Does anyone prefer Disney transportation over a rental car?

[tabm01]

Oops, inserted my question in the quote...
Would valet be nearly the same cost as a taxi?

 

[BigAlsGal]

We always take the bus. My car stays parked the entire time.

 

[McKelly]

Love Disney transportation. I know I am in the minority, but I kinda like trying to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B without a car. Plus, my DH drives a lot for work, that's the last thing he wants to do on vacation. Plus, the kids and I are not subjected to his road rage!

 

[DonnaL]

A huge part of your question can be answered simply by WHERE you are staying? If you are at Boardwalk, Beach or Yacht Club I would say use Disney transport....since two parks are within walking distance if you choose. If you are at a MK resort, on the monorail, my answer "might" be still the same....depending on the time of year. Even though WL is considered a MK resort transport to MK is easy by boat, but, you need to bus EVERYWHERE else. AK Lodge or Kidani Village, any of the mods and values I would definitely say rent a car. We have done both (we've only stayed at all of the DVC resorts) and have found we spend at the least a few hours each day waiting for buses....you must plan on a bare minimum of an hour to get from Point A to Point B....more likely closer to 1 1/2 hours. Some trips that's OK with us......others not so.

 

[lylone]

We use Disney Transportation the majority of the time. If we do breakfast at another resort in the AM we will take a taxi and if we decide that we don't want to be smushed on a bus when a park closes we opt for a taxi. Most taxi rides in the park are at the most $12 including tip. We just keep that in mind when we do our budget for the trip.

 

[keishashadow]

When going to the MK if we are not at BLT we also avoid the TTC at all costs, we don't like it very much. We will cab to/from our resort to the CR and then walk to the MK, works great but there is the additional cost but we don't mind.

Would valet parking at CR cost nearly the same as a taxi?[/QUOTE]

it's really a moot point if just planning to park a car there. valet parking @ the CR is intended for guests of the resort or those having an ADR there. Every time we check into BLT we notice how vigorous the guards are as to checking cars at the gate, but it's good thing since parking space is limited there.

Type A people (we know who we are) always want a vehicle at their disposal. However, we find it nice to have the option of free public transport within the parks if we plan on having a drink or two with dinner one night & don't want to pay extra for a cab.

we've used ME for shorter trips and survived but had to remember to work in extra travel time from here to there within the world.

jmho if you have any sort of mobility or balance issue or have small children in tow, the bus can be problematic if you have to stand.

 

[bbak3030]

We rely soley on Disney transportation. We are big park hoppers and this way we never have to worry where we left our car.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I haven’t read the entire thread, but I’m in the Disney Transportation camp. I’m a solo parent with 2 children and I drive everywhere. I also have a 40 minute commute each way for work. Even when it isn’t Disney I try to pick vacations where I will either be able to park the vehicle until we leave to go home or have minimal driving upon arrival. Like when we did a Sea World trip, I picked a hotel that had bus transportation to and from that park.

We have flown for 2 of our 3 trips to WDW so far. Flying down for our 4th trip at the end of the month. I just love dropping the bags at our home airport with the yellow tags and getting straight off the plane and going to the Magical Express bus. Taking Disney transportation is part of the fun for us and it is a nice break for me.

Last summer I couldn’t afford for us to fly so I drove us down to Disney. I thought we would probably drive to a park or two, even MK one day because in 2011 when we were in Orlando doing other stuff and went to MK for a day by taxi, we really enjoyed the ferry ride to and from the TTC. But no. We still took Disney transportation the whole time.

 

[Denamac]

We always drive to Disney, but once there we park and don't even see our car until it's time to leave. We love the immersion of Disney and transportation is a big part of that for us.

 

[buckeev]

We almost always rent a car when we fly to Orlando. It can be a bit pricey, especially during the Christmas break, but I look at the cost as insurance. Ideally, the car only gets used a few times, but for those early ADRs, I get a bit antsy waiting for the correct bus at the crack of dawn. Walgreens runs in the middle of the night are much easier with a rental, bars chasing down a cab too.
This decision is definitely one of those "take-it-or-leave-it" preferences for many folks.

 

[Lisa71]

We live in so cal and drive everywhere so we enjoy not thinking about it during our vacation. We also like being creative and taking as many monorail or boat trips as possible. It may take longer but we like it. We have only stayed deluxe since having kids and our one solo off-site trip we had a car...we like not driving.

 

[North of Mouse]

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!!

Only 'you' can make that decision. We 'love' the convenience of leaving the 'driving' to Disney. We will never use our own transportation! Over the many years that we have visited Disney the transportation system has worked fine with us.

So, no, even given the keys to a rental - we would hand them back and say "no, thank you" - to us, no freedom in driving - we like to relax.

 

[BongoFury]

I've never stayed on property before so I'm going to rent a car but also use Disney transport and see which works best for me.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We have really never had a problem with the Bus system and even when we had a car, we almost always used the Buses!

AKK

 

[BLTOH]

I have done both ways and he honestly I prefer the Disney bussing system . It just seemed more convenient to me. Both ways have pros and cons though so really its a matter of preference to you.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I prefer the Disney bus service because I go solo and it is not only more expensive for me to rent a car, I really don't want to try and navigate WDW by myself.
Sure I have to wait for a bus, but it is cool immediately with the a/c. I am not a fan of getting into a sweltering car or waiting in the hot sun for the car to air out before I can touch the steering wheel!

 

[MillauFr]

I've never stayed on property before so I'm going to rent a car but also use Disney transport and see which works best for me.

Ditto. I figure when we are staying the Poly we will take the monorail to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We will probably drive to the Hollywood Studios and the Animal Park.

 

[mickey2000]

NO

 

[asmit4]

Car is so much quicker for us! Even for MK. we plan to valet it at Contemporary for our ADR at CM and just let the car stay there all day- in and out priv. too so we can come back at night after nap!

 

[Lintasare]

On the trips I take we always use Disney Transportation. There are lots of reasons we don't rent a car but the biggest one is...money. I like not having to pay for a rental car and pay for gas and tolls and such. More money for things at Disney like Food & Wine event or Halloween party tickets.

Plus Orlando is full of tourists and they don't know how to drive. No thanks, not dealing with that.