Do You/Would You Drive Around Disney?

[fairestoneofall]

we drive down to disney. but most of the time, we just use the internal bus system to get around. it's just easier.

if we have an early reservation, we'll drive. but that's usually it.

 

[mtschopp]

Personally, I prefer to have a car to drive around Disney. My family has done it for the past 15 years and it just makes more sense and there isn't the stress of having to wait for the bus or making sure we catch the bus at the right time. We can come and go as we please. I've taken the Disney buses once and wasn't at all thrilled with it that much.

 

[christinec68]

We drive everywhere in Disney now. I don't even mind the tram to the TTC parking lot at MK. I love being able to hop in the car and go. We don't have to wait for or run for buses. We always have a seat and air conditioning. It saves so much time - especially if you are going to another resort. I especially love it when we go to a water park - I always feel like a wreck after that and hate sitting on a bus looking & feeling all straggly.

 

[alyssa810]

We only stayed onsite once without a car. Once.
We always have a car, however, depending on where we stay, we will sometimes take the WDW tranport. We love taking the boat from WL to MK. We hated taking the bus from WL to DTD.

One of the big benefits IMO, is that even though your car might be hot and a bus is cooled by A/C, I don't have to fight for a seat in my car, and no one is poking me with their bags or strollers, and the car cools down soon enough. Having a guaranteed seat after a long day on my feet in the parks is reason enough for me!

 

[Scubee]

We have a DS7 and DS3. That plays into our preference at the moment. As many other have said, we drive to resorts for ADRs and to DTD ,and we go offsite once or twice during our week-long stay (grocery store usually). We always bus it to MK and usually drive to the others unless we're just looking to be chauffeured (sp?) that day. Sure the car is hot, but the AC takes care of that in a minute or two.

Bottom line for us: We like to have the car if we want it...and we usually want it. Not to mention, I don't have to stand up on the bus on the way home from the park WHILE holding a stroller if we're leaving parks late. Those late night bus rides from MK after a long day were killer.

 

[crazedprincess]

We've only been to WDW once and that was this past April. We rented a car and we will not do that next time. It was more of a pain to figure out where to go and we took the wrong turn several times. So after a couple days of hassle, we decided to use the bus. And we loved it! It took off a lot of stress from my husband and instead of worrying where to go, he just sat back and let someone else do the driving. Plus, we made the HUGE mistake in not knowing the whole MK parking situation and not realizing if you took a bus, you'd get dropped off at the front.

I'd rather save my money and use the free transportation. Even if you have to wait for a bus, it's worth it to us. And we never had to wait long.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

We take our car for 2 main reasons, neither of which are transport times although those are favorable towards a car.

1) Safety. We always have a little one and/or I'm pregnant during the trip. We know that there are seats for everyone and car seats in the car. I don't want to rely on someone giving up their seat for us.

2) If anyone (kids or adults) are tired/cranky, getting in the car seems more like getting "home" and out of the parks than getting on the bus. We all just sort of relax more immediately whereas with the bus we still feel like we are out with the masses and can't really just relax until getting home.

We used to be bus people before we had a car for the first time a few trips ago and will never go back.

 

[LaurenLC]

With the exception of a couple of trips, we ALWAYS drive. It is so much more convenient to have a car.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

I live 2 hours away so we have our car when we go. We rarely use our car, the only time we do is if we're going from resort to resort. We don't want to fight traffic, walk the parking lot, remember where we parked, then fight traffic on our way back to the resort. (Espcially after spending all day in the park and being tired.) People are going to complain, and Disney transportation is no exception. It's free, you don't have to drive, you don't have far to walk to get to the bus, I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes to catch one, and it lets you off right in front of your resort. I'm sure it has it's bugs in the system, but it's a pretty decent choice for us anyway.

 

[r&kmommy]

we always rent a car when we go to disney. always. we will never not rent a car again... nothing beats the comfort of your own car after a day at the parks... Just thinking about those god awful bus rides makes my skin crawl and toes curl. LOL!

 

[seals]

On 4 trips ranging from 4-7 days each, we never once got in our car. The bus rides were part of our vacation. We had some bus rides that were experiences to tell about. We overheard some great conversations and contributed to a few. We talked to each other instead of trying to follow signs or remember where we parked. We all could look out the window and see the sights. We didn't care if the light was green or red, if someone was going too slow or too fast, if someone was making an illegal turn or if it was too rainy to see clearly. We built bus travel time into our plans and were either pleased to be early, adjusted to being late or right on time.

To each his/her own!

 

[missiloveslouie]

We have no problem using the busses. No road-rage, no getting lost, and it's free

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Driving is faster, especially if it's low season and busses are running less frequently and parking spots are open near the gate.

We paid for an economy rental, but got a minivan. What a convenience! No more folding the stroller to get on the bus. It was a luxury. (Even at home, we drive cars and have to fold the stroller every time.)

Will we rent a car again? Maybe. But not necessarily from the airport. We might just rent for the days we need it and pick up the car on the resort.

 

[pattibehan]

We drive from NY, and have AP's so parking is free. I like the convience of not waiting for a bus, and not being crowded. We plan extra time when going to MK, bt the trams and monorail rn so frequently that we rarely wait. I like the freedom of going off site for dinner or shopping or...gasp....Universal for a day. This August we are going for a day tour of NASA. But to each his own!!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We drive to WDW. It honestly depends on which resort we stay at on whether we use our car or Disney transportation.

When staying at the BWV (or Epcot resorts area), we park our car and only drive to DTD and DAK. We walk to Epcot, boat to DHS and the bus to MK.

When staying at a place like SSR, we drive everywhere but to the MK and DTD. We either walk or take the boat to DTD. For the MK, it is just easier to take the Disney bus than parking and taking the ferry. DAK and DHS are VERY easy to get in and out with your own vehicle. On our summer trip last year, taking our car to the parks was a life saver. We didn't have to wait in the heat for a bus. We hopped in our car and soon the A/C was blowing on us. If you have smaller children/stroller and are traveling in the warmer months and/or peak season, I recommend your own car. Just my opinion.

We stayed at Fort Wilderness one year in a cabin. That place is the worst in regards to logistics on getting around the property. Unless you rent a golf cart (which we ended up doing), you spend most of your time waiting for an internal bus to get to an external bus or to the pool area and boat dock. When we stayed there, we planned our MK days for when we had the golf cart because the boat launch area is only accessible by foot and golf cart, same with the area for Hoop de Doo and Trails End. One day, we drove our car to the front, parked and took the Disney bus to Epcot. All other days, we ended up driving our car to the other parks. I don't know if we'll stay there again.

Jennifer

 

[Planogirl]

I love to drive around WDW. There are plenty of signs and if you somehow end up going the wrong way it's no big deal because you can always follow another way to get to where you're going. I've enjoyed seeing the property from the car and I personally don't care for the buses.

 

[englishteacha]

We stay offsite and we drive everywhere. Even if we stayed onsite, I don't think I could convince my husband to take the buses.

 

[blondietink]

We always have either our own car or a rental. We drive everywhere except MK. The bus service to MK is so much more convenient and faster overall with less walking.

 

[KellyNY]

The only reason I do not drive there is cost of rental. Since you have your car anyway and stay at POP meaning parking at both hotel and park is free, drive. You may or may not get faster at some cases but you will definitely have a seat, a soft seat of your own car.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I will tell you that if you plan to take your own car around the property, use your GPS and NOT the Disney signs. The signs are designed to police the flow of traffic. We've found shorter routes to parks and resorts on our GPS.

Jennifer