how many of you rent a car while staying at BCV?

[debbiebones]

We'll be taking our first trip home to BCV in November. I know my dh will want to rent a car and I'm wondering if any of you rent a car during your stay and how often do you use it?

Is it worth it to rent one or do you find it's more economical and easuer to use the transportation system within WDW?

Thanks,

Deb

 

[joepoe]

You don't really NEED a car, but it is soemwhat more convenient to have to go to the grocery store, outlet malls or golf. We have gone without a car and had a great time using Disney transportation. It doesn't really help to get to the parks, IMHO.

 

[kem330]

We usually rent a car for airport transport and resort hopping, shopping and sometimes use it to AK. It is not worth the hassle to drive to the other parks. If you can get a good rental price, it's worth it, otherwise just take a taxi or limo from the airport and use Disney transport

 

[dtheboys]

It will be my first time ever, NOT renting a car!!
I'm going to stay at BCV's in March, w/ OUT a car!!!
It was going to cost me over $400.00 for a van rental while on my vacation. I have a family of 5 w/ luggage etc. I need a van, or large car.
SO!!! I'm taking a Luxury van from the airport, to the resort...
I'm not sure how I'm going to like Disney's transportation, but I'm going to give it a shot...
We are not planninmg on leaving Disney's premises this year(no Universal, or Sea World this year) so I figure this is the year to try it!!
It should save me over $300.00, on this stay...w/ 3 growing boys to feed it will help a lot!!

 

[sgtpet]

DTHEBOYS-

You should check travelocity.com for car rental rates. I found a minivan through Alamo for $235 for a week. A significant amount less than the $450 these companies normally charge. My family has small children and we find it easier to drive around.

 

[poohbear1029]

We rent a car, but we always bid on priceline and get a good deal. Just came back yesterday from BWV and paid $180 for a mid-size car from hertz for 7 days, not a bad deal. We have received similar deals from Priceline before. If you shop around and know the going rates on Travelocity, and the rental cars sites, then bid lower. But, your travel dates have to be firm because once your bid is accepted your credit card is charged.

We rent a car when we can get a rate that makes it worth it (ie, travel to from airport) Also, we like to go off site for groceries and my husband golfs, so it adds the flexibility to come and go to those things.

Try www.priceline.com

 

[newarknut]

If you subtract what you have to pay for transfers from the rental price of a car, it is pretty easy to justify the convenience of having a car available. It is nice to be able to run to the store, to DD or the golf course without waiting on a bus or a taxi.

 

[LR_BCV]

I rent a car if it makes sense. You have to get transportation from and to the airport, so figure how much more it will be for the car.

It is nice for going to the grocery store and getting out if you want or need to. We rarely used it when we stayed at BCV but it was worth it to me anyway.

I have a fullsize reserved at National for 9 days at $180.

 

[jel0511]

ACtually, we've always rented a car. For our last trip, we actually weren't going to rent a car, but did at the last minute. Luckily we did. We usually only use the car to/from the airport, resort hopping, food shopping, and to go to DTD. Well, this last trip my DS got VERY sick, actually bronchitis, and we had to go to Centra-Care located near DTD. It was just so much mor convient to do it on our own time, and not havet o worry about a shuttle bus. Also, we lost our cell phone charger while changing hotels. We were keeping in constant contact with our family at home because of the impending blizzard. So, again we had to use the car to try to find another charger. We did, so we were able to keep in contact, but for 24 hours, we were pretty much incognito, since I WON'T use the resort phones to make calls, just too expensive!!! Those incidents proved to met hat I will NEVER travel to WDW without a car, because it's the things you don't think about or think will never happen, that make having a car so valuable.

 

[dtheboys]

Thanks for all of your help. I've checked w/ all the different car rental places....
I need the car rental for 11 days....so the weekley amount on the car is GREAT, but then they nail you on the PER DAY additional costs.....That is why it costs me so much for my rental...
Thanks to all who helped try and save me a buck!!
SEE YOU ON THE BUS!!!!

 

[DemoBri1]

I would have to disagree with a couple of the previous posters here. I think it is relatively convenient to take your car to MK and AK. You are not tied down by the bus schedule, and sometimes the service is not what you would call timely from the Epcot Resorts. Maybe now it is better since attendance is down.

Plus, as others have said, it is nice to have the car to be able to go to the grocery store, take day trips, or eat off property.

I for one would pay the extra $ just to have the convenience of the car available to me.

However, if you have decided to limit your vacation to staying on property, then it might not be beneficial to rent the car.

Brian

 

[CarolMN]

We only rent a car if we are going to be spending part of the trip off site. The EPCOT Resorts are very conveniently located. We own at BWV and almost always walk to the Studios and EPCOT. We have found the BWV bus service to be just fine for MK, AK and DD. When we used the buses in the moring, they were not shared. But during the middle of the day, the buses often stop at Swan/Dolphin, YC & BC before getting to BWV. If we are traveling back to the BWV, we will get off at the Swan and walk the 5 minutes back to our room.

In my opinion, many people only think the bus takes longer than driving and parking. Since we are no longer in the "commando mode", we don't mind taking the bus. I like not worrying about traffic. Also, finding a place to self park at the BWV is often a much bigger challenge than I want on vacation!

I will admit that traveling between the EPCOT resorts and the AKL or MK resorts is not convenient, especially if the parks are closed. Since we usually only need to do that once or twice in a trip, we just take a cab. Cost is $10-$12, including tip and there are no worries about traffic or parking.

Anyway, I think you will do just fine without a car, especially since you will be at BCV. It's in a very convenient location and you will probably want to spend some serious time at SAB! Enjoy the trip!

 

[JR]

We drive our own car to WDW. We stayed at the BCV September 2002 and January 2003. We used Disney transportation or walked(EPCOT & MGM) to get to any park. The only time we used our car was to go for dinner at Jikos in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. In my opinion, renting a car when staying at the BCV is a waste of money.

JR

 

[DebbieB]

We always rent a car at both BWV and OKW. Check for deals on the transportation board. I just got a full size Emerald Aisle with National for 7 days for $122 including tax for May 9 to 16 and also for Dec 5 to 12 (Disney Club discount & $20 Entertainment Coupon). When you add tips, it's not much more than a town car from the airport. We just can't stand being herded around on crowded busses. We also like going offsite to get groceries, go to restaurants and the outlets.

 

[Pinnie]

We ALWAYS rent a car when at WDW for the convenience alone. We appreciate the convenience of jumping in a car to resort hop. even if it is to just go to a food court or see the pianoman at the bar at POR.

We always use a car to get to and from the parks. I can't tolerate being at the mercy of Disney Transportation which can be sporadic at best. We tried it a few times and just hated being packed in like sardines at the end of a hard day. We are familiar with some of the "back roads" due to some locals, so we can avoid a lot of the traffic.

We also enjoy going to play mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens and even going off site to shop at the outlet malls. What eventually sold us on a car was when the kids were small and we needed to run them to the medical clinic for ear and eye infections and being able to fill prescriptions.

Just MHO and .02

pin
remember the magic
DVC/BCVs 2002

 

[goofy4dvc]

We have ALWAYS rented a car. We don't like to be without "wheels". We drive around to the resorts and DTD to eat and shop. We make a grocery store stop. Most of the time, we plan an excursion (Celebration, St. Augustine, Mt. Dora, World Woods Golf Course, etc.) We usually go to CityWalk at Universal Studios to have a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. We usually use our car several times a day.