OKW rent car or not during peak season

[PlutoNotPlanet]

Hi, I am debating whether to rent a car for spring break for my first stay at OKW and it’s a park-heavy trip. The good thing is rental car reservations can be canceled. Still, I need to decide once off the plane.
Here are a few considerations:

If it’s any monorail resort, I will definitely use the Disney transportation. But OKW relies on buses, and it’s close to spring break (high point chart) I wonder if the bus would take longer. Moreover, I heard OKW is huge, and near hospitality are all booked, meaning there is a chance we might need to walk a long way or take the internal shuttle.
Having a car could make park hopping easier besides navigating within OKW. Also, we would have the option to go somewhere else or get grocery.

Second, we are traveling with a young child who needs a car seat. Taking Uber/Lyft between parks and resorts when needed would be hard.

Last but not least: cost. Even if rent a car I might still take the bus to certain areas, so we won’t be driving every day. Rental car adds $300 to the budget for a week (already subtracted round trip Mears or Uber/Lyft cost) though it provides a lot of flexibility and can potentially save time within Disney as well as between airport and resort.

Any recommendations or thoughts?

 

[Genie+]

We like renting a car. At OKW that works out especially well since you can usually find parking super close to your room. It’s nice parking steps away from your front door! Some resorts are nowhere as convenient.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We always have a car, but when we stayed there it was definitely good to have given it’s such a large resort.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

At OKW that works out especially well since you can usually find parking super close to your room.

That’s definitely a perk.
At the same time, I wonder how bad it could be without a car in terms of transportation within OKW and to parks during peak season?

 

[Brian Noble]

The resort is pretty much always full or at least close to it. So the bus situation should be more or less the same.

I nearly always rent a car. It’s a much cheaper “extra” than most other things at WDW, and provides a lot of flexibility. The exceptions have tended to be BCV/BWV and even there I miss having it.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

The resort is pretty much always full or at least close to it. So the bus situation should be more or less the same.

I nearly always rent a car. It’s a much cheaper “extra” than most other things at WDW, and provides a lot of flexibility. The exceptions have tended to be BCV/BWV and even there I miss having it.

I've only learned about which are close to hospitality before. Now if I am renting a car, any recommendation on which part of OKW to stay if there is any corresponding request I can put on the reservation?

 

[Brian Noble]

Once I have a car, distance to HH doesn’t matter nearly as much as other factors. For example: the first half of the resort has villas with no door from the laundry room to the main bath, so anyone in the living room must go through a bed room to get to a bath.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We've been to OKW both with and without a car. On our last stay, we had a car, but the only time it was used was when DS and his family had to go to urgent care. And even then, the Urgent Care will come and pick you up if you don't have a car. So I'd say you could probably do without a car. However, if you're going to the main area for Olivias, the gift shop, etc., and are very far away, a car may be useful unless you enjoy walking. I use an ECV, so I used to be the designated "picker upper" of food orders so that DH didn't have to go. But generally it's OK. On our next trip, DH is playing golf, and yet he said he'd rather use the Disney transportation than rent a car so he doesn't have what he calls "the hassle of driving."

 

[Brian Noble]

That's a good point. One way to think of this is: Which of the following sounds like a better vacation?

1. Never having to touch car keys.
2. Never having to wonder when the bus will come.

I'm a #2 person, so from OKW, I tend to use a car to any location not named Magic Kingdom. I probably also would not drive to Disney Springs because those parking garages are a pain. On the other hand, my next stay is at RIV, and I am considering just relying on Disney for everything.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

"the hassle of driving."

1. Never having to touch car keys.
2. Never having to wonder when the bus will come.

Haha I resonate with both, but touching a car key is probably fine to me. For sure it will be better than a road trip.
I remember the experience waiting for monorail after a long day (need to go to parking so doesn't matter in this case), and it was not enjoyable. So, "waiting for bus for 30min close to midnight"or "waiting for bus for 30min when the child wants to rest" is the fear.

For example: the first half of the resort has villas with no door from the laundry room to the main bath, so anyone in the living room must go through a bed room to get to a bath.

I like these "other factors"! Thanks for sharing!

 

[chirona]

I have done both. I really did not use the car enough to justify the cost. However if I had a baby with me I would definitely opt for a rent a car. When you are tired with a baby it can be a challenging situation.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

I really did not use the car enough to justify the cost. However if I had a baby with me I would definitely opt for a rent a car.

Yeah, I feel I may only be able to justify ~$100 for the transportation from and to the airport.