Do you Rent a Car OR use DME & buses? Why?

[meliss8599]

We'll be flying into Orlando and have always used DME in the past and then the buses from CBR to the parks.

We've never rented a car before, but DH might be able to get a free rental through his work.

Is having your own transportation that much faster than the buses? Or is the parking and walking to the parks just as time-consuming as waiting for a bus?

What has your experience been? Is it worth it to rent a car?

 

[eksb327]

We prefer renting a car over using the provided transportation. It enables us to maximize our park time, go to off site restaurants or the beach, and be a bit more flexible with our day. We don't have to allow additional travel time when making an ADR at another park or hotel because the bus has to make x amount of stops. We also like having a bit of space at the end of the day instead of waiting a cycle or two to be transported by bus, oftentimes full. A disadvantage is that we park in the lots whereas the bus is door to door service, but that usually comes out in the wash.

You can always rent a car for a day or two and find out if it would be useful to you. There are locations on property that do just that.

 

[pieface]

I always rent a car I like the freedom of going where I want to when I want to. The bus is faster if you go to the magic kingdom since you by pass the tram and monorail. All the other parks I have been able to park close enough to walk into the park. It is nice at the end of the night to walk to your car sit down and not have to wait for a bus or stand up the entire bus trip.

 

[monorailrabbit]

We use DME and buses. We stay on property and never leave so it's nice for us to be able to save the money we would be spending on a car on treats in the park It's not my favorite squishing in lie anchovies at the end of the day onto a super crowded and hot bus, but it is nice to not have to walk to a parking lot or walk a long ways as well. I also HATE driving anywhere with my husband when we are on vacation. We get in the nastiest fights and swear as soon as we figure out where the heck we are going and get there we are filing for divorce hahaha. Granted when we arrive we are fine (still happily married) but the less we have to worry about getting lost and local drivers, the better

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

We'll be flying into Orlando and have always used DME in the past and then the buses from CBR to the parks.

We've never rented a car before, but DH might be able to get a free rental through his work.

Is having your own transportation that much faster than the buses? Or is the parking and walking to the parks just as time-consuming as waiting for a bus?

What has your experience been? Is it worth it to rent a car?

~It's DME & Disney transportation for us! I've never rented a car & don't care to know what I'm missing. I will call for a car, but I've only had to do this a handful of times when changing resorts and sometimes late at night from DTD. Have fun!

 

[CdnKayDee]

For us renting a car is well worth it. If you look at car vs bus to the parks the car provides a more consistent time to and from the parks and no stopping at water parks or other resorts and of course no standing which means of course you never have to wait for the next bus. The draw back is you have to navigate to the parks remember were you parked (take a picture) and carry keys around and of course no drinking.

 

[JenluvsDisney]

We always rent a car and the extra expense is WELL worth it IMO. No need to do any math to figure out at what point we need to wake up so we can be at a bus stop in time to reach the parks at rope drop. We feel we save SO much time by not having to wait for buses. We always bring our portable GPS and plug it into the rental car and it's SO easy to get around the parks. Car rental also allows you to easily resort hop if you want to try any meals at a place other than where you're staying. There's also LOTS of cheap dining options offsite that we can easily drive to (our favourite is "Sweet Tomato's" in the Crossroads Plaza across the way from the Doubletree resort). If you want cheap souvenirs there's also a Walmart not too far away that has a HUGE section dedicated to Disney souvenirs.

After experiencing Disney with a rental car I would NEVER go back to using their transportation system again.

 

[ttintagel]

Not having to drive is one of the top three reasons I choose a WDW vacation. I can't imagine going on a vacation to relax and have fun, and voluntarily adding the stress and headache of driving - especially on unfamiliar highways!

 

[bjscheel]

We use the busses because DH drives for a living and anytime I can arrange a vacation where he is not driving in unfamiliar territory is alright by him. We generally have pretty good luck with not having to wait long for a bus.

 

[FancyNancy]

We use the buses because a lot of trips it's just DD9 and I and I am directionally challenged! The buses allow me to not have to stress about how I am going to find my way from Point A to Point B.

 

[Samdari]

Not having to drive is one of the top three reasons I choose a WDW vacation. I can't imagine going on a vacation to relax and have fun, and voluntarily adding the stress and headache of driving - especially on unfamiliar highways!

This post is a perfect example of why this is such a personal preference issue.

For me, getting familiar with the two main roads that lead to everywhere you need to go at Disney World takes one trip.

Also, driving is no stress to me, but being free from dependence on someone else for transportation is liberating. However, for me waiting at the bus stop NOT KNOWING WHEN THE BUS WILL GET THERE, is excruciatingly stressful. Even if it is a 3 minute wait, those three minutes completely ruin the experience for me.

As far as time, driving is probably slightly faster going to most theme parks than the buses, slower going to the MK, and MUCH faster to go anywhere else (DTD, water parks, other resorts). Over a typical week, if you go to MK twice and the other parks once, the time probably evens out.

So, the best advice it, figure out which stresses you out the least, driving or the stresses involved in using public transport, and use that.

 

[BlackMagicWoman]

We use DME and buses. I don't want drive on vacation. I'm used to public transportation at home so the waiting doesn't bother me.

 

[ilovemk76]

We drive in heavy traffic all week. We are on vacation and enjoy not driving.

 

[wiigirl]

We usually rent a car....I love the freedom.

 

[SpaceMtMan]

I find when you stay at a Disney Hotel and are going to Disney Theme Parks, its nice to be totally immersed in Disney on your vacation. If we're driving we have to think of gas, where to go, parking, etc. where as on the bus system, Disney does that for us

 

[MaxsDad]

Always a rental car for us. In 2007 we were going from MK to DHS and were waiting in a very long line at the MK for a bus. Some guy cut the line and tried to get between my sister and her husband as we were boarding the bus. When my BIL gave him some grief about attempting to split up the guy almost started a fight with my BIL. When we got to DHS this guy got off and was waiting for my BIL, I saw one of his friends waiting behind the door for my BIL. I warned him and we waited for everyone to get off and the two clowns just gave up and left. But we spent the rest of the night in DHS watching for them to make sure we didn't get jumped.

I know it is one example of a bad experience but it was pretty much all I needed since I wasn't a big fan of the buses before. I hate the waiting, the packed in like sardines, and now that we have a child to take with us the car is even nicer because she can, and usually does, fall asleep in her car. Easier to pack up the stroller, a nice place to leave a change of clothes, jacket etc. I don't mind paying for the rental, I usually can get some nice discounts. (check mousesavers for codes) The extra flexibility is nice as well. MK isn't an issue since we own at BLT and have stayed there our last two trips. Although next trip is AKL so that could be an issue again. I also find that after dealing with DC rush hour traffic driving around WDW is a breeze and doesn't bother me. We also have the advantage of using handicapped parking on our last trip and will have it again on the next one. In most of the parks it means you can park within walking distance so no waiting for trams. That makes a difference for us as well, but I realize that isn't the case for everyone.

If you are comfortable with driving, and can get a free rental I would say try it out and see how you like it. May never go back to disney transportation. Make sure to check your route from the airport though, might need to pay tolls, have quarters on hand.

 

[Zife]

I prefer to rent a car, but have used Transportation in the past (never used DME though). We always stay on-World, so we do have the option to use Transport.

Renting a car is a big part of the trip for me. I love picking my car out at the beginning of the trip (I'm with National's Emerald Club, so I pick from the 'Aisle,' and literally skip along the row of cars to find the perfect one), I like being able to go off-World if I want (though that doesn't happen often), and I like having that bastion of privacy for the trip back to the Resort at the end of the day.

Oh, and I like driving a car that isn't mine, finding out the features it has that mine doesn't, and being able to 'abuse' it more than I would my own car.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I drive everywhere at home and I like the break. I do drop offs and pick-ups for school and daycare and commute 40 minutes each way to work and drive us everywhere else we need to go.

One of the things I love about going to WDW is how they include that transportation plus the luggage service with DME. Even if we are not going to Disney World, I try to pick a place where I can either rely on transportation or stay at a resort that has everything so I don’t have to drive while we are there.

We didn’t fly down this time as the plane tickets didn’t work out financially. Even with stopping overnight each way it was $300 less to drive us down. I parked at Pop and we took the buses the entire time. I did not drive again until it was time for us to come home.

 

[LCoulter]

We prefer renting a car. We have relied on Disney transportation a few times and it drives us nuts. We hate waiting for the buses, hate sitting or in many cases standing because there is standing room only.

With a car rental we are able to eat off property for a few meals and make a trip or two to the grocery store or anywhere else that we want to go. We know we will always have a seat in the car.

The one thing about the car that does drive us crazy is parking at the parks can sometimes be a long walk. We found that if you get to the park really early, when they are just starting to park cars, they park them toward the front of the rows closest to the park entrance but at some point, they switch to filling each row so some end up at the furthest end of the row. Because of this, we found that it is best to get there really early because if they start filling the rows, we ALWAYS end up about 10 spaces from the very end of the row.

We also found that sometime in the very late afternoon, they stop directing cars to park which allows you to go right up front to a space that someone else has vacated.

Even with a car and depending on where we are staying, we may use WDW transportation sometimes. One time we got a really good parking space up front so when we left the park, we left our car and took the bus since we were coming back to the park later that evening anyway.

 

[kschafer]

As you can see, it's very much a matter of preference. We have done trips both with and without a car. We will be driving on our next trip and the only time I anticipate using it will be when we go from resort to resort, trips to the parks will likely be by bus.

Sometimes you wait a bit and have to stand on buses but we still prefer to not have to drive on vacation! We will choose to use it for resort to resort because of the time factor necessary to transfer at a park.