How do YOU get around the parks?

[Shmily1]

We drive since we only live 4 hours away so no rental car is needed. I don't see my car again though once I check in until it is time to load it up to head home. I always use WDW transportation and love it. Over the last two years, we have carrier DGS's stroller but now that he is bigger (almost 2), we will do like I did with my own children and rent one for the next couple years. By the time he's 4 or 5 at the very latest, he should be able to walk the parks fine.

 

[EKW]

As a single mom, the busses are more than worth the hassle they may involve! It is so nice to not have to run the world for one week. We learned to walk over to Movies from Mighty Ducks in the morning. At night we just dealt with it.

However, I say, if you have a few hundred extra dollars and would rather use them to rent a car, go for it. The fewer people on the busses, the happier folks like me will be, lol!

 

[amylevan]

We prefer to let Disney do the driving - whether bus, boat or monorail. We've had a few problems here and there (getting back to POFQ from EPCOT at closing took forever one time) but for the most part it's really not that big of a deal. Of course, we're not hauling one of those big strollers, so we didn't have that to deal with.

I will say that the last time we were at Fort Wilderness, my aunt and uncle stayed there. They drove to the parks and we would take the bus since they didn't have room for us and we didn't stay at the parks for the same amount of time. They would always get to the parks before us - but not by much, maybe 5-10 minutes. And that's taking the internal busses at the Fort before switching to the busses to the parks. So for even 10 minutes, for us it's not worth it.

 

[FanofWalt&Mouse]

On our first on-site visit we planned on using the free bus system. After two days of waiting at the stops, standing because no seats were available after park closing when we were exhausted & other hassles, my husband insisted on renting a car. He felt we were wasting too much valuable vacation time standing at the bus stop & didn't care for all the uncomfortable situations we had no control over on the bus. He was a much happier camper with the car getting us to where we wanted to go on our timetable with our own space & privacy. Now, I don't even think twice when budgeting our trips. The rental car cost is in there!

 

[Eliza32]

Car every time for us. We do sometimes use the buses on 'Epcot Day' so that we can both have a few drinkies around world showcase, and have been also known to park at TTC then monorail to Epcot, returning later for EMH at MK. Generally though, we wouldn't be without the car. ME may be great, but the car is quicker, we always go to publix or Walmart for drinks and snacks, and also love to have a couple of days out - last time we did one day at St Augustine and 1 day at St Petes Beach. We always go for 2 weeks.
Disney transportation is OK, but I prefer the freedom of the car. Even though we stay onsite, we still like to eat offsite too.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

We have done the busses twice and on our last trip we drove so we had a car with us. At first did not know how much we would use our car vs. using the bus system.

We LOVED having a car there and would not go back without one and would definitely rent one if we flew. One morning I timed it and it took us 7 minutes from getting in the car at CBR and getting out at DHS. Even if we caugt the bus as soon as it pulled up we have never been to a park that quickly.

The only tricky place to park is for MK. One night we had Chef Mickey reservations so we went to the Contemporary and paid for valet parking for the night. We used the valet parking twice at the Contemporary and it was worth every penny to pay for parking. When we were ready to leave MK we hopped on the monorail for the CTR and went to get our car-so much more convenient than going to the TTC!

Another night we had reservations at Whispering Canyon so we parked at WL and too the boat over to MK, came back for dinner and left after dinner.

My friends were there at the same time and used the busses-they had a lot of time wasted b/c of the bus system and had wished they had their car. (well they DID have it, but my friend's DH refused to use it there, LOL).

 

[disneymarie]

I debated which board to put this one - but since I am coming from a budget perspective I decided to do it here.

We just got back from a fantastic week in Disney World. We loved every single moment of it...except for the buses. It was a LOT of time and work to use the Disney Transportation system. We brought a bigger stroller, for the room and the weight limit for my (LAZY!) older kids, so that was part of it. We were 2 adults traveling with 3 kids, ages 8, 6, and 8 months. The people on the buses were generally fantastic. The waits were long. We had a few ADRs at other resorts (Ohana, Boma) that took a lot of work to get to. Our BIGGEST problem, however, was getting back to the airport. The bus that came did not have enough room for us, and the hotel ended paying a very bad cab driver to take us to the airport.

So...in planning our next trip (probably 2 years out), we are looking at options. I love that the Disney Transportation is free. However, I am wondering if a few hundred dollars to rent a car would be worth it to save hassles. Is the traffic bad going from the resorts to the parks? I know I don't pay to park at the parks if we stay onsite.

We have always had a rental or took the Auto train and had our van.
Once I just did a budget great weekend Enterprise they pick you up for about $55.
The other times up until the week before I watched rates and deals as long as you cancel before the deadline the prior rentals you may have.
Check friends for coupons from the Dinning books, Parade magazeen, Mousesaver, SAMS club, online discounts for Alamo programs, and the transportation board pass along codes really help.

If you want to budget the amount for at least a full size car.

BUT I always will take the bus to Magic Kingdom. It is way too much hassle to park, get to the transportation center, then get onto monorail to park.

We only did ADR once and that was the weekend we had the rental. If you plan to do ADR's it has to be frustrating to get there doing a bus hop.

As far as a taxi, the value sports gave us one to get to PORS, a van to accommodate my walker and three of us. The driver was excellent. Loaded although we were going to help, assisted me in, made sure we were comfortable. Limited talk, but kind at the traffic lights to travels and stay.

It was very pleasant. The best part. We were meeting ds, dil and dgs at PORS, as the taxi pulled up, our son was pulling in from his AutoTrain trip. We had not even talked that morning.

But if possible I like to have a car for water and drink stops, to go to Whattaburger, see a show like Mideviel Times, Walmart for more digital storage, once I forgot my bathing suit. Medication need.

Keep an envelope aside just for a rental car next trip.
The most I ever paid was $260 for an Alamo Chev Uplander. It was not a huge van but had dual Video climate control and I had a coupon to add the second driver,.

 

[MickeyP]

Maybe try a resort on the monorail line. That would cut down on the buses considerably.

 

[kchughes]

For us it has more to do with the age of the child(ren) and how much you have to haul. When DS was still stroller age, we drove to the parks. As he has gotten older, we use Disney transportation more and more. We drive so a rental is not needed. However, I am the one who does all the driving once we are in Orlando, so I get to decide what mode of transportation we use! Since we no longer need a stroller, change of clothes and snacks everytime we leave the room, Disney transportation is easier.

 

[las3888]

We love having our own car at Disney. We usually take it to the parks, but every once in a while, we do take the bus to MK, depending on the time of day or whatnot. DH went on a business trip to Disney recently and had to use Magical Express and I thought well, maybe, let's see how his experience is...he hated it and was delayed considerably.

I actually enjoy shopping for rental car deals and usually find a way to fit us into a pretty smallish car and find it worth every penny.

Also, I would use your stroller for your youngest (and the bigger ones too!) as long as you feel comfortable...I think it makes the trip more enjoyable--why wear them out and make everybody miserable (but that's another debate for another thread)! Joking aside, consider a MacLaren stroller maybe used or an older model on ebay--I spent about $60 on mine and it was worth every penny...it is a glorified umbrella stroller, but holds big kids comfortably too. Much cheaper than renting at Disney plus very lightweight and easy to manage on trams, strollers, monorails, etc.

Good luck to all!

 

[Kycha]

Riding the Disney buses makes me feel like cattle.

I'm a very budget minded gal...go in the off season, stay at Pop Century, etc. But the money we pay for a rental car is well worth it to guarantee a stress free vacation. And we have never paid more than $20 a day for car rental. Waiting in long lines, people cutting in the line at the last minute, standing room only on the bus, having to take our refillable mugs back to our rooms or carry them all day. Just a few of the things that add unnecessary stress to my vacation that I would like to avoid. I don't get stressed over driving myself or traffic. And since we usually have AP's, we get free parking.

I also enjoy the freedom of easily going offsite if I want to. Plus, I feel more secure knowing I don't have to rely on Disney transport if there is an emergency, God forbid.

Having said all that, I did enjoy using Magical Express.

 

[ThisIsTheYear]

We hitched a ride down in my IL's RV so we took the buses while staying at the pop. Sometimes they were great, other times they were awful (mostly on the way back at night). The next time we go down we are driving and using our car to get to the parks (except for MK).

What I don't get, are the people (not here, people I know IRL) that complain about the long walk to the car. Do they know how many miles they are walking in the parks?!

 

[LBIJim]

So...in planning our next trip (probably 2 years out), we are looking at options. I love that the Disney Transportation is free. However, I am wondering if a few hundred dollars to rent a car would be worth it to save hassles. Is the traffic bad going from the resorts to the parks? I know I don't pay to park at the parks if we stay onsite.

For our family, yes, a car rental was worth avoiding the bus hassles, especially with a child in a stroller. But of course everyone's priorities are different.

Never had a problem with traffic driving from hotel to a park or back again at the end of the day.

Jim

 

[bicker]

Strange: We hardly ever felt any of the nasty things people are saying about Disney Transportation. Meanwhile, we have had troubles with rental cars that are being glossed over, including long waits for a car to become ready, cars that breakdown requiring lost hours to replace, baseless bills for damage caused by previous renters, etc. These nasty situations with renting cars are indeed exceedingly rare, but so are nasty situations with Disney Transportation.

The decision is clearly a personal one. I suppose incurring the extra cost of renting a car needs to be justified, but personal preference matters, and it should be a worthy enough justification, just like the personal preference for saving the hassles and expense of renting a car is worthy enough justification for those so inclined.

 

[mlynn]

I always have a car. I rent from carrentals.com they have some good deals.

 

[Sadie22]

I love Disney transportation and so does DH. DH and I last traveled to the World last July and I don't remember waiting much for anything. I used Tour Guide Mike and the Unofficial Guide in addition to the Dis to plan strategy, and despite being a senior I covered a lot of ground.

When we brought our children to the World the youngest was 9 so we have never used a stroller there.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Wow - thanks for all of the replies!!!

I should have mentioned - my oldest DS8 has severe ADHD and some behavior issues. We had to use the stroller several times for him to try to stave off a meltdown. There are several pics of me wearing the baby in an Ergo Carrier, while pushing a very tall boy in a stroller Believe me, those moments - every problem getting the stroller on and off the bus was worth it.

I do think that what someone said was right - our bad experience getting back to the airport has soured me. I guess having to direct a cab driver to the airport by relaying info from someone on his cell phone would do that

I also realized that next trip, our baby will not fly for free. Paying for 5 to fly may = driving anyway. I am very thankful for all the opinions!!!

 

[klacey1]

We love the Disney buses. Neither of us love to drive, so to not have to on vacation is amazing. Plus, we do love riding them in the morning with other people excited for their day at Disney to start! Nighttime can be a bit hectic, but we never mind standing and just sort of go with the flow. We'd never do it any other way.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We always rent a car. Several reasons why..

We stop on our way to our resort at Walmart or Target and get things for our stay. Breakfast in the room, snacks, etc. Even when on DDP.

We don't spend all our time at WDW. My DM, who comes with us every time, insists that we check out other parts of Florida. Some of our best times have been at Florida beaches. DD11 would spend all day, every day, at the beaches if she could.

Eating at other resorts. Getting there by bus can be very time consuming. I can leave POP and be at Kona Cafe in under 30 minutes. That's counting parking and walking in.

Stroller-when we had a stroller (I miss those days) DD could ride all the way out the park to the car. If she was tired, I didn't have to carry her.

Park Hopping-we like to park hop. Getting from MK to Epcot is easy. Other ones can take more time. Last year we left the car at DHS and went to Epcot by boat. It took quite a bit of time and we were lucky we made the boat. Otherwise we would have to wait another 15-20 min.

Speed-I can get to one park from another park much faster with my car than they can get me their by bus. Last year DD and I were able to get to AK from DHS, and inside the park, to ride EE 5 times before the park closed, in less than an hour. Drove, parked (up close), enter park, and quick walked to EE.

Eating/Shopping off site. Saves $$
We buy most of our souvenirs off site. Target and Walmart have a great selection of Disney themed merchandise (though honestly we aren't big souvenir shoppers).

Eating-if you aren't on the DDP, eating off property can save you big $. For example the McD's located on fairly close to AK has the regular menu. Inc. the $1 one. The one on property doesn't.

Price-most of the time I can get a pretty good deal. Last year I spent $204 complete for 10 days at National. And we got a really cool car.

I actually never took a Disney bus until a few years ago. My DD and I stayed at DQ at DTD while my DM took the car back to POP. It seemed like our bus was the last one to get there and even though it was the middle of the day there weren't enough seats and I stood all the way to POP. I would say we waited a good 20 min. for the bus.

Last year we decided to use the bus to go to MK because I heard it was so much easier. Granted, getting to MK from POP was easy. But getting from MK to POP was not. Our stop was the last one down the line. Buses for all the other resorts came and went and we were still waiting. When it finally arrived the driver had to help load the wheelchairs waiting. I don't know if he was a new driver or what, but it took him a really long time to do it. Somewhere between 5-10 min. while we all stood there waiting to load and watched more buses come and go. And again, the bus was packed and we stood all the way back. We won't do it again. It's the car for us.

Oh, and one thing I've started doing that has worked well for us....
Before we leave our resort I put ice in an ice chest (picked up at WM) and bottles of water and soda. Then when we get in the car we have a nice cold beverage waiting for us! So refreshing, especially if you are leaving a park in the middle of the day. If you are on the dining plan, get bottle beverages as your drink choice and use those.

So that's my 2 cents.

 

[ilovemk76]

I debated which board to put this one - but since I am coming from a budget perspective I decided to do it here.

We just got back from a fantastic week in Disney World. We loved every single moment of it...except for the buses. It was a LOT of time and work to use the Disney Transportation system. We brought a bigger stroller, for the room and the weight limit for my (LAZY!) older kids, so that was part of it. We were 2 adults traveling with 3 kids, ages 8, 6, and 8 months. The people on the buses were generally fantastic. The waits were long. We had a few ADRs at other resorts (Ohana, Boma) that took a lot of work to get to. Our BIGGEST problem, however, was getting back to the airport. The bus that came did not have enough room for us, and the hotel ended paying a very bad cab driver to take us to the airport.

So...in planning our next trip (probably 2 years out), we are looking at options. I love that the Disney Transportation is free. However, I am wondering if a few hundred dollars to rent a car would be worth it to save hassles. Is the traffic bad going from the resorts to the parks? I know I don't pay to park at the parks if we stay onsite.

I would first make the 8 and 6 year old children walk and then get a small, umbrella stroller like, stroller for the little one who will be almost three by then.

You still have to get a tram, unless you are close, to get to your car.