Rental car vs WD Trans

[Princess Charming]

We are staying at Movies the end of January/beginning of February. We are trying to decide if we need a rental car or not. This is the first time we've been since we were kids.

Here are basics of our visit:

1) 2 adults and 1 child (almost 6 yrs)
2) Planning on visiting only the major 4 parks
3) Plan on visiting some of the resorts for meals
4) Looking at taking a towne car from the airport
5) Not adverse to taking a taxi around property but don't want to spend a fortune on cab fare.

Thanks for any help or advice.

 

[XStAnt]

You don't "need" a car while a Disney, especially if you're primarily only going to the main resorts. Bus service from the All Stars is very good.

The only "difficulty" will be going from the All Stars to a resort for a meal. Disney transportation is designed to get you to the parks. If you want to eat at a resort you have three choices:

1) Take a bus from the All Stars to the park nearest the resort you want to eat at (i.e. for dinner at 'Ohana's at the Poly take the bus to MK and then take the monorail to the Poly). Reverse it to go back to All Stars--use DTD instead of a park if it is late and all the parks are closed.

2) Take a cab from the All Stars to the resort. The cost will probably be around $5-10. Have the front desk call you a cab.

3) Stay at a park until you're ready for dinner/lunch and take that resort's bus/boat/monorail.

It is probably cheaper not to rent a car. A round trip limo from the airport will be around $80 plus tip. Taxis will only be needed to go from one resort to another (and perhaps for DTD since some people find it quicker to take a cab there). A midsize rental car will probably yun you around $150 for a week.

Even if you rent a car I suggest taking the bus to MK. Cars have to park at the lot for the TTC. You then take a tram to the front and either the monorail or a ferry to MK. Disney busses drop you off right at the front of MK.

 

[Princess Charming]

Thanks for the advice. It was welcome news. I think we'd prefer to avoid the cost of a rental car. The cheapest we've found so far is almost $200 w/taxes and fees.

 

[disneymom1]

We have used the Disney bus system several times and have also rented a car several times. The bus service from All Star resorts has been fairly good to and from the parks. (We have had problems from other resorts, mostly from Caribbean Beach). We have, however, waited a 20 minutes or more for a bus to get back to the All Star resort at off peak travel times.

It is very difficult to get to other resort hotels. A rental car is much more convenient. Also, keep in mind that if you are trying to get back to your hotel late in the evening with a tired 6 year old, you may appreciate the convenience of the rental car. Transferring busses can be very time consuming. If you need to pay for a taxi more than once or twice, the rental car may turn out to be cheaper overall.

Also, since you are staying at All Stars, you will not have many options for food at the hotel (only a food court). We like the rental car because it allows us to go off property to get snacks for our room and to take to the parks, and to have a non-Disney dinner a couple of times. By doing this we usually save some money over Disney prices and the food quality is better than the food courts or lower end Disney restaurants.

Check out mousesavers.com for rental car discount codes. You may be able to do better than $200 for a weekly rental, especially at that time of year. You need to go directly to the rental car web sites rather than a search site to get the best rates.

We have decided that for the small extra cost of a rental car, we prefer to rent. We have found the rental car gives us much more flexibility. If we are just going to a park for the day and returning directly to the hotel, we sometimes take the bus, even when we have the rental car, but we really like the rental car for the evening.

Have a great time, whichever decision you make!!