Please help me decide if we should rent a car

[donnaf516]

I know there are all types of transportation available to me as a resort guest, but I feel like its going to take a forever to get places.

We're staying at the POR and have a bunch of ADRs at other resorts. I know that if we're at a park it's easy to get on a bus and get there but I'm worried about getting from our resort to other resorts. I LOVE the idea of having a rental car, but don't want to spend the money if we're not going to use it.

For example, I have a 8:00am ressi at the Cape May Cafe. What I understand is that I will need to take a bus/boat from the POR to either DTD or a park and transfer to another bus to the resort. How long will that take? Also if we're at a park and want to make a quick stop back to our room to shower before we go to a dinner ressie I'll have to take a bus from the park to the resort then take another bus to DTD or a park and transfer to another bus or other type of transportation to get to our ressi.

That sounds like it eats up a TON of time. Help me...

 

[ksloane]

We do lots of meals in resorts and have only used Disney transportation. Part of the "vacation" to me is not having to drive.

It does take some time (I'm sure more than if you have a car), but I've never found it to be too difficult. For breakfast ADRS, we just make sure we get up early. For lunch, we are already in a park, and for dinner we take afternoon breaks so I try to schedule early dinners and we head that way from our hotel after the break or to a park that is close/easy access before dinner.

 

[DOOM1001]

It definitely can take time,for the example you gave of trying to get to Cape May at 8am from POR you would definitely prefer having a car.In that scenario I would rather take a bus from POR to DHS and walk or take a boat to Cape May as I wouldn't expect to be able to get a bus very quickly at DTD that early to the Beach Club.Some people enjoy being able to not have to worry about driving when at Disney,but if you value your time you'll have a lot less issues with a rental car.

 

[jmartinez1895]

We always have ressies ( like 2 a day most of the time) and we never rent a car. Our motto is a dollar saved is a dollar for Disney. We always plan extra time to get to and from where ever and never have had a major wait. We also avoid the park opening times and closings so that the bus is not crowded. If we have breakfast ressies we catch the first round of busses and wait at he gate untill it's our time.

 

[winterman]

DH and I ALWAYS rent a car. It makes getting around WDW so much easier.

 

[uva185]

I love Disney transportation but it doesn't really work in between two resorts. However there are plenty of taxis at Disney that will take you from resort to resort. It would probably be cheaper than renting a car and more convenient IMO since you don't have to worry about parking.

 

[Disney Ron]

I would definitely rent a car if you could afford it. It takes an hour and a half to go from resort to resort. It takes 10 minutes to go from resort to resort in a rental. That leaves more time for things like the pool.

WDW is very easy to drive around. The signs are everywhere pointing out where you want to go. We've never had a problem getting to where we wanted to go.

 

[DVCBELLE]

We always rent a car - I hate waiting for the buses and you never know when the next one is coming which I think makes it VERY hard to plan.

I would love to see Disney implement a system where they could broadcast on your tv and at the bus stops the times for the next departing bus to a certain location. With the awesome GPS technology out there - this seems like it could track this sort of information. There is nothing more frustrating to walk up to the bus stop to see your bus pull away and know that you now could have a 1/2 an hour wait until the next one!

The other question is - do you have a stroller - if you answered yes - then definitely rent a car - they are very difficult to get on and off the buses!

 

[Disney Ron]

We always rent a car - I hate waiting for the buses and you never know when the next one is coming which I think makes it VERY hard to plan.

I would love to see Disney implement a system where they could broadcast on your tv and at the bus stops the times for the next departing bus to a certain location. With the awesome GPS technology out there - this seems like it could track this sort of information. There is nothing more frustrating to walk up to the bus stop to see your bus pull away and know that you now could have a 1/2 an hour wait until the next one!

The other question is - do you have a stroller - if you answered yes - then definitely rent a car - they are very difficult to get on and off the buses!

I read posters that say that part of being on vacation is not driving, but I don't understand this. Why would someone rather be on busses for an hour and a half? I don't find that as being on vacation. If we are in the pool we can stay in it at least an hour more and still get from our resort to the resort we have ADR's at, then someone using the bus system. To me that's vacation, more time in the pool and less on a bus.

 

[donnaf516]

Do you know what the average taxi fare is to get around disney? I know it will depend where you're going but I'd like to get an idea so I can run the numbers for taxis vs rental car.

We will have a stroller which is another reason that we're leaning towards a car. I too don't mind driving on vacation and agree that it will give us more time to enjoy parks, pool, sleep. The thought of having 2 kids up at 6am to get ready and be out the door for 7am for an 8am reservation that is 10 minutes away is exhausting...

 

[DVCBELLE]

I honestly think you could get a better deal on a rental car than a taxi - and again you could wait for a taxi!

We fly and rent a car - I always get the cheapest car - sometimes I get lucky with an upgrade - but I plan that our luggage and stroller would never all fit in the car. So we use ME to take our luggage - DH rides the bus with the kids and checks in while I head to the grocery store - by the time I am at the resort - they are checked in and happy and I have our snacks for the week!

The stroller then easily fits in the car without the luggage and we are good for the week.

 

[TheWog]

I read posters that say that part of being on vacation is not driving, but I don't understand this. Why would someone rather be on busses for an hour and a half? I don't find that as being on vacation. If we are in the pool we can stay in it at least an hour more and still get from our resort to the resort we have ADR's at, then someone using the bus system. To me that's vacation, more time in the pool and less on a bus.

How come every trip takes exactly an hour and a half?


I don't know what a bunch of ADRs is, but as others have mentioned weigh the cost of taxi vs. car rental. You don't have to hassle with getting the car and dropping it off and can just grab a cab when you need to go. If there isn't one right there bell services will call one for you.

 

[Disney Ron]

How come every trip takes exactly an hour and a half?

Wog, that's the average time it takes to go from resort to resort. You have to catch the bus at your resort, then travel to either DTD or one of the parks while making other stops, to then transfer to a bus to the resort that you have an ADR at, then travel on that bus while it makes it's other stops, before you finally arrive at your destination.

That's why we rent we'd rather spend the extra time doing things then spending that time on a bus.

To each his own.

 

[TheWog]

Wog, that's the average time it takes to go from resort to resort. You have to catch the bus at your resort, then travel to either DTD or one of the parks while making other stops, to then transfer to a bus to the resort that you have an ADR at, then travel on that bus while it makes it's other stops, before you finally arrive at your destination.

That's why we rent we'd rather spend the extra time doing things then spending that time on a bus.

To each his own.

Thanks. I just wasn't sure as it seemed like a definitive answer. I haven't done the resort to resort dance - don't care much for ADRs, but I did the DHS to DTD via CBR dance and it took 40 mins and that included waiting for the dreaded DTD bus. Longest bus ride (time in the bus) I had was from AKL to DTD at just over 20 mins so I'm just thinking those are some incredibly long wait times at bus stops. Also, not sure which resorts are the destinations and such, so you could be right, just seemed long to me.

 

[Sandi]

It will depend on your destination, but taxis will run about $10 - $20 between most places at WDW. In August, we took a taxi from POFQ to AKL because it was raining and we just weren't in the mood for the bus transfer tango. It was $20. I like using ME and Disney transportation for most of our travel needs, but I won't hesitate to use a taxi if I want more direct service. I figure I can take several taxis before it rises to the cost of a rental car.