Rent A Car or Call Happy Limo? Help!

[mlbretscher]

My family (DH, DS 9, DD'S 7 & 3) will make our first trip to WDW Sept 10-18. We will staying onsite at POR. A friend thinks I should rent a car so that we can go off site to eat if we want (and avoid "Mouse" pricey food). While I am sure it will be expensive to eat a "Mouse" menu (and healthy?) for 8 days, I am not sure I think we should rent a car. I was wondering for those WDW veterans (especially those with young children) is it worth the effort (and time) to pack everyone up and travel off site to shop or eat? I was thinking about calling Happy Limo (thought the kids would get a real kick out of that-this is a vacation!) and pehaps the limo would make a grocery store stop. Does anyone know if they (Happy Limo) can/will make a store stop? Thus, what do you think-Happy Limo or rent a car?


Thanks for all your help!!

 

[renniks]

Disney does have some healthy choices so I wouldn't be concerned about that too much. Do you have a strict food budget? While it is more expensive to eat there, there are ways to cut costs. We plan to stop on our way to the hotel to pick up some snacks and drinks for the week. That will save some $$ But as far a meals, I prefer to stay on site and eat, part of the magic for us You can also check the budget board for tips on saving on food costs and getting meal vouchers. My children will be 6 and 1 1/2, packing them up to travel off site to eat just not appeal to me. We will be renting a car becuase we plan on doing Universal for a few days and more than likely we'll need to make a run to the store halfway through the trip for something.

 

[BrerMama]

We could have rented a car for about the same price as our van transport through Happy Limo. However, we decided to go with Happy Limo. My feeling is that this is a Disney vacation and meant to be about the Disney vacation. I'm sure we could save money by going offsite to eat and by shopping at the outlet malls, but then it would be an "Orlando" vacation, rather than a Disney vacation. There's a fine distinction there, but one that matter to my dh and I in planning our trip.

Edited to add: Yes, Happy Limo will make a grocery stop if you use their luxury van service. I have heard that with most companies, if you schedule an actual limo, they will not make the grocery stop. You may want to check if you're consdiering an actual limo.