Drive or use busses?

[bcarson]

We will have a car and I have heard conflicting reports of whether the busses are still faster. We went in 2007, had no car,used the busses. They were okay some of the time, a pain the other parts of the time. We will be at POP,thanks.

 

[Yzerbear19]

We've always had a car. We did use the busses a few times. The busses drop you off closer to the MK, which is nice. With a car you park at the TTC then take the monorail or ferry. All of the other parks the parking lots are there. You just might have to take a tram. I like having a car when leaving the park because then I don't have to wait in line for a bus. Though the monorails and ferries I've heard don't start running until an hour before park opening, so if you have an early ADR at the MK it would be easier to take the busses.

 

[Tara]

This is really a matter of personal preference. Many prefer to let Disney do the driving. Some are intimidated by driving in an unknown location. Some prefer to use Magical Express and the WDW transportation system to save money. Some consider buses part of the vacation. Everyone has to do what works for them - one method is not empirically better than the other.

For me and my family, we drive. (Even to MK, though some will tell you you're better off taking WDW transportation to bypass the TTC.) We like having our own car, being on our own schedule and going where we want to go. I like the fact that we can control the a/c (buses are always frigidly cold to me) and the music, have a place to leave some items, the ability to plug in a cell phone for a bit of extra juice, and we are always guaranteed a seat. If we're leaving Epcot and decide we want to grab Chick-Fil-A for lunch (we can't get this at home), then we can just drive over there before going to the resort. We do much of our dining out at resort restaurants and find a car invaluable for getting to these locations.

I have taken 1 WDW bus in my last 4 trips, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. We wouldn't do it any other way.

 

[rachdd]

DRIVE!! We have done both and I can honestly say we really enjoyed having a vehicle when we were there in March. The only park we didn't drive to was MK. It saved SOOO much time!

 

[clkelley]

We really prefer the busses. We park hop ALOT also. I did drive one vacation just to see what it was all about and used an entire tank of gas!! I also really found I hated going back to the car every time. We use bus time to go over our plans for the day, and I also use bus time to check the Blackberry and thumb through email.

 

[SarahKate]

If you like to have some control, then you'd probably enjoy driving. On our first trip, we relied solely on buses....we had a fantastic time and no real complaints. On our second trip, we decided to rent a car because we wanted to do a few offsite things. After that, we were hooked! It's just nice to be able to go when you want, not have to squeeze onto an overcrowded bus, not have to STAND on an overcrowded bus, not to mention just waiting for them. I don't see how buses could be faster than driving, unless you are parked in the boonies!

I will agree with everyone else that it's not worth it to drive to MK because of the parking situation. Definitely worth it to take a bus there.

 

[seashoreCM]

I find the buses more carefree, although on all recent trips I did rent a car to go offsite with (to restaurants too).

Oddly enough I find a car handy for water parks, to leave things in and get partially changed and not have to carry as much in and out of the park.

 

[Brian Noble]

I drive almost everywhere---even to Magic Kingdom. Our last onsite trip featured not one but two afternoon trips from OKW to MK that took more than an hour from the time I arrived at the bus stop, to the time we arrived at the MK bus depot.

But, it really is a personal preference thing. What sounds more like a vacation?

* Never having to touch your keys.
* Never wondering when the bus will come.

 

[poohbear8]

I did buses for 2 family trips, but have rented cars for the last 2 with just myself and DD. We like to hit the outlet store and go when we want. We park hop and that does help. My biggest memory of the family trips about the buses was the late night wait and having to juggle DD who was 4 in my arms the whole trip. She could stand now, but I'd prefer to drive. (If I can find cheap car rental rates...if not, I'd suck it up and take the buses)

Also, I only go for about 5 days. If I was there longer.....even with just the 2 of us, I would consider the bus. More time in WDW, wouldn't make me feel as pressured to get it all done quickly.

 

[Uncleromulus]

You'll have a car--for goodness sake--use it!!
YOu'll save SO much time and hassle.