bus sometimes.

If non-Bus Disney transportation is available (monorail or boat) we always take that. But if the alternative is a bus, we're usually happier driving our own car.

Sharon

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

We don't use our car to go to parks from our resort. We do use our vehicle to go to DTD or another resort for dinner, etc.

 

[DisLUV]

We dont drive to the Air port in New Orleans (that is what inlaws are for) and we dont drive from the airport in N.O to the Orlando Airport (that is what the pilot is for, unless you count me playing pilot while the plane is talking off) and the town care drives us form the airport to either the WL or POFQ. The buses take us where ever we want and then the towncar picks us up and takes us back to the airport and then the plane flys us to New Orleans. AND finally the inlaws pick us up and take us to our front door.


Now here is the hint: The inlaws want to see their grandaughter and that way they get to see ABBYMOUSE when she leaves and when she gets back

 

[mikesluss]

We always rent a car ever since the mears shuttle oooohhh boy dont get me started on that being able to drive straight to your resort . as mastercard would say priceless

being able to drive to ps's at other resorts and not go to dtd or ttc a big plus also taking kids back when others dont want to leave big big plus
we found ourselves using it quite a bit so for us it works very well maybe when kids get older will try the busses again

 

[BAST]

We always rent a car and drive it to the parks. I prefer having a car at WDW and find it a break even in terms of cost - I do not have to pay someone to drive me to/from the airport and I can make a couple of grocery stops to buy breakfast foods/ soda and water for the parks.

I like to use a car to get to the parks (we usually do a split resort stay - 1/2 at an Epcot resort, 1/2 at a MK resort) that I cannot walk to. I find it easier to get to dinner reservations (we usually do Boma after a visit to AK) with a car. I also like the freedom of deciding on the fly what we will do - it is very easy to head to DTD with a car, not so easy with a bus.

That said, on our recent trip (10 nights in August), I put only about 175 miles on the car, which included back and forth to airport and two trips to grocery stores. Since we stayed onsite the whole time (no SeaWorld, etc.), I did not use the car that much. But I still like having a car and will continue to rent them in the future.

 

[chainkid]

We usually stay at the BWV so we ride boats or walk to Epcot and MGM but we always take a car to AK,DTD, other resorts for dinner and usually park at T&T and catch monorail to Magic kingdom. The buses are great when the young adults want to stay later than the rest of us at DTD or linger in the parks but you can't beat a van or car for getting from place to place quickly. We also like to shop offsite for groceries so a car is a real luxury, but then I refuse to wait for anything LOL so having a car is a great stress reliever in my family.

 

[Planogirl]

If we have a car, we drive to DD or any hotels and go offsite too. We generally use the busses to get to the parks. The park busses are OK except during peak hours.

 

[cinmell]

We have never had a problem with the bus system at WDW (for the most part) but last May we rented a car b/c we were travelling with our 2 year old daughter and my mother who has knee troubles. We loved having the car and it wasn't a hassel at all. The trams in the parks were quick and we didn't have to wait for a bus when we left the park or worry about the buses being too crowded at the end of the night. We especially LOVED having a car for Downtown Disney. I think the buses take forever to get from the resort to the Downtown Disney area. We will be renting a car again for our next trip.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

We drive to the parks. There is no charge for parking when you stay onsite.

 

[sherry8253]

We drive most of the time. The only exceptions are MGM & Epcot when we stay at the Swan & MK when we stay at WL. Other than that it is the car for is.

 

[DizneeCM]

We like to rent a car and drive to the parks. The only time we take Disney transport is when we're at the VWL (boat launch to the MK).

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by Blondie
9 onsite visits and we've never driven to the parks. We always rely on Disney transportation! DH has to travel a good distance daily to get to work, so the last thing he wants to do on vacation is drive!
That being said, we always have a rental when we fly to Orlando. Even if we only drive it twice, it's peace of mind knowing a car is available when/if it's needed.

I'm with Blondie here! OK, maybe we might drive to AK, and we would probably drive to the Waterpark if those interested us yet or to another resort for a meal (like Jiko! Yum); but the hassle of driving between parks when we have clean, well-maintained, convenient and relatively fast bus, boat or monorail transportation available for free just doesn't make sense to us. Of course we have the added complication of a wheelchair-bound child; believe me rolling on to a bus and getting strapped down etc then getting dropped off right at the entrance is a lot easier than loading, driving, unloading and wheeling all the way over to the park entrance (even from the somewhat closer handicap spots).

We will have a rental most times we are down there, since we are in DVC units with a full kitchen and will want to get groceries, in addition to back and forth to MCO. But I seriously doubt we'll be driving it to any of the parks.

 

[Rpsemont]

Since our first visit we have always rented a car and most times drive it to the parks. Usually the only time we use disney transportation is if we're splitting up and going two directions at once. Personally, I have found that driving and taking the parking lot tram has almost always felt quicker to me than taking the bus, but maybe I just have rotten luck with the busses. Plus we do alot of resort hopping so it comes in realy handy there.

 

[CindyAnn]

We use the monorail or boats, but never take the Disney bus system. DH takes the bus and subway to work every day, so far prefers to drive around WDW on his own terms. Many years ago, on a 3 day vacation before kids, we didn't rent a car, but WOW did it take us ages to get around.

Love the car!

 

[loveswdw]

We usually take Disney Trans. but our last trip I was 7 months pregnant so we drove almost everywhere! I didn't want to fight with the bus crowds-- we stayed at BCV and sometimes the buses can get really crowded! We did take the bus over to MK one day and that was it for me... it was crazy! Though, that was our only trip to MK on that vacation. BCV is so close to the back entrance at Epcot that we walk to there. We didn't even go to MGM that trip. We drove to AK and took the parking lot tram which wasn't bad at all. Plus if you stay at a Disney resort, there's no parking fee so that was great too. We always drove to DTD but it can be hard to find parking unless you go early in the day.

So a lot depends on your particular situation. Our upcoming March trip we will be renting a car and driving. This will be our first trip with our baby (he will be 16 mos. old then) and I don't want to fool with a stroller on the buses. They always seem to look like a pain for parents trying to load them on the bus. Of course, I've never been one of those parents until now!

loveswdw