Rent a car or not

[RweTHRyet]

My family is visiting WDW the end of October. My wife and I have been several times before, but this will be my DDs 5 and 7 first time. It's been about 7 years since my last visit and I have heard the buses are becoming more and more hit or miss. We plan on taking mid day breaks back to the resort. Would we be better off to rent a car or are the buses still a good option?

 

[NegaDuck]

I say yes. I always liked the freedom to come and go and also hit international drive for snacks and other items. The only bear is bringing car-seats to the airport.

Cheers

 

[Klayfish]

We never stay on property, so for us a car us a must. But even if we did stay on property, I'd never want to be without a car. It gives you so many freedoms that the buses can't. Not only can we go where we want on Disney property whenever we want, we can do all the things outside WDW too such as gift shops and restaurants. It's well worth the trade off for the minor inconveniences a car has (needing to use the trams, etc...).

 

[heidijanesmith]

We have only rented a car once and did not use it to drive on property. We like the fact that we do not have any transportation responsibilities, no parking worries and no other issues. We do not mind the buses. We do take a cab when we go to DTD and to TL and anytime we go from resort to resort.

 

[Mitzicat]

6 adults this year. My dad will have his truck that could fit us...but he says...I'm on vacation I want someone else to drive us. We are not in a hurry, we don't have our schedule planned down to the minute. If we make a fastpass great if not no big deal. We like the fact that we can enjoy some adult beverages and have someone safe drive us home. We also like that if someone gets tired and wants to go back to the room they can - no one has to leave with them to drive them back. I say no... but that's just me.

 

[tobikaye]

We plan on taking mid day breaks back to the resort. Would we be better off to rent a car or are the buses still a good option?

For this reason, I would say to rent a car. It will give you more break time than the buses. I normally have a car at WDW, but most of those times was because I drove to WDW instead of flying. I may not driver everywhere, but I do tend to drive if going back and forth to the resort. Sometimes I will drive in the morning to a park and the back to the resort for a break. Then I will take a bus back to a park for the rest of the afternoon.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We don't like driving, and we love using Magical Express, so no rental car for us. But we also hate waiting for a bus, so we use Uber.

 

[YawningDodo]

For me personally, I would not bother with a rental car unless I was planning to leave Disney property (the taxi rides we took to Universal were very expensive and I didn't particularly care for dealing with it). Going back to the resort midday might change things a bit, since you'd save some time by driving yourselves, but for me it's worth it to just not even have to worry about driving when I'm tired, or a little tipsy, or whatever. Think about, too, that a car may not always save you time -- the bus for MK might take a little longer to pick you up, but it drops off right at the front of the park. If you drove there you'd have to park, walk to the TTC, and then get transport to the front gate.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Think about, too, that a car may not always save you time -- the bus for MK might take a little longer to pick you up, but it drops off right at the front of the park. If you drove there you'd have to park, walk to the TTC, and then get transport to the front gate.

Oh--this is exactly right. I do not like driving to MK at all! Not good.

 

[RedOne3781]

I always rent a car. I don't travel with kids, so I can't speak up with advice on that aspect, but I love the freedom of having my own car. We usually take mid day breaks, and a car is just so much more convenient.

I will say, though, that if you do rent a car do not bother driving to Magic Kingdom. Taking the bus is always faster.

 

[svecchitto]

We always rent a car, last year we tried the buses and said never again, I can't stand waiting. I guess everything has pros and cons but I couldn't imagine going without.

 

[ktlm]

We love the fact that we don't have to rent a car and don't have to mess with driving, parking, etc. Sure every now and then we have an irritation with a wait for a bus, but for the most part the waits are short and we don't mind it at all. For us, the buses are good option. We have not seen any deterioration in them in the last several years, and we have been to WDW every year for the last 8 years. What resort? Some are better than others in terms of the buses I think.

 

[Crystal824]

We have rented a car and not rented a car. Really, it is personal preference and luck of the draw. Generally, we opt to not rent a car unless we are going somewhere else off property. I think overall using your own car v. a bus is a bit faster but always.

 

[Dismomalita]

Where are you staying? We are at BLT and have used a taxi once and haven't had an issues with Disney trans. I think I'll come out ahead no car this time. We have done it both ways but I like not to have one if I can get by without it

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Personally I HATE "Tragical Express", lol! When our flight hits MCO, I am so ready to hit WDW... No waiting around.
For that reason in and of itself we rent!
We also like to stop at Walmart for water on the way in. If you enjoy adult beverages, you can pick up beer, wine, etc as well. As well as snacks, breakfast items, etc.
The only park we don't drive to is MK as PP pointed out you park at TTC, and then still have to monorail or boat to MK. The buses drop.you off right in front.
We have found that car rentals are pretty inexpensive at MCO, comparatively.
This is what works for our family...

 

[NH-to-FL]

We would always rent a car, even when staying on site. DW has a number of food allergies and we would shop offsite for her special needs and stock up on basics like bottled water and soda. We would plan a visit to AK mid trip and use the return drive to do refresh our grocery needs.

As others have noted, we would take the bus to MK.

Also as others have noted, car rental at MCO is reasonable. I was lucky to have easy access to a good discount at Hertz through my work. Walk right from the plane to the car.

 

[disnut8]

My family is visiting WDW the end of October. My wife and I have been several times before, but this will be my DDs 5 and 7 first time. It's been about 7 years since my last visit and I have heard the buses are becoming more and more hit or miss. We plan on taking mid day breaks back to the resort. Would we be better off to rent a car or are the buses still a good option?

Not quite sure where that information is coming from so maybe some more details on what you are anticipating happening while you are there. Also, it would help to know where you are staying and what your plan for meals is. Each person is going to have their own personal experience with transportation while at Disney World so 99.9?% of those won't fit your specific needs/desires.

 

[KrazeeK120]

When we fly, we rent a car. Sometimes we drive down, so obviously we have our car in that instance. The Disney property is incredibly well-marked and easy to navigate. I like knowing I'll have a seat in a comfortable vehicle, climate-controlled to my preferences. Plus, it's almost always faster to drive. Personally, I like NOT standing shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty, overtired people.

 

[BobC]

Depends.

If you have many ADRs (especially at other Disney resorts) I would say yes. We have rented a car at times and it's a godsend if you get tired of Disney transportation.

Very good too if you want to stop at a Walmart and pick up some stuff or explore outside Disney

 

[fitzperry]

Not quite sure where that information is coming from so maybe some more details on what you are anticipating happening while you are there. Also, it would help to know where you are staying and what your plan for meals is. Each person is going to have their own personal experience with transportation while at Disney World so 99.9?% of those won't fit your specific needs/desires.

It would help to know where the OP is staying. As for the buses "becoming more and more hit or miss," I've found the opposite. During the past year or two, they've seemed more consistent than they did 5-10 years ago. I happened to be listening to one of Len Testa's podcasts the other day where he mentioned that tech improvements they've made to the dispatching system now have the traditional "you shouldn't have to wait more than 20 mins for a bus" down to 16.

We usually don't rent a car unless we're leaving Disney property, but last year some friends and I had one and did some testing to see who got back to the resort first. The difference was never more than 5 mins or so. IMO, if you're staying on property, it's mostly a matter of personal preference. I've also stayed off property a few times in the last couple of years for my daughter's cheer competitions, and I won't do that again without a car.