Do you used your own car when staying onsite?

[skiwee1]

We drive to WDW but that is it. I park the van and then do not see it until 9-10 days later. I always use WDW transportation to get me where I'm going. We don't even go off property for any reason for the entire trip.

 

[CamColt]

We had a car with us on our honeymoon and it stayed in the parking lot the entire trip. We never moved it once.
Last year we had our car with us again. The only time we drove it was when we moved from ASMO to Poly for our last night. This trip will probably be the same situation.
I would never bother renting a car if we didnt have our own with us. I should add that once we are at Disney, we are at Disney and do not leave property(unless its to go on a cruise ).

 

[travelitis]

I've done both and prefer the car. I transport an ECV rented from a medical supply in the Orlando area so I don't risk none being available if I park hop. Sometimes we park in the main lot and sometimes head to disabled. Either way we find we prefer using our car. You can leave a cooler with sandwiches and drinks in it then grab a bite while park hopping. There's also a McDonald's close to AK, and we went there twice last trip while hopping. If we opt for WDW transport we usually have to wait longer than normal since only certain buses accomodate ECV's.

Once I relied totally on WDW transport and used Mears Shuttle and truly regretted it. We ended up really needing a car when our camcorder battery shorted out on the first day. Disney had run out of our battery, and we were stuck. We had to rent a camcorder one day, because renting for the whole trip just was not in our budget.

 

[eeyore0062]

Yes, sometimes we do, it just depends on the park, and where we are going after we finish that park for the day. The only park we never drive to is MK, because taking the park transportation is much faster than parking, taking the tram to the TTC, hopping on either the monorail or ferry to get there. The bus will take you right to the MK, not the TTC.

As for MGM, we don't often drive there, either, because the walk for the parking lot is pretty hefty, and the lots are not well marked. The lots all have names, but the rows aren't numbered, making it difficult to find your car when you are hot and tired, and ready to leave.

 

[margiemc]

We usually drive down from Philadelphia (which is about 21 hours!). We will use the bus or monorail transportation to go to the parks. However, to go from resort to resort or to Downtown Disney on a weekend, we will take our own car. We found it to be much faster.

 

[Tulip]

We always get the car. It really helps reduce the cost to drive outside Disney for dinner every night. We drive to the parks too. That way you leave when you want. We even drive to MK because DH likes to take the ferry.

 

[jwfla422]

For years we enjoyed driving up, parking at the resort and not having to drive until we were ready to leave. That is one of the perks of staying onsite.

However over the past few years the bus service can really leave you waiting sometimes and with more gear in tow (with our 4 yr old dd) it makes it easier to drive. Although we will use the boats and monorail as much as we can and we'll actually take buses to the parks but if we go to a resort or place that requires more than 1 bus to get there then we drive (it really is a lot quicker!)

This trip I plan to splurge and valet so that I can valet at the resorts we're having dinner at which will make it much easier for dd and I to get in and out of the car.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Since we usually stay at the Grand Floridian, we drive to all parks except the Magic Kingdom. To the Magic Kingdom, we take the monorail; going back to the Grand Floridian we take the boat.

 

[Spaceman Spiff & Co.]

We have only been twice, but we use the car for DTD, mini-golf, and resort hopping. To go to the parks we use buses. We also go off-site, so a car is vital to us.

 

[Tesabat]

All our trips until last year, if we had a car, we rarely touched it for Disney transportation - we only used it to go offsite. Last year, we had a gratis stay at the Wyndham on I-drive, did Universal and some favorite restuarants, etc., and combined that with time at POR and Disney. So, because we started the trip on I-drive, we kind of got used to hopping in the car and waiting in a lot of traffic! LOL. So, once we got to Disney, we used the car for transportation a bit more than we have in the past to see how it went. For us, it worked best for DD, Boardwalk, WL for dinner, etc. We probably will stick with the bus for the main parks and use the car for offsite grocery trips and DD, etc., just like before. (I also like the security of having a car incase a trip to a medical ctr. is needed - asthmatic kids tend to make you paranoid like that!)

 

[Blondie]

When we stay onsite we rely totally on WDW transportation. It wouldn't be a trip to WDW without using their buses/boats/monorail! It adds to the overall experience in my opinion.

 

[fireplug]

I agree with Blondie,
The transportation system is a special part of the trip. We enjoy all the different modes of "people moving". That said it does have a few drawbacks. But we are on vacation. We don't rush around we take our time and enjoy conversations on the busses, boats or whatever. We do you the car to go offsite once in a while but very seldom.

Steve

 

[Mary Ellen]

We are 2 adults and non-commando types. We've always had a rental car (not about to drive from Colorado in December ) and it often sits in the resort parking lot for days on end. We're usually there for 2 weeks and it is nice to have a car for runs to the grocery store and off-site restaurants - not to mention the medical clinic if/when I get a sinus infection (but Disney will provide transportation if you need it).

Since we're usually there in early December, it isn't a busy time and we don't have a problem with the busses, boats and walking (we stay at BWV). Like others, we look at the transportation as part of the 'Disney' experience. We usually go 2 out of 3 years, so we're not compelled to rush here and there.

 

[BCV23]

We always have a rental car..actually, we drove once...at any rate, we use it for MGM, AKL,DD, grocery stores, golf, and sometimes Epcot. Since we've almost always been at the Poly, we use WDW trans. for MK.

 

[Lisa P.]

We've always had a car with us during family trips (solo and groups of adult friends, sometimes not). When we have it, we use it often... visiting other resorts for meals & boat rentals, offsite attractions & restaurants, grocery & medical needs. The minor Disney attractions (water parks, DD, WoS) are all best reached by car, hands-down.

We used to ride Disney transport exclusively to the theme parks. Now, we only bother with Disney transport if we're going between an onsite resort and MK or there's a boat/monorail for transport, since we enjoy those a lot, in themselves. Waiting around so long in standing lines when tired has been a drag.

Forget the Disney buses - they're smelly, often overcrowded, sometimes require multiple stops (either sharing resorts or around a large resort) and take as long as a car in transit. What's worse, sometimes you wait a long while through several different bus arrivals and finally see your bus, only to discover that it doesn't have enough room for everyone waiting... so you then wait some more. This is especially true at park opening/closing times - when you are the most interested in moving quickly. Ugh.

These days, we prefer to use our car, even onsite, thanks.

 

[sgtdisney]

We always rent a car and we always drive it to the park. Many years back we used the transportation and didn't really care for it. I like the freedom to go when and where I want to. I do remember the one time we took a bus, many years ago to Epcot, having to wait for 3 busses to come due to the lines of people waiting to get on. I remember thinking if we had drive, we would have at least been in the airconditioned car winding our way out by then. It really is a personal preference. I can see how not having to drive would be a plus to some people. To me, I would not be there without a car, not even for one day. I even insisted on renting a car when I went to a business conference in Las Vegas were you can walk almost everywhere. I just want to know I have the freedom to come and go at will.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

We drve down (DH is afraid to fly). Even if we did fly, I would have to get a rental car. I like the idea of having my own wheels I like the freedom of being able to come and go as I please. We also use the Disney transportation too but it's just nice knowing the car is there.

 

[MauraAndIainsDad]

We have been very frustrated with Disney transportation in the past and typically either rent a car or drive our own. We weren't going to rent a car for our upcoming trip but since Disney cancelled the Polynesian Masses on Sunday morning, it suddenly became more economical for us to rent a car (rather than use a limo or shuttle service and taxis to Mass). Now that we will have a car available, we will use it over Disney transportation.

 

[richard3330]

We always have a car, even when staying on-site. We still make use of the monorail system, but the bus service is inadequate. Also the car comes in seriously hany when you visit other Orlando attractions like Universal/SeaWorld/Etc.

 

[kristikae]

I wouldn't think of a trip to Orlando and not going to USF and IOA so a car is something I have to have! I'm a relatively impatient person so the thought of waiting for a bus makes my skin crawl!

We were there in July and never had to fight crowds in the parking lot as others have said. We also never had to walk far. I think Disney parking is one of the most organized I have ever seen.

I didn't realize that you could take a bus to MK and wish I had known about this. After going through the TTC we didn't get on Main Street unitl 9:15 and we got to the TTC at 8:00.