Rent a Car vs Disney Transportation

[DVC Mater]

I've read a lot about how different members like to rent a car, take ME and "gamble" with the bus system, or drive themselves. So I thought I would poll the Dis and see what DVC members prefer to do and why...

 

[DVC Mater]

I'm in CA so i'm probably never going to drive down there. I like the idea of not worrying about the luggage with M/E, especially with two kids to haul around so for now I am voting for All disney transportation. Now if I get hosed by M/E, like a post i read earlier, I might reconsider...

 

[Claire L]

We collect the car at the airport and then drive to Disney. Once at Disney we use the car for off site visits to SW/US/IOA and for shopping We also like to use the car for waterpark visits as it is much nicer to be able to get back into the car and drive back to the resort if the weather turns. Also we have in the past combined Disney with the Gulf Coast and next time it will be the Atlantic Coast

Claire

 

[alldiz]

No car here.....I like not having to drive.

Don't want to mistakenly leave the "bubble"
Seriously.....way to many cocktails on vacation to be driving anywhere Kerri

 

[bobbiwoz]

We generally do get a car for 1 -2 days so we can go to Church on Sunday. During our December trip which was just a week ago, we took ME back to the airport, we had a car from Saturday morning through Monday morning. We had some business to do in Orlando.

Mostly we use Disney Transportation.

Bobbi

 

[castleri]

We generally get a rental car for offsite shopping and return to the airport but prefer to use DT for all but water park trips once we arrive at WDW. The last couple of trips we have taken ME and then rented the car at the Dolphin when we were ready for it.

 

[Debi]

I use a rental car, and will drive it everywhere except the Magic Kingdom (MK's parking is too much of a hassle for me). I'm spoiled by the freedom of having a rental car.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We generally get a rental car for offsite shopping and return to the airport but prefer to use DT for all but water park trips once we arrive at WDW. The last couple of trips we have taken ME and then rented the car at the Dolphin when we were ready for it.

I was thinking about doing this for one day to go to Universal. Will they bring the car to your DVC resort, or do you physically have to go there to pick it up?

 

[Harley-Mouse]

We Me to the resort Then rent a car. Drive to all parks but MK use disney buses.

 

[JimMIA]

We only live a few hours away, so we drive our own car (although we rented an SUV for one trip). We've tried Disney transportation a few times, but driving is so easy and painless, we drive everywhere.

We can be entering the parking lot of any theme park before we'd be boarding a bus back at our resort, and driving is WAY more comfortable than riding a bus...especially at the end of a long day.

We've taken the bus to MK, but frankly we think the hassle and waiting is more trouble than it's worth. Plus we enjoy taking the ferry or monorail.

The other big plus for us is being able to easily come back to the resort during the middle of the day for pool/nap time. One round-trip by bus per day is tolerable; two round-trips would not be -- WAY too much wasted time. I think bussing makes more sense for Theme Park Commandos doing a LONG day in one park than it does for us.

Also, now that we will not be using DDP, the car opens up a ton of dining options we wouldn't have otherwise.

I think you could probably pay for a rental car with your food savings from eating offsite. I haven't done the math, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a net savings.

 

[bblanch]

While I have yet to try the bus system from any DVC resort, we hated it from any of the value or moderates. So if we aren't staying somewhere we can use the monorail, then we'll either have our own car or a rental.

 

[GusMan]

Our experience with Disney Transportation has been nothing but good to very good. Sure, every once in a while you end up waiting a little longer, but we make up for it by talking about our day, or our upcoming plans, etc. We make the best of it.

When we did drive down there this past summer, we compared driving vs DT to the parks, etc. We found it to be wash, at best, and that was not saying much.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We only live a few hours away, so we drive our own car (although we rented an SUV for one trip). We've tried Disney transportation a few times, but driving is so easy and painless, we drive everywhere.

We can be entering the parking lot of any theme park before we'd be boarding a bus back at our resort, and driving is WAY more comfortable than riding a bus...especially at the end of a long day.

We've taken the bus to MK, but frankly we think the hassle and waiting is more trouble than it's worth. Plus we enjoy taking the ferry or monorail.

The other big plus for us is being able to easily come back to the resort during the middle of the day for pool/nap time. One round-trip by bus per day is tolerable; two round-trips would not be -- WAY too much wasted time. I think bussing makes more sense for Theme Park Commandos doing a LONG day in one park than it does for us.

Also, now that we will not be using DDP, the car opens up a ton of dining options we wouldn't have otherwise.

I think you could probably pay for a rental car with your food savings from eating offsite. I haven't done the math, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a net savings.

How is it driving around to the different parks and resorts...are they all pretty close to each other? Using ME makes everything seem so far away. Will the rental place at swan/dolphin bring the car to a dvc resort?

 

[dianeschlicht]

My choice wasn't really covered. We always rent a car for getting back and forth to the airport and to have for grocery shopping and doing inter-resort dinner reservations, but we always use Disney transportation for parks and park activities.

 

[bzzelady]

I echo Diane's posting...we use ME to get from MCO to Disney and back...then we use the car while we are there for the grocery shopping, dining reservations at other resort hotels, and occasionally if we just want to go watch Illuminations or Fantasmic in the evening.
If you are in South Point at OKW and you suddenly need milk in the evening, it's just nice to be able to have the convenience of being able to drive to the Hospitality House and pick it up.

 

[TAKitty]

My dh and I would be divorced if we took a rental car. Disney transportation means that I don't have to read a map!

 

[Caskbill]

Being retired, we always drive to Florida. Will spend on average 6-weeks there at a time, and probably half of that at WDW.

When there, we play it by ear, using Disney transportation, or our own car, depending on the specific circumstances such as what resort we're staying at, and where we plan to go. For example if we know we'll be going to DD after going to the park, we'll drive.

When going to MK we'll take a bus/boat. Driving to MK is more hassle with going to the TTC where you need to take the parking lot tram, then mono/boat over to MK. We like the bus drop off right at the park.

One thing we do sometimes is to just do bus roulette. We'll go to the closest bus stop, and whichever is the first themepark bus to arrive, is the park we go to.

Not mentioned is walking. If staying at BWV or BCV, we'll walk to Epcot or MGM.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

I would like to ME my way to and from the airport and then rent in Disney but how complicated is it to drop off the rental and then get your way back to where ME is picking you up( your hotel)? Anu help would be appreciated. I would like to stay In SS. Where would be the best place to rent a car? Thank you

 

[JimMIA]

How is it driving around to the different parks and resorts...are they all pretty close to each other? Using ME makes everything seem so far away. Will the rental place at swan/dolphin bring the car to a dvc resort?

Well, it IS quite a way from MCO to WDW. However, once you are onsite, nothing is very far away from anything else.

I've always been amused by the digs against OKW and SSR (and now AKV) for being so "remote" from the theme parks. I can drive anywhere in WDW from OKW in 10 minutes, and that's driving slow and waiting a bit at the parking fee collection booths. Driving around WDW is nothing in terms of distance or time.

The difficulties with driving at Disney at first are just unfamiliarity with the roads and the fact that nobody else on the road knows where they are going either. You really have to watch out for other drivers.

One lesson I learned pretty quickly is that you have to pay close attention to the signs. For each exit, there may be 5-6 signs, but your destination will usually only be on one of those signs. If you miss that one sign, you may drive around a bit. But once you drive back and forth a few times, you get used to it.

 

[DVC Mike]

I like having my own car, and the freedom of going anywhere you want, at any time you want, without having to wait for a bus!