GPS on phone, renting car, driving to parks, confusing locales?

[Cackyschmackers]

Next week we'll be staying off property and driving to parks each day. We've never done this before. Just for planning, I've entered our hotel into my phone's gps (Google maps, very accurate usually ) and when I try to enter Magic Kingdom, it's not taking me to the TTC. I'm nervous about going a wrong way. There seems to be multiple roads when I look at satellite map. I tried entering TTC as well. Has anyone run into an issue like this?

 

[leebee]

Relax! I drive at Disney ALL the time and have never needed a GPS. I find the signage on Disney property to be completely adequate and have never gotten lost. If you can GET to Disney World (and it's hard to miss- not only are there signs for Disney, but for each individual park, DTD, etc), you'll be able to get around just fine! Just keep your eyes open for the direction signs (and that gives the kids something to do, too!)

 

[msb578]

Relax! I drive at Disney ALL the time and have never needed a GPS. I find the signage on Disney property to be completely adequate and have never gotten lost. If you can GET to Disney World (and it's hard to miss- not only are there signs for Disney, but for each individual park, DTD, etc), you'll be able to get around just fine! Just keep your eyes open for the direction signs (and that gives the kids something to do, too!)

Agree completely

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Lol. Okay! So i mean after we enter, driving to the TTC is obvious? You don't know my husband, HORRIBLE sense of direction!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Yup - the TTC sign is really obvious. I've a horrible sense of direction and have mostly been able to find my way around without a GPS.

Late one night leaving Epcot I didn't see any signs directing me back to the resorts and I took a wrong turn so I had to pull over and bring up google maps on my phone to find my way back to POR but that was the only time.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

And on a similar vein, how is driving from park to park?

 

[leebee]

Driving from park to park is also fine. I haven't ever experienced "heavy" traffic on the roadways. Sometimes at park closing it gets a little congested, leaving the parking lots, but we tend to hang towards the back of the exiting crowds at the end of the night- we get a little more park time, and there are fewer cars trying to leave the parking lot at the same time.

I think that having a good sense of direction is actually a hindrance when driving around Disney. I am the one with the good sense of direction in our family; DD and DH cannot find their cars in the parking lot at the mall! While at WDW, my brain struggles to determine the layout and relative location of everything. DD is always saying, "Breathe, Mom, and follow the signs!" She's right- don't try to understand it, just follow the signs and you'll get to where you want to go!

 

[Happy_2_B]

And on a similar vein, how is driving from park to park?

Very easy. Disney has signs everywhere- almost impossible to get turned around.

 

[Jennasis]

We've never used a GPS (never needed it) and never gotten lost at WDW. The signage is very comprehensive and easy to follow. Just follow the signs for MK or whatever your destination is.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I think that having a good sense of direction is actually a hindrance when driving around Disney. I am the one with the good sense of direction in our family; DD and DH cannot find their cars in the parking lot at the mall! While at WDW, my brain struggles to determine the layout and relative location of everything. DD is always saying, "Breathe, Mom, and follow the signs!" She's right- don't try to understand it, just follow the signs and you'll get to where you want to go!

That's very interesting, bc i have a great sense of direction, i always say i have a built in compass in my head, but I can NEVER navigate theme parks! !!forget looking at their maps! Lol

 

[msb578]

Very easy. Disney has signs everywhere- almost impossible to get turned around.

Yep the one time I went the wrong way was when I anticipated the turn on my own. Just follow the signs

 

[amylevan]

I think that having a good sense of direction is actually a hindrance when driving around Disney. I am the one with the good sense of direction in our family; DD and DH cannot find their cars in the parking lot at the mall! While at WDW, my brain struggles to determine the layout and relative location of everything. DD is always saying, "Breathe, Mom, and follow the signs!" She's right- don't try to understand it, just follow the signs and you'll get to where you want to go!

That may because the traffic flow that Disney wants you to us (ie following their signs) is not always the most direct way. They have signs set up to force traffic to flow in a certain way which may not match your internal sense of direction.

 

[loves to dive]

If you do get turned around or end up somewhere else on property, don't panic, it's almost a big ole loop. Take this from a person who drives down and gets lost EVERY TIME. I'm talking I always think the sign says turn right now and it really means turn right up here so I turn right now. I have ended up a different resorts (the guards are very friendly and point me in right way, doesn't hurt I have a very serious southern accent), I some how once ended up a park parking lot being waved to a parking space, seriously I don't even know which park I ended up at or how I missed the place where you pay to park, I just know I'm heading to the resort and somehow I'm being told to park in this row this space. It was a good space by the way but I had to find my way out of that and then figure out how to get back on the right rode to get to my resort. This people, is why once I do get to my resort I park that puppy and don't get it out again until I'm ready to leave. And yes, I've gotten lost while leaving. I just laugh and go about my business. My family are so used to it they build in mom getting lost time when we go places and it's become a family joke that it isn't a good trip unless we do get lost.

 

[Dan Murphy]

When you a re driving, looking for resorts, first look for signs directing you to the park that that resort is associated with. Example...if you are by Downtown Disney and driving to the Polynesian, look first for signs directing you to the Magic Kingdom. As you get closer to MK, you will see signs for the various resorts associated with that park, including the Polynesian. You would not necessarily see signs for the Polynesian by DtD

 

[sharadoc]

Follow the signs, but be very aware, cause when the sign says Next Right, you should expect the turn immediately. But even if you miss a turn, there's always another option soon. You'll see. There are multiple resorts and areas within WDW and drivers are jumping on roads from all directions.

Magic Kingdom is totally easy, don't worry. .

 

[bumbershoot]

Know where you are coming from and where you are going to. So if you're staying near DTD, that's where you are coming from. If you are going to the Magic Kingdom area, look for those signs.

Because Disney protects its trademark, it has "Disney" (or "Disney's"?) before everything. So...Disney's Magic Kingdom, Disney's Animal Kingdom...etc. It gets exhausting on the eyes and brain to have to keep ignoring that word, when you're looking for a park or resort name. But just gear your mind to ignore it.

 

[kj2mom]

This year I rented a car for the first time and I drove, just my children and I, for the first time. I was scared! I spent a decent amount of time studying maps to get my bearings and I took the time to look up all of the addresses to plug into the GPS. I never had to plug in a single address! It was sooo easy! The only thing I personally had to get used to was if I wanted to take the highway I took towards Tampa to get to the parks and toward Orlando when going home which seemed opposite of what my gut would tell me when heading out so it took me a bit to get used to.

 

[chartle]

We only used the gps to get us back to our offsite hotel never to get to a park's parking lot.

Just get on property and follow the signs.

 

[TurnedToStoneGirl]

Your cars GPS can get you there. Its pretty simple when you have a car GPS.

 

[jec6613]

If you use a cell phone GPS on WDW property, do yourself a favor and download HERE Maps and HERE Drive (Android, iOS, Windows Phone). They're the only map database that has all of the WDW POIs since they mapped the property for the MDE app.

Well, a company they bought mapped it, anyway. Google and Apple maps both rely on their own database, but HERE is the biggest because they swallowed up most of the others.