Rent a car or use Disney Transportation

[jenanderson]

Our family is going to be going to WDW for 10 days and then go on the Wonder in August. I am trying to find ways to cut the budget a little and am debating not renting a car for part of this trip.

We will be staying at the Polynesian. How bad is the busing from there? Specifically going to the water parks or the Animal Kindgom?

We would consider taking the ME from the airport to the Polynesian, then to the airport on the last day, and finally rent a car to drive us to the port (this seems to be cheaper for our family of 4 than paying for the Disney transfer to the port).

If we don't rent a car, we are probably going to have to have some groceries delievered to the room (especially water). This has caused us to think about maybe renting a car for one day when we get there to get groceries and get to the hotel and then return it. Then, rent a car on our last day to get to port.

If anyone has found any deals for August, I would love to hear about them! Feel free to share your transportation ideas to help us out!

Thanks in advance,
Jen

 

[bab31]

We took Magical Express from the airport to the resort at WDW- coronado springs- worked like a charm - no complaints- no bags to pick up. and it is a perk of staying on site so why not use it.

I ordered groceries from a company called gardengrocer.com
they have a good reputation here. They have a list to shop from and a comment box at the end to order anything not listed. You need to place $40 order and there is a $10 delivery fee. They will deliver right to your room if you are there or they will leave it with bell services. You do have a fridge in your room. I would not rent a car for groceriens

The poly is on the monorail line. so you can catch it and I believe busses as well. My experience at coronado springs was fantastic with the busses. we had no problems getting anywhere we wanted to go

have a wonderfull vacation!

 

[cranbiz]

The Poly has access to a lot of transportation options.

Of course there is the monorail to MK and other monorail resorts.

Then there is bus service to the other parks, waterparks (may share with other places) and DTD.

There is also boat service to MK and CR/GF

Now there is also the option of a short stroll to the TTC and connect with bus service to MGM and AK as well.

The only problem with the busses directly at the Poly is that they are shared with the CR and the GF.

 

[goofy4tink]

You should be fine with only Disney transport during your stay at WDW. Take DME to the resort....I believe you said the Polynesian. Have some groceries shipped in. We are going to spend 5 nights/6 days at BWV, then rent a car and drive to Port Canaveral and spend a few days just checking out stuff over there before our cruise. The day of the cruise my dh will drop us off at the ship, he'll return the car and get a ride back to the ship and join us. Then, when we get off the ship, we will get a ride to the car rental company and rent a car again. We were heading back to MCO but instead we are driving to Tampa to visit my ds.
I think I'm paying about $98 for a Ford Focus picked up at the DoubleTree in DTD, with Budget, on a Friday morning, returning it in Cape Canaveral on Sunday morning before the flight. Then, it's about $150 for Thursday pickup in CC and then returned on Sunday in Tampa at the airport.
There are plenty of car rental companies in the area. Alamo is right at the Dolphin, and is pretty easy to use. The only problem with them is that they don't have a convenient office to return to in CC.

 

[plove53]

If you are staying on the Disney compound then you do not need to rent a car. WDW takes care of you from the time you arrive at the airport to the resort, to all the parks, and back to the airport. You will find the transportation to be VERY easy. WDW has buses, buses, and more buses/monorail to go around all the parks and back to the resorts. Lat year it was late and me and my DGF left EC after it was closed walked to the Boardwalk and a bus was driving around picking up stragglers (I thought I was going to have to take a cab back to POP) Disney is A++++++ in transportation needs… also have a lot of people to ask where you need to be standing/going to. If you need food… some of the supermarkets will deliver right to your room.

 

[mom2dzb]

I just recently had to make this decision. I signed our family up for the DME and I reserved a car. Two of my children and myself (and our luggage) took the DME to our hotel and my husband and one of our children picked up the rental car. My husband arrived at our hotel about half an hour earlier than I did. Our luggage took more than 4 hours to get to our room. It would have been fine if we were planning on being at the park at the time, but our flight arrived in the evening so by the time our luggage arrived we were all anxious to get in our pjs. We didn't fly with a "participating airline" so we saw no advantage to using DME for our departure.

We really enjoyed having the rental on our trip. We usually opted to drive instead of rely on Disney Transport. We enjoyed being in control of our transportation and not having to wait around for a bus. The one time we felt that Disney Transport was a better option was when we needed to get to a park before opening for ADRs. That went very smoothly.

 

[Minnie & Me]

We have done 2 cruises out of Cape Canaveral combined with partial Disney visit. It is very easy to drive to the port. We have taken DCL transfer on the first trip and won't ever again. Once you have more than 2 in your group it is a better deal to rent and drive.

There are some good discounts on weekend rentals like free day on 3 day rentals. It all depends on which day of the week you are arriving to Cape Canaveral and if you are booking it over a Saturday. I would look for Budget and Avis because they provide transportation from the rental office to the port and they have offices at DTD hotels. I would plan a day at DTD 3 days prior to cruise for a car pickup and return it to the port. Then 1 day rental back to MCO. This way you can have a few days with a car for waterparks and offsite activities(SHOPPING!)

We are going in August for 11 days and we are getting a car for 1week in the middle. We are taking ME to and from the airport because I am too cheap to get a larger car for our luggage. So far we have an economy from Enterprise $134.72(entertainment code) and Dollar $157.09(oi1054 corporate code). This year, I am getting a higher price from MCO rentals than local offices.

Hoping for better rental rates to come!

 

[Number1Son]

We're taking our 4th trip in 2 years in a couple of weeks, and we always rent a car. As was said above, we find the flexibility and control over when and where we go to be priceless. Plus, since we're just 2 40-somethings, no kids, walking isn't a big deal.

Did you know that your parking pass is good at ALL the resorts. Disney wants to encourage people to tour the other resorts, and particularly to eat at the pricier restaurants in the top-tier resorts. We take advantage of that. We park at CR to walk over to MK, at BC or YC to go to Epcot and MGM (it's not a bad walk to either, but there's always the option of the boat if you get too tired). It's MUCH easier getting out of the park if you aren't heading for the Disney transport or the theme parks' parking. The only park where we haven't tried "alternate" parking is AK, because we haven't figured out the layout yet (only one trip there) to find out whether parking at AKL would be easier.

 

[disguy1]

you could have saved loads of loot by booking a moderate resort for one. We never rent a car while at Disney. We like being traped inside WDW.lol

 

[jenanderson]

Little off topic (and long) but important information. I know that we could save a lot of money by not staying at the Poly (booking a moderate or value). However, this trip is a huge celebration for our family - 1 year since DS has not had to have any operations and first trip without packing at least one suitecase of medical supplies for him! DS (7) has had 20+ operations, doesn't have an immune system that works, and knows more about medicine that a child should ever have to know. We promised the kids after the last horrible series of medical stuff last summer that we would celebrate by figuring out how to have the trip of a lifetime this summer and DS said that he wanted the Poly. So, that leaves other areas of the trip to cut the budget - not the hotel.

After reading comments here and doing some research, I am thinking we will take ME from the airport to the hotel. We will then rent a car for a couple of days before going to the cruise and then take the car over to port and turn it in. Finally, we will rent a car again to get back to the airport after the cruise.

We have always used National but am open to other companies. What company has a location at/near Disney and at/near the port? I am hoping for a company with quick/good service. We love the EI at National just for the ease of getting our car and getting out.

Sorry this got long - I really do appreciate all the advice I get here on the DIS!

Jen

 

[sjdisneywedding]

It totally a personal preference

You are golden for 2 of the parks from the Poly. MK and Epcot are a breeze to get to from there on the monorail.

Also you have quick access to the GF and CR via monrail.

 

[Evil Princess]

I did the college program last semester, and I got back from a return trip during spring break yesterday evening.

Initially we weren't going to rent a car, but since I love going to both Howl at the Moon and Ale House at night (both off property) and I'm used to driving around the world, we caved and found a great rate on National...plus I joined the Emerald Club, so I wound up getting an SUV for an intermediate rate. I was VERY pleased with how National operated, it was my first time renting and it was so easy and efficient.

We tried using Disney transportation to Magic Kingdom, since it can be a pain to park at TTC, but three busses later we were so done. I understand that it's great that Disney World accomodates everyone, but at Pop waiting for 2 ECVs to get off the bus just made me want to dash across the parking lot and hop in my rental.

A car isn't necessary, but it definitely saved us alot of time. I also like the freedom of having a car. We very rarely leave property, like I said just to go out a couple of nights around 9:30 at night, but it was wonderful.

That being said, I am very used to having my car there, and Disney property can be complicated to drive around. I'm used to it though.

 

[bigmoonmullen]

Hi:

Depending on the cost of a Rental and how many days you would want it... you "might" want to consider a Towncar. There are many to choose from. We have used Tiffany Towncar and it went exceptionally smooth.

http://www.tiffanytowncars.com/tc_rates.html

Not sure this is an option that would save you money... it depends on want your needs are once you get over to Port Canaveral area. If it's just to get you to and from... it might.

I hope you have a great vacation...

Mark

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

The Downtown Disney hotels have car rentals. I know Budget is close to the port. You can take a bus from Poly to DTD, then walk across the street to pick up the rental car. Also check out the DIS Cruise board to see what other car rental agencies are close to the port.

 

[goofy4tink]

We're taking our 4th trip in 2 years in a couple of weeks, and we always rent a car. As was said above, we find the flexibility and control over when and where we go to be priceless. Plus, since we're just 2 40-somethings, no kids, walking isn't a big deal.

Did you know that your parking pass is good at ALL the resorts. Disney wants to encourage people to tour the other resorts, and particularly to eat at the pricier restaurants in the top-tier resorts. We take advantage of that. We park at CR to walk over to MK, at BC or YC to go to Epcot and MGM (it's not a bad walk to either, but there's always the option of the boat if you get too tired). It's MUCH easier getting out of the park if you aren't heading for the Disney transport or the theme parks' parking. The only park where we haven't tried "alternate" parking is AK, because we haven't figured out the layout yet (only one trip there) to find out whether parking at AKL would be easier.

I hope you're parking with valet services because otherwise it's a big no-no to park at a resort you are not paying to stay in and leave your car there while you walk over to a park. Those paying to stay at these resorts are paying for the ability to walk to these parks. If someone wants to eat there, or to shop there, then they can do so for a few hours technically. But, parking there for the day, or night, in order to have easy access to the parks isn't how it is supposed to work.

 

[Evil Princess]

I hope you're parking with valet services because otherwise it's a big no-no to park at a resort you are not paying to stay in and leave your car there while you walk over to a park. Those paying to stay at these resorts are paying for the ability to walk to these parks. If someone wants to eat there, or to shop there, then they can do so for a few hours technically. But, parking there for the day, or night, in order to have easy access to the parks isn't how it is supposed to work.

Disney is aware of this, and that's why usually when you try to park at CR or Poly, you're issued a parking pass for a few hours.

People are always going to abuse it though.

Lots of things in Disney aren't "how they're supposed to work" but I'm sure that's not going to change anytime soon. Certain rules guests don't even realize that they're breaking.

 

[Number1Son]

Disney is aware of this, and that's why usually when you try to park at CR or Poly, you're issued a parking pass for a few hours.

People are always going to abuse it though.

Lots of things in Disney aren't "how they're supposed to work" but I'm sure that's not going to change anytime soon. Certain rules guests don't even realize that they're breaking.

In my defense, I did ask a CM (can't remember if it was check-in clerk or Concierge Desk) before I did this the first time and was told that as long as I had the parking pass in my window, I could park at any resort. I asked about it for one of our park-hopping days when we were going to eat at Poly, but CM volunteered that we could park all day if we wanted to. We don't try to park near the doors or anything - actually we try to park in an out-of-the-way spot that's easy to remember (planter with big tree, far right corner, whatever.) The only resort where they asked us anything when we went through the gate was when we parked at GF, and he just wanted to know if we were eating there. When I said no, he told us to park in the far guest lot instead of using valet parking. Usually they see the parking pass in the car window and just wave us through. I'm going to double-check with a CM when we get there next week, but until they forbid it, and as long as it doesn't look like the lots are at capacity, I'm not going to feel guilty about continuing, even if it's "bending the rules."