Rental Car or Disney Transportation

[Vivig]

Wondering what your thoughts are if we should rent a car or rely on Disney's transportation for our upcoming trip to Disney? We will be there next week for 4 nights.

I am not reading positives on their transportation system...so it makes me worry that we should be renting a car to avoid potential headaches.

Your opinions are welcomed,
thanks in advance

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

our first trip we drove so we had our own car and it was great. From then on we have always flown and rented a car. The convenience is incredible. No waiting for buses and you can go around and do other stuff as well, even off property. I have heard good and bad about the buses, but have not really experienced them either way. We will always have a car when we go.

 

[Vivig]

Thanks! That is what we are leaning towards.

 

[mieuxmew]

Having a car is great! Make sure you get a good rate, though or it can be a very expensive luxury! We have two small kids and fly to Disney. Having a car is great. At night and in the morning when the buses have big lines, you can just walk to your car and you have peace and a seat! Also great with small kids to leave "just in case" items in the car in the lot, like extra clothes, sweatshirts, rain gear, etc that you really don't want to schlep around the park. We like to go back to our hotel mid-afternoon for a swim. Often we have dinner reservations at another resort. Disney transportation only goes from resort to parks to resorts, so a car makes this much more efficient. Also nice to be able to travel off site to get items that you forget or realize you need or just to pick up some snacks or breakfast food.

Rent the cheapest, smallest car you need. When we get to the airport, my husband goes to get the rental car and meets us at the resort while the kids and I take the Magical Express. This way, Disney takes the luggage so you don't need a big, expensive rental car.

 

[LSchrow]

you can also just rent a car for part of your trip.
we enjoy DME (love not shlepping bags around), then rent a car at the dolphin alamo/national for most, not all, of our trip (we go for 10+ days and rent for about 8).
you can also rent a car at the car care center or one of the many places near DTD.

 

[Cookie55]

Rent. The advantages are priceless.

 

[goofy4tink]

Depends on your particular needs. I like having a car to head to DTD, but that's about it. I have no issue with the transportation options provided by Disney. But, then again, I don't mind waiting a short time for a bus to come. I don't like getting into a steamy hot car, having to deal with people that have no idea where they are going. So, the bus works for me.

 

[canopynut66]

Wondering what your thoughts are if we should rent a car or rely on Disney's transportation for our upcoming trip to Disney? We will be there next week for 4 nights.

I am not reading positives on their transportation system...so it makes me worry that we should be renting a car to avoid potential headaches.

Your opinions are welcomed,
thanks in advance

we stopped renting car maybe 10 years ago and have never missed it. to us Disney has great transportation. the deluxe very slow bus service and moderates are slower than all stars resorts was terrible slow but friend talked us into POP century and has best bus service on property.. so we been staying over there since.

 

[speakupjc]

We are coming Thanksgiving week (Wed through Sun) so we figured that in order to not have to fight the crowds we would want to rent a car. What do you think?

 

[jdb in AZ]

we stopped renting car maybe 10 years ago and have never missed it. to us Disney has great transportation. the deluxe very slow bus service and moderates are slower than all stars resorts was terrible slow but friend talked us into POP century and has best bus service on property.. so we been staying over there since.

But the deluxe hotels on the monorail are worth it, IMHO.

Another consideration is whether you're planning to go see Harry Potter at Universal, visit Cape Canaveral, and/or any number of other attractions. The money you save eating at off-site restaurants will help pay for the rental car.

Decisions, decisions. The past several trips to WDW we haven't rented a car because we were headed to/from a Disney cruise and spent a limited number of days at the WDW parks.

 

[Hopefully]

We have done it all ways:
Driven from home and had our own car,
Rented a car for the length of our vacation
Used a Town Car service with a grocery stop
DME and a grocery delivery service.

We vastly prefer DME and a grocery delivery service.
When we drove and when we rented, the car sat in the parking lot all week. We like to not drive on vacation and we find the service to be wonderful.

Have a great Trip

 

[puffkin]

Rent! We have done both on numerous occassions. I will now NEVER do WDW without a car. I figured out we were spending roughly 2+ hours a day on Disney Transport (and riding packed in like sardines with hot, sweaty, cranky people is not my idea of magic) and <1 hour day on driving. That was almost a whole day of very precious vacation time wasted on busses. The car is worth EVERY penny

 

[Brian Noble]

A car is almost always faster than taking a Disney bus, even to the theme parks. The one exception is MK, but even then, it's within a few minutes either way on average, but the car is much more *predictable* than the bus.

So, if you are willing to drive in a new (albeit well-marked) place, and the cost is not a problem, get a car. I sometimes go without on a solo trip, but with my family, I always get the car. My last trip was at BWV, without a car. Being within walking distance of EP and DS was nice. The bus to MK and AK was *okay*, but had a few hiccups. Going anywhere else was a pain---even to EWWOS, where I got a cab there, but had to wait to get a cab back.

 

[Vivig]

After reading everyone's comments I am convinced to rent a car. Even though it may sit in the parking lot much more than being used..the knowledge that we are in control where we go and when we go is less stressful than dealing with crowds and potentially situations that may not be very desirable on vacation.

Thanks for the time you all took to reply. This is why I really enjoy these boards. All wonderful folks sharing their knowledge.