Going solo - do you drive?

[cinderella_belle]

I always get a rental car, since I usually fly in late and leave out on a early morning flight. I love the flexibility to be able to go off site for dinner, or shopping. I have friends who live there who have decided I know my way around Disney better than they do. I just like the independence.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Great thread, Will!

We opted for a rental car on our visit, and will do so again. It gave us so much freedom in planning our day. I found myself wanting to try every suggestion I found on these boards and there would be no way we could have done it without the car, given the time and route limits of WDW transportation.

We stayed at the WL and hopped over to the poly for Tonga Toast one morning before heading to Typhoon Lagoon. When we left TL, we hopped over to Earl of Sandwich to pick up sandwiches to bring back to WL and eat poolside. There was a traffic accident on that small stretch of lane leading to WL, the poly and Contemporary, so we sat in our car and ate our lunch. Got back to WL then headed over to MGM, i think.

My kids added up the approximate time it would take using disney transportation vs the car, and the difference was over 2 hours.

In any case, my point is this. We never would have done or seen so much if we were using WDW transportation. As a fulltime single parent I don't have the luxury of drinking alcoholic beverages anyway, so I don't worry about drinking and driving. As a bonus, we had a diamond parking pass from AAA which gave us up front parking at the parks... and because we were in a WDW hotel, parking was always free.

As far as directions go, I know we missed a few loops here and there. Every road looks alike!!! None of our misadventures lasted long, though. We enjoyed driving through the guard shack at the hotel and having the guard tell us 'welcome home'

 

[lynn71092]

When traveling solo, no car. If I'm traveling with my sister she HAS to have a rental car. I just don't want to be bothered with it and there's always the drinking issue.
Let's see, car or beer??
Easy choice for me!!!

 

[magicmama]

I usually drive to Orlando from Minnesota every year. I stop and visit family in a few states along the way. But I drive solo the whole way. When I get to Orlando, I go to the grocery store to pick up some food and then I park at OKW and don't drive again until I leave. If I make another trip during the year, I will fly and not rent a car.

 

[TheTexasKid]

I have thought about it, but I have never done it. And it is unlikely I'll ever do it. Up to about fifteen years ago, I use to drive almost everywhere I went on vacation. But, since then, it is just easier to fly to where ever I want to go, even intra-state.

 

[spiceycat]

Drive to WDW yes!!!

drive at WDW depends - I try never to drive to MK - takes too long.....

(now when I stay offsite I don't have a choice)

I generally do drive to Epcot or Studios - except when staying at a value resort - generally POP - there transportation is just too darn good... so why waste your money driving....

now going to resturants at other resort - definitely!!! I love the Kona Cafe at the Polyn, food court at Por, Boma at AKL.....

 

[maine_jennifer]

For some unknown reason, the police frown on driving without a license - so, no I don't drive on my solo trips. I use a car service to and from the airport, Disney transport is fine with me, and should I want to go anywhere else it's public transport, though PI is usually the furthest I go.

Cheers!

 

[Caylin]

I'm a former CM, so I'm comfortable driving around WDW. I live about twelve hours away from the parks and I love the drive, even when I'm by myself. I just really enjoying driving.

 

[disney1968]

Since the DME I like the option of not having to rent a car, and going off property with a taxi can be $$$. Alamo is on property and you can usually get good deals, particularily with AAA or annual pass. Disney transport is convenient and no hassels and lets you off right at the gate. I know my way around driving disney and it is well signed so no worries about getting lost. I know a lot of exits off I4, like the SuperTarget and Prime (formerly Belz outlet). With DME, they pick you up 3 hours (!!!) before your flight, which to me is too early, so the last time I was there, I took DME from the airport, did the buses around, and rented a car the last 24 hours, did Downtown Disney and resort hopped and went to the airport on my time. Everything is easier if you have a map, have driven it before, or just feel better driving and have the $.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

We've done both. I prefer to rent the car, even if we don't use it every day. If our plans include MK on any particular day, then we usually rely on disney transportation, otherwise we tend to drive since AAA diamond lots generally save a little time and we're not big planners, so we tend to change plans at the last minute. Also, I'm absolutely OCD about getting to the airport and freak when a shuttle is late.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Alone or not, I rent a car. I only ride the WDW busses when on my way to the HDDR.

I used to get lost all the time! I once pulled into the Magic Kingdom parking lot and got lost and ended up exiting. One time got lost and stumbled upon the WDW laundry building, which was huge. One trip, for some reason I kept ending up at the Wide World of Sports.

I have learned that if I get lost (which is rare nowadays) I go TO somewhere else, anywhere on WDW property, and then turn around. Anytime you leave someplace at WDW, there are signs to everyplace else. So, that helps. If there are signs to Epcot Resort Area, I'll follow those, because I can get to anywhere from there.

I like being able to go where I want, when I want.

I don't venture offsite a whole lot. Grocery store, Perkins, Olive Garden, and the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. Of course, I spend days at Universal, but there I just park the car and leave it until I check-out. Their transportation actually is faster and easier than driving.

One time we toured a couple homes in Celebration. Geez, but they are expensive. A bungalow for about $250K! And the homes are really packed in close together, too.

 

[Karnak]

Well, then, there, now ... I reckon I can answer your question. First off, I live about a four hour drive from Walt Disney World, so when I go there I always have my car with me. Sometimes I'm traveling solo, as I will be next month, and sometimes I have family members along.

But once I park the car at my resort of choice, it isn't started until time to drive back home. The whole point of taking a break at Disney (at least to me), is to take it easy, and that means I'm ON VACATION. I do not drive anywhere. The buses, monorails and boats are always part of the fun for me. Part of being at Disney, don't you see?

On rare occasions I do grab a taxi when travel time is a factor in getting from one place to another. But I would never consider driving myself around at Walt Disney World.

Enjoy.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I only live about 7 hrs away so I always drive. I stay on property for safety and transportation. I use Disney transportation to get around except for an occasional trip to another resort. But I would feel very uncomfortable not having a car! I love to be able to go to the grocery store, etc, when I need something instead of being a prisoner of Disney prices!!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

By chance, I've always ended up with a car while at WDW solo. Even though I don't use it much, it would be weird to not have one sitting there in the parking lot just in case I wanted to use it! On my last trip, I got completely lost on the way to Pop, even though I had a map and directions on the seat next to me! Otherwise I have had no trouble getting where I want to be on WDW property. As other single parents have already noted, I prefer to use the busses as it's so nice to be chauffered - feels much more like a vacation. I have not ventured offsite at all so far; though I'd like to explore that other world sometime, I'm intimidated by descriptions of bottlenecks on I-Drive - why endure that kind of stress when WDW has all I need?