Key West (trolley or electric car ?)

[MiaSRN62]

Hi,
Have a Magic cruise coming up fast......trying to decide between an electric car or doing the Trolley tour ? Pros/Cons ? Is it difficult to navigate Key West in the electric car ? Are we provided with maps on how to find attractions ? Parking for car if we want to get out and walk around ?
Trolley ? Can you get on and off during tour ? Does it ever get too crowded on trolley (aka standing room only ---we will have one person who requires wheelchair at times after back surgery). I don't think she could tolerate standing on a crowded trolley.
Anything else I might need to know ? Thanks so much. Prices are about the same for each of these options.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

The trolleys are air conditioned and have benches. Don't get the trolley tour through DCL. Get it in Key West when you get there. You can ride the trolley all day long and get off and on wherever you want.

If you get a car, you have to navigate yourself and try to find parking. We found the trolley to be very convenient and we learned a little something about Key West as well.

 

[kjd469]

The day we rented the electric car in Key West is the day my family talks about the most from years and years of extensive vacationing. We went all over Key West, no map required, and even went to the beach for a couple of hours. It was so much fun, and we never had a problem finding a spot to park. I would highly recommend this option!!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Wow ! Thank you for both your responses ! Now it's really a dilemma ! I am torn !
And disneyfaninaz, we weren't planning on doing the DCL one. So for the KW trolley tour do you just purchase tickets off the dock somewhere ?

 

[com_op_2000]

DW and I got our tickets online and printed them out. We waited until they were discounted and got a reduced fare.
The place to catch the trolley is right outside the dock, to the left, behind the big red building that you see from the ship.

 

[genmasjoy]

DH and I like the Conch Train. It is like a parking lot tram at WDW., with comfortable cushioned bench seating and live commentary. It goes all over the island and there are several stops if you want to get off and explore and reboard another train later. I'm sure there is a website. You can just walk up and buy tickets. Key West is not a large place so you aren't likely to get very lost if you decide to rent a car. We just prefer not to have to deal with finding, and paying for, parking.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Wow ! Thank you for both your responses ! Now it's really a dilemma ! I am torn !
And disneyfaninaz, we weren't planning on doing the DCL one. So for the KW trolley tour do you just purchase tickets off the dock somewhere ?

You can buy them online. They also have a desk near the Aquarium (just a short walk past Mallory Square from the ship) to purchase tickets. This is also where you catch the trolleys.

 

[kcashner]

If you do the trolley or train tour thru DCL, it is a single loop with narration. If you do it on your own it is a "hop on, hop off." Thus, do it on your own. You can get tickets in advance on line or juat off the pier at the booth where you will catch the vehicle. It is really very easy.

The electric cars are fun, but there is still the issue of finding a place to park. Navigating around Key West is very easy, but it can be crowded.

One nice thing about Key West--if you forget something that you need, there is a CVS within a couple blocks of the dock area. You can stock up on "adult beverages" as well as any "must have but forgot" items.

 

[miry]

I would definitely do the trolley, we did it last year and had a blast. There are something like 13 different stops that you can get on and off at everything is a very easy walk from those stops. The trolleys can get full, but they come around every 15 minutes or so. We got our tickets about a five minute walk from the ship and when we were there in October kids were free with a paying adult so we paid $18ish for both of us.

I don't know about the electric car, but the island is small and I don't think that I would spend the money on the car plus the hassle of parking and driving when you can easily get on an off the trolley. Plus the drivers have interesting stories to tell. I'm sure you'll have a blast!

 

[MiaSRN62]

kcashner

thank you very much for the tip. The ability to get on and off is VERY important to us.

miry :The trolleys can get full, but they come around every 15 minutes or so. We got our tickets about a five minute walk from the ship and when we were there in October kids were free with a paying adult so we paid $18ish for both of us.

miry.....the "full" trolleys does concern me. This is an all adult trip and one member is wheelchair bound due to back surgery (pins/screws/metal plates in her back). I don't think she could stand or walk far distances. How H/A-friendly are the trolleys ? The trolly I was looking at http://www.trolleytours.com/key-west/ and it's $26 online per adult. The electric cars would come to about the same price so we're not concerned about price. More concerned with convenience/availability/fun factor. But thank you all very much for all this info. We've only been to Key West one other time in 2004.
Wondering about crowds/traffic ? Is Sunday a big day for cruise ships ? We'll be docked there Sunday Oct 2.

 

[MrsPotatoHead425]

Maybe I'm just ignorant.. but where is everyone finding information about this? I've looked at the Port Adventures page on DCL's page, but haven't seen anything about an electric car rental??? Can someone point me in the right direction here? (big challenge, i know!)

 

[kjd469]

Maybe I'm just ignorant.. but where is everyone finding information about this? I've looked at the Port Adventures page on DCL's page, but haven't seen anything about an electric car rental??? Can someone point me in the right direction here? (big challenge, i know!)

When we rented our electric car, there was a gentleman standing at the end of the pier area where you would walk onto the main street. He was holding a sign advertising the electric car rentals, and we did the rental through him. We paid $80 for the day and it was well worth every penny. While I have no doubt the trolley is interesting, the electric car (which was red with gold stars on it!) was just so liberating for exploring anywhere we wanted - traffic, parking, etc. was not a concern at any time - it was super-easy and our kids absolutley loved it...we went to the southernmost point of the U.S., Hemmingway's house, the beach, stopped for keylime pie, toured all around, etc. etc. No waiting around for a possible crowded trolley, and could spend as little or as much time as we wanted doing each activity.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Thanks KJD469 ! This is sort of what I was hoping for---freedom....fun....something different ?!

And MrsPotatoHead425.....I heard about the electric cars just from reading the DIS (for years !). It's not a DCL sponsored excursion. Actually, there are lots of things you can find to do/explore on your own that aren't through DCL. You can even google "Key West excursions" and see what comes up. We did this for Cozumel as well and booked a beach excursion not on the DCL list of excursions.
Some people don't necessarily feel as comfortable doing something that isn't Disney sponsored when on a cruise---which can be understandable.

 

[acourtwdw2]

When we rented our electric car, there was a gentleman standing at the end of the pier area where you would walk onto the main street. He was holding a sign advertising the electric car rentals, and we did the rental through him. We paid $80 for the day and it was well worth every penny. While I have no doubt the trolley is interesting, the electric car (which was red with gold stars on it!) was just so liberating for exploring anywhere we wanted - traffic, parking, etc. was not a concern at any time - it was super-easy and our kids absolutley loved it...we went to the southernmost point of the U.S., Hemmingway's house, the beach, stopped for keylime pie, toured all around, etc. etc. No waiting around for a possible crowded trolley, and could spend as little or as much time as we wanted doing each activity.

Do you know what company you used? I was excited to see this thread started because i had the same questions. We recieved a rate fo 129 for the entire day during fantasy fest so I thought it was a good rate.

 

[MrsPotatoHead425]

Thanks KJD469 ! This is sort of what I was hoping for---freedom....fun....something different ?!

And MrsPotatoHead425.....I heard about the electric cars just from reading the DIS (for years !). It's not a DCL sponsored excursion. Actually, there are lots of things you can find to do/explore on your own that aren't through DCL. You can even google "Key West excursions" and see what comes up. We did this for Cozumel as well and booked a beach excursion not on the DCL list of excursions.
Some people don't necessarily feel as comfortable doing something that isn't Disney sponsored when on a cruise---which can be understandable.

i am soooo heading to google now! never even dawned on me to look for things not through DCL.. thank you!

 

[MiaSRN62]

i am soooo heading to google now! never even dawned on me to look for things not through DCL.. thank you!

You're welcome
Just an example....this is what we're doing for our Cozumel excursion that is not affiliated with DCL : http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/NachiCocomCozumel.htm
It's $50/per person and they limit the beach to 100 guests. Friends of ours have done it and loved it---so they recommended it. Have fun googling !

 

[kjd469]

Do you know what company you used? I was excited to see this thread started because i had the same questions. We recieved a rate fo 129 for the entire day during fantasy fest so I thought it was a good rate.

I'm sorry, I don't remember. It was several years ago now, so the $80 may have gone up a little. I believe there were several company's offering the electric cars for rent, and he just happened to be the one we went with. You could probably negotiate the daily rate i.e., they'd probably drop the quoted rate if they thought you were interested but were going to look elsewhere.

We had actually gotten off the ship with the intention of going to catch the trolley tour, but once we found out about the electric cars we thought that would be so much more fun - and it was!

 

[MichaelH]

The trolly is the way to go. If you see something you want to do, hop off and then catch the next one. You can really see the island and get a good history of it.

You can get a map of the trolly stops and they run every 20 minutes past each.

 

[magic458]

Wow. Normally there is some concensus on different questions.

This one is really divided.
What is the capacity for these cars?

 

[Disbug]

Wow. Normally there is some concensus on different questions.

This one is really divided.
What is the capacity for these cars?

There are different sizes. Two-seaters, Four-seaters, and Six-seaters are what I've seen. Don't think they go larger than that for the electric cars... Have fun!