Driving vs. shuttles

[mnkev]

Staying at POR week after Easter. Fear the crowds. Any pros/con about driving to the parks vs shuttle buses?

 

[wilde_oscar]

crowds on the buses, vs. cost of rental car

Bus stops clearly marked, vs. finding your car in the lot

bus routes are established, vs. getting directions, navigating in the dark at night

 

[goofyboyzmom]

Out of all of our trips, we have only relied on the bus system once. It works for some, but not for us. If you stay to park closing, you may have to wait for 2 or 3 busses. When you are at your resort, you can get very resentful when you are waiting for a Magic Kingdom bus and THREE MGM busses come in the meantime!

Also, sometimes it is hard to go from park to park with the busses. I think we wanted to go to Animal Kingdom from MGM and the supposed busses never came. We had to go back to a resort and wait for an AK bus from there.

Plus we like having a car to go off site for dining, drug store, etc. Also, the time we relied on Magical Express to get back to the airport our flight left at 6:00 p.m. and we had to be on the Magical Express at noon! A LONG time in an airport!

Good luck with your decision.

 

[mnkev]

We have a car as we will spend the last 1/2 of our vaca at Ft. Myers Beach, so I will be paying for the rental if we drive it to the park or if it stays at POR. Kinda leaning towards driving...

 

[ammo]

We usually drive for the sake of flexibility. The one place I would consider Disney transportation is going to the MK. The process of parking, getting a tram to the TTC, and then taking the monorail or ferry to the MK takes a bit of time. The idea of being dropped off at the turnstiles is very appealing.

 

[WDW-DJ]

I've only been on one major WDW vacation, last April. Personally I loved using the buses for everything. Saved us money, and possibly the headache of getting from place to place. We'll be at the buses mercy again in April this year.

There were a couple times that we had to wait a little longer than we would have liked for a bus, but overall it was worth that rare drawback.

 

[Lori S.]

We are considering driving. We will be driving down to Disney and will already have our car, I wouldn't rent just for these reasons, but:
We will have a 2 year old and one of us may return to the room for an earlier break. She usually falls asleep in the car when very tired, I'm thinking getting off of a bus with a sleeping toddler and a stroller will be hard. Stroller could stay in the car when we return. I have never driven around disney, we've always used their transportation. Is it easy or confusing? How far from cars to turnstiles at each park, etc.

 

[goofyboyzmom]

Driving around Disney is relatively easy. There are park signs all over. You may have to park far from the park entrances themselves, but there is tram service so you just have to walk from where you park your car to the end of the row. We LOVE having our car and not relying on the busses.

 

[shmedly123]

like a poster above I would probably recommend the bus for the MK and the rental car for the rest of the parks. Because you park at the TTC for the MK you have to rely on disney transportation to get out of the park anyway, so you are really only increasing your wait time on the way in... which in most cases is negated by the fact that you are dropped off right at the front gate.

 

[DanceRC28]

I would say go for the car, search around, you can find good deals. I'm not sure if you have Entertainment books where you live, but I used a coupon out of there for the car rental on our last trip and we saved tons. We paid around $110 for a full-size car with unlimited miles for 6 days- you can't beat it!

 

[goofyboyzmom]

I would say go for the car, search around, you can find good deals. I'm not sure if you have Entertainment books where you live, but I used a coupon out of there for the car rental on our last trip and we saved tons. We paid around $110 for a full-size car with unlimited miles for 6 days- you can't beat it!

Which company did you use and which coupon if you don't mind my asking?

 

[shmedly123]

Which company did you use and which coupon if you don't mind my asking?

look on mousesavers.com...they have coupons for several car rental companies updated often

 

[dburg30]

We used the busses. If going on a 'Disney' vacation, and not just an 'Orlando' vacation, I think we'll always use the bus. Less stress getting around, parking, remembering where you parked, parking 2 miles from the entrance and riding a tram etc etc. Yes, at closing you'll probably have to wait a while to get a bus. That was about the worst part IMO and it wasnt bad.

 

[standleyent1]

If you already have a car you should go ahead and drive to the parks it soooo much easier. You can go to ebay and buy a AAA VIP parking pass and park in the VIP section of each park it is very convenient and close and you don't have to worry about catching the tram and loading and unloading a stroller if you have one. Plus staying on property you get a pass to get into the parks for free and you have the freedom of going off property if you need to. It beats waiting on the buses and they are never consistent.
Have Fun!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

The past two trips we have driven but never used our car. The buses although you may have a little wait are well worth not having to fight traffic, and navigate your way though disney.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

I'm a bus-lover.

I've driven in Orlando once. NEVER AGAIN.

We used to do Mears, then came Disney Magical Express (and there was much rejoicing.)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting off the plane and taking the bus to my hotel and never having to find my luggage. I LOVE never having to park or read a map.

I have always stayed at the All-Star resorts, and have never had any problem with the busses. I love the door to door service at any hour. I love leaving the fireworks late at night and boarding the bus and closing my eyes for a little nap, knowing the driver was taking me to my room and my bed. I have always felt great pity for the poor souls who have to drive themselves.

 

[shmedly123]

knowing the driver was taking me to my room and my bed.

What kind of bus service are you using??

 

[mallons]

we loved the bus, when we stayed in CBR in sept, we our planning to use it again,, no car, no worries...

 

[Dawn68PA]

We drive to WDW and have always used the busses while we are there. However this trip we are thinking of going half and half. We are staying at AKV so DTD, AK,and probably DHS, we will bus. For the others we'll take our minivan, especially since most of our dining is going to be at other resorts. After we eat we would have to transfer back to a park and then to our own resort. Time waster.

After going through a couple different scenarios, I think half and half will work for us.

 

[Rora]

I would use the buses. The buses are worth the little wait and avoiding the traffic. But, if you have a stroller or wheelchair I would suggest taking your own car. While it'd definitley possible to bring a stroller or wheelchair on the bus, it's a bit of a hassel. Good luck and have a great trip!