park transportation vs own car?

[mommt]

I am wondering after reading my "unoffical wdw guide" what some of your thoughts are on getting around on property. We will be staying at OKW May 6-10.

Will it be easier and faster to get to and from the parks using the bus or our own car? We plan on leaving mid day to go back to our room for a nap as we will have 2 children with us.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[SAKPEG99OKW]

Use WDW transportation. You might have to wait a little bit in the afternoon depending on when you leave the park. But, let someone else do the driving for a change. Your on vacation right. Also, let someone drive who knows where they are going, no wrong turns.

Have a great trip.

Scott, Peg and Tyler

 

[ifillrxs]

I would ALWAYS use disneys transportation. Especially if you are on the monorail line or at an ALL stars . see the oboe post

 

[Bob NC]

After doing both, I have to say that driving your own car could save you hours, (yes, hours), every day. If you go back to the resort to rest during the day, then go back to a park, then maybe go to another park or resort for dinner, you will do A LOT of waiting for buses. Look doubtfully on folks who say they NEVER wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. On our last visit we were going to try the bus system again after not using it for a few trips. After waiting 25 minutes to catch a bus from CSR to MK, we got in the car. Look at your unofficial guide on how much time you should allow to get around.

 

[Kermit]

There are as many opinions as there are people on this one. We like WDW transportation. In fact, we drive there but never use our car once we arrive.

Driving can be fast, but a lot of people forget to take into account the fact that it takes a long time to get to your car. This is especially true at the MK, where you have to ride the monorail or ferry to get to your car. At MK and Epcot, you'll almost definitely need to wait for the tram, and it's much harder to get strollers on and off it if you have them.

Using WDW transportation is easy. You wait in shaded areas for the bus, and the shades have fans. It's much better than holding onto your kids while walking through a busy parking lot. You never get lost, and you never have to get in a hot car. The buses are air conditioned, so there's no burning yourself on a hot seatbelt or anything like that.

 

[Bob NC]

I guess I should add to my post.....Driving is better and faster as long as you watch your kids in busy parking lots and don't burn yourself on your seat belt.

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

IMHO, you should use your own car, ESPECIALLY, if staying at the All-Stars, and would definitely never, ever use 'em again, from the MK on a Saturday night. It took us over 2 hours to get to the ASMovies! You can save hours of valuable vacation time. WDW transportation is o.k. if you're at the stop when the bus arrives. I understand,(though not from personal experience),that the transportation from the water parks is not up to par, especially if there's a weather-related closing. If you're travelling with kids, and someone get's sick, do you really want to wait for a cab to go to the doctors? Hope this helps!!!

 

[Bill From PA]

The best transportation choice depends on the destination and time of day. In gereral, we use the busses in all cases EXCEPT: going to another resort to visit/eat, goin tto AK if we plan to hop to another park from there or going to DownTown Disney unless I'm planning on having more than a drink or two. Our usual daily schedule is to hit a park early and when the crowds get big, hop to Epcot. The bus is fine for this unless the early park is AK, then we drive. Evenings we'll hit PI and I don't want to drive after that! We've visited Boardwalk to eat at ESPN Club and hit Jellyrolls and the car is better for that. We're staying at Dolphin in Nov. so that won't be an issue. I have to disagree with a previous post. I've found AllStar to be the best served of the WDW resorts we've stayed at. After Fantasmic or the fireworks at MK, NO method of escape is fast!


Bill From PA

 

[n2mm]

We always drive to the parks. We've done the buses, and don't like to wait. We enjoy the convenience of zipping from one park to another in less than 10 minutes. I commute on public transporation everyday, 5 hours a day and the last thing I want to do is ride the bus. The monorail is not bad, even though it reminds me of the subway (above ground). Some folks here love WDW transporation and that's great, because it's one of the few perks left. I'm not one of them, and we would prefer to drive....we always get a seat! You should try both ways several times to several different locations and compare what you feel the most comfortable with. We fly out of Washington DC and rent a car.

 

[mirlow]

I think it depends on what you are willing to pay for transportation? I have done both and like aspects of having my own car and using the buses. It's true if you want to go to another resort for dinner you would have to do some extra planning to get there, but it can be done. It is nice to get dropped off right at the gates of the park when taking the bus. I haven't done the bus in the summer yet, I guess I am a little nervous because we have 3 young kids. We don't really do much outside of the parks, but we do like to eat dinner at AKL. We always stay at the Polynesian so we have the monorail to get us to the MK and Epcot. I'm making plans for this summer and I still don't know what we will do? If we rent a car we will stay at the Polynesian and POR. If we don't rent a car we will stay at the Polynesian and the BC. BTW you might want to check out rentals and reserve one just in case. I made a reservation last month for this summer and now the rates are at least $57 more a week sometimes more than $100 more

 

[DebbieB]

We'll be at OKW May 4 to 10 for the third year in a row. We always rent a car. I have no patience for the busses. If you get on the first stop at OKW, it can take 10 or 15 minutes just to get out of the resort, it makes a stop in each section. If you get on the last stop (HH) you probably will have to stand during peak times. We always arrive on a Saturday and go to MK at night for Spectro, that's the only time we take the bus. That's usually enough to make me drive the rest of the time. It's a personal choice, I just don't like being jammed together on a crowded bus. I don't mind driving, WDW is well laid out. I usually get a rental car for around $120 for the week, it's not much more expensive than a town car from the airport. Plus we like to go the outlets & off site restaurants.

 

[LucyStorm]

When I went in November, I found it convenient to have a car. I never used the car to go to the parks, but for the luau at the Poly, to go to Gooding's, to go to Downtown Disney, and we left Disney property (GASP!!) for breakfast one morning at the Waffle House.

I wasn't going to rent a car for our trip in September, but got a great rate for a car at Dollar, that is only about $40 more than what it would cost me for a towncar plus tips. Plus since this will be our fourth trip to Disney, and I don't feel the pressure to stay completely at Disney so I don't miss anything, this will give us more options.

If you can get a great rate, go for it, if not forget it.