Drive to parks or use DW bus?

[1derfultigger]

Any thoughts on driving to the parks vs using the DW bus or other transportation? Since we will have our vehicle, we were thinking of just driving to each of the parks. Does anyone ever do this? Is there any charge to park in each of the parks? Does anyone know the approximate drive time from FW to MK,EPCOT, MGM, AK? Thanks for the info.

 

[Swimnoid]

In our many trips to the fort we have driven to AK once. We prefer to take the buses or boats but we aren't in a hurry or have toddlers etc. We do drive to our ADRs at Boma or Ohana though.

 

[ynottony99]

There is no charge to park, your resort pass on your dash will get you right in. Taking the buses can be part of the fun, adding to the whole experience. If you have never used the buses give it a try.
That said, we almost always drive to all 4 of the parks. Having the vehicle there is almost always better for us. We will use the boat from FW to MK if we know we are coming right back to FW when we leave.

 

[ang38]

I love not having to get in a car while at Disney. That and hubby getting lost and taking forever to get places
I never had a problem with the buses taking too long either. If you like the idea of having your car there, then take your car. The only suggestion I would have is for MK: Take the boat and leave the car home!

 

[AuburnJen92]

We drive to AK and MGM. We have a toddler, so riding the monorail and boats are a must if we are to survive! If you don't mind the wait, the transportation is relaxing, but if you have ressies for dinner, etc., you might want to consider using your vehicle. Nowadays with gas the way it is, you might want Disney to foot the gas!

 

[goscudder]

The "Unofficial Guide to DisneyWorld" has a transportation chart that compares travel times using WDW bus system versus driving on your own. If you want to get to the parks quickly, I would definitely drive your car. We loved taking the boat to MK, but drove to the other parks. We did take the monorail back from Epcot one day and it was fun to do once, but it wasn't fast. We always used the buses when we stayed at other resorts, but from FW we were pleasantly surprised by how nice and easy it was to drive our own car.

 

[jennifermae]

I would like to take the buses and boat, but hubby likes to take our car. On our last trip, I took the bus to MK one evening with the girls (He wanted to stay at the room a bit longer because it was a Sunday in September and The Bears were playing). He drove over later and met us there.

I personally enjoyed the bus ride(we were staying at POFQ), and look forward to the boat ride at least once on this upcoming trip--quess I will have to leave him behind!!!hehe

 

[terri01p]

Is this your first time to WDW ? Whenever my children were little and we were younger riding the bus was part of the fun, the kids loved it so much they were so excited as if it were one of the rides, we never touched our truck after we got there, didn't even think about it. Fast forward about ten years, now we are not patience people and love to just hop in the truck and go, I don't really know how long it takes to drive to any one park but it's not bad at all. So it just depends on what you like to do. I say play it by ear and see what fits for your family.

 

[tungpo1]

One thing about driving your own vehicle is you will reach your destination in half the time. I hate when you have to take the bus then it drops you off at the transportation center and you sit thier for a WHILE!!! But at least you dont have to use your fuel.

 

[mamaloya]

We always take the boat to MK. If you drive, you have to park at the TTC and then take a boat or monorail to MK, just skip a step and take the boat. LOL We have also taken the boat to the poly, had breakfast, then monorail to MK.

To epcot, we like to take the monorail, but it takes a while because you have to go to the TTC either by car or boat then monorail, switch to the monorail to epcot. This takes longer, but the kids like it.

We drive to the other parks and our 2nd day at epcot. When the kids are tired and/or sleeping at the end of the day, it is much easier just to plop them in the van and then go straight to our site.

Oh, BTW, if you visit downtown disney, DRIVE. We have tried it 2x and both times, each way took well over an hour. There are a million stops on the route and the wait between busses is really long.

Which, leads me to a question about driving and parking at DTD. We have a tradition of hitting DTD our last day for shopping and lunch at the Earl. Last time we drove there, we were in a popup and managed to find 2 spots nose to nose that we could pull through (although it was real close). Next trip, we will be in our big camper. Where can we park? Is there parking for RVs? Or, should we just park in the overflow lot at FW and deal with the bus?

 

[lucy_love]

We like to take the boat to the MK then we like to take the monorail to Epcot, other then that we drive. Sometimes we take the bus but we usually drive. I like to use the boat/monorail/bus because I feel more like I am on vacation!

I'm still a kid at heart and love riding the monorail

 

[JPG]

For us it goes like this. We arrive at our campsite, setup, park the truck, and it does not get driven until time to go home. We use the Disney Transportation system to go everywhere. We LOVE it! Saves our gas, we don't fight traffic, and we don't get lost. Sure it might take a little longer, but it is worth it for us. We just leave a little earlier.

 

[Gillian]

We drive a lot of places, even MK, but the kids like the busses and boats so we'll take them sometimes. Last visit we had a lot of problems with the boats to MK.

We rarely get lost anymore because we're used to driving. There is a really good road map of the area that you can get at check in. I navigate and DH drives. We're a good team because neither of us gets upset if we take an unplanned detour.