Is a car necessary?

[KirbyLouWho]

Headed down to Universal in May for the first time as a adult. Haven't been since I was maybe 9 (so 1994 ish). My daughter is attending the new cheer competition the 3rd-5th that is supposed to take place inside IOA. We're traveling & rooming with another mom & her daughter. We have our room booked at CBBR (got a great rate super happy). We'll have to purchase our park tickets through the event. Currently we have a rental car reserved. I'm an all WDW all day kind of lady, and I always get a car for there bc I loathe their transportation. But reading so many glowing reviews of the Universal bus & boat system here has made me wonder if the rental car is really needed. We'll be at WDW 2 weeks before for UCA Nationals, so any costs we can do away with for this are a bonus. Would love to hear anyone's thoughts!

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Buses at Cabana Bay - and throughout the Universal resort - are FANTASTIC! Night-&-day experience vs. Disney. Constantly running and as one pulls away another one's literally right behind it. No car needed UNLESS you're wanting to go off-property for something - plus there's a daily parking fee so you'll save that, too !

 

[cfoxga]

We've had 5 trips to UO over the last 4 years. We're close enough to drive, so we always have a car. We've only used the car 4 times. Once on our first trip at CB, when we wanted to pick up some groceries for breakfast. Twice we drove to Disney Springs for dinner, to give my wife at least a little Disney. And the last time was to move our luggage during a split stay between HRH and ESS.

I love that we can just park the car and forget about it while we are there. With SF falls closed, I assume that using the boat from CB is no longer an option. But the busses from CB and ESS were always plentiful when we needed them, and are direct between the park and CityWalk. I remember a Disney trip at Animal Kingdom Lodge where the busses had 3-4 stops before you arrived at your destination and usually required a 15 minute wait; I was not a fan of that.

 

[bobafemme]

We fly in from WI and have never had a car and been perfectly fine. The one time we did rent a car was to do a side-trip to Kennedy Space Center. We were staying at Cabana Bay at the time, but renting from the hotel across the street (Adventura? I don't remember) was cheaper than the Avis is CB. So, if something comes up where you feel you need car, you can acquire one.

 

[AJA]

We drive to Florida so always have our car. Sometimes we never leave the property and sometimes we drive over to the beaches (either/or/both) visit other parks, outlets, etc.

If you know you want to visit more than 2 places outside Universal I would rent a car. If not just ride share. I think ride shares would be cheaper than the car rental fee and nightly car parking fee most hotels charge. Universal Hotels charge different fees depending on their tier. I think its $18 ish nightly at CBBR (more at deluxe) but I’m not 100% sure I remember correctly.

If you are planning to stay on Universal property I would not rent a car. Universal is very easy to navigate.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I agree with the others - if you don't have several off-site excursions planned, don't bother renting a car. There is no benefit driving the car to the parking garage, fighting through that traffic, etc, to have to walk past the place where the CBBR bus drops you off anyways. You'd have to pay for the rental and pay for hotel parking daily, and it really really isn't any problem to take the buses. They're always right there. Currently socially distanced also. Uber are plentiful in Orlando if you need a quick ride somewhere.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Absolutely no need for a car unless you're specifically planning on going somewhere off property.

 

[schumigirl]

For such a short visit to Universal, you absolutley won`t need a car. And we are folks who will always have a car.

But, you`ll have the buses that as pp mentioned are constant, genuinely, you`ll never wait long for one, if you have any wait at all.

My goodness you`ll see some amazing changes since you were last there!!

 

[nkereina]

Agree with PPs. You wouldn't be gaining much if you drove from CBBR to the parks - the bus drops you off at essentially the same place as the parking and the buses run efficiently enough where the time you'd save driving might be a minute or two, literally. We had a rental car once on one of our many trips, and it was only because we were going to the beach after. The car sat in the lot the whole time, we never needed it or even considered using it.

 

[TommyJK]

Agree with PPs. You wouldn't be gaining much if you drove from CBBR to the parks - the bus drops you off at essentially the same place as the parking and the buses run efficiently enough where the time you'd save driving might be a minute or two, literally. We had a rental car once on one of our many trips, and it was only because we were going to the beach after. The car sat in the lot the whole time, we never needed it or even considered using it.

The bus actually drops you off closer than if you park, especially if you are at the back of the lots (see below), plus you would be paying for parking at Cabana Bay AND be paying for parking at the parks.

 

[nkereina]

The bus actually drops you off closer than if you park, especially if you are at the back of the lots (see below), plus you would be paying for parking at Cabana Bay AND be paying for parking at the parks.

View attachment 558488

Yes, by "essentially", I meant its in the same vicinity and you enter at the same point. But this is good clarification for anyone who was unsure. I'm in agreement that a car is a waste.

 

[shawthorne44]

Our next trip, we'll be driving to Florida and staying on-site. We don't plan on using the car except to get groceries as we arrive and to stash the luggage when we change hotels.

 

[hhoope01]

For perspective, we normally go for at least 7 nights (and I try to push it longer when I can.) We fly into MCO airport, use Tony's Transportation service for travel between Universal and MCO Airport. I can say we haven't rented a car in more than a decade. We've been doing this for more than a decade now. It isn't needed and costs us money we could better use elsewhere on our vacation.

Of course if you want to see and do other things, by all means get a car, but even then, I'd suggest looking at a day rental from Avis. The deluxe hotels (and maybe all the onsite hotels) have a car rental desk at the hotel you can use.