Rental car vs bus and AK/BB question

[lllGurulll]

We have visited the world 5 times and done the bus system for 3 of those visits. This time we are considering a rental car to get around a little bit quicker. There are 5 of us. Two adults and 3 children 13 or under. Is it dumb to get a rental car? Will it save me THAT much time?

Also, is there a bus route from AK mid day to BB?

 

[ColoradoDis]

We're definitely in the rental car camp. I like having control of when and where we go without sharing the ride on a bus. The only time we rode a bus last week was from Pop Century to Downtown Disney and that was because of the parking construction.

 

[bumbershoot]

There's no way to know if bus vs car will save time on any given trip. Too many variables. What the car does for me is saves hassle and annoyance.

 

[lllGurulll]

Even for MK? The main thing I worry about MK is the fact you take the ferry or the monorail. Kind of like getting in line to get in line.

 

[Alesia]

It's really just a personal decision. I wouldn't rent a car when staying onsite. Other people wouldn't consider not renting one.

 

[lllGurulll]

I know its just opinions, and my personal decision but I really want to hear from people that have done both and how it went for them. Please don't hit me with posts saying it is a personal decision though. I am asking for personal insight.

 

[lllGurulll]

We're definitely in the rental car camp. I like having control of when and where we go without sharing the ride on a bus. The only time we rode a bus last week was from Pop Century to Downtown Disney and that was because of the parking construction.

I'm kind of in this boat. I do like the Disney transportation system but its the times it didn't work well that really made for stressful days. There was usually 2 days of each week where it failed us in same way. May not sound like much but it was for a planner.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We're also a family of 5 and always rent a minivan. Park Hopping is our break time. We get a cooler and stock it with cold drinks every morning. Even in Florida, you would be surprised at how long the drinks will stay cold if you pack enough hotel ice in the box. It very refreshing to have a quiet place to cool off and get recharged in the few minutes it takes to drive to the next park.

Also, the parking lot attendants are long gone when we arrive at our final park for the day. This means that we can park in any available spot, and there are almost always spots right up front. It's nice to be able to leave a park at closing time and be able to walk to a vehicle parked on the front row, and not have to worry about boarding crowded busses or trams.

 

[lllGurulll]

We're also a family of 5 and always rent a minivan. Park Hopping is our break time. We get a cooler and stock it with cold drinks every morning. Even in Florida, you would be surprised at how long the drinks will stay cold if you pack enough hotel ice in the box. It very refreshing to have a quiet place to cool off and get recharged in the few minutes it takes to drive to the next park.

Also, the parking lot attendants are long gone when we arrive at our final park for the day. This means that we can park in any available spot, and there are almost always spots right up front. It's nice to be able to leave a park at closing time and be able to walk to a vehicle parked on the front row, and not have to worry about boarding crowded busses or trams.

We are going smaller than a minivan. Just a full size car.

The only thing I am really hung up on about renting right now is the fact I will have to drive from the airport. I looked into the rentals on Disney property and they are higher than I want to pay for the convenience.

there will be at least 2 days during the week where we will hit a water park and a theme park on the same day. The rest will be one park all day.

 

[kaetra]

In some situations it does save time. From the airport to your resort car is quicker than Magical Express. I take my own GPS with me in my carry on, cash for tolls and getting to Disney on the tollway is super easy. I also like having my luggage with me immediately instead of waiting hours for Luggage Services to get it to my room.

If you have a rental car on the way home you don't have to go back to your resort 2 hours early in order to catch ME back to the airport.

In other situations it's not a huge time saver. For example, going to MK via car is not a huge time saver if you are able to catch an MK bus quickly. Also a rental car isn't going to help you much for MK AM EMH because the TTC monorail and ferry don't run dependably during AM EMH.

The main things that make a rental car worth it to me are:

1. To/From airport - saves time getting there, and I can leave the parks later on the last day
2. I'll never have to stand on a bus, stand in a line waiting for a bus, wait out in the rain/sun for a bus at POP, wait for ECVs to load, or be on an overcrowded bus.
   
3. I can easily leave the Bubble if I need or want to for whatever reason - groceries, supply run, eating out, etc.

We used to think the buses were great, but with each trip they became less and less appealing. If the buses are running well and there are plenty of them it's very convenient, especially for MK. But if the buses are running slow or there's not enough of them they are a huge a pain.

 

[skuttle]

We almost always drive to WDW, but we never use our car once there. We always use Disney transportation. Even during our last trip when we stayed at AKL with our family of 5 and grandma, we still took Disney transportation. The time factor isn't an issue for us, maybe because we never had a terrible experience with the Disney buses, or because we are never in a huge rush. We drove our car once a few years ago to AK for an early character meal and hated getting in our car and dealing with parking. Getting into our car was like getting back to real life. LOL!

 

[wdwjeffc37]

We have done it both ways. We have driven to WDW and used our car to travel around and when we fly we use Disney Transportation exclusively. The last time we drove we only used the car a couple of times. Personally, I like to use Disney Transportation. We use the travel time to relax on a nice cool bus where I don't have to worry about the traffic. I also like visiting with the people we meet while riding. Like Skuttle said above, we are never in a rush.

 

[bsbrady]

We almost always get a car now. We stayed at POR a few trips back, we consistently waited 30-45 minutes for a bus to the park we were going. I probably wasted hours on that trip just waiting for buses and that doesn't include the travel times. I find, with the exception for Magic Kingdom, if you drive from any resort to any park you can be resort to gate in far less time.
Plus you get from airport to resort much quicker, and you have the option of stopping at a grocery and picking up a few items.
If you cost is not a huge factor, I would get the car

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I forgot when was the last time I didn't rent a car to WDW. Even with the higher rental cost nowaday, I still prefer to rent a car vs using solely the Disney transportation. I still use it for MK and Downtown Disney but drive every place else. Time is a big factor. I avoid the lines for the bus, or all the transfers when I have an ADR at a resort restaurant. I also do grocery run and shopping trips to the Outlets. I also eat off-site at my favorite cheap eat--Sweet Tomatoes. I'm the type of person who prefer to drive everywhere. I live in New York and it has a great public transportation system (I didn't say clean) If I need to go into Manhattan, I prefer to drive. I take the subway once or twice a year at most.

The free Disney Transportation system is great. You can't go wrong either way. In a way, renting a car is similar to Memory Maker. You don't need it, but nice to have it.

 

[bsbrady]

Now with the new parking lot at Downtown Disney you can drive there too

 

[Ambear]

A huge reason I stay at Disney hotels is because of how convenient the busses are for me. I don't like driving on my vacations and having to worry about parking, directions, or managing and paying for the rental car. I've never had much trouble with disney transportation. I'm pretty mellow at Disney though. I don't care if I miss the first bus or it's crowded or whatever else. I find not having to rent a car increases the relaxation factor on my trips.

 

[bsbrady]

I get that. We do alot of resort dining so going from resort to resort by Disney transportation is, lets say less than efficient.

 

[Ambear]

That's true, resort to resort is a super pain. We did have to plan more time to eat at other resort restaurants using disney transport.

 

[Retro Magic]

I personally do not drive(passenger here), but we always do get get a rental car usually. For short stays we will use Disney transport though mostly. Depends. At times we will use the monorail, ferry boats or buses depending on where we want to go and where we are staying because they can be fun. Also not everyone may want to do the same thing.

Rental cars work best for resort to resort(such as ADRs) and for side trips to Universal or off site shopping, etc.

 

[sharona]

I've done both and we are now firmly in the get a car camp.