Rent a car or Disney transportation?

[Imagineer5]

I will never go to Disney without a rental car, unless I was going for a weekend and staying at BLT/Contemporary and only walking to the MK. I really, really dislike Disney transportation and dislike the wasted time it entails.

 

[limpy]

most of the parks you can walk from car to gate but not at MK. there you will need to take either the ferry or the monorail from the TTC to the main gate, you can not walk from parking lot or just take the parking lot tram

You can valet park and walk to MK. I know from experience that the slightly higher cost for parking is well worth the convenience when you have small children plus stoller/gear.

 

[sharona]

You can valet park and walk to MK. I know from experience that the slightly higher cost for parking is well worth the convenience when you have small children plus stoller/gear.

I plan on doing this for our 1 day at MK later this month. I do have some questions maybe you could answer. Did you valet at Contemporary? Did they ask where you were going? Did you pay cash? Did you leave and come back? If so did you have to pay again? Thanks!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

even with valet parking you can still run into a wait getting your car at the end of night depending on how many others are doing the same thing as you

 

[slo]

We always rent a car because I like the freedom it gives us.
I am not a fan of waiting for a bus, in fact I down right dislike like it.
We love driving around on Disney property and we've learned all the back roads to get places quick.
I also like using the car to leave Disney property once in awhile to go to a restaurant, grocery store or Walgreens.
But I've never been a fan of public transportation - I live close to Chicago and never use that public transportation either. There's something very comforting to me knowing that I have my/a car.

 

[sharona]

even with valet parking you can still run into a wait getting your car at the end of night depending on how many others are doing the same thing as you

Good point but I don't think that will be an issue for us. The park is open til midnight and we'll be staying until the end. I think a lot of the Wishes crowd will have cleared out by the time we make our way over to get the car. We're not really in a hurry to leave, lol! My reason for wanting to valet at the CR is that we are staying offsite and will need to pay for parking anyway. The small difference in cost to valet instead will be worth it as it will make it so much easier to leave for a break mid day.

 

[richmo]

You are a long way from having to decide. My advice would be to go ahead and book that $200 car, but don't prepay it. I don't know how long you're going for, but an intermediate size car should be about $150/week, with all taxes...if you do your homework and continue to look and rebook as you go along. Many times the best rates are found only 1 to 3 weeks ahead of the trip...that's why you don't prepay.

To play against that, you can certainly sign up for Magical Express. No harm if you don't use it...

 

[maxiesmom]

The only time we have rented a car, it sat in the parking lot all week. For us it was a waste of money.

 

[jnamadison]

Realistically I think it depends on your kids, and only you know your kids. When they're done, are they DONE? Or can they last an extra 30 min for a bus ride? Also, what are you planning for a stroller solution? Single for the 3yo? Singles for both 3/6? Or a Double? I double is going to be much more of a hassle with a bus. 2 umbrellas would be easier, but still leaves each parent with a stroller and a child. If you rent a car, are you bringing your own car seats or renting them? Less hassle through an airport with no need for a carseat.

We've always had a vehicle, but then we always venture off property to other, darker, mysterious places at some point during the trip. However, we have no problem taking Disney Transportation and plan to use it extensively in Sept staying on the monorail at Bay Lake Tower.

 

[Lupeix]

It really depends on your kids tolerance for waiting and where are you staying. As someone said before, the younger your kids the more you need the car. If you are staying on a monorail resort, then you probably do not need a car. If you are staying at any of the values or moderates, with a 3yo, unless yours is very patient, I would rent a car. You will have a wait for the bus, a 20 min or so bus ride and then probably a long walk back to your room, also a stroller (or maybe a double) to lug into the bus. Everything will be easier and faster with a car. In the context of how much things cost at Disney it is not that much to rent a car for a week and it is worth the money for the extra comfort IMO. You can book one through orbitz without paying any fees and cancel anytime if you see a better deal (or change your mind).

 

[Bluegrrl]

We always rent or bring our own car. Of course, we live here, so bringing the car makes sense, but my mom visits from Chicago so we use her rental. I couldn't imagine traveling any other way! We have APs, so that covers parking for us, we are able to drive to the resorts for dinners, we are able to get to stores if needed. Last time we visited, our entire family came down with the flu. Thanks to our car, we were able to drive to the clinic and get the diagnose and medicine that we needed. I find that the Magic Express, while great and keeps the tourists off our roads, can be limiting. You are on their schedule, must leave when they leave, I would feel so shackled!

If you do drive, remember the new Florida law about carseats - babies must have them! I would look into buying the GoGoKidz cart - worth it for the airport, trust me!

 

[limpy]

I plan on doing this for our 1 day at MK later this month. I do have some questions maybe you could answer. Did you valet at Contemporary? Did they ask where you were going? Did you pay cash? Did you leave and come back? If so did you have to pay again? Thanks!

We did valet park at the Contemporary. I think the security guy asked us why we were there, and we said we were looking for the valet parking, so he pointed us in the right direction. We did not pay for parking until we picked the car up, but we tipped a couple of bucks at drop off and then again at pick up.

 

[IslandAdventure4]

We have never driven, nor rented a car. To me when I step foot in the airport to leave, I don't have to sit behind the wheel of a car until we get back. Magical Express is perfect, and we have never had any issues with long wait times for buses no mater what resort we stayed at. Even if we drove to DW, I would still leave the car parked in the same spot until we left. Unless we drove to Legoland, of Universal etc.