Renting a car vs rideshare

[jennab]

We are thinking of renting a car for this trip. In the past we’ve mainly done rideshares or used Disney transportation. We don’t mind Disney transportation to the parks, so not sure we could even drive to the parks with a rental. Mainly just to get to/from, stop and grab food/drinks for rooms, and drive to other Disney resorts.

How is it driving to/from MCO? I know FL has tolls, which we are not used to. However, I read there is an option to hang something in your car instead of using cash for tolls.

Is it pretty easy to get around Disney with a car? We are staying on resort so know we can park for free. How’s parking at DS? It always looks like a mess…

 

[EACarlson]

If you're not going to use the vehicle to leave property for things like meals or other attractions. I wouldn't do it. The amount you'll be paying for a rental at MCO is much more than it would cost to get things delivered or even take an uber to walmart or publix to shop. I had a car for my October trip only because I already had it for my work trip, and only used it to go to walmart and Waffle House. Everything else we did was on Disney Transportation until we drove to the airport. We are planning a trip next year for Universal and just had the discussion of we probably don't a car while we're there. Order grocery delivery from and we should be set.

Driving from MCO to Disney is like driving from Woodbury to the Mall of America. About the same amount of time and even the same directions too. Busy at the start, nothing really in between then crazy busy with tourists who don't have a clue where they are going. The tolls are all open road tolling so you don't actually notice them. Definitely look into a Visitor Toll Pass if you do end up renting a car. Half price tolls and no daily fees.

Driving around WDW isn't nearly as bad as driving around any major city as soon as you realize that no one actually knows where they are going. Pay attention to the signage and don't be in too much of a rush and it will be fine. Parking at DS is a lot like parking at the MOA. It's very busy but fairly organized, they have little lights above the spots to tell you whether there is an open one or not.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It's pretty easy to drive to Disney, wouldn't sweat it. I would calculate if it is mathematically worth it over delivery/taking a rideshare to the store and another one back. How many Disney Resorts do you plan to drive to? Only some will allow you entry, others require ADR or reservation at that hotel because too many people try to access for park access benefits.

 

[jennab]

If you're not going to use the vehicle to leave property for things like meals or other attractions. I wouldn't do it. The amount you'll be paying for a rental at MCO is much more than it would cost to get things delivered or even take an uber to walmart or publix to shop. I had a car for my October trip only because I already had it for my work trip, and only used it to go to walmart and Waffle House. Everything else we did was on Disney Transportation until we drove to the airport. We are planning a trip next year for Universal and just had the discussion of we probably don't a car while we're there. Order grocery delivery from and we should be set.

Driving from MCO to Disney is like driving from Woodbury to the Mall of America. About the same amount of time and even the same directions too. Busy at the start, nothing really in between then crazy busy with tourists who don't have a clue where they are going. The tolls are all open road tolling so you don't actually notice them. Definitely look into a Visitor Toll Pass if you do end up renting a car. Half price tolls and no daily fees.

Driving around WDW isn't nearly as bad as driving around any major city as soon as you realize that no one actually knows where they are going. Pay attention to the signage and don't be in too much of a rush and it will be fine. Parking at DS is a lot like parking at the MOA. It's very busy but fairly organized, they have little lights above the spots to tell you whether there is an open one or not.

Thanks! This is a good comparison! In the past we’ve always just used magical express or a ride service, ordered groceries to be delivered, and either did Disney transport or rideshare everywhere else. Just wasn’t sure if it would be worth it to rent a car. I don’t know that we are going anywhere else off Disney property. We might go to some other resorts to eat or wander around, and would rideshare there is no car.

My husband would drive, not me. I do not like driving in places I’m not used to. I just imagine a lot of tourists not knowing where they are going, us included

I checked uber/lyft from MCO and looked like about $50-$60 each way. Probably depends on time of day I’m sure.

 

[jennab]

It's pretty easy to drive to Disney, wouldn't sweat it. I would calculate if it is mathematically worth it over delivery/taking a rideshare to the store and another one back. How many Disney Resorts do you plan to drive to? Only some will allow you entry, others require ADR or reservation at that hotel because too many people try to access for park access benefits.

Oh yes, good thought on parking at other resorts. We might have better luck with getting dropped off from rideshare without a reservation. I wasn’t planning to go at park open/close, so thought might be ok in the middle of the day to check out a few places.

We normally do grocery delivery, like Instacart

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I probably rent ~80% of the trips these days, rideshare the others. I could go either way, but lean towards having a car just for control/convenience - even if sometimes it never leaves the resort lot. I usually pick the SUV or higher rideshare option anyway (out of necessity and/or choice) so with the way we travel one is not usually materially more expensive or cheaper than the other, broadly speaking.

Board chatter would make you think the drive between MCO and WDW is like driving in LA, but it's really not bad - between I-4 and 417 you have options. I let Waze tell me the shortest route and have never experienced any material delays or problems coming/going during all sorts of times of the day. Usually takes 35-45 mins.

Make sure you sign up for whatever gives you a skip the counter option - to me this is important at MCO as you don't really want to go to the inside rental counters if you can help it. I like Alamo - their skip the counter setup is so darn easy - walk up outside, show them the confirmation e-mail on your phone, they give you keys and off you go (with a stop at the exit booth that can take a few mins). I also like Hertz Gold.

 

[sam_gordon]

I don't see any reason to rent a car if you're just going to use to to/from MCO (even including a grocery stop). If you might go out of the bubble, then sure. But just to get between there and airport, no. It's a waste of money to me. Arrange for grocery delivery or do a town car service one way when you arrive, and then ride share back.

 

[_19disnA]

In the past when we went to before they had DME, we always rented a car and had no issues. Having a car gives you more flexibility if you want to go shopping, sightseeing or decide to eat a meal away from Disney property. Even getting to Disney Springs is more convenient from your Disney hotel with your rental car compared to other options. We never know ahead of time where we might want to go, so having a rental car gave us more flexibility during our trip.

The cost of a few trips using any of those online taxi services will quickly add up to more than the cost of your rental. If you have one from the state where you live, bring your EZPass device to pay for those tolls. Also helpful to have a GPS app on your phone to help navigate around Disney. Over the years, various roads have changed and some of the posted signs aren't particularly helpful.

 

[jennab]

I don't see any reason to rent a car if you're just going to use to to/from MCO (even including a grocery stop). If you might go out of the bubble, then sure. But just to get between there and airport, no. It's a waste of money to me. Arrange for grocery delivery or do a town car service one way when you arrive, and then ride share back.

We will go to other Disney resorts and likely mini golf, but probably not outside the Disney bubble. So we’d either rideshare to those, or use a rental car. I’m not dealing with the bus going resort to resort. Ha!

 

[jennab]

In the past when we went to before they had DME, we always rented a car and had no issues. Having a car gives you more flexibility if you want to go shopping, sightseeing or decide to eat a meal away from Disney property. Even getting to Disney Springs is more convenient from your Disney hotel with your rental car compared to other options. We never know ahead of time where we might want to go, so having a rental car gave us more flexibility during our trip.

The cost of a few trips using any of those online taxi services will quickly add up to more than the cost of your rental. If you have one from the state where you live, bring your EZPass device to pay for those tolls. Also helpful to have a GPS app on your phone to help navigate around Disney. Over the years, various roads have changed and some of the posted signs aren't particularly helpful.

Good to know EZ Pass is an option. We have those in our state, but I’ve never used one as I don’t use those lanes. However, I could easily get one in my state and bring it with I suppose.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We always rent a car. We've done it when we stayed off site and done it when we stay on site and we're normally not driving around all over the place off site either we just rent a car for nearly all the vacations we do when they make sense (i.e. NYC we don't rent a car, foreign country more often than not no rental car). For the tolls we've used multiple times the Visitor Toll Pass. You book the pass and pick it up at a kiosk in the terminal and then return the pass to the kiosk at the terminal when you're done. If you don't use tolls at home it's a convenient way to do it while you're in Orlando.

When we stayed on site it was at All Star Sports and it was super quick and easy to get to AK, faster than the bus that's for sure. We park hop and plan our strategies based on transportation like the monorail. I do know even though the skyliner was around we just drove between Epcot and DHS, we did use the skyliner to get to Riviera.

For exploring the resorts that one is more dicey with a rental car because Disney tends to restrict access, sometimes even when you have a dining reservation. Most of the times that's the deluxe resorts by MK and Epcot but if you're onsite you could at least drive to the TTC and then use the monorail to go to those resorts.

We generally like to rely on ourselves and having the rental car allows us to do that

 

[kwdw]

I like the freedom of a rental car and find it gives me freedom to shop off property, move between resorts faster, and I think it’s faster for getting to the parks except for MK. I’m about to embark on my first trip with off property plans and relying on rideshare for that. I’m not looking forward to it, but the cost at the second hotel to park is so expensive it’s driving my decision. I really think the price of the car and your plans have to weighed for this decision! It is not difficult driving unless you only drive in rural areas. It’s suburban traffic.

 

[jennab]

I like the freedom of a rental car and find it gives me freedom to shop off property, move between resorts faster, and I think it’s faster for getting to the parks except for MK. I’m about to embark on my first trip with off property plans and relying on rideshare for that. I’m not looking forward to it, but the cost at the second hotel to park is so expensive it’s driving my decision. I really think the price of the car and your plans have to weighed for this decision! It is not difficult driving unless you only drive in rural areas. It’s suburban traffic.

My husband says he would be fine driving. He doesn’t mind, but weighing costs. Right now it would probably be slightly cheaper to just do rideshares, but if rental prices drop, it might be close.

 

[EACarlson]

Good to know EZ Pass is an option. We have those in our state, but I’ve never used one as I don’t use those lanes. However, I could easily get one in my state and bring it with I suppose.

You don't want to do that. Getting a MNPass is a bit of a PITA to begin with, then you need to figure out how to attach it to the rental car, much higher failure rate if it's not attached. Then you have to remember to grab it out of the rental car. I brought my IL IPass once because there wasn't a VTP kiosk on the Delta side and forgot it in the rental. $22 to have it shipped back to me. All to save 10 minutes. If you're renting from one of the 10 rental companies with cars on site at MCO, a VTP is the way to go.

My husband says he would be fine driving. He doesn’t mind, but weighing costs. Right now it would probably be slightly cheaper to just do rideshares, but if rental prices drop, it might be close.

I don't mind driving at WDW either. My number would be $250/week for a rental car over rideshare. I figure an Uber is going to cost $100 rt, a couple of other $40 rt and what additional costs there are from grocery delivery vs going to the store. One thing to take into account. WDW transportation is often going to be faster than driving if going to MK or depending on what transportation options are available at your resort. I would have been hard pressed to drive to Epcot or DHS from POP as fast as the skyliner was. And getting from TTC to MK takes a while.

 

[jennab]

You don't want to do that. Getting a MNPass is a bit of a PITA to begin with, then you need to figure out how to attach it to the rental car, much higher failure rate if it's not attached. Then you have to remember to grab it out of the rental car. I brought my IL IPass once because there wasn't a VTP kiosk on the Delta side and forgot it in the rental. $22 to have it shipped back to me. All to save 10 minutes. If you're renting from one of the 10 rental companies with cars on site at MCO, a VTP is the way to go.


I don't mind driving at WDW either. My number would be $250/week for a rental car over rideshare. I figure an Uber is going to cost $100 rt, a couple of other $40 rt and what additional costs there are from grocery delivery vs going to the store. One thing to take into account. WDW transportation is often going to be faster than driving if going to MK or depending on what transportation options are available at your resort. I would have been hard pressed to drive to Epcot or DHS from POP as fast as the skyliner was. And getting from TTC to MK takes a while.

We are staying near MK, so no need to take a bus or drive for that park, which will be nice.

MN Pass is an EZ Pass, so I thought maybe that would be easier? I suppose though it would be a pain if I leave it. I have no other use for one at home…. So may here kiosk would be easier. Was just thinking could set up the EZ one at home.

Yeah right now rentals are like $350, but still over a month out so they may drop.

 

[EACarlson]

We are staying near MK, so no need to take a bus or drive for that park, which will be nice.

MN Pass is an EZ Pass, so I thought maybe that would be easier? I suppose though it would be a pain if I leave it. I have no other use for one at home…. So may here kiosk would be easier. Was just thinking could set up the EZ one at home.

Yeah right now rentals are like $350, but still over a month out so they may drop.

I stalked rental car prices for months before my September and January Florida trips, best I got down to was $306. I wouldn't expect anything in or near spring break to be any lower than that. At least not for the companies I'm willing to book for business trips. The MNPass Plus is EZPass compatible but has some limitations. Bringing it, attaching it, adding the vehicle to your account, detaching it if you remember, and removing the vehicle from the account. If it works exactly as planned, it saves you maybe 3 minutes. If you mess up any of that, it gets real expensive real quick.

 

[HeiHei2018]

We usually drive our own car, but we still use Disney transit most of the trip. One thing to note is that Disney did a good job separating themselves from surrounding areas, so the drive to an off site restaurant is never short by the time you wind your way out of the parking lots. The wait for the parking tram and long walk to our car at AK made me miss the bus. We only drive on arrival and departure days, when we want to skip the resort and go straight to the park. It wouldn’t be worthwhile for us to have a car if we were renting.

 

[jennab]

We usually drive our own car, but we still use Disney transit most of the trip. One thing to note is that Disney did a good job separating themselves from surrounding areas, so the drive to an off site restaurant is never short by the time you wind your way out of the parking lots. The wait for the parking tram and long walk to our car at AK made me miss the bus. We only drive on arrival and departure days, when we want to skip the resort and go straight to the park. It wouldn’t be worthwhile for us to have a car if we were renting.

Yeah we usually find Disney transportation pretty easy to parks. No so much resort to resort, but parks they make it easy. I don’t mind busses. I know some people do. Worst case we’ve just grabbed a uber if we didn’t want to deal with a bus or going to a resort.

I keep thinking maybe I’ll use a car if I have it, but honestly I’m not sure.

 

[Donna M]

My husband says he would be fine driving. He doesn’t mind, but weighing costs. Right now it would probably be slightly cheaper to just do rideshares, but if rental prices drop, it might be close.

I have always found that prices drop starting about one week out from the trip and may keep dropping till the day before, booking and cancelling is a great plan.

I bring my own EZpass and tie ribbon to it to help see it when we return it, but I believe you can get something at the airport for the tolls.

 

[Mle8308]

You can look up the FL EZ Pass site on line and it will give you options for a temporary transponder that you can load a set amount on to it. It used to be a sticker that attached to the windshield. I did it a few times before FL went from their old toll system to the EZ pass. I think I either left it stuck to the windshield of the car (I didn't set up the auto replenish feature) or I may have peeled it off. I ordered it online and it was sent to my home address, so I had it before I left for FL. This was a few years ago, they may have changed the system. There are also locations at MCO where you can pick up a transponder and you drop it off when you leave. If I remember correctly, at one point, it was only in one terminal, that may have changed. I have also brought my own EZ pass responder and went online to enter the new plate information when I was still in the rental garage. But as @EACarlson mentions, you need to make sure you remove it before you turn in your rental. I had a big fluorescent pink note taped to my dashboard to remind me to remove it. I do like having a car when staying on property. I get sick of eating Disney food all the time and it's nice to be able to drive off property. I also prefer to drive to DS, it always seems like such a long wait for the busses there and some of the routes they drive aren't the most direct and it seems to take forever. Rideshares are fine, but sometimes I just want to go when I want to go and not wait on anyone! The drive from MCO to Disney is very easy, traffic, but you'll encounter that regardless of who is driving.