orlando without a car

[mumloveseeyore]

we are in the planning stages for our first trip to orlando. will be staying on I drive. The hotel has shuttles to the theme parks but we would welcome any advice on local transport options, particularly mears. Thanks

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Have you completely ruled out having a car? While it is possible to do Orlando using public transport and taxis I think you get much better value for money out of your holiday if you have the freedom and flexibility of your own car.

Regards

Rob

 

[Red-Snapper]

Get a car - the vast majority here will tell you that you wont regret it.

Whilst there is quite a bit to do up and down I Drive a car gives you the flexibility to go where you want to, when you want to.

 

[Pootle]

Welcome to the group

I agree with Rob - unless you are really set against it, a car offers great savings and flexibility. Also driving in Florida is very easy to get the hang of - although much of IDrive is pretty congested most of the time (Depends where exactly you are staying)

I'm sure others who use the I-Drive trolley, buses, Mears etc will post their experiences.

 

[allie5]

If you have really and truly decided you dont want a car (though personally, we couldnt do this sort of holiday WITHOUT a car) then choose carefully where you stay. If you are planning to hit mainly the Disney parks, then seriously consider Lake Buena Vista or Kissimmee (Maingate area) rather than I-drive. If you think you will spend more time at the I-Drive area attractions like Sea World and Wet n Wild then you can use the handy I-Trolley to get about.

Bear in mind when you use shuttle buses, that they will NOT be exclusive to your hotel. You can be picking up for up to an hour (depending where you are staying) before you even get close to the park. It can be tricky staying late, as there is generally only one shuttle bus back after 9pm. So, If you want to stay and enjoy the fireworks you run the risk of the bus being full, or worse missing it and being stuck for a $30 cab fare. You also lose the "flexibility" of coming and going. It can be nice to jump in the car and head back to the hotel for a swim before returning later in the day. This isnt very practical using the buses.

A big part of our Florida trip is the shopping!! If its something you
are interested in as well, then a car makes this easier. There are buses to the malls, but I cant envisage taking all my purchases away on the bus!! I would need about 4 seats for the bags.

Yes, its IS possible to do Orlando without a car, but having a car just makes the process that much easier. The only exception I would make, is if you were spending your holiday onsite at Disney. A car isnt as crucial as you can make use of the Disney transportation system. Personally, we would still have a car, but I can see that it COULD be done without, a lot more painlessly than if you were offsite.

If you want info on the local bus services in the WDW area, then check out: www.golynx.com

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Allie

 

[mumloveseeyore]

thanks for the advice but i dont drive so a car isnt an option

 

[LorraineH]

Hi All.

We are also staying on I-Drive in October, WITHOUT a car.

I have read loads of advice on these boards recommending that having a car is a far better option.

But we have chosen to stay on I-Drive as we are spending equal time between WDW and US/IOA (plus also doing Seaworld).

I dont believe a car would be essential for us. I think that if we were travelling in real holiday peak time, then maybe so, because the parks are open such long hours and a quick nip back to our hotel for a nap/swim would be worth it.

But we are travelling in October, with shorter park hours, so we wont be nipping back in the afternoons.

We WILL be needing to book a couple of taxis, though. I am desperate for an early PS at CRT, so if I can book it, I'd definitely arrange a taxi to make sure we arrive early. Plus, if we do MNSSHP, a taxi would be essential to get us back to I-Drive at gone-midnight. But I'd rather pay the taxi fare than drive.

I DO drive, but my fiance doesnt. I drive ALL THE TIME in the UK, so I feel that this is MY holiday too, and if I want to have a drink in a bar, then I will!!!

My feeling is, that even if the shuttle buses do take forever, I'm still on holiday and wont be doing any driving!

From the research that I have done, staying on I-Drive is a good base for non-drivers. We can take the I-Ride trolley to Seaworld, and then catch the Lynx bus to WDW. Ok, so the journey may take a while, but I dont have babies or toddlers. My two are aged 10 and 8 which obviously makes it easier. Maybe with tiny little 'uns then a car is better.

On the other hand, though, we are planning our first trip!! And maybe afterwards I'd think "never again without a car"!!!!!!

It would be good if other non-drivers, who have stayed on I-Drive, and survived easily without a car, could post their thoughts here too.



Lorraine

 

[major]

Hi,
We've been to Orlando twice and stayed on I-Drive both times, once with a car and the other without. When we stayed without a car we stayed at the Hawthorn suites which had transportation to all the parks. It did take longer to get to the parks but, it was good to see all the shops,restaurants and other hotels on the way. On the nights we wanted to see the fireworks etc we booked a hotel for a couple of nights at Disney (through priceline, we got the Hilton at wdw) We found it more relaxing without a car and have already booked our hol for 2005 and are not planning to hire a car again.
Enjoy your hol.

 

[mrshnn]

we dont use a car whilst we are there i stayed at the quality inn international,this time we are staying at the villager premier,i feel the public transport ,i ride lynx buses etc are really good,and even if you do use taxis quite frequently . if you outweigh that against the cost of hiring and the cost of insuring a car,you dont find there is a big difference,also you can have a drink,and let someone else have the hassle of the ever increasing traffic


hope you have a great holiday

 

[peewakio]

We have done Orlando on 4 occasions always without a car and have always advocated the fact that a car in Orlando is most definetely not a necessity. The fact that you are staying on I-Drive and the hotel supplies a shuttle service is a great start as there are tons of great restaurants on your doorstep and the characters you tend to see on the I-Ride trolley are a joy to behold. If you are going to Busch Gardens, dont forget the Gwazi Express which at $5 is fantastic value (free to holders of the 5 park Flexticket).
I have heard people say that with a car you have the flexibility to go home in the afternoon for a snooze and return later on, I say to those people NIGHT-TIMES for sleeping (unless you work nights of course) and personally I feel that if you spend all year saving for a fantastic holiday I dont want to miss a thing.
As for Airport transfers we always hire a stretch limo which gets us off to a great start and an unforgettable ending to a great holiday. We sometimes hire a Lincoln Town Car Limo for other specials such as the time we went to Boggy Creeks and Discovery Cove (which as you know is over the road from Sea World and the trolley would suffice, however it was a spaecial day. I have recommended to several friends and family members that a car is not as essential as people tend to think and they have always returned from Orlando and stated that they would not drive there again.
Hey dont get me wrong, if you want to explore Florida then obviosly a car is a must, but if you are just doing the parks and staying on I-Drive theres absolutely NO need for a car if that's what you want to do.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

The following links might help you plan a car-free holiday.

I never use a car as I ride a wheelchair and adapted wheelchair vans are VERY expensive! I usually stay on-site at Disney and only occasionally venture off site. I found the people at Lynx very helpful. They even sent me their route map by post. Routes 50 & 56 are the two main routes serving Disney - calling in at TTC.

50 also goes to Sea World. where you can change to other routes and the I-Ride Trolley.

For details of the I-Ride Trolley go to http://www.iridetrolley.com/index.html and for Lynx (Orlando public transport) go to http://www.golynx.com/. Also http://www.orlando-tours.com for coach tours to various destinations.

Taxis are plentiful in the area, though I have never tried to get one at park closing.

Good luck with your planning.

Andrew

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Originally posted by peewakio
Hey dont get me wrong, if you want to explore Florida then obviosly a car is a must, but if you are just doing the parks and staying on I-Drive theres absolutely NO need for a car if that's what you want to do.

Orlando is better geared than most holiday locations to not having a car, so if you can't or don't want to hire one it really won't cause any problems.

Regards

Rob

 

[peewakio]

I can't recall anyone on the DIS ever saying that it is impossible to holiday in Orlando without a car. Plenty of people are of the opinion that a car is more convenient than relying on public tranport/taxis, but has anyone said that it's not possible to have a holiday without one?

I didn't mention that anybody on the DIS wrote about it being impossible to get about without a car.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I was confused by the title of your post subsequently edited by Hilary . It seemed to indicate that those people who said that a car was a better option were talking rubbish. If I misunderstood what you meant by 'a load of codswallop' I apologise.

Regards

Rob

 

[peewakio]

No Probs Rob

Minor misunderstandidng.

 

[Red-Snapper]

Dont think you misunderstood Rob - Peewakio I think the title of your post is a bit over the top given the subject.

You are however entitled to your opinion like the rest of us & you are right that if you just want the parks and I Drive then you dont need a car.

However many (I think the majority) will say if you travel all that way there are so many other places to go and things to see that without a car are very time consuming and costly if not near impossible to reach.

Try doing an afternoon of Florida Mall then across to Mall at Millenia and finishing in Winter Park for dinner without a car. If you think you can without it costing an arm and a leg then I have to say...codswallop !!

However for a first time visitor the parks and I-Drive by bus are more than enough.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Originally posted by Red-Snapper
Dont think you misunderstood Rob

Regards

Rob

 

[Rain]

We have done it both ways. In the past I was scared to death of driving in the US did not think I could get used to the wrong side of the road.
We relied on shuttle buses and taxis, did a lot of waiting around and spent quite a bit on taxi fares.

The I Ride trolley can be fun if you want to go up and down I drive although you can be hanging around for quite sometime at peak times when the traffic is heavy.

Shuttles, well they were not that great from off site hotels, in some of the hotels there was just a few in the morning and then the same in the evening, you just had to hope that you could get on the shuttle going home at night. For lots of people it was standing room only and many stops at different hotels.

A few years ago after getting really fed up with shuttles I decided I was going to drive. I took several peoples advice from the board and after 10 minutes felt I had been driving all my life there.

The difference it made just to be able to get in the car and do what we liked was wonderful, after the parks you could go to a resturaunt, if you did not like the menu you just go on to another one.
Shopping was no problem either.
We have been able to stay at other offsite hotels that would be difficult without a car . ( last 2 times we stayed at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress)

I really would not go back to the days of shuttles.

I realise that you can get quite a few taxi's with what you pay for the car hire but for me I would think twice about going places when I know the taxi would cost quite a lot.

I cannot quite remember the price of a taxi from I drive to Disney parks but I am sure someone here will .




Lynda

 

[Dazed]

great to hear there might be life without a car! I am also staying on I Drive in Oct and relying on public transport - I agree that there's not much point in thinking about heading back for a rest midday wherever you stay offsite - the shorter day just dissappears too quickly! My main worry is managing to see fantasmic and other "firework" shows which I just love.
Major- I am staying at Hawthorn Canada Ave - any info particularly about the shuttle service would be great.

 

[major]

Hi Dazed,

We also stayed at the hawthorn on canada drive.We didn't get the shuttle back from disney any later than 6p.m. and really can't remember if they ran later than that. The shuttles from universal do run late - if my memory serves me right, i think until 2a.m
As I said we stayed at the Hilton, at downtown disney for 2 nights( it only cost us £40 a night). We went to fantasmic, saw fireworks etc on these nights.

Major

p.s just noticed you live just up the road from us, we live in the borders and my sis lives in Kinghorn.