Does anyone prefer Disney transportation over a rental car?

[linzjane88]

I am trying to decide whether or not I want to do a rental car or just fully wrap myself in the magic and use the Disney bus system. Its not a money issue, it is a convenience thing. We will be four adults doing a grown-up Disney stay for a week in September at the CSR.
I am just worried about whether or not it adds extra time to your day. I want to feel free to park hop and not wait for buses. Then again you spend time waiting in line to get your car, plus parking in the lot and walking/waiting for a tram. I am at a loss! Oh and I might be a touch of a control freak (/type A/neurotic/etc) so let's be honest. Not being in charge might kill me

So: if someone just handed you keys to a rental and you didn't pay for parking would you take it?

Maybe I need to experience the convenience of hopping onto the bus at the airport and not carting around my bags. Seriously, this is harder than picking a resort!!

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

This is one of those topics that DIS-ers agree to disagree on. Some swear by Disney transportation, and others say that renting a car is the way to go. If you use the search function you'll find many of threads on this topic, but I don't think you will get a consensus!

 

[Starwind]

We stay at WL (usually; and it has good boats and buses) or BC (for a night or two, and only going to Epcot and DHS from there, so buses are not an issue). We prefer Disney transportation, and exclusively use it for the parks.

We have rented a car the odd time, but that has been a 24 hour rental to go off-site for grocery shopping and to do another attraction (e.g. Discovery Cove). We've never used the car to go to the parks within Disney, even when we were going to parks within the rental time.

I think part of this comes from being comfortable using public transit, so "taking a bus" and "waiting for a bus" is not a big deal at all, is simply "is" and is perfectly normal. add to that that I find driving on WDW property rather crazy between having to follow way too many signs and pay attention to a lot of traffic and drivers (like me!) who are not entirely sure where they are going, I would rather have a professional do the driving

-SW

 

[linzjane88]

Thanks for that perspective. I do not live in a city and have never had to use public transportation. Waiting for anything is foreign to me . It seemed like a no brainer when we were staying at Poly originally because the monorail is easy and we could tough through a bus ride for AK and DHS. But now that it's all bus at CSR...it might be too much!

 

[OKW Lover]

We've always been fans of having a car rather than relying on Disney transportation. We find driving around Disney is fairly easy, with lots of signs. The car goes when you are ready, gets adjusted to your preferred temperature, plays your preferred music, and hopefully does not require you to ride with people who have had beans for lunch.

However, the exception in our minds is when going to the MK. Since the bus drops you off near the MK entrance it makes the whole trip faster than driving to the TTC and doing the whole tram to Monorail/Ferry iteration.

 

[polineedyan]

I've done it both ways. We vary from parties of 4 to 6 when we go. Have to say, the rental is the way to go. We got a good deal twice from mousesavers codes with dollar at MCO that were waay worth it. If you've already done the magical express thing once, then get a car. MCO was a bit easier than Tampa, but overall both were very easy to do. Being able to go offsite is nice. And driving to the parks is nice. The buses are a convenience, but if you can get a deal on a car, why not? You can take it or leave it if you start missing riding the bus. Checkout was easier than DME, in my opinion, and the airport turn-in was not hectic at all. Gave us plenty of time.

 

[polineedyan]

However, the exception in our minds is when going to the MK. Since the bus drops you off near the MK entrance it makes the whole trip faster than driving to the TTC and doing the whole tram to Monorail/Ferry iteration.

AGREED. The fight for a tram at MK was a very bad experience. As was the walk to the tram.

The only other negative was that our GPS took us to HESS instead of Epcot, "stating 'you have arrived, epcot center'"..

 

[Terp Dad]

I'm also in the rental car crowd. With the exception of MK as has been noted I find that driving to the parks is far easier. I also like to park hop and it feels far quicker to drive then rely on buses etc.

If you are planning on meals at other resorts I find the necessary transfers to be time too consuming. Alternatively you can take a taxi to your ADR, but if you have 1 or 2 every day cost wise it comes about about even.

 

[meowser]

If you handed me the keys to a free rental car and free parking at Disney, I wouldn't take it. Or to be fair, I'd take it and keep it parked at the resort in case I wanted to leave the campus and go elsewhere.

I really don't like driving on vacation, so I choose the Disney transportation. Even if it's slower. My dislike of driving on vacation trumps the waiting issue. Also, I want to feel free to tire myself out in the parks or enjoy an adult beverage without worrying about driving back. On the very few occasions that speed is important or transportation is impractical, we take a taxi.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We always get a rental car, my husband insists on it. We just got back from WDW (Easter Break). Rented with National for the first time and was very pleased. Got off the plane and straight to the car. Just pick the one you want (being Emerland Isle Member;free to sign up for). We passed the line for the Magical Express and to say it was very, very long was understatement. We use Disney Transportation going back and forth to MK (boat from Wilderness Lodge). What we depended on it for was our dining reservations. It would take forever to get to a ressie without leaving hours in advance.

 

[SGMCO]

A Big Part of our Vacation is letting someone else drive, my DH drives everyday all over for his work and needs a break, so do I. I have never had any problems with Disney Transportation, From Magic Express to Buses to the parks, it has always been good. I'm thankful that Disney has this perk, when I plan other vacations outside of Disney, that is the one thing that I miss the most.

 

[bumbershoot]

The only other negative was that our GPS took us to HESS instead of Epcot, "stating 'you have arrived, epcot center'"..

GPS and wdw don't play well together.

It's far better to know what resort area you are in, know what resort area you are going to, and then follow the signs.


Op I prefer a car at all times. I don't even like using the bus for MK. I have not yet found the bus stop to be that close to trump having my own transportation. And maybe I like taking that boat from/to the ttc.

The only question for your group is will there be a designated driver?

And remember that you can still have the relative ease of DME while also having a rental. You can rent at the Car Care Center or the Dolphin once onsite.


To further what was said about National's Emerald Aisle...you have to be a member and book a mid-size car. That gets you access to the Emerald Aisle (where you pick from the cars on that aisle, which are often a step or two beyond a midsize).

 

[White_Sox_Fan]

My personal feeling is the only thing the car adds is a known travel time. By the time I drive, park, walk/tram to the gate I figure I'm not saving a lot of time on average. Sure there are times when I've waited for the bus and driving would have been faster, but there are also plenty of times when I've waited only a couple of minutes and the bus is as fast or faster thanks to the drop off point at the park.

 

[MightyGitis]

My sister lives in Orlando. She picks us/me up at the airport. We drive to our Disney hotel of choice and park the car. It doesn't move again for the duration of the trip unless we are leaving Disney property for some reason.

Sometimes the buses run late. Sometimes they don't. But never again will I be lost in a massive parking lot hunting for a car.

 

[bumbershoot]

But never again will I be lost in a massive parking lot hunting for a car.

Should you ever chance taking the car again, have people take a picture of the parking section sign near your car. Or make a note of it somewhere that won't be lost. Or send a text message to yourself. etc.

 

[figment_jii]

I'm in the rent a car and use Disney buses crowd. For some parks and locations I much prefer to use a rental car, but for other locations, I would rather take the bus/boat/monorail. So for me, it really depends on the destination. In general, I prefer to use a rental car to get from resort-to-resort, but prefer to use the bus for getting to theme parks.

 

[buckirj1]

Driving scares me, especially if I don't know where I'm going. I'd have to be pretty desperate to drive on vacation.

 

[mkarizona]

When we did have a car we parked it at the resort and didn't drive it. I think of the bus as another ride to enjoy.

 

[MillauFr]

I think part of this comes from being comfortable using public transit, so "taking a bus" and "waiting for a bus" is not a big deal at all, is simply "is" and is perfectly normal.

This is why we are renting a car. I am used to having the bus stop within 1 block of my house and coming by every 5 to 10 minutes. It makes 3 stops before getting on the freeway and taking 15 minutes to get downtown. I haven't been to Disneyworld but from reading these boards it sounds like this is not the way it works at Disneyworld. No way I am waiting around 15 - 20 minutes for a bus that may take another 15 - 20 minutes to get to my destination. Too much wasting time in my opinion.

As others have said, it does serve a purpose and works well for many people.

 

[lovingeire]

We always drove so we have a car at our disposal and we always use Disney transportation. We like that once were there we don't have to worry about driving, parking etc. of course we also keep moving up in resort categories for the convenience of being closer to the parks with our strollers. But we have no issues with Disney transportation.