Question re: driving to parks while staying onsite

VAB2013

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
90
Sorry for all the basic questions but it's my first trip in 12+ years and my son's very first trip so I am trying to maximize our time and make the trip as much fun as possible.

We are staying onsite (AoA) and will have a car. There are 5 of us, 3 adults and 2 kids. One child is 6 and the other will be 18 months. We plan to visit MK, AK, HS, and Epcot during our 5 day trip.

If we have a car, would you use it instead of relying on Disney transportation? I have heard due to the size of AoA that getting on the buses can be a bit crazy. We will have the baby's stroller, a diaper bag, and a small soft sided cooler with us each day. It just seems easier to use our own car.
 
It is better to use your car for all parks except Magic Kingdom. Take the bus for that one. Avoid driving to Downtown Disney as it is currently NUTS. If you want to hit Downtown Disney I suggest driving to Saratoga Springs and then walking from there or driving to Port Orleans Riverside and taking the boat to Downtown Disney.

At Magic Kingdom, if you drive, you will be routed to a parking lot and will then have to take a tram to the TTC. From there you will have to either get on the monorail or catch the ferry to the Magic Kingdom.

If you take the internal bus from AoA you will be dropped off a short stroll from the front gates. In the case of the Magic Kingdom, you are far better off to use the Disney Bus.

We have done stays at AoA and have found the bus service to be very good, especially for getting to the parks in the morning.
 
Thank you! Can you let me know why it would be better to take the bus to MK? Is it just due to size of park, amount of people, etc.?
 
We drive everywhere even when we stay onsite unless we staying within walking/boat/monorail distance of a certain park. I think driving to MK is easier as well (unless you are on the monorail or at WL). At least I don't find it worse than any other park. MK does add the ferry ride, but that is part of the fun to me. I think with the size and composition of your group, you'll find driving to be easier.
 

Thank you! Can you let me know why it would be better to take the bus to MK? Is it just due to size of park, amount of people, etc.?

As the PP stated, if you drive to the MK you need to take at least 2 additional forms of transportation to reach the entrance plaza. You will be directed to the TTC lot to park in the huge lot. Then you would have to take a parking lot tram to the TTC where you will have to take either a monorail or a ferry across the lake to the entrance of the MK. All of this is a hassle. The buses drop you right at the entrance to the MK - no additional forms of transportation are necessary.
 
Thank you! Can you let me know why it would be better to take the bus to MK? Is it just due to size of park, amount of people, etc.?

The MK buses from the resorts terminate just outside the MK entrance gates.

But, the MK parking lot is mot near the MK gates. (See map below.)
Guests must take another form of Disney transportation (monorail or ferry boat) to the MK gates after they park their car and (often) take the tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC.)

That's not too bad because in the mornings, guests arrive "over time" and not all at once.
However, after an MK parade or fireworks or at closing time, huge waves of guests all crowd the monorails and ferries trying to get back to the parking lot (and busy trams.)

MK-Area-2Lakes-5Resorts.jpg
 
The MOST TERRIFYING experiences I have ever had at Disney both involved Tram drivers who were INSANE! In both cases they drove way too fast and took turns way too sharp and whipped the cars about. The seats were slippery and when trying to keep seated while holding a squirming toddler, a stroller, and the effluvia of motherhood I found my self unequal to the task.

I will happily avoid tramming again.

It is very possible that I experienced highly unusual and freak occurrences, but it left enough emotional scars to prompt my advice.
 
Last edited:
another vote for drive yourself to all parks EXCEPT MK. the parking lot is just too big and too far away and the bus system although sometimes annoying with the waits and having to stand is just that much better for MK
 
Is parking price included when staying on site (I would assume yes?)

Does the "drive yourself" opinions change depending when leaving your resort? Like if you wanted to get there for the morning EMH? Would the buses be too crowded then to get to MK?

I am in the same situation (for upcoming trip in August) staying at Pop Century and was actually wondering the same thing. If it would just be easier getting my family in the car and enjoy the monorail or ferry ride from the MK lot .. rather than waiting for a bus that early .. *shrug*
 
If you are staying in property you do not have to pay for parking!

As to my advice for driving, I do not think when you are going would change anything. Magic Kingdom is still best by bus and everything else is best by car.

Edited to add: This advice is predicated upon the OP's familial situation with a six year old and an 18 month old toddler. When wrangling strollers, multiple adults, and the "stuff" which comes with kids still in diapers, the car is usually faster than Disney transportation.

While the MK bus is a hassle in that the stroller has to be folded and all the kids/stuff held for the duration of the ride, it does not involve managing the tram with a stroller/stuff and the kids.
 
Last edited:
If you're ever waiting more than 20 minutes for a bus call 407-WDW-RIDE and they will send one.
 
We have not stayed at AOA, so I can't tell you if the bus situation there is bad enough to drive, but we prefer just taking Disney transportation and not messing with the car. We had a trip where our friends joined us for a few days. They took their car to and from the parks and we took Disney transportation. We had fun testing to see the difference. What we found was that most of the time we arrived at the park gate, pretty much at almost the exact same time. There were a couple of times we beat our friends- once we even beat them by about 15 or 20 minutes. There was only 1 time, they beat us and that was not by much more than 5 minutes. Now- one thing to consider is that you will have to fold up the stroller for the bus - but you will have to do that for your car too. It can be crowded on the bus trying to manipulate and hold the stroller and it is a little bit of a pain, but we had several stroller trips and preferred dealing with that than dealing with having to walk all the way out to the car in a lot (or wait for a tram for it, deal with traffic in and out of the lots and on the street, etc.
 
I drive to all parks, including MK. My experience with that one is it's usually a couple minutes faster or a wash, as far as time, with the bus. All other parks will be faster to drive. The exception would be if you are staying at a monorail resort or WL.
 
I'd also vote drive to EP, HS, and AK. Definitely easier and faster, IMO.

As for MK - the fact you have to go to TTC if you drive, then tram, then monorail/ferry to MK - that's just annoying - so I prefer bus to MK. Now - when we are going REALLY early and know we will be in the first lot of the parking lot of TTC - we might drive since you can walk over to the monorail from there pretty easily. Or, we might drive to MK if we are headed to another resort instead of where we are staying at the end of the day. But resort to MK and back to home resort - we'd likely bus.
 
Every time we have gone we drove down to WDW. I parked the car and never used it again. The only exception was when we stayed at OKW. We drove to parks every day and we hated it. Granted, it's been a long time since we've used a stroller, but we think the bus service works just fine. They run early enough to do rope drop, and we usually see people give up their seats to accommodate someone in your situation. I know it seems easier to just drive, but in my opinion, it's not.
 
We also use our car pretty much all of the time. We did it when we still had a stroller since it's was such a hassle to take everything out of the basket/handles and fold it to get on the bus or tram, and we still prefer to use our car now that we don't carry as much stuff as before. Since we are a rope drop family, we can get a good parking spot close to the entrance so we very rarely need to use the trams, it's usually a short walk. We do use the resort bus when going to MK in the morning but we use our car if we go back in the evening because as bad as it is to use the monorail or the ferry to go to the TTC, it's not nearly as bad as waiting and waiting and waiting for a Pop bus after the fireworks with tired kids. Next time, we'll probably valet park at the Contemporary so we'll hopefully be able to get out in less than an hour...
 
We prefer to drive ourselves except for MK due to the ferry/monorail situation but even then, I sometimes drive and enjoy the ferry/monorail. Arriving to MK by ferry and catching that first glimpse of the castle as the boat approaches is much more magical than having a bus drop you off.

I don't find taking a bus very relaxing nor do I find driving to be particularly stressful or annoying when I'm on vacation. Different strokes... But really, for me, the bigger issue I have with the buses is the waiting and the unpredictability of it all. You may wait 5 minutes, you may wait 20. You may get a seat, you may not. And that is on the way to the park. On the way back, you may wait 20 minutes, you may wait a lot longer. You're standing while you wait after a long day of walking the parks. It gets old very quick. You just want to get out of there. You won't likely get a seat. And in the end, it just seems to take a lot longer to get from A to B when you're waiting at the bus stop. Now maybe it's really just about the same amount of time from A to B but if I'm in control of when we leave and if we're traveling the 20 minutes instead of waiting for 10 and then on the bus for 10, I like it better. With a small child and a stroller, I would opt for driving.

You'll have a car, give each method a try and see what you prefer.

As to the PP's comments about the trams being "terrifying", I have never had an issue with them. I don't doubt it seemed that way to her but I'm sure if this was a common occurrence, these boards would be full of stories and complaints about that.
 
I prefer to drive to all parks except MK, but even then I'll drive sometimes (early morning or late evening). The Unofficial Guide had bus versus car transportation times from each resort, and driving almost always won. That said, the drive versus bus thing is a personal preference. I personally prefer to be in control of my destiny and found waiting for the buses to be the most stressful thing, so we drive. Your opinion may differ.
 
We have never drove to any of the parks. We might try it this time because I found it quicker while staying there for the college program and seasonal hours. I can add to everyone else about MK. The parking lot for that is huge and sometimes you might need to take a tram. I have walked from my car to the TTC to get on a monorail or ferry. And I wasn't parked in the first section. It might be hard for you to walk with the kids but I found it okay. It's also great to drive to MK if you are planning to park hop to EP that day too since they have the monorail to take you from TTC.

And I would definitely not drive to DTD. Way too much traffic and parking is horrible right now with construction. I always head over to POR and take the boat over from there.
 













Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE














DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Back
Top