Is the Transportation System at WDW good enough?

[ohanafamily]

This is the place where people seem to know all,
(lrodk and Sarangel Please feel free to move it where you feel it belongs, but I sort of thought this group would do better than the debate board)

I was explaining to a friend in a PM that he didn't need to rent a car if you stay at one of the major WDW property resorts (Link to thread explaining the Flex/Mod Busing at WDW).

DW and I usually stay on a DVC property, but my friend will be staying at the Wilderness lodge or the Poly. If you are on the monorail you you don't even have to deal with the busses to MK and EPCOT.

I usually don't want to deal with a car on vacation, so here is my justification:

When would you want a car-
-> to and from the airport
-> to and from the parks and Downtown Disney.
-> to and from other resorts (I.E. dinner at Victoria and Albert's in the GF)
-> to and from other places like US or Sea World

I will take each of these, and start a concept with them.

Airport
Meir's is $15/person, a cab is about $40 for up to however many can fit in the car/van. With 3 people it is cheaper to take a cab than a Meir's. Additionally, DW and I wont use the shuttles anymore after waiting over 2 hours at night to get on a shuttle to US, only then to be the last stop; it took us over 3 hours to get to our hotel. Another good point to cabbing it over Meir's is when you leave, you are on your own schedule, not having to wait for the bus an extra hour earlier.

OK, a car would be about the same for the first and last day over taking a cab to WDW and back.

Parks
Transportation to and from the parks runs pretty well, especially with the Flex/MOD system. (OKW still has problems, but if you give yourself a little extra time...) If you absolutely have to be somewhere on time (Like La Nuba), a cab is $5-$10 to most places inside WDW.

The worst time of the day is Park Closing. But then you have to deal with getting back to your car (especially at MK) and traffic out. I have never rented a car, so I don't know how much longer it takes to get a bus than to get out with your car.

Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island
We usually wind up taking a bus out there and cabbing it back. We like to take a relaxing stroll, but usually the shopping is harder on us than the parks. We have also found that the busses generally are a little more spread out. JMHO. Actually, we are a little less patient later at night and with shopping bags of things we don't trust to delivery services

I doubt if most days we even think of using a cab at the parks

Resort Hopping
OK, this is where a car is helpful, we usually break down for a cab if we want to go to another resort (not on the monorail) because of the required transfers. Still, a cab is $5-$10 each way, and you don't have to tip the Valet.

Other (Non-Disney) Parks
Shuttles are available cheap, cab fare isn't that high, you will probably leave and stay there all day and come back. Two cab fares at most. A car might be nice, but you do have the hassle of parking. If I go to US, I make arrangements to stay on their property for the night before (or at the end of my trip) because the FOTL pass that you get by staying on US property is real nice. so we really only use the cab once (and our airport ride is the trip out from the airport or the return). We haven't been to sea world yet, so I don't know about the cab fares.

So I respectfully submit the question, "Is it better to use Disney Transportation or to rent a car at WDW?"

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

So I respectfully submit the question, "Is it better to use Disney Transportation or to rent a car at WDW?"

Rent a car!!!

 

[rwodonnell]

Well, we drive down from Massachusetts and we don't ever use our car while we're there! Maybe it's the long drive down, but it just seems easier to me to use the buses. The last time we were there, we used our car just once - to go to Downtown Disney on the day we also had reservations for the Luau. We wanted to be sure to be back in time for it, but I am we would have been fine without it even then. Other trips have had similarly sparse usage.

I do find it humorous that we are backwards from so many who fly down and then rent a car, while we drive down and then use Disney transportation.

 

[ohanafamily]

Thanks for your replies...

Baron, terse as usual, would you be so kind as some insight as to your opinion? I am curious now.

Thanks

 

[mja451]

We drive down from Southern NJ. Stay in Ft. Wilderness, the only place we drive once we're there is for groceries and to Downtown Disney and Typhoon Lagoon. DD from FW is really faster and easier to drive to, same for Typhoon Lagoon. We have never had a problem with the buses. We have never waited for more than 10 minutes for a bus. Plus we are never in a hurry. It is vacation after all.

 

[wtg2000]

When I first went to WDW in 1986 it was relaxing puttering around the roads of the resort. Now WDW is a jumble of highways, and on and off ramps with very dense traffic that seems mostly in a big hurry. Driving is not fun. I gave it up a couple years back, and now rely on Disney to get me around.

Also, if you're renting, the cost of getting a car has skyrocketed in the last few years. It's easier and cheaper to get a towncar service.

 

[wdwguide]

The transportation system is decent considering that WDW is a design nightmare (especially the Magic Kingdom - it shouldn't take half an hour or more to arrive at the park gates once you enter the property).
A couple of extra monorail loops combined with a true Transportation and Ticket Center (i.e. a place where you can park your car for the day and reach any of the major destinations conveniently via monorail or peoplemover) would go along way.

 

[40plus]

My Dw is prone to motion sickness every time we have ridden the buses @WDW since our first visit 14 years ago she has been sick for the rest of the day. Since we also visit US and SW we find it many times easier and on our time schedule to have a car available. This past May we had to use the services of the Emergency Clinic our first full day since our 7 year old decided she needed to pop an ear drum @ 6am. Besides our daily trips to Walmart. To buy all those things that we find we need and to buy affordable water and snacks to take with us everyday.

 

[SnackyStacky]

wdwguide, you make an interesting point.

I would agree that the current property is a design nightmare, however, I have to question whether that's the way it was supposed to be.

Does anyone know if Walt planned things out such that the Ticket and Transportation Center would serve ALL future properties, be they parks, resorts, stores, hotels....etc.?

I know that Walt paid immense attention to detail, and I'd find it really hard to believe that everything wasn't planned to the hilt, and the disjunctive state is a result of the Eisner over-expansion?

I'm not saying this is the case....it's a legitimate question.

And by the by, I'm the friend that sparked Ohanafamily to begin this little discussion. And while everyone makes valid points, I still gotta say, for me, a car is a good thing. (Listen to me! I'm like Martha Stewart....without all the evil!!!!!)

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

We typically rented a car for two reasons; first, riding the busses with strollers and a wheelchair just sucks, second, we often ate at the restaurants at other resorts... and WDW's resort-to-resort bus transportation is absolutely miserable (particularly if you have the gall the schedule a dinner that ends after the parks have closed).

I suggest trying the car thing at least once... if your WDW vacations are anything like ours, you'll find yourself being able to plan for a lot less inter-park travelling down-time.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Baron, terse as usual , would you be so kind as some insight as to your opinion? I am curious now.

OK. You asked for it!! When would you want a car:

-> to and from the airport

We can stipulate that it is roughly a wash, to and from the airport. So, this really is a non-issue. One beautiful little perk of a car is that on the way to the room, a quick trip to Publix or Crossroads is not only possible, but very, very inviting.

-> to and from the parks and Downtown Disney.
This one has to be broken down into three separate categories.

-> The Parks (other than MK)
To me it s a wash early in the morning. The bus routes usually take care of the early morning traffic with little problem. Once in a while, at OKW at least, we do have a long wait, but still within “legal” limits, I suppose. And we also seem to have absolutely ROTTEN luck. There have been many times that we see the bus we want leaving the grounds as we are walking up to the stop. This means a twenty minute wait, at least! I really wish that a schedule of some sort would or could be implemented. It’d make planning for WDW transportation soooooo much easier!!

OK. Morning, pretty good! BUT!!! ALL OTHER TIMES OF THE DAY SUCK!!!! At least they suck at OKW! 45 minutes to an hour waits are not at all unusual during the hours of ten in the morning to five in the afternoon. And going home at the end of the night is a nightmare!! With the insanity of ending the park hours on an event, they have insured that massive amounts of people will all be at the bus stop at the same time. And you can see that they are trying to cope. They just can’t!! Plain and simple!

So if you go to or leave a park in the afternoon or if that ‘special’ herded feeling (not to mention a 45 minute trip home) doesn’t appeal to you. Rent a car!!

The water parks have transportation. Same holds true for the mini-golf. But the freedom and flexibility that a car offers you cannot be described by the human mouth!! Again, our particulars may be unusual, but we do it like a camping trip. And hauling around lunches, coffee, drinks, cooler, extra towels, suntan lotion, shirts, etc. etc. etc. It is worth twice the price if you go more than once!! And the parking lot is soooooo convenient!! It is inviting!!

-> The Magic Kingdom
This is the only park for which I always use the bus. I used to use the Poly, but two things preclude this action today. First, I understand the plight of the Poly residents. It never used to be that crowded and my little secret was indeed a secret!! HOWEVER, it may take a while for the public to catch on, but once they do, they certainly know how to ruin a good thing!! And second is that the bus run for the MK has drastically improved. It used to be a drop at the T&TC!! YUCK!!! Now, with direct drop off, it isn’t worth the drive.

And again, not bad in the A.M. Although I have personally waited for over an hour one bright sunny day at OKW, at about 9:00 am for a bus routed for the MK. While making the circuit around OKW, I saw two other buses, right on our heels, picking up no one, also routed for the Magic Kingdom. I tossed it off as an anomaly, but I sure wished I had a car that day!!!!

Anyway, there is a severe drop off in service after ten in the morning, but the alternatives are worse (unless you want to break the rules and do the Poly thing). And going home is a NIGHTMARE, again due to that "herded cattle’ mentality that Disney seems to obsess on lately!!

-> Downtown Disney
YOU WANT A CAR FOR THIS REGION OF DISNEY!!

I cannot say it any clearer. I cannot say it any plainer. If you plan more than one trip to this area of Disney – RENT A CAR!!!!

-> to and from other resorts (I.E. dinner at Victoria and Albert's in the GF)
ABSOLUTELY!! You NEED a car if you do any amount of ‘hotel hopping’ or dining at the resorts at all (especially later in the evening as Mr. Head said)!! It gets very frustrating to do any amount of traveling from resort to resort! And we do an awful lot of it. If you don’t it’s not an issue. But if you do… RENT A CAR!!!!

-> to and from other places like US or Sea World
Yeah, they have shuttles and there are taxis. But OH MY GOD!! What a luxury a car is if you want to change your plans!! Or, if you plan on more that one side trip. Two days at Universal, a day at Sea World… I don’t know, but I like the flexibility. I like the options!!

And one other benefit. A side trip to any location, Walgreen’s, Crossroads, Publix, you name it, with a car, it becomes available!! We’re always making runs to those I’ve named. We run out of something, forgot something, or just have a taste for it, it is available because you have a car. Again, I like the options!!

Now, in closing let me say that I stay at OKW and Fort Wilderness. I have NEVER had a huge complaint with the bus service from Fort Wilderness, but keep in mind, I also have my car and avoid many trouble spots that way!!. Conversely, I have NEVER had a trip in OKW that didn’t involve some sort of transportation problem (also with a car and trying to avoid trouble spots)!! So I may be a little jaded. I took the following from the Transportation Board thread with was referred to in ohanafamily’s first post.

It's important to note that Old Key West, and Animal Kingdom Lodge do not participate in MOD.

and

Flex Dispatch *IS* an improvement, and OKW does benefit from it. One thing to keep in mind... because OKW is a very low traffic resort, bus intervals will typically be greater than that of higher traffic resorts such as Port Orleans or the All-Stars.

I gotta tel ya!! Do you know how aggravating it is, while waiting for just one OKW bus to finally show up, to see six or seven buses leaving the MK, in a forty minute period for the All Stars. All that goes through your mind is, “THEY TOLD ME I BOUGHT A PIECE OF THE MAGIC!!! SO WHERE IS IT??!!!”

Anyway, you asked for it!!

 

[rwodonnell]

Clearly the decision comes down to weighing the cost of the rental versus the convenience of having a car there. There is no question it would be better to have a car than not, but how great the convenience is probably depends on several factors, especially including these things already mentioned:
- where you are staying (OKW and CBR are particularly bad in terms of bus service, in my opinion, and neither have the advantage of being within striking distance of a single park via any other means.)
- whether you are planning to go elsewhere (off Disney property). I guess the possibility of a cab is there, but I would think a rental car would be worth getting if you had plans to go off Disney (again, though, convenience versus cost).
- how much resort to resort hopping you plan to do. This is somewhat painful between some of the resorts, though others have walking paths or are on the same boat route, etc. Having dinner at a different resort though might not count as a resort hop, since, if you are leaving from a park, it is frankly easier (for me at least) to take the buses, since you don't have to talk your way onto the resort and park in the potentially unfamiliar lot. Of course you still have to get home, and that can be a problem - your route home on Disney transportation will likely take you past your resort at least once!
- trips to Downtown Disney. I frankly think it's worth it to take the bus here, but there are problems both ways. On the one hand, if you drive, you have to park in what seems to me to be the worst lot on property, it's very difficult to find a spot sometimes. On the other hand, the bus stops for Downtown Disney are screwed up - I couldn't figure them out last time. There seemed to be only one stop, way down on one end toward the marketplace section.

 

[Distriv]

What my family does is find good deals for rentals at the airport. We usually stay at OKW so if we are going to MK we drive to the Polynesian and say we are going to eat breakfast. We then use the monorail or the buses from MK to get to where we want. It is definitly worth renting a car.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

if we are going to MK we drive to the Polynesian and say we are going to eat breakfast.

Oh-oh!! Debate board here we come!!!

 

[ohanafamily]

Thank you for your wonderful comments.

I agree about OKW, the bus system sucks there.

As far as the rest of it goes, we hardly ever resort hop, and I prefer not to have to deal with parking.

If we take a cab when we feel we need to (again no real major trips) it would probably be close to the cost if not less than renting a car.

Thanks...

Question,
How long does it take to get away from MK in your car at park close?

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

If that happens alot, then that's too bad. WDW has enough issues to get squared away on than guests who lie in order to save a few bucks or park a little closer to a monorail stop.

Yep! You got it right. When the world first started and well into the mid eighties, it was never a problem. In fact, there was never a guard to lie to. You just parked at the Poly (or contemporary) and hopped on the monorail. Simple!! And technically not illegal!!

But it became WAY too popular. And it was starting to inconvenience the Poly guests. So! I don't do it anymore! And I believe that no one else should either!

The only reason I made the Debate Board comment is because I noticed that a sure way to the Debate Board is Parking At The Poly or the ever popular Five To a Room!!

 

[ohanafamily]

This thread hasn't been banished to the debate board yet, but I am sure that they are more opinionated than many of us (I didn't say all)

 

[WDWHound]

We always rent a car for the following reasons:

1) Magic Killer. There is nothing less magical than riding in an over crowded bus, unless it is waiting 20 minutes for said overcrowded bus. Monorails are magic, busses are are simply mass transit.

2) Downtown Disney. Ah, the land of the overfull busses. I once stood at a bus stop for 1 and 1/2 hours watching busses go by because they were already full. Do not attempt to go here without a rental unless you wish to spend a good chunk of your vacation at Disneys Bus Stop Kingdom.

3) Freedom. I can go anywhere at anytime with a car (except in the case of the Magic Kingdom, the only park to which I take the bus). There is no wait for a bus when driving a car and no need to transfer to another bus to get to my destination.

4) Off site visits. Our trips always include Universal Studios. Having a car makes this easy.

5) CBR. The Caribbean Beach is one of our favorite resorts, but bus service there can be truly a nightmare, especially if your resort is not one of the first stops (If you must take the bus, I recommend staying in Jamaica, building 45, right next to the first bus stop).

6) CD player. OK, I admit that a rental car doesn't exude magic much more than a bus does, but this can be fixed. I play Disney music in the rental car during the entire vacation (usually the Millennium Celebration CD). This helps sustain the Disney Magic while we go to and from the parks. Its a small benifit, but a cool one. Later, when I'm at home, just hearing that CD gives brings back small taste of that anticipation you feel when you are on your way to a park in the morning.

I never understood people who say they don't want to be bothered with a car on vacation. Everyone has there own preferences, but I don't want to be bothered with a bus. A car offers me more control to set my own schedule and eliminates wait times when I want to go from park or resort to another.

 

[DisneyKidds]

So, yes, if speed and flexibility are key to your WDW plans, then having a car available can be helpful.

Scoop has hit on the key here. If speed and flexibilty are your priorities a car is more than just helpful. I like efficiency and being in control of my own destiny. Unlike Scoop, I can't seperate that from my being just because I'm on vacation at WDW.

We always rent a car. We like to resort hop and have meals at many different resorts. We actually eat breakfast at the GF or lunch at the BC before we head to the MK or Epcot . Seriously though, we don't exceed the limit on the parking pass they give us. Besides resort hopping you absolutely need a car for Downtown Disney. Barons CAPS should have impressed that. Water parks are great to have a car for as well. Oh, and that trip to the supermarket (especially for those staying at a DVC resort), the pharmacy (yes, people do get sick on vacation), the health clinic (ditto), back and forth to the airport....................so many useful purposes.

Now for the parks...............................

Imagine, if you will, a park closing and you have one or more children who happen to have nodded off. Imagine that you were using the busses. You roll your party over to the bus stop for what may very well be a short wait. Now the fun begins. The masses charge the bus. You move your party to the door. Now, you and the Mrs. have to find a way to maneuver two sleeping kids, a stroller, your bags, and your purchases onto that crowded bus. If your lucky you get a seat.......................but SRO isn't uncommon. You have now entered the "Bussing Twilight Zone from Hell". Now imagine you parked the car in the lot and you have a relatively short stroll to the car, kids still sleeping. You transfer them to the safety and comfort of their car seat, still sleeping, and off you go.

Really, if you have kids and strollers a car is a pleasure to have. If it is just adults the bus system can be less of a hassle, even though it may not be the quickest way to get around.

In short, as some have said, the transportation system can be "good enough" and "adequate". Unfortunately, those are two phrases that should never be uttered in the same sentence with Disney.

 

[wtg2000]

I never understood people who say they don't want to be bothered with a car on vacation.

It is a matter of preference. I despise driving at home where I know where I'm going. I really despise driving on vacation where I don't know where I'm going. Nothing kills the magic more for me than driving a car around WDW (especially as the number of cars and roads increases). The bus, while certainly not magical, is less intrusive into my week of fantasy since I never take a bus back home. If I didn't own a car, perhaps I'd enjoy renting a car for a week. And it's wonderful to hop into the back of a smooth towncar and let them drive you to WDW. That makes it feel like a vacation, not getting behind the wheel of a car similar to my own and trying to figure out how to get off the airport property.

I also try to relax on vacation (yes, even at WDW) and don't need a car to get myself here and there quickly.

I want to be as far removed from home as I can when I'm at WDW (no TV, no car, no local news).