Driving your car to parks

[Pumpkingirl7]

Considering driving our car to each park instead of using busses...have you done this? Is it easier just to get on the bus? Staying at the pop

 

[HopperFan]

It's easy to ride the buses but that said we often drive. At AK, DHS and EPCOT you will park and depending on your spot catch a tram to the park.

The only park that it might be better to stick with the bus is Magic Kingdom. Driving to MK once you park most spots will require you to take a tram to the TTC. Once there you walk to the ferry boat dock or monorail station. You'll then have to take one or the other to the MK. If you ride the bus it drops you off right at the MK.

 

[michael's mom]

We rent a car and drive to every park, every time. The kids love the monorail so we sometimes just take a ride on it for fun. But for us, the cost of a rental is worth being able to do everything on our own schedule. The only time I feel like we might not save time is with the MK because of the trams and monorail/boat from the parking lot. But I've never felt like taking a bus would be faster.

The one time I planned to take a bus was when DH and I were on our honeymoon. We were at MK all day, had dinner ressies at Le Cellier and planned on taking a bus back to our hotel to get cleaned up before MNSSHP, and just catch a bus back to MK where our car was waiting for after the party.

We waited at the Epcot bus stop for nearly 40 minutes and never had a bus come for our resort. Once it did come, we would have had to get right back in line for the MK so we left the stop and went to the monorail and just waited a little outside MK before admittance to MNSSHP.

I know that isn't the norm for bus arrivals, but the thought of doing that with my kids just isn't worth it. We budget for the rental car like we do park passes and dining.

Either way you choose to go...you'll still have fun!

 

[ilovebassets]

We drive to every park every time. The only exception is when staying at Fort Wilderness. Then we take the boat to Magic Kingdom. The only time we have taken buses is the internal buses at Fort Wilderness, and honestly, I find it such a pain to haul everything on and off the buses. And at the end of the day, it's so nice just to get in your own car with tired kids and crank up the A/C and be COMFORTABLE. I don't know if it saves much time, but that's not even my mine concern.

 

[aaarcher86]

We drive to every park, including MK. We did a bus only trip last year - busses are definitely not for us.

Even parking at MK, I can get to my car in about the same time it would take to wait a few rounds for the bus. And then I've got a guaranteed seat, the AC or heat, and I'm not bumping elbows with stinky strangers.

I hate being on someone else's timeline. Our AKL busses were awful when we were there, which is probably not normal but it made a lasting impression.

 

[michael's mom]

Even though there are only a few posts here...I'm so glad I'm not alone in the car thing. People look at me like I'm crazy for "wasting" the money. It is so worth every penny for the reasons you've all posted!

 

[willowsnn3]

We always drive to each park, even MK. We have never really had a bad experience on the bus, but have found that it is much quicker and more convenient to have our own car.
Besides if we rode the bus, we wouldn't get to ride the trams. The trams are one of my favorite rides, lol.

 

[Pumpkingirl7]

Thanks! Glad to know it might be easier than the bus

 

[MandiC]

This thread makes me feel so much better! We definitely did not have good experiences on the buses last time (waiting 10-20 minutes every morning just to get ON the bus, a child throwing up on a packed standing-room-only bus in the morning on the way to MK *magical*, waiting almost an hour for a bus after the fireworks, taking over an hour to just run back to our resort because dh forgot a card for dinner in the room....) and we were at a moderate so I thought the buses wouldn't be too bad. DH gets an awesome deal on rental cars through work so we won't be spending *that* much money anyways and IMO it will be totally worth it. Not only that, since we will likely be going back in February I can keep extra clothes in the car. I know that it will still take a while to get them but not as long as taking a bus to the resort and back!

 

[Polishnavy]

We prefer driving too. We even walked out to our parked van instead of taking the tram most of the time. Folding and lugging the stroller just wasn't worth it. Busses aren't for us right now. Maybe when we don't have little ones in strollers.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Its really a personal decision. We had a car for our May trip since we were coming off a RCCL cruise. We HATED having the car and vowed we would never get one again. When we went back for our fall trip, despite having another cruise, we did not rent a car. I will add though that we always stay deluxe so the busses are a bit less crowded than the values and the time on the bus is much shorter since the deluxes are closer to many of the parks.

 

[Savanna]

We are going in June and we will be driving from South Carolina. We plan to use our car and skip the busses to the parks. We will use the bus to go to Down Town Disney but that will be the only time.

 

[Arden01]

We will probably have our car for our August trip. Planning on driving to all parks, except MK, for RD. Question - if we take an afternoon break and come back, it is better to take the bus or drive back in afternoon? Just wondering how crowded the parking lots are if we come back around 5 for dinner and nighttime entertainment?

 

[MandiC]

We will probably have our car for our August trip. Planning on driving to all parks, except MK, for RD. Question - if we take an afternoon break and come back, it is better to take the bus or drive back in afternoon? Just wondering how crowded the parking lots are if we come back around 5 for dinner and nighttime entertainment?

I can't answer on how crowded the parking lots are but I will say that while taking the bus back to the parks in the afternoon will probably be pretty simple taking the bus back to your resort after nighttime entertainment is CROWDED. We got in line at the bus stop after wishes at MK one night, my husband and one daughter got on the THIRD bus that came (with an average of 15 minutes between then...once was a longer wait, not sure why but then when the bus pulled up and had to do some sort of inspection before anyone could load so that wait was probably 25min+...like I said, I think we had bad luck ) and me and my other daughter got on the 4th bus (crammed my husband and daughter on the 3rd because she had to go to the bathroom!) After a long day in the parks it was just rather annoying LOL I know Disney can't really *help* that but I felt like they only had 2 buses running to each resort, so if one bus was delayed dropping people off or whatnot than everyone was waiting longer. I do have a feeling during busier times of year they probably have more buses running, we went in February which is 'slow' season.

 

[mm1971]

Considering driving our car to each park instead of using busses...have you done this? Is it easier just to get on the bus? Staying at the pop

While everyone has different experiences, we find driving much more desirable than the buses. We usually have a rental car and drive to all the parks, including MK. In the past, we vacationed with friends and family that took the buses and we usually were waiting for them at the front to get there due to the bus having more than one stop or long lines.

We have taken the buses occasionally and it was to our thing. We tend to go back to the resort for breaks, go to the mini golf courses, visit resorts and DTD and just find it easier to jump in the car. Epcot and AK are never more than a few minute walk from lot to gate. HS maybe a little longer. The exception is MK, but we enjoy the monorail and ferry and consider that the first "ride" of the day.

Again, a lot of people feel that the Disney transportation is unmatched, just not out preference and experience. I wait for buses and trains a lot when I'm home. No desire to do it on vacation.

 

[ajwolfe]

Add us to the list that almost always drives to the parks in our own car. We like being on our own time table that way and it's just easier to us. The only exception is that the last 2 times we have stayed at Port Orleans and have taken the boat to Downtown Disney instead of driving. That is much better considering how crazy parking is down there!

 

[Lupeix]

Parking is easy at Epcot AK and HS, and for MK I recommend paying a little extra and valet parking at the contemporary. At the end of the day, when everyone is trying to get back, it is worth it to just have to walk a little and hand over the keys to someone to get your car. Specially worth it with small ones sleeping in a stroller.

 

[puffkin]

We always rent a car and drive to all the parks. My kids like the trams and monorail/boat so we usually drive to MK too. I absolutely cannot stand the busses, there is nothing magical about them at all, especially in the evenings with exhausted kids, grumpy parents and long lines. Nope, not for us. Worth every single penny to get a rental and control my own destiny. My vacation time is worth so much more than to waste it on busses.

It is almost ALWAYS much faster to take your own car.

 

[sthrnbelle343]

Is there a cost for parking at each Park if you stay on resort? and what about driving between hotels? We are staying at All Star and have dinner reservations one night at the Swan, can we just drive there?

 

[GillianP1301]

I also drive to all parks, it is such a time saver and I much prefer being in control of my own timetable. I'm staying at WL for the first time this year, so for there, I will not drive to TTC/MK. That is one case where hopping on a bus or boat will get me there at least as fast as, if not faster than, driving.

There is no fee to park, if you are staying on site. You're given a pass for your window to show at all parking entrances. There is also no problem driving and parking at different resorts for ADRs, or even just for touring.