Once in Florida...

[thelucky7]

We are going to WDW for the first time in May 2012. We have always assumed we'd drive to save money but lately we're thinking about flying. The more we think about a 13 hour drive with a 3 year old the worse it sounds.

A couple questions...

1. There is transportation from the airport to WDW, right? Is that a hassle?

2. Once in the park will we need a car or wish we had one?

We're staying in WDW and have a dining plan.

 

[1tufgt]

We are going to WDW for the first time in May 2012. We have always assumed we'd drive to save money but lately we're thinking about flying. The more we think about a 13 hour drive with a 3 year old the worse it sounds.

A couple questions...

1. There is transportation from the airport to WDW, right? Is that a hassle?

2. Once in the park will we need a car or wish we had one?

We're staying in WDW and have a dining plan.

1. yes disney has DME (Disney Magical Express) buses that will take you and your family to your resort and drop you off. Also before you arrive you should get some DME luggage tags to attach to your luggage so they know to pull your bag from the carousel. So it saves you time from waiting for your luggage and all you do is get off the plane and head to DME and get on the bus.

2. It really depends on your preference if you prefer to wait for transportation or not. Having a vehicle gives you more freedom to go some place in a instant and not have to wait for the bus, but each has their pros and cons. I myself prefer the freedom of having a car just in case we want to make a detour somewhere or keep some things in our vehicle that we didn't want to lug around the parks.

 

[Hopefully]

DME is a great service. As stated, you can put special DME yellow tags on your luggage before you leave. DME will get your luggage and deliver it right to your room. This is a great service. Just pack a carry on with anything you would need for the first 24 hours, ie prescription medications, bathing suits a change of clothes etc.
We prefer not to have a car, but it is a very personal decision. Disney transportation consists of buses, boats, ferries, the monorail, trams etc. It is a major public transportation system and is very efficient. That said, you may have to wait up to 20 minutes for the bus to arrive. Also at a park closing at night, the buses are usually standing room only. There is also no direct resort to resort routes.
We save the rental car cost and budget for a taxi ride or two between resorts for meals. We still save a ton of money.
Enjoy

 

[sam_gordon]

Keep in mind DME is only for guests staying on property. There are other options... town car & taxi come to mind.

As far as having a rental car or not... every person is different. Personally, I don't use a rental once on property for the following reasons:
1) I like not having to worry about driving (and other drivers). If I want to have some adult beverages in a park I can.
2) I don't want to have to worry about getting in a hot car... getting onto an already cold bus is better.
3) I don't want to have to fight the crowds at the trams.

Again, these are all my opinions. YMMV.

 

[DonnaL]

One thing I haven't seen posted above yet.....keep in mind ME only runs from MCO (Orlando International Airport). Some airlines fly into Orlando Sanford and if you fly into Sanford you will need to make other transportation arrangements.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

As far as a car verses taking the bus. This past May we had a rental car so when we left MK I decide to take the bus and DH took the car back to SSR so we could see how much time it takes to take a bus. DH had to wait 45 minutes for me to arrive. Same thing with DHS he waited nearly 40 minutes for me to arrive.


So factor in 45 minutes times the number of days and if you are there for say 7 days that near 7 hours of vacation time spent waiting on a bus. And that is if you only ride a bus one way. Factor in the time to get to the park as well and now you could easly waste nearly 14 hours of you vacation waiting on a bus.

Plus you have the freedom to go anywhere. Especially if you need to go to the store for anything.

Plus our car rental for a week this past May was $86 and I am getting ready to book another trip and car rentals for the week will be $85 and both rental were Mid size at Alamo using the Insider program which is free to sign up for.

 

[OKW Lover]

Some of the reasons I prefer to have a car rather than use the WDW transportation include:

• Don't have to wait out in the hot sun for the bus/boat/monorail to arrive
• My car leaves as soon as I get in it
• The person next to me didn't have beans for lunch (usually)
• My car goes directly to where I want to be without intermediate stops

 

[sam_gordon]

So factor in 45 minutes times the number of days and if you are there for say 7 days that near 7 hours of vacation time spent waiting on a bus. And that is if you only ride a bus one way. Factor in the time to get to the park as well and now you could easly waste nearly 14 hours of you vacation waiting on a bus.

I don't know that you can use that math. While I'm sure your times are right, they are also dependent on how long you wait for a bus. If you would have walked up to a waiting bus @ MK while your DH had to wait for a monorail/ferry to get to TTC, you could have beat him there.

I will agree taking a car is quicker, I don't think anyone has said different. But I don't think you can say someone will waste 14 hours waiting on busses over a week's time. To me, the other benefits (that I listed earlier) outweigh the time factor. Oh, and I forgot to list 'cost' as another plus... Disney transportation is free.

 

[Emmabean2000]

With a 3 year old it is great to have a car if you need to bail and get back to the hotel quickly!!!

 

[kydisneyfans]

We said when we parked the car on Saturday a few weeks back that we wouldn't see it again until we left the next Saturday.

Instead we went offsite 3 times to eat, picked up some fresh foods, and drove to Typhoon Lagoon. We never had less than a 45 minute wait for a DT Disney/TL bus.

There seemed to be long waits for busses during our week there too. Not sure that it equalled 14 hours, but it was substantial.

I like having a car.

 

[DCTooTall]

Where are you coming from?

If it's someplace in the northeast, Another possibility that might be worth considering for you would be the AutoTrain. It runs from DC to the Orlando area, and would give the 3yrold more room to move around, they'd get to ride "the choo choo" which can be an adventure.... less headaches overall than dealing with the airport, and you'd have your car when you got to Florida.

 

[Ress76]

• Don't have to wait out in the hot sun for the bus/boat/monorail to arrive
• My car leaves as soon as I get in it
• The person next to me didn't have beans for lunch (usually)
• My car goes directly to where I want to be without intermediate stops

And, * there is always seating room in my car!

As for the intermediate stops, my car has no problem going from MK to DTD to Pop Century, if needed/wanted. That can be quite a bit of time spent on a bus.

That said, having a little one, I would reccomend a car. The flexibility of getting back to the hotel, character meals, even an offsite run to Walmart because you left something at home or whatever is priceless to me. YMMV, of course. I'm not sure how long your stay will be, but a taxi to WM and back, and a taxi one night because your child is having a meltdown or doesn't feel well is probably most of the cost of a cheap rental car for your stay.

Ress

 

[Minnesota!]

I don't know that you can use that math. While I'm sure your times are right, they are also dependent on how long you wait for a bus. If you would have walked up to a waiting bus @ MK while your DH had to wait for a monorail/ferry to get to TTC, you could have beat him there.

I will agree taking a car is quicker, I don't think anyone has said different. But I don't think you can say someone will waste 14 hours waiting on busses over a week's time. To me, the other benefits (that I listed earlier) outweigh the time factor. Oh, and I forgot to list 'cost' as another plus... Disney transportation is free.

we personally love WDW transportation. It's part of the experience for us. We both hate driving, and so going to WDW means that for one week we get to kick back and not worry about anything.

You say waste 14 hours...but to us, that 14 hours is part of the fun! We love the bus - meet new people, drivers are almost always fabulous and funny, and I love love love the bus after a long day. Dark outside, quiet murmurs of people re-hashing their day. We pull up at Pop and we all pile out to get ice cream before bed.

It is truly a wonderful part of our vacation!

 

[richmo]

I've been surprised at the number of "get a car" responses so far. I agree.

Some of this has been touched on already, but here's my input:

- Magical Express is for Disney resort guests only. If you're not staying at a Disney resort, make sure you rent a car. It is true that some outside properties have transportation to WDW, but I wouldn't want to rely on it. Especially with a 3 year old, you don't want to be tied into a shuttle schedule.
- If you're staying at a Magic Kingdom resort (Wilderness, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Ft Wilderness) the transportation to Magic Kingdom and Epcot is quite good and doesn't require a bus. From all other Disney resorts and to all the other parks regardless of resort, you'll have to bus it if you don't have a car.
- It is true that a bus should show up within 20 minutes or so to get you to or from a park. It is not necessarily true you'll be able to get on that bus. For example, last March I had left my car at Magic Kingdom and was returning to there from Animal Kingdom in early afternoon. There was at least 150 people waiting to board a bus to MK and no bus came for at least 15 minutes. Solution: I boarded a bus to Epcot and took the monorail to MK (Ticket and Transportation Ctr).
- You'll also have to decide, whether or not you rent a car, whether to bring your own stroller or rent one from Disney. There's a lot of advantages and disadvantages to both...if you bring your own, you have to transport it on the bus, or carry in your car and carry on the tram (which can be a pain). If you use a Disney stroller, you may not have the storage you're used to, it can be difficult to find and you won't have it in parking lots and Disney transport (although if you rent one in one park, I believe you can get a free replacement for that day in another park...if they're available),
- You also have the option of using Magical Express to take you to WDW and back to MCO AND you can rent a car. Alamo/National has two onsite agencies, one at the Dolphin hotel and one at the Car Care Center, which is on the exit road from Magic Kingdom. If you're thinking of using Magical Express, it wouldn't hurt to go to Alamo's site and see how the rates compare for renting from those locations. This also gives you the option of renting a car for part of your trip. (If you reserve a car this way, you call the agency the day before you want the car and they'll come to your resort and pick you up and take you to the Car Care Center. When you give it back, they'll drop you off at a resort or a park). I've found that usually rentals are somewhat more expensive at CCC or Dolphin, but not always.

Lots to consider, but I vote for renting a car.