Rental Car vs. WDW Transportation

[muppetfreak]

I am just wondering if there is any benefit to having a rental car while staying on property? We will be renting a car for the first week of our trip, then possibly returning the car for the second week while we are staying on property enjoying WDW. How many of you enjoy having the car with you? Do you use it to go to the parks, or does it just sit while you use the provided transportation? Thanks for any advice anyone might have!

 

[summermac]

We haven't had a car since they started ME. Never felt the need to have one. It's so nice getting on the busses and chilling for the ride back to the resort!

 

[glocon]

We've done it both ways. Mostly prefer our own vehicle so as not to wait for transportation, and we always have a seat.

 

[kbsmall84]

We've stayed on site a few times and have gone both ways with transportation. It's certainly nice to have your own vehicle so you can get around on your own terms. There's other things in Orlando other than Disney. You can go to Sea World, Universal, Old Town. There's other restaurants. On the other hand, it's nice to have someone else do the driving. Being able to split up if some want to go to the room for a rest and others want to go to the parks. It gives you flexibility.

 

[ucfknight]

When going to any park but the Magic Kingdom, having your own vehicle will almost always be quicker than waiting for and taking the Disney bus. For the Magic Kingdom, it can be a toss-up as to which is quicker (with the Disney bus likely winning a slight majority of the rounds).

Also, if you are planning to visit the Boardwalk from any non-Boardwalk area resort, there are no direct buses there. So taking your own car would be quicker.

If you want to pop over to an on-property McDonalds in the morning or stop by an on-property Hess to pickup a case of water or beer, having your own car would be quite handy.

 

[muppetfreak]

Thanks for the insight. This is our first trip to WDW after many years going to DL. This is all new to me.

 

[drp4video]

I always rent a car and I always stay on property. I like the convenience of being able to jump in my car when I go to the parts and when I leave, without having to wait for a bus. I also go to that other park, lol (Universal) so the car makes that easy as well. IN addition we try to go to Cocoa Beach for a day as well. I just like having a car to go off property to dinner too. I am usually able to get a good deal with discounts.

 

[muppetfreak]

If you want to pop over to an on-property McDonalds in the morning or stop by an on-property Hess to pickup a case of water or beer, having your own car would be quite handy.

Where is the on-property Mc Donald's?

 

[KrazeeK120]

I like having a car for a couple of reasons. I don't like waiting for buses. I like knowing that I will have a seat. And, most of all, I don't like being on crowded buses full of too-tired people when a park closes.

To me, being in a crowded bus is much more stressful than navigating Disney World. Everything is very well-marked, it's remarkably difficult to get lost (even for someone as directionally-challenged as me).

 

[Virtucomp]

We always use the transportation when in the park. We used to rent a car all the time when my Mom was living in FL. We would go to the parks and then drive to her place to visit.

A big plus was being able to pick up food at Walmart or other places for the room. We used Garden Grocer last time and it work great.

I would only rent a car now if the price was really good. It's not worth $400 for a week just to save 5 minutes a day waiting for transportation.

 

[ucfknight]

Where is the on-property Mc Donald's?

Intersection of Osceola Parkway (the road into Animal Kingdom) and Buena Vista Dr.

It is very close to Animal Kingdom and is between Blizzard Beach and the All Star resorts on Buena Vista Dr.

 

[muppetfreak]

Intersection of Osceola Parkway (the road into Animal Kingdom) and Buena Vista Dr.

It is very close to Animal Kingdom and is between Blizzard Beach and the All Star resorts on Buena Vista Dr.

Thanks! That might be great to stop for breakfast

Also, I think I read somewhere that if you are a resort guest you get to park for free at the parks. Is that true?

 

[ucfknight]

Thanks! That might be great to stop for breakfast

Also, I think I read somewhere that if you are a resort guest you get to park for free at the parks. Is that true?

Yes, resort guests get free parking at the parks. When you checkin , you will receive a parking pass to place on your dashboard. You will be waved through the parking plazas.

 

[davale4]

Our first two years we rented a car that just sat there during our vacation. After trying ME, we have never ever rented a car. We just loved the convenience for us and we did this with small children. It has always been very smooth for us and the kids love it. However, every family's needs are different.

 

[pharaoh]

I thought about this quite a bit for my most recent trip. Although I'm a Florida resident and always drive to Disney, I don't like taking my own car so I typically rent a vehicle. On this trip, I wanted to take Disney transportation because it's so convenient, but I didn't want to pay for a rental that would be sitting unused for several days.

I considered flying and doing the full Disney bubble, but the price ended up being about the same to fly as it was for renting the car.

In the end I decided to just drive like I always do. At the last minute I decided not to take Disney transportation (1. Because my hotel roll was soooooo far from the buses and I knew it would be a pain in the butt to walk back after a long day in the parks and 2. I wanted to do rope drop every day and didn't want to figure out how early i'd have to catch the bus.)

I loved having a car there. I was able to stop by Walgreens a few times to stock up on SmartWater and pick up toiletries I forgot to pack. It was SUCH a short drive to all of the parks. I didn't have to wait for anything. It was just super convenient. In the future if I'm traveling alone I will continue to use my own car.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Husband always insists on having a rental car @ WDW. I was thinking that maybe this trip we can get away with not having one. The more I read on the boards about ME wait/problems and WDW transportation taking sooooo long, I gave in. One thread I read was this married couple, one took the rental car and the other took WDW. On average she said that taking WDW transportation took about 20 to 30 minutes longer than rental car. If you have dinner reservations or any reservation for that matter, if using WDW you'd better give yourself plenty of time. I got married @ WDW ten plus years ago. I was late for wedding rehearsal because of WDW bus. What should of been a 15 minute ride took much longer. I was over a half hour late.

 

[gdrj]

Thanks! That might be great to stop for breakfast Also, I think I read somewhere that if you are a resort guest you get to park for free at the parks. Is that true?

We have had car at times for part of our trips. Can be good to get groceries, drive to DTD, or ak. Not sure it's worth the expense for a Mickey d's breakfast!

Without a car works well, just personal preference, and budget.

 

[Planogirl]

It's really a matter of personal preference but I like having a car.

The last time we stayed on property I rented a car for just part of the stay since we like to see certain things off property. I thought that we would just rely on Disney transportation for the rest of the trip.

I can't tell you how much we missed the car. The freedom to come and go as we please suited us much better.

 

[bigskip]

Last visit we hired a car for 4 days as we had some "out of the bubble" things we wanted to do, but never used it to go to any of the parks. I don't need to be driving at the end of a long day in the parks.

 

[mollygirl13]

We always rent a car and always stay on property.

We like having the freedom to drive to the resorts for dinner, drive to the parks in the mornings, go to DTD, etc.