Rent a car or not?

[easleygrls]

Need some advice from you WDW vets about renting a car. We are flying into Sanford. I have found an AAA quote on a car for 7 days for about $185, which as far as I can tell is comparable the various car/limo/van services.

10 years ago we drove down and didn't touch the car the entire time we were there -- BUT we didn't have 7 yo DD or ADRs at other resorts either.

Any thoughts or advice? BTW, we will be staying at ASSpo.

 

[girli565]

I know that most will say that you really don't need a car but if you're going from resort to resort IMHO you need a car. I know how much of a hassle renting a car is, I get lucky that I live in Miami so I drive to Disney.

But we had ressies at California Grill the first night of our trip and catching a bus from Pop to the Contemporary was going to be a hassle because of our 9:20 adr. The best thing I did was drive from Pop to California Grill because just as we were finishing dinner and heading back to our hotel MK was closing. Catching a bus at that time, 11ish, was going to be a nightmare. This is just my experience but I was very relieved to have my own car that night. We never touched it again after that but it was worth it for that night alone.

Enjoy your vacay!

 

[thebecka]

When we went in February we rented a car since we were staying off site. I like the ability of going where I want when I want. This summer we're only renting for a day since after the first night we'll be on property. I'm kinda hoping I can talk DH into keeping the car cause I like to go to different restaurants, gift shops, grocery stores, etc...
Also check rates for the various rental companies using the coupons from the Entertainment Book!!! They have the best value of just about anyone.

 

[WDW Traveler]

We ALWAYS rent a car. We always stay onsite and just enjoy not being tied down to WDW's schedule. That is just our personnal preference. We like to come and go as we choose.

I read somewhere a couple did an experiment. They had a rental car. At the end of the night, the wife took the car with their two kids back to the hotel and the husband took Disney transportation. By the time he arrived back at the hotel, she had already bathed the kids, put them in the pj's and had them settled down for the night.

Just my two cents, but if you can afford it, I'd say rent it.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Do you enjoy driving, or does driving stress you out? For me that is the bottom line. If driving is stressful then no to the rental car. My DH actually enjoys driving. He likes the freedom. For him waiting for any kind of Disney transportation stresses him out and the thought of crowding on to a bus, yikes not for him. Even if the Disney transportation took less time he would still choose the car. If it was just me going then it would be Disney transportation all the way.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We ALWAYS rent a car. We always stay onsite and just enjoy not being tied down to WDW's schedule. That is just our personnal preference. We like to come and go as we choose.

We usually stay offsite so a car is a necessity on those trips but even when we stay onsite we rent a car for this very reason. It's good to have WDW's transportation available if we want to go to PI for the evening and have a few drinks but otherwise to us the freedom to come and go as we please is well worth the price of a rental car.

Another consideration is whether you want to do anything non-Disney during your vacation. While a lot of people on these boards would chase us with torches and pitchforks for saying this, the simple fact is that Disney is only a part of what we like to do when we go to Orlando. We also like to spend a few days at Universal (we have APs to both parks) and perhaps take a few day trips to other parts of Florida. Without a car, we'd either miss out on the other things we like to do or spend a small fortune in cab fare.

As others have said, it's all personal preference. Some people find driving a hassle and prefer to let someone else take care of it while others can't stand having to rely upon someone else's transportation schedule and would rather just hop in a car and go than wait to get on a crowded bus.

 

[easleygrls]

Thanks for all the thoughts...we are definitely leaning toward getting the car, even if we only use it a time or two.

 

[Cee]

We always take the busses and they're great. No complaints. Last Jan. my
DH and I went for a few days and decided to rent a car since we were going
to be visiting all the resorts and not the parks. We had an ADR at the CR
and we were staying at OKW. We left a half an hour ahead of time and got
into our rental car to drive to CR. We arrived FIVE MINUTES LATER. So we
hung around CR until our ADR time. It is so much faster to get EVERYWHERE.
I think we'll be renting a car from now on. The freedom it provides is

 

[lisaanddenny]

anyone rent a car during these periods? is parking free all over WDW, including all the parks and all the resorts, if your staying @ the CBR? we went in 2005 for free dining and the transportation for EMH coming home was horrendous/horrific and a nitemare! I seen people get into their cars and drive right away. any thoughts?

 

[WDW Traveler]

anyone rent a car during these periods? is parking free all over WDW, including all the parks and all the resorts, if your staying @ the CBR? we went in 2005 for free dining and the transportation for EMH coming home was horrendous/horrific and a nitemare! I seen people get into their cars and drive right away. any thoughts?

When staying on Disney property, parking is free. And if you have an annual pass, parking is free.

I agree, rental cars save you tons of time!

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've been to WDW over 38 times and never rented a car but on the occasions that we did drive down, and those were alot of times, we never used the car but left it parked in the resort lot. Disney transportation was efficent enough for us and still is. A vacation from our car is great, especially if you drove along way to get to WDW.

Thhat being said, if we were flying into Sanford, we would rent a car but not use it on property. Just because the cab fare or limo service would be just about equal to a weeks rental and a car gives you the advantage of hitting the better grocery stores on your way to the World and doing a repeat shop during your stay. good deals can be had and you could rent at the airport, return it couple days later at the Swan and Dolphin and rent one day there to go back to airport, if you rent the right company that serves the S&D. Could save ya some money on rental on a long stay if you're going to use Disnet transportation once on property.

 

[DVC-Don]

We always rent a vehicle as we go offsite to grocery shop, dine out and just plain like driving to the parks, cept the MK.

 

[PrincessGrandma]

Why not MK? Never driven so just curious. All previous visits were at FW so we always took the boat. This time we'll be a POP so just "considering" a rental.

 

[easleygrls]

good deals can be had and you could rent at the airport, return it couple days later at the Swan and Dolphin and rent one day there to go back to airport, if you rent the right company that serves the S&D.

How can I find out which rental company that is? I know there is some kind of AAA car care center on property, is that what you are referring to?

 

[JacksGirlz]

There are Alamo desks at the Dolphin hotel according to mousesavers.com

 

[easleygrls]

Thanks!

 

[vpalmer]

We have done Disney without a car once and much prefer having a car. We are renting one this trip for sure. The ease just can't be matched by WDW busses.

 

[KodakFigment]

We have always rented a car for our Disney vacations. We have found that if you watch the rental rates you can often get very good deals. Last trip I changed our reservations 11 times BUT ended up with a full size car for the whole week for only $115 with taxes.

 

[Unregistered]

for those of you who have rented a car in September, staying at the WDW (CBR), how did you find traffic? Parking, was it easy, I know it is free but did you find it easy to get back to the resorts easily during free dining?? It seemed as though when I went in 2005, staying at (POFQ), the bus system was SO horrible, and I would see people who were driving, on the tram going to their cars, they looked happier than we were, especially after EMH, when the lines were 3 miles long for the buses, yikes.