Off site Shuttle vs Driving yourself??

[poohbear8]

Would you take a hotel shuttle or drive yourself and pay parking?

There will be 2 adults, 1-8 year old, 1-6 month old, and a stroller. Staying off-site, only able to go to MK for one day( could hop if they want to), then hop on day 2 to MGM and Epcot.

What would you suggest? Take hotel shuttle to MK or drive? It is possible they will spend the whole day there, if baby stays happy. They have PS for 8:00am for breakfast.

I have never stayed off-site, so I can't offer any advice?

What have you done?
My concerns are in the PM, how long would you have to wait for a shuttle to come get you. I know that waiting for a Disney bus with tired kids is hard. We chose to drive after that. We were back at hotel in 30 mins. compared to an hour with the bus.

Thanks for the help!

 

[spiceycat]

off site shuttles are much, much worst than Disney.

Disney comes every 20 minutes - offsite twice in the morning and twice in the evening.

Drive yourself you will be much happier. Yes it cost $8 to park at Disney - but for the entire day you only have to pay it once. You can park hop or leave and go rest at your resort - if you kept your receipts you won't be charged again.

 

[isla bonita]

I think both disney and shuttles are the worst transportation going. With that said a car lets you go anywhere you want with little expense. There are such wonderful rates and the price for disney parking is worth every penny when you want to leave it is always where you left it. So far any way LOL. I love being able to come and go as I please. If you are not big on driving then sit back and enjoy the ride with the shuttle.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I couldn't be at the mercy of a shuttle schedule. I know many have done it but I just couldn't do it.

But ofcourse, we always drive if we have the children along so we always have a car. If we were flying, I guess we would really be in a quandry!

 

[crjack]

If it were us, I would definitely drive. Also not a shuttle family...even when we stayed on-site driving was our preference 99% of the time. (We did love the boat to MK) If you have a PS for 8:00 am you will probably have a pretty good parking spot depending on park hours for that day. The parking fee is a small price to pay for the convenience of your own car at the end of a long day, especially with kids and a stroller. Off-site I think a car is a must and with so many rental companies in Orlando it's pretty easy to get a great rate through Mousesavers, AAA, etc. We're getting a full size car for $104 for the week and that is with taxes and fees. Not much more than just the airport transportation and we can come and go all week as we please. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[Kevenswife2]

We ARE a shuttle family and have done both Disney and off-site shuttles. If I were staying off-site I would drive myself. Off-site shuttles have very limited pick-up/drop-off service and I didn't like fitting them into my schedule. Also, we had to leave before the parks even closed. I like to eak every last minute out of the parks (DH calls me The Disney Nazi) so leaving early was a real dissappointment!

 

[flagdaytwins]

Rent a car and drive yourself. We did this last week with our two toddlers -- NOT having to rely on others for transportation is less stressful than being at the mercy of a shuttle or the Disney busses.

Our townhome was 6 miles from MK. Hitting all the lights (and see below) we were home and in bed within 20 minutes.

Do you have AAA? They offer a Diamond Parking Pass (free). This allows you to park at front of parking lots, provided there is room. We did this and were able to walk to main gates.

Whatever you decide I hope it works well for you!

 

[disneykid1961]

Count me as another vote for renting a car and driving. We were able to come and go as we please...passing by the folks waiting in the morning for the shuttle, and even better, those at the end of the day. You get a big parking pass when you pay at the first park...just keep it in the window of you car if you decide to park-hop. One more tip: if you leave and go back to a park in the late afternoon, sometimes the parking guides will steer you torwards a far-off area of the parking lot. Remember where you park in the morning, (like in MK, Sleepy 72 is right up front) and tell the parking people you're meeting friends there. There are loads of empty spaces up front becuase people leave or hop later in the afternoon. Saves a lot of time at park close when you can just walk to the car rather than ride the shuttle. Also, if you have a stroller, you won't have to fold it up and disturb the little ones. We were door to door from the parks to the Sheraton Safari in 15 minutes. Good luck and enjoy! PPS: We used the National discount codes on Mousesavers, and signed up for Emerald Aisle on mousesavers and got a full-size for a week for approx. $100 including tax and fees. Emerald Aisle was great, we picked out any car we wanted and dropped off with the keys in the car, no wait! Great!

 

[disneysteve]

Would you take a hotel shuttle or drive yourself and pay parking?

I would rather stay home than go to Disney and have to depend on a shuttle service to get around. We want to be able to come and go when and where we want. I want my own vehicle (or a rental). We like to be able to go from one park to another, go back to the room mid-day, go from a park to a hotel or to DTD or to somewhere offsite, etc. There is no way we would ever enjoy our trip without a car. Even if we stay onsite, we still would never do it without a car.

JMHO

 

[MN Dis Fans]

With children that young, I would drive myself. The only time I think it makes sense to take the bus, is if you are doing the F&W festival Yahoo! Can hardly wait, as then one can have a few of the beverages without being concerned about driving afterwards.