Rental Car to and from parks

You might want to consider as well that it is cheaper to rent from an airport rental site than from any satellite car rental. I guess because there is so much competition at the airport, the prices are more competitive. The difference in price is not that much to have a car for your whole trip rather that just for a few days renting from a spot near Disney.
 
We never rent a car. Never. ;)
Even when we drive to WDW, the car sits quietly in the parking lot, taking its own vacation. To each his own, some people need a car, some people don't.

Just FYI, the 1.5 hour estimate is for worst case scenario. It can take that long, it doesn't usually. Hope you have a great trip whichever way you go! pixiedust:
 
We are in the rent a car camp. For many years, we took the Disney transportation. Now, unless we are staying at BCV, we get a car. It's nice knowing you don't have to wait for transportation. We always have terrible waits at the water parks for example.
It would also be wonderful not to have to deal with a stroller on the bus!
agreed. before dw and i had our son, it was so easy to use on site busses. but with a stroller, having a car is so much easier. i hate having to take everything out to breakdown the stroller.
 
A rental car will save you time, in some cases significantly, so if that is a priority, then the rental is definitely worth it. Some people don't mind taking longer to get from Point A to Point B if they don't have to drive themselves. It just depends on what your priority is. Personally, I rent the car. I'd much rather take all the saved transportation time and have it in the parks any day.
 

I rented a car 1 time when we were there for 2 weeks and did both Disney and Universal.
Never again. I use Disney transportation and Lyft. I prefer Lyft because its cheaper then Uber and you can tip your driver.
If I have early am breakfast ADR's I always use Lyft.

Instead of taking Magic express back to the airport, I use Lyft for that too. Costs about $25 from WDW to MCO.
 
I always drive to Disney from NY, so I always have a car. I have gone entire trips (13 or 14 nights) without ever using it, relying solely on Disney transportation. For the most part, the Disney transportation is pretty good, though there are occasions where you may wait for a very long time to get where you are going.

There have been trips where we primarily used Disney Transport, but also used the car some. Especially if we had early breakfast at a resort, or if we were going to Downtown Disney and the boats weren't running (we were staying at Port Orleans Riverside). Also, to get to off property locations like Wal Mart, and Old Town.

Last summer, we stayed offsite, and therefore, drove to the parks every day. As others have said, the only park that isn't terribly convenient for driving to is MK. Last year, we had an early breakfast at the Grand Floridian, and another at the Contemporary on two of our MK days, and so Valet parked at the resorts, and used boats / monorail to get to and from the park.

As long as you get to the parks early, before the mad rush of cars, driving isn't any less convenient that using the buses.
 
Wherever these posts pop up it seems opinion is always fairly divided on car vs. bus. I think you need to think about what would be more frustrating to you, potentially waiting an extended period of time for a crowded bus, or potentially a long trek back to your car/and or traffic.

For us we're public transportation people. We've lived in or around major cities all our lives. Driving when there is reliable public transportation is just not something we do. Our kids are used to it. We used to having to transport strollers and backpacks and screaming toddlers on buses, trains and subways. We're used to the pros and cons. Not having to drive is a luxury we enjoy. But I can see how it could be the exact opposite for other people.
 
also the 1.5 hour would not be normal. the longest bus ride including the wait for the bus was 1 hour and that's when we were staying at the CR and wanted to go to AK and there was a shared bus with AK and TL and they went to TL first that was a long ride
 
We have done both as well. Having the car makes transportation a breeze - easier and faster.
EXCEPT Magic Kingdom - the bus is easier and faster, dropped off right out front - no boat or monorail needed.

The car also makes going to ADRs at other resorts so much better too!
 
I prefer Lyft because its cheaper then Uber and you can tip your driver.

You can tip your Uber driver too; you just need to carry cash with you.

I always rent a car and still don't drive to MK

I rent and I *do* drive to MK.

Getting there in the morning isn't the isue for me, though I actually prefer to arrive by ferry vs walking the interminable walk from the bus up to bag check. But leaving at night is THE issue. I prefer movement, so the constant movement out the park gates, to the ferry line, which I've always found moves very quickly, then the movement of the ferry, then walking (or, once, tramming (we're usually really lucky with our parking situation in the morning so we just walk)) to our car and then driving is infinitely preferable to me than standing in line for 4 buses to go by.

If I could somehow arrange for my car to be dropped off, while I take Disney transport to MK, it would be great. :)
 
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I love having a rental car. I go off property shopping at the outlets or to the beach sometimes if the parks are bothering me.
Plus I drive to AK and DHS and sometimes Epcot if I'm not going to be drinking. Love getting into a vehicle at the end of a long day and having my own seat and not hearing crying kids on the buses.
 
But it's not every bus option every 20 minutes. Otherwise there would be buses at the bus stops every moment.
Sorry, that just literally does not compute. Maximum of five destinations per resort, so if the bus arrivals were perfectly choreographed, one would arrive every four minutes - not every moment.

At the parks, assuming a day at Animal Kingdom (the only park with solely bus transportation) and individual buses from each resort, perfect scheduling would have one bus arriving just shy of every minute.
 
We always rent a car. Love having the freedom of being able to come and go as we please. I know my way around Disney property just like I do at home. I don't think we would ever go without renting one.
 
Our last trip we rented a minivan and I'm with you! It was so nice having that car in the evenings leaving the parks. We've done trips on which we've used only buses, and they were fine. But man, is it nice walking back to your car and driving back to the resort without lining up to wait on a bus!

I would say basically exactly this.

We most often stay at BLT, so walk to MK and generally monorail to Epcot. DHS, AK, Water Parks and Disney Springs we take the car. We find it to be worth it for sure.

We pick up the rental right at the airport and skip Magical Express -- convenient and saves time.
 
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I'm on vacation...someone else can do the driving...I will sit back and enjoy the ride and plan for plenty of time.
 
Always drive everywhere at WDW, even MK. Never found driving to/from MK a big deal. Trams run regularly. Where else in my life do I get to ride on a monorail or ferry? It takes a little more time, but that's time I'm not standing at a bus stop. Plus a car gives you the freedom to go anywhere, anytime including grocery shopping and dining at regular store prices.
 
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Sorry, that just literally does not compute. Maximum of five destinations per resort, so if the bus arrivals were perfectly choreographed, one would arrive every four minutes - not every moment.

I was not literally meaning every moment. Come on, now.

And there are not buses coming even every 4 minutes. NOthing says "your bus will come every 20 minutes". It's "a bus" every 20 minutes.

I have seen 3 buses for DHS come right in a row. (not every 4 minutes though) It's mystifying. And irritating. Unless of course you're going to DHS. But when I saw that, literally no one was.


ETA, and actually I didn't say they would *arrive* at every moment, but they would be there. And really, they might very well be, if they arrived every 4 minutes. Because it takes them awhile to unload if needed and load back up if needed. And if there are scooters it takes longer.
 
I'm taking a "staycation" at a WDW resort for a few days starting tomorrow and I fully intend to leave my car parked for the entire time. When I came here as a tourist - which was at least five or six trips in the span of three years or so - I never rented a car.
 













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