Question For Those Who Have Cars at WDW

[sylvenmaid]

We decided to drive down to disney at the end of April. Airline is just too expensive and we can stay at the beach on the way home and still $300 less with gas, tolls, hotel, and food. We are staying at the French Quarter resort. If you stay on grounds can you drive to the parks and get free parking? I also plan to eat a couple of meals off site so just wondering how much of a hassle it is. Any advice or tips would be great. thanks.

 

[ilovediznee]

Glad you are going! Everyone will have their own opinion, but I personally do not use our car once we get there - we come from SC. Parking is NOT free unless you have an annual pass and I think it is $14.00. I am already exhausted when I leave a park so the last thing I want to do is look for my car and drive back. We always use their transportation unless we are going somewhere before or after, such as dinner. It all adds up to be about the same in the end between waiting for the bus/finding a parking spot and paying for it.

If you are going offsite to eat, then I would take your car, or better yet, go back using the buses but earlier and then take your car just too eat. That way you are not paying for parking at the parks.

Diane

 

[WizardLarz]

Yes, staying at POFQ you will receive a parking pass. It is one of the perks of staying on property.

I drove down in '08 and only used my car on 1 morning because of SWW at DHS, and I wanted to get there before the buses started running. The bus service that Disney's has is super quick, and easy to use.

 

[pinkteacup]

Parking is free to guests staying on WDW property. You will get a sign to display in your window. Everyone has their own opinion, but we fly to WDW and always rent car, and I would not do it any other way.

 

[sharadoc]

We decided to drive down to disney at the end of April. Airline is just too expensive and we can stay at the beach on the way home and still $300 less with gas, tolls, hotel, and food. We are staying at the French Quarter resort. If you stay on grounds can you drive to the parks and get free parking? I also plan to eat a couple of meals off site so just wondering how much of a hassle it is. Any advice or tips would be great. thanks.

We drive everywhere, but for MK, we may take a bus/boat or valet park at a monorail resort (which you DO have to pay for unless you have a handicapped tag). Much quicker for us - we don't like waiting for a tram, then a bus. Especially at Epcot - the bus stop is SO far away, you could walk to the end of the parking lot quicker!

You're staying in a good cental location. You exit your resort, then turn left, go to the light and turn left - you're on Buena Vista Drive which will take you past Downtown Disney, then eventually out to 535. At the corner of 535 and Buena Vista is a large center with a ton of restaurants. You could probably find enough places to eat there for a week. And you won't spend a lot of time and gas doing it. But, if you want to go further, then turn right onto 535 and you'll see a TON of places along the sides of the road, or go onto 192 for even more.

If you're driving down 95, be sure to stop at the Florida Welcome Center and pick up a ton of guide books that will have a lot of ads and info on off-site restaurants and entertainment. That could help you, at least give you an idea, of what to do.

 

[jwcollin]

we are going down in August and have a car booked for the entire trip. We plan on using Disney Transportation to get to and from the parks, but will use the car when we want to go off site for a while. This will be the first time we will have a car at the World, so we will see how things go!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

They have buses at Disneyworld??

We drive everywhere.

 

[jwcollin]

They have buses at Disneyworld??

We drive everywhere.

I thought about doing that, but wasn't sure how much time it would be taking the car, parking, walking and then back again? The bus all but drops you off at the parks front door!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Well... when you have a car you simply get in the car and drive. With a bus you have to wait in a queue until a bus arrives and hope there's room for you. If not, another bus will be a long in another 20 minutes. Or so.

The bus stops for the parks all involve some walking, too, though certainly not as far as it would be to a lot. At park opening and closing there are usually long lines. If you want to go from your resort to another you have to transfer buses at some point. It can take 60 minutes or more to head to another resort for a dining reservation. In a car it's about 7 minutes.

I thought about doing that, but wasn't sure how much time it would be taking the car, parking, walking and then back again? The bus all but drops you off at the parks front door!

 

[jwcollin]

Hhmmm, guess we might have to give it a whirl once or twice when we go! Like I said, this will be the first time we will have car so we have always relied in the buses to get around.

 

[Goofygirl17]

We have only stayed on-site one time and used the buses exclusively. We really missed being able to go off-site for dinner, groceries, etc. Our other two trips we stayed at timeshares off-site and enjoyed having a rental car. This time we're staying at SSR but also renting a car. It will be nice to have the car but also get free parking

 

[nowellsl]

We always drive to WDW, but rarely use the car while we're there. We love the buses. The only time we drive is to go to the outlet malls, or Downtown Disney.

 

[DebbieB]

Glad you are going! Everyone will have their own opinion, but I personally do not use our car once we get there - we come from SC. Parking is NOT free unless you have an annual pass and I think it is $14.00. I am already exhausted when I leave a park so the last thing I want to do is look for my car and drive back. We always use their transportation unless we are going somewhere before or after, such as dinner. It all adds up to be about the same in the end between waiting for the bus/finding a parking spot and paying for it.

If you are going offsite to eat, then I would take your car, or better yet, go back using the buses but earlier and then take your car just too eat. That way you are not paying for parking at the parks.

Diane

Parking is free if you are staying at a WDW resort. The last thing I want to do when leaving a park is stand on a bus hanging onto a pole, which more often than not is the case at closing.

 

[Glencora]

If you drive, not only are you guaranteed a seat, but one that is usually a lot more comfortable than a bus seat. Plus, you get to control the noise level AND the temperature!

 

[miprender]

We stayed at the POFQ in April,2010 and rented a car for our trip.

Maybe in a few years when we have no more strollers to lug on the busses we might try taking them again but much more relaxing for us to take the car to the parks.

We also had our AAA diamond pass so on some days we were able to park up close.

 

[dansyr2514]

We use the car all the time at Disney. No waiting for a bus...yeah!
It really is convenient especially after the nightime fireworks shows. Sometimes busses fill up an you have to wait until the second or third from your resort arrives.

 

[Tara]

We decided to drive down to disney at the end of April. Airline is just too expensive and we can stay at the beach on the way home and still $300 less with gas, tolls, hotel, and food. We are staying at the French Quarter resort. If you stay on grounds can you drive to the parks and get free parking? I also plan to eat a couple of meals off site so just wondering how much of a hassle it is. Any advice or tips would be great. thanks.

I LOVE having a car at Disney! The freedom to come and go as we please, always having a seat, being able to go offsite when needed. (like easily being able to take my son to urgent care when his ear was hurting) It is exactly the OPPOSITE of hassle in my opinion and vast experience!

 

[jwcollin]

I think I will really enjoy having a car this time! The last time we went, we didn't have one and my daughter was quite sick! Took the bus to Downtown Disney and then walked to a strip mall! In August! Got lost! Oh my, would have been nice to have my own wheels! Hind sight, should have taken a cab but...

 

[pepe of ohio]

43 trips so far and the early ones we drove................but never used the car, it just sat in the lot. We were amazed at the free transportation Disney provided. Now that we use Amtrak, we still have no need or want for a car...part of the Disney experience and vacation is not having to drive and park and really, how much time is driving going to save you over the hassle? In any given day at WDW, we have plenty of time for the parks, eating and relaxation and not worrying about our car, driving and gas and what not. Buses leave you right at the entrances to the parks and the short walk when leaving to the bus stop is no big deal after walking all day in the parks. The bus is super cool, so it's crowded, even standing isn't that bad but we don't mind, no directions to remember, signs to watch and other crazies driving not knowing where they are going, we leave that all up to the bus driver. One big reason we keep returning to WDW is not needing a car for a huge complex like WDW and it's all free.

 

[FINFAN]

My only advice for thse who do not use their cars / leave them in the parking lot...DO NOT leave candy wrappers, crumbs, food traces in your car!
Years back we rented a car as we did SW prior to WDW. Once we got to WDW we never needed our rental and it sat in ASMU's lot for 5 days. We had a split stay planned, so when we went to load the car to move to CR...ANTS!
The car rental place did not do a very thorough job of cleaning the car, we discovered a melted candy bar under the passenger seat and the ants had been feasting for who knows how long!!?!?!?!!? They came in from under the car I guess all I know is we had to run over to CCC, get the thing cleaned up and called for a replacement car. Luckily we noticed before we put all our luggage in there to drive over to CR. We have taken our own car and rented since then and make sure the car is crumb free ( not easy after a road trip from Chicago) before leaving it to check in. The rental place gave us a super hard time over the ants, said we left the candy and no real way of proving otherwise....so just check on your car..and avoid any issues!