Drive to the parks OR use the bus?

[GirlDreamer]

I prefer a car definitely. It saves you from all the what if's, especially if you have an ADR to make. You never know with the buses, you can be super lucky and they show up the second you arrive to your bus stop every single day, or you can be unlucky and get really long waits with really stuffed busses.

I love the freedom a car gives me. I can so easily go off property to have a breakfast before I go directly to a park. I can also go right to or from a park to do some shopping at Walmart to save a little on snacks. Also as someone mentioned it's so much easier to go between a park and DTD if you want to do that.

 

[WaDiWo]

Oh, and one other benefit of driving I forgot to mention: the waterparks!!!

No more waiting shivering and cramped at the bus stop waiting for a bus when it's raining, then trying to squeeze into a freezing crowded bus when you're all wet and uncomfortable!

 

[maxiesmom]

We use the buses. Part of being on vacation is not having to drive anywhere. However, in the past when we had a few small kids and a lot of stuff to take to the parks we drove.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Getting to the parks in comparatively quicker and easier, and now I think I'll be renting a car for future trips. In addition, it is so freeing! We can zip to Downtown Disney in record time, and going from resort to resort, there's no comparison.

First trip was all WDW transportation. After that we rent (free with cc points)! I love getting into the a/c of a car... cool... quiet and quickly back to the resort. It works best for us!

 

[Radiorox]

Disney Transportation. I have waited 90+ minutes for a ride back but, have found that not rushing to the bus stops and leisurely walking out of the parks helps cut that time down.

MK can be a bit of a pain regardless of what method you use. It'll either be a packed bus, monorail or boat ride.

I drive up from Miami, so I like to just park my baby at the resort and let him rest.

Jackie

 

[Roachmage]

Bus

 

[Roachmage]

Less walking, no traffic hassles, and no worries of drinking and driving!!!

 

[Marshel]

Ever wait for a tram..
with a stroller...
in the rain...

then get to the Park to see people leisurely getting off their buses right in front.

It's 50/50 and based on personal preference. Driving for us saves 5-10 min on average, but it's not much easier for us. In many cases it's not the fastest either.

Other than the MK, the tram unloading areas are considerably closer to the turnstiles than the bus stops.

 

[Katie In Wonderland]

My mom and I fly down every year. We've never driven. Sure, we've rented cars before Magical Express started but I always had do be navigator and I just hate that I'm no good at reading maps and making sure it's the right exit. So after the first year we took Magical Express, we've never rented a car. We take the Magical Express bus to the hotel and then we take Disney transportation everywhere else. It's just easier and I like it. I think my mom likes it too. She's never said otherwise to me.

 

[tbaptista]

We drive to FL so we also drive to the parks except for MK we valet at CR and walk over.

I'm not a fan of public transportation..

 

[stindall]

We like to use the bus system because it's offered and easy. We both drive a lot in our jobs so it's nice not to drive for a while. After closing we just have a seat and people watch until we think it's a good time to head to the bus stop and wait.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

Bus for us (and monorail, boat, ferry...whichever gets us where we're going). I love not driving anywhere, and I actually like the bus there.

And I think I would miss the voice if we drove - I love the "gather your belongings, take children by the hand" guy

 

[Magpie]

My husband was on the "I ride a bus to work every day, I'm not riding a bus on my vacation, too!" side of the fence. Then he went down for a work conference and actually got to experience the Disney bus system (which is much nicer than our city busses). Now he's sold. He never wants to drive at Disney again. He loves the fact that we can park our car at the airport, fly to Orlando, have Magical Express deliver us to our hotel, and just take busses everywhere. On our last trip we never had to wait more than ten minutes for a bus. Often less.

Now, that said...

We like to visit during the first week of December, when it's reasonably quiet.

We're early risers, typically arriving at rope drop.

We never stay until park close, as we both like to get to bed early.

I used his work trip to scope out the bus/monorail/boat system, so I know to do things like head for the resort monorail when the express one is backed up with people.

I specifically chose POP Century over the other Values because it has direct busses, and isn't too far from anything.

And neither of us are bothered by standing on a bus for ten minutes, nor are we particularly crowd phobic (well, my husband is a bit, but for some reason busses don't bother him).

 

[safroim]

We love to drive. We always get to the parks at rope drop, so we get a really close parking space. We have little ones, 4 & 6, so it's really nice to make a quick exit to our car at the end of the night. They can go right to sleep in their carseats if need be. Plus we use a double-stroller which is a royal pain in the neck to get on and off the buses. The cost of parking is well worth it for us.

 

[TandLMommy28]

We drove last time and parked the car and never touched it again the whole week. I adore public transportation, though. It's so fun to me. We are flying this year and didn't even consider renting a car. Just a waste when there is a perfectly good system in place.

And who wants to get into a car that's been baking in the sun all day when you can get on an air conditioned bus? That's a big one for me.

 

[princessmomma92]

I always go off season and ride Disney transportation. I love parking my car when I arrive and not driving again til I go home. We get to the parks before rope drop and stay til closing. I stay at Pop Century which doesn't share buses so there's rarely ever a wait over 10-15 minutes. When I stayed off property and have driven, it took WAY longer to wait on the trams in the parking lot than the buses. Leaving MK was a madhouse when we drove, much worse than buses. I guess to each their own, but for me it will always be on property, off season, free dining, and Disney transportation.