Driving vs using buses

[sdomino11]

This is our first trip with a car in six years. We’ve become accustomed to taking the buses to parks but now that we’ll have a car, I’m wondering if it would be advantageous to drive ourselves. Our touring style is to arrive at the park around 11 am and then stay until closing. Which means we’re always waiting in those end-of-the-Night bus lines. It *seems* like driving ourselves would allow us to skip that whole mess. But since it’s beem ages since we have taken a car to the parks, I can’t remember how complicated that process is. Are there long lines to get on a tram? Are the parking lots huge? Will we be walking fifteen minutes from gate to car? Thanks for any advice or opinions!

 

[Alesia]

I've done both and I definitely prefer the bus.

Yes, the parking lots are huge - the MK parking lot is bigger than Disneyland. And, yes, if you're arriving around 11:00, you should plan on it taking at least 15 minutes or so to make it back to your car.

You can always try driving and see how you feel about it.

 

[Disneylover99]

We relied on the Disney buses for years before we finally started driving down. The last 3 trips we've had our car.

We've found it's still quicker/easier to take the bus to the 4 parks. We've had some long treks through parking lots and long waits for trams which made it not worth it for us.

We much prefer to use our car to go to DS, and the two waterparks though. And having a car is awesome when you want to visit/eat at resorts.

 

[tobikaye]

I mix it up when I have a car. I tend to drive some days and bus others. I tend to bus to MK, unless I want to do the ferry from TTC to MK. For the other three parks, it depends on my mood that day and if I plan to hop another park or go to eat offsite or at a resort.

 

[bumbershoot]

I’ve done both and I like the car.

Parking lots are huge and I don’t mind that. Trams come by yo the parking areas and people clump up and get on. Leaving parks there can be a line but I’ve never had to wait as long as I wait for buses.

I even drive to MK since I’d rather be in forward motion if tram or walk to ttc then boat or monorail to MK, rather than dealing with the wait at the resort. And even if getting there in the morning is fine, the wait for a bus at the end of the night is one I will do anything to avoid.

 

[MrKnight]

For the most part, WDW transportation is the better option especially now that WDW buses have dedicated lanes on most of the roads.. If you drive your own vehicle, roads can become very congested and dealing with the parking lots and trams can become a hassle..

 

[maxiesmom]

Used a car for the first time in a long time on my last trip. When we arrived later to the parks, it did take a while. We ended up in the farther out parking spots, and then had to wait until the 3rd tram before even getting on and heading to the park. The idea of doing in in reverse when the park is closing makes me shudder. I'd stick with the bus.

 

[gillep]

We usually use the buses, but have driven a few times over the years and never think it is worth it, my favorite was last January when we sat on a tram in the rain in the DHS parking lot for 10 minutes waiting until the tram filled before they took us to the entrance. My preference is a mix of the buses and Uber.

 

[loves to dive]

We have always driven down and always park our car at the resort and don't get in it again unless we are doing a split stay and changing resorts. We have taken to making AK our resort change day and going ahead and driving to AK and doing rope drop just because we (I) are/am early risers anyway. If you get there early enough the walk from the parking lot isn't that much longer than from the buses. We only do this if we know we are only going to stay a couple of hours then go check into resort #2. Generally, we don't like to drive just because we enjoy a refreshing adult beverage or two and won't drive after drinking.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We drive to the resort and park our car, and only use it if we need to go offsite for something like groceries or Mass. Otherwise it is Disney transport.

 

[KrazeeK120]

We drive to all of the parks unless we can walk, boat, or monorail.

The parking lots are big, but we walk from wherever we park.

I very much dislike being shoulder to shoulder with sweaty strangers. I like having my own seat in my own vehicle.

 

[Tinknalli]

For comparison, we stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek with a rental car and family stayed at Pop Century using Disney buses. In almost every case we were at our destination before they were. This included to and from the airport even when we had to pick up and drop off the rental. The only time they had us was on a 7 am early entry day at Magic Kingdom. We had an on-site reservation for one night so we could do EE with them, but did not use the room. Transportation from the TTC that early in the morning was not frequent, either by boat or monorail and no one seemed to know the best way to get to the park. We ended up having to take the resort monorail. But, there honestly were not a lot of people at the TTC that early in the morning. This was the week of Easter (Good Friday through the following week). For us the car is so much better.

 

[arminnie]

I now take the buses because I am partially disabled and cannot walk at all so I have a scooter. My DH has now told me how much he loves not having to drive. Our new car will have a lift for my ECV (or wheelchair if needed) - but I think we'll probably still use the buses since that's what my DH prefers. He's not a big Disney fan so I like to make this as easy for him as possible.

 

[holden]

Bus to MK. Drive everywhere else.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

We took the buses on our first few trips but had a car the last 2 trips. We enjoy being able to stay longer at the parks on our departure day. We also like to be able to go off property to Target, Walmart, whatever, if need be. Also liked hoping resort to resort. We missed an ADR on our anniversary when we did the buses in 2015. But since, we haven't had a problem. So, we'll probably do a car in April.

 

[Fleuristic]

Rent or if you own a plug-in car or EV spend a few bucks and use the chargers at the front of the park. Voila, no waiting for crowded smelly busses and you still get to park at the front of the lot. Just make sure you have a ChargePoint account or the stand won’t release the handle.

 

[musika]

interesting to see the different perspectives... I'm weighing whether or not to get a rental car for our vac in April. DH doesn't always enjoy bus transportation.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We used to only use the buses even though we drive to WDW, but the last couple of trips, we have found that we much prefer to drive to the parks except MK. We always get there before opening, so we don't have to park terribly far back in the lot, and we don't mess with the trams. I kept track of times on our most recent trip; most days, we were getting out of our car 10-12 minutes after we had gotten into it. It was also nice to leave a park at closing, get in our car and be on our way.

 

[sam_gordon]

Bus all the way. I'd rather someone else worry about the driving. Obviously if you're going off property or want to do some resort-resort transportation, a rental car is good, but between resorts & parks, I'll bus.