Resort Bus or Drive self?

[fla4fun]

For me, it depends on where I'm going, and who I'm going with.

For DTD, I almost always drive. It seems like those DTD buses take forever, plus if I do a lot of shopping (and who doesn't) it's just easier to toss everything in the back and drive back to the resort.

For MK, I always take Disney Transport. I figure I'd have to do that anyway from the TTC, and you get dropped off right at the gate whether you are arriving by boat, bus, or monorail. The only exception is if I'm staying at CR, and then I usually walk (as the monorail to MK has to go all the way around the lagoon, walking is usually faster).

For Epcot, AK, and the Studios, if I'm on a solo trip, I'll usually take Disney Transport. I'm not in a hurry, and most of the time if I don't get a seat, I'll survive. However, if I'm traveling with my Mom, who's older and sometimes has some balance issues (especially standing on a moving bus), I'll usually drive to make it easier to come and go as we please. It's just a lot more comfortable for her. Although Disney can be very accommodating when you have mobility issues, you can't always be sure you will get what you need when you need it.

Another thing to keep in mind is how much stuff you may be bringing with you. If you have a large stroller, or a lot of kids things to bring, it may be easier to put it in the car, than to try to hold onto it, folded up, while standing on a bus. It may also be easier to use the car than to try to stand on a bus and hold a young child. Just something else to consider.

 

[eliza61]

We are now staying onsite so i am trying to decide if we should use the resort buses or take our own car to the parks each day? Any opinions from experianced Disers who have tried both options?

We have done both.
We preferred the car when our kids where little. I did not like dealing with a stroller and bag on the buses but I also hate doing it in RL.
We always us disney transportation to MK. It is faster because even if you drive you have to park and take the monorail or ferry to the park.
We use the car now when we want to go from 1 resort to another. This is still a weak spot for transportation.

We use disney transportation to get to the parks. When we are on vacation we are not in a big rush so waiting 20 minutes is not an insane amount of time to me as it is to some folks. Also we've never had a problem standing up if there are no seats on the bus.

 

[eliza61]

Transportation is free, use it. I can imagine Disney without free transportation, then everyone would complain that Disney should have a transportation system to haul them around in the huge property, they would gladly stand on a bus if one would be provided. Seems like a no win situation on this subject but adding an extra expense of a rental car, some won't be without and some have no need. For us, never, the bus ride is fun, part of the Disney experience, we see the sights and leave the driving to the professionals. We also never go during summer or regular season if we can help it and things are alot slower then but if a packed bus comes, we just wait for another, which when we go is hardly never. To each their own.

Pepe, I've always believed that Disney should shut down their transportation for 1 year and let folks get a taste of that. Riding the monorail is also a must do for me.

 

[Piglet's Momma]

We use both. I ended up exacerbating my foot problems last November when we went (I can't stand still for long periods of time), so we drove to EPCOT, MGM, and AK before opening. It was definitely better for us- I wouldn't have been able to chance having to stand on a bus. And we always take our car to DTD. Just so much easier.

This time, though, we're staying at a monorail resort, and the kids wanna try that out. We'll see if that's better for MK and EPCOT.

 

[princessallegra]

for those who have experience driving themselves to the parks (other than MK), would you say it's easy to find good parking spots if you get to the parks before opening?

 

[WillCAD]

for those who have experience driving themselves to the parks (other than MK), would you say it's easy to find good parking spots if you get to the parks before opening?

That can vary greatly according to the time of year. I usually travel during the off-seasons; summer peak and especially holiday peak times are different.

If I get to the parks any time before opening I usually get a spot close enough to walk and skip the parking lot tram entirely, except at AK. AK's lot is set up so that you can only walk to the gates from the handicap lot or the charter bus lot. Of course, at MK, the good spots are close to the TTC, as opposed to the park gates, but it's still easy to walk up to the TTC without taking the parking tram if you get there early enough.

Because of the layout of Epcot's lot, there are a lot more spaces close enough to the gates for walking instead of taking the tram. I haven't ridden the parking lot tram at Epcot in about 4 years.

Just remember, at Disney you don't "find" parking spaces; each theme park lot has CMs who guide you neatly into the parking rows; the earlier in the morning yiou arrive, the closer to the gates you will be parked.

 

[Jrabbit910]

Honestly, I havent had a problem w/ Disney transportation... (keep my fingers crossed); I hear alot of bad things about them but we didnt mind it. I wish that they would make the buses go back to the boardwalk area from the resorts or resort to resort bus but other then that no complaints....

 

[angela3676]

We used to only drive ourselves. Our last trip to Disney we used Disney transportation and loved it. It was stress free and just a relief not to have to drive, park, remember where you park and drive back. Now we just get picked up and dropped off. Gotta lov it.

 

[mountdew1]

I prefer to take the WDW transportation personally. The main advantage to a car is if you need to get from resort to resort. As others have said, there is no easy way to do so. I admit, you may end up having to wait for a bus/whatever when the parks open/close, but I don't think thats a deal breaker. The hassle of having to deal with other cars, follow traffic signs, greatly outweighs the benefit of being able to drive 5/10 mins earlier than the bus would get me there. (Not to mention it's better for the planet if people take the bus instead of driving themselves)

 

[nurse.darcy]

We relied on Disney Transport for our August trip. We decided that the next trip we would rent a car. Not because transport was bad, just because we had to wait. Waiting is worse than finding your way through the parking lots. When staying onsite the parking is free so no issues there. Yes it may cost an extra $250 to $300 for a week in a rental car, but it is definitely worth it if you want to see more in less time.

I should add that we really had no issues with Disney Transportation. We got to the parks in decent time, never had to stand (in mid August) and had no issues getting back to the resort. We just thought a car would be better for resort hopping, DTD and the water parks, which in the summer is a priority for my son.

 

[MarkLem]

That can vary greatly according to the time of year. I usually travel during the off-seasons; summer peak and especially holiday peak times are different.

If I get to the parks any time before opening I usually get a spot close enough to walk and skip the parking lot tram entirely, except at AK. AK's lot is set up so that you can only walk to the gates from the handicap lot or the charter bus lot. ...

I was thinking about driving to AKL from CSR resort. From above sounds like I can't park close. Is there a close location to drop off a 75 year old??

 

[SGMCO]

We always use Disney Transportation because my DH has to drive in
city Traffic all day long and is not about to do it on
Vacation or it wouldn't be a Vacation.
As for Me I don't have any desire to fight the traffic in a City that I'm not
familier with.
I have not had any problems with the Busses, even going from
one resort to another for Dinner we have not experianced any problems.
I like to spend the extra money saved from renting a car for more souvieners.

 

[eliza61]

for those who have experience driving themselves to the parks (other than MK), would you say it's easy to find good parking spots if you get to the parks before opening?

By good I'm assuming you mean close to the entrance so you can skip the tram. I've had 50-50 luck. We generally always walk but we are urbanites so walking is not a big deal for us. So unless we are so far that we don't even see the entrance we don't wait for the tram. The lots are well marked so that we've never lost our car.

We generally go the last week in August - 1st week in september.

 

[avic77]

Ok I see how the buses are best most of the time but i have 2 days im not sure about:
I have Ohana breakfast at 815 am one day then HS afterwards. Should we drive to Poly or take bus to transportation and mono to Poly? When would we need to leave our resort, POR?

Then i have a mini golf day planned should we use the bus to go to the Summerwinterland mini golf or just drive?
CS lunch planned and TS 1900 PF at 440 for dinner ( but we will eat lunch golf from say 11 till 1 go back to resort clean up and then go to dinner and after dinner do DTD and DQ

 

[TXTurtles]

There's so much going into this ... it's nearly like asking what car should I buy. The answer depends on multiple factors ranging from family size, age, preferences and so much more.

My 2c - Although I'm a car person and LOVE to drive and hate to play passenger (a bit of a control issue there for me) I would only drive around WDW if all other transportation suddenly disappeared. For me the magic of having a nice, safe bus suddenly appear to whisk me away to a magical land is half the fun. I have this idea that WDW exists in an alternate dimension where normal things like "roads," "street signs," and "cars" do not exists. So drivin ruins part of the magic for me. My uncle, on the other hand, starts hyperventilating if his car keys are more than 5' from his presence. He refuses to do Disney transportation, hates everything about it, and insists on driving. So I can see both sides, more or less (though I still prefer mine!)

Busses:
Pros
- No dealing with driving - it's just another attraction, albit one with a sometimes long line or wait time
- No walking through parking lots searching for the car because you forgot to remember/take a picture/anything of that sort where you parked. And your car looks like EVERY OTHER CAR that's parked there. And by the time you've found your car the bus to your resort has come and gone five times.
- Group can split up without worrying about who will get the car home
- No frustrations from traffic or getting lost!
- Nice people on the bus
- Bus waiting areas are far closer than the parking lots
- Taking five different busses to try and get to DTD from a park is half the fun of the trip - granted, far more fun when you do this with your cousin than with small children to entertain
- NOTHING magical about those open-air parkinglot trams
- Great bus drivers (not all of them, but there's a few real gems)

Car Pros:

- Control - you go where you want when you want
- No dirty looks from people when your stroller jams and you cannot, for the life of you, get it to close when it's your turn to load onto the bus
- No having to look at transportation booklets trying to figure out the best way to get to resort g from resort e
- Less time spent in transport
- Hey, that time spent wandering around AK parkinglot looking for the car is the stuff memories are made of!

 

[Kaler131]

I prefer to drive myself. You don't have to wait in long lines and HOPE to get a seat. But, when it's extremely slow, the busses would probably be the way to go.

 

[WillCAD]

I was thinking about driving to AKL from CSR resort. From above sounds like I can't park close. Is there a close location to drop off a 75 year old??

There is a handicap lot at AK; it's the closest part of the lot to the gates.

If your 75-year old family member has mobility issues, you can go to their doctor and get a handicap placard for the windshield.

It might also be a good idea to look into renting a scooter for the duration of your trip. It's an extra expense, but think of it this way - if you're worried about the walk from the car to the gates, how will this person handle walking around the parks all day long? I take a pedometer with me to WDW and I have found that I average around 7-9 miles of walking per day. And it's longer at Epcot (my max is somewhere around 21 miles, I think).

Check out this page on touring WDW in an ECV:
http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/ecv_faq.htm

If you think your 75-year old might have any difficulty walking all day, I highly recommend getting him/her an ECV.

 

[ElizabethB]

We've done both and now always rent a car. The buses are so slow -- it takes an hour to get to another resort. By car, the trip is 5 minutes, unless we're going to AKL, which takes about 10. Parking is fine. We usually self park as it's quicker than waiting for the valet to get our car. We take the car to all the parks, including MK. We thought the buses were miserable -- late, slow, overcrowded, no seats, too many folded up strollers, lots of over-excited and noisy kids -- riding the buses increased our stress level far more than a 5 minute drive. We even avoid the boats by walking from BWI to MGM.

Your mileage may vary!

 

[Twitterpated Dad]

We’re from southern California. So, you know we love our cars. I actually registered just for this post. My first visit to WDW was in 1984. I’ve been a long time lurker on these boards.

We (DW, DS15, DS11 and me) usually visit WDW in October, November or December. Our oldest of two sons is in High School now, so, we won’t be able to skip school anymore. (I wouldn’t even consider going during Christmas or Thanksgiving break.) Our last trip was late August 2005. It looks like that will be our “season” for a while.

Since we’ve had kids, our group has always been more than just the four of us: sometimes it’s family; sometimes friends. Occasionally, we haven’t been at the same resort. When that happens, we feel that a car is essential. With big groups, we’ve found that one van has worked better than two smaller cars.

So, what do we like about having a car?

1. It serves as our locker. With young boys, we tour commando style. It’s nice to have a cooler of drinks and snacks when moving from place to place. The rain gear is never farther than the parking lot. Same for jackets when the sun goes down.

2. We often stay on California time. And with two boys - you guessed it - that means Disney Quest. We’ve been known to have the last seating in Japan, be escorted out of Epcot, and still make it to Disney Quest for a few games of Pirates. 20 minutes waiting for a bus could be two missed games!

3. Wal-Mart. Seriously, the super center near the main gate is our favorite place for groceries and other essential supplies, adult beverages included. We’ve been spoiled by staying at DVC resorts. It was OKW the last time. We like having a stocked refrigerator for early mornings and very late nights. It’s also great to make a quick sandwich between a water park and Epcot. Like I said, we like those last of the evening ADRs.

4. Kennedy Space Center. The van is much nice than a bus. We can also explore the area and “touch the Atlantic” if we choose.

5. Resort hopping for dinner. A car makes it much easier to get to Boma and Whispering Canyon.

6. Offsite attractions. Please don’t flame me, but, I personally would NEVER waste a potential Disney day on a Universal attraction. You might. Perhaps you have a thrill junkie in your group, or, maybe you just get to visit the world more often that I do. We did get to go to Discovery Cove once. That was a wonderful experience. I also understand from my MIL that their just might be a little bit of shopping nearby.

7. Offsite dining. I hate cabs. How would I get to Cracker Barrel without a car?

We’ve had very few problems with Disney transportation. But, like I said, we’re from California and we love our cars.

Enjoy your trip to the world,

Mark

 

[KevinFSU]

Usually we are strictly Disney transportation. However, I've stayed at Beach Club twice. Its my opinion that they have some of the slowest busses and/or longest waits. What we did on our last stay was take our vehicle to the park in the morning. When we went back in the afternoon for nap/swim, we'd take the bus back to the hotel when there were less people waiting for it. Take the bus back to the park, again when there were less people. Then we could scoot back in our vehicle without having to wait for the long crowds/slow busses to get back to the resort. It worked fantastic.

CSR busses are great, and I usually never take vehicle anywhere when I stay there.