Rental car recommended when staying on property?

[syrscuba]

Going to WDW at the end of March, staying on property at AOA. Several friends as well at AAA travel agent have recommended renting a car for the week in order to avoid lines/delays associated with the resort>park buses during peak periods. Has anyone done this, pros/cons?

Thanks!

 

[ArwenMarie]

We always rent a car. We would never go to Orlando without a rental car. We use it for everything, other than if we are within walking/boat/monorail distance of a park. We find driving to the parks, and everywhere else (visiting other resorts, the waterparks, etc), to be quite quick and easy. We've also used it in a pinch to run to Target when someone forgets a swimsuit or we need to go to an urgent care, etc.

 

[greeny]

We always get a car and find it incredibly convenient. You can get a great deal on Priceline and Hotwire. I think it is totally worth it as it saves time and worry about catching a bus. Only con is the added expense but this can be minimized by searching for a good price.

 

[DVCcurious]

Renting a car will make your experience much better. We live in the NYC area so we don't own a car. So if we rent a car we have to pay a ton for insurance. That's the only reason we don't rent one. I'd gladly pay $250 for a week to have the freedom of a rental car.

The buses at WdW may be a necessary evil, but they are evil and if you can avoid them by using a rental car and you're OK with the cost then you will be much happier having your own transportation.

 

[Alesia]

I wouldn't rent a car if I was staying onsite. It's just an unnecessary expense. We've never had an issue with using Disney transportation.

 

[owensamo]

We're driving to WDW for our next trip - and looking forward to parking the car and not moving it for a week! We've never had an issue with WDW transportation - but always made sure we left plenty of time just in case. My DH does most of the driving in the family, and he doesn't feel like he's on vacation when he has to drive in crazy Orlando/WDW traffic. He's happy to let the bus driver drive and spend the time interacting with the family on the bus instead. We've had some of our best family time travelling on the buses!

 

[BandMom1]

We rent a car as it gives us much more flexibility and freedom when traveling to and from the parks - we found our travel times to be much shorter than when using WDW transportation.

Having a car also came in handy when we wanted to stock up on snacks at Target and when our daughter got ill and we had to make multiple runs to Walgreens.

As a pp mentioned, with a little research there are deals to be had. We will be renting a car again on our upcoming trip.

 

[PetePanMan]

strongly recommend car rental even if staying onsite. You can get very affordable rentals in Orlando

 

[memakwed]

Most trips we drive and do not get a rental car. We rely on the transportation provided. We've never had a real problem and expect to wait at busier times of years or always leaving epcot. Last trip we drove and used transportation all except the night we were at epcot for illuminations. The car was wonderful and made it so much easier. As we are getting older and health is changing the car at times is very good to have on hand. Overall though if you are healthy and don't mind standing in the evening on a fully packed bus a rental isn't needed.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For many years I just used Disney Transportation unless I drove and had my own car.

On the last trip I flew (lately I've been driving), I rented a car since it was a short trip and I was able to get the rental car cheap.

It was great having a rental car. I was able to be in the parks within 30 minutes of leaving my hotel (I did take the bus to MK so that was different) and I loved not waiting on buses.

I'm thinking I'll want to do a rental car if I can get one cheap when I fly to Disney instead of relying on Disney transportation.

 

[ppony]

We've been going to WDW for 20 years and almost always have rented a car. HATED the few times we didn't. Hate buses w/ an immense passion. A car made nearly everything better.

 

[Brian Noble]

I almost always get a car unless I'm staying in an Epcot area resort (I can bus to MK, and the other parks are walkable/boatable)---and even then sometimes I'll take a cab or an Uber to get somewhere in a hurry. With a car, I generally drive most places (sometimes including MK if I'm not staying in the MK area) unless I'm having a second BEvERage with dinner.

But, different people value things differently. So, what sounds more like a vacation to you?

1: Never having to drive in an unfamiliar place, let someone else handle the logistics of getting from point A to point B, and just leaving the car keys on the side table all week?

2: Never wondering when the next bus will come and/or whether you will have to stand for the trip?

My sense is that most people who try a car find that they like it, but it's also a place where you can save some money if you'd rather.

 

[Frozen2014]

Although you don't need one, we loved the flexibility oh having a rental. We also stayed at AoA and always drove (one day parked at MK, took monorail to Epcot and then monorail back to MK for evening). MK parking is a bit of a pain, but if you get there early you can skip the tran and just walk to monorail. Also we loved how quick it was to go to a resort ADR with a car (and free parking). Personally we preferred having our own car rather than relying on Disney transportation.

 

[Dan Murphy]

You might run this by the folks on the Transportation forum here also.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

 

[DisneyMim]

We always rent a car. We love the flexibility of being able to do whatever we want. My daughter and I have done a couple of "girl only" trips and did not rent a car. We stayed at the Poly and Beach Club and both times found the transportation lacking. It just seemed to take forever to go anywhere and we always seemed to have to stand on the buses. Hated it. We have been going to WDW forever and my husband would not be without a car. He knows all the routes (and often times NOT the way the signs send you) and can get us anywhere faster than Disney can. We like to eat in various resort restaurants also and having a car is way more convenient. Now, even with all this being said.....I can certainly see the appeal of not renting a car. A lot of people don't want to spend their vacation driving, and also don't know Disney (it is a huge place) well enough to be comfortable driving around. The wonderful part about staying onsite is that you have so many options. Do what YOU feel is best for your family.

Enjoy The Magic!!