If you stay on site and have a car...

[rlovew]

We live close so we always drive to WDW- once their we leave our car parked. We have never had to wait very long for a bus and DH tinks it is much easier to catch the bus. We do drive to the park on our last day as we leave right from there to go home. Sometimes we drive to DTD if we are going earlier in the day.

 

[pixiemagic30]

When we've stayed onsite, we drive. The only time we didn't was when we went from HS to the Poly and back for dinner. We had a really good parking space at HS and we didn't want to lose it! lol But we found the bus to be so crowded and slow that we regretted not driving... We prefer the flexibility of driving ourselves, plus as someone has already stated, you park for free!

 

[cmaee]

We've been twice with our kids and one year we had our car with us, the other we took the train so we didn't have a car to use. When we did have the car, we didn't use it. We parked it and then didn't use it again until we left at the end of our trip. We are not at all familiar with the area/roads, so we didn't want the added stress of trying to figure out where we were going. I like the busses because I don't have to worry about anything. We have never had an awful experience on a bus yet, so I wouldn't forsee us driving instead of using the busses. We have never had to wait a ridiculus amount of time for a bus either. We did have a long wait for a bus to come to take us to the Animal Kingdom last Easter. I think we just missed the bus when we got to the bus stop, so we had about a 10 minute wait for another one.

 

[fairestoneofall]

We always ride the bus. It seems to be less hassle versus parking a car and taking a tram. It's definitely quicker to take a bus at MK.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We had a rental once at POP and at the Contemporary.

I've got to say we still took Disney transportation. Just could not bring myself to get into the hot car.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Used to, we'd drive to every park except MK. We took the bus to MK because it dropped you right @ park entrance.

This time we waited 30 minutes for a bus from CSR to MK, then waited 35 minutes for a bus back to CSR for our afternoon break. That was it for us--we drove the rest of the time and it worked better for us.

You should try it both ways and see what works better for you.

 

[chrisa71]

We drive everywhere. Does anybody know if you can use the free parking if you go to a park before check in, or if it would be better to go to the hotel then take the bus? We are driving to AK for RD then going to check into AKL once the park closes.
Thanks

 

[msmith07101]

Thanks everyone for the responses!! I have always used Disney transportation on past trips. I ammjust concerned with being there Dec 18-21that the crowds will be heavy and the busses fuller...longer waits. That is why I might consider driving to the parks. Guess we'll just see how it goes!!

 

[dgaston]

When we have a rental car we drive everywhere except to the MK. Even when we don't have a car, we will occasionally take a taxi to improve our travel time. We have been known to take a cab to the Beach Club to go in via the International Gateway to make dining reservations in the World Showcase.

 

[bwolfe]

We've always used Disney transportation in the past. However, we are going to try using our car next weekend. Is it possible to valet our car at Poly, GF or Contemporary and take the monorail to MK from there? Is this frowned upon? Will the valet be open after EMH?

 

[creativeamanda]

I drive to every place except MK.

 

[SuperTink]

I'm pretty much paranoid about driving at all if I've had ANYTHING to drink, and I don't want to have to worry about that when I go to my ADRs. If I want a glow-tini or a glass of wine, I want to get it!

Thank you. I seriously hope people aren't drinking and driving.

 

[Golf4food]

We drive. Always. Escpecially if planning to hop that day or go to a resort for a meal. The road network is annoying, yes, and getting lost is possible your first time if you don't pay very close attention to what the signs are telling you, but we still prefer it to waiting on busses, being on crowded busses, etc.

 

[Becky521]

Buses for us! I drive enough in the real world. I say their there let Disney take care of me here too!

 

[dfmalone]

We have done both, but more driving our self just because waiting for the bus can be a pain sometimes, and with your car you can hop right in and move on to the next park like we often do, GREAT excercise to walk from the parking lot into the park

 

[tkbbmom]

boy do I feel dumb. This will be our 4th trip to WDW ---always staying on site ---I didn't realize that parking was free, except at our resort. How does this work? Is the tag we get for the resort all we need to the parks? What about parking at the other resorts for dining or touring?

 

[mill4023]

boy do I feel dumb. This will be our 4th trip to WDW ---always staying on site ---I didn't realize that parking was free, except at our resort. How does this work? Is the tag we get for the resort all we need to the parks? What about parking at the other resorts for dining or touring?

Yep. The parking pass you get at the resort is what you show the CM's at the parking lot entrance.

We have done driving and buses. Most of the time, driving was easier, but part of that is the fact that we've almost always had our own stroller.

If our kids were older and we didn't need a stroller, we'd probably take the buses more often.

 

[smcdaniel4688]

We had ALWAYS taken the bus every time we went but we drive down from Mississippi so had the car on hand 2 trips ago when we got fed up with waiting on the buses after an especially long night of EMH....the next day we took the car and have ever since...it is free to park, you are guaranteed a seat, and we have found that even if we have to wait in traffic to get out of the parking lot, we are back at out hotel long before we would have arrived on a bus. Signs are everywhere and make navigating easy..if you make a wrong turn, turn around and go back. No biggie..The parking lot attendants make the exit from the lot at park closing suprisingly smooth considering the amount of traffic there and I like being able to have the car there so that we can always load extra stuff up and have it in the parking lot in the car rather than having to go back to the hotel...for my family, it is just the most comfortable and convieniant choice.

 

[tiggerpoohbounce]

the bus is easier and the highways there are very tricky if your not from the area also if your going out of disney there are tole booths yes the buses get crowded during closings and openings(EMH can get a lil crazy too) but if your not in a huge rush to get out the buses are alot more relaxing by this i mean you dont have to try to navigate back to your hotel when your dead tired ethier way it well be fun

 

[TiffinyKC]

We've done both. I prefer having a car available. We usually go during peak seasons and I've learned that waiting for the bus systems takes too much time. I will agree that taking your own car to the Magic Kingdom is not worth it; too many hoops to jump.