Rethinking Disney transportation - rental car instead?

[hllb]

We are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort and I had planned to use the bus system. However, now I'm rethinking this due to seeing on here to allow an HOUR AND A HALF for bus transportation? Seriously? We will waste up to SIX hours a day in transport?? We have a 2 year old, and had planned for one of us to return to the resort mid-day for a nap.

Last time we were at Disney, we were off property and had a rental car. It was so easy. Parking was a breeze and at most, it took us 30 minutes to get to a park (we stayed across from SeaWorld).

I am also racing in the Happy Haunted 5K and the buses don't run early enough for that - unless they'll have a special one for that event? As it stands, if the buses were running, I'd have to go to Downtown Disney and then transfer to the sports complex?

 

[Kassidysdad]

I ALWAYS get a rental, I like to come & go as I please. I take my GPS down with me, have all the addresses down (Most I have downloaded form Mousesavers) And I zip around easily.

 

[Mom2Cody06]

This will b our first trip were we plan to use our car more than disney transportation. It's a shorter trip for us do I don't want to waist all of our time on buses. Does the GPS work pretty well? I'll have to go get the addresses from mouse savers then.

Do you ever have an issue finding a parking spot when you get back to the resort?

 

[Alesia]

We are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort and I had planned to use the bus system. However, now I'm rethinking this due to seeing on here to allow an HOUR AND A HALF for bus transportation?

It's not going to take nearly that long. From CBR to any of the parks is going to be closer to 30 minutes. And going to and from MK, the bus is less of a hassle (and often faster) than driving your own car. If you take the bus, you're dropped right at the MK gates. If you drive, you'll need to park, take the tram to the TTC, and then take the monorail or the ferry to MK.

If you want to travel from one resort to another (which requires a transfer at a resort or DTD,) allowing 90 minutes is a general guideline, but that's really a worst case scenario.

 

[dburg30]

I'm not going to say it couldnt take 90 minutes, but if it did, that just means you had a horrible, horrible set of circumstances / terrible luck... The only time I could see it taking nearly that long would be if you were trying to get from one resort to another and you missed every connection. From resort to park or park to park not gonna take that long. Sometimes you may THINK you have been waiting forever, but if you actually look at your watch and see the time, you really dont.

And you could also take a taxi a few times if needed and save the nerves from driving, parking, unloading etc etc..

 

[hllb]

I haven't seen many posts on here saying 30 minutes is the norm...more like an hour is the norm, less is fantastic, and more is unlucky? Still, an hour is 4 hours of time wasted in transport a day, instead of 2 hours with a car.

We had 0 issues with a car last time, so what's the expected hassle with parking?

I can get a rental for $163 and we could always take the bus to MK on those days.

 

[hllb]

Also, I don't like the taxi option since there are 5 of us, one of which requires a car seat.

 

[dburg30]

Sounds like your mind is made up!! Enjoy your trip.

 

[hllb]

My mind isn't made up, but two people now have said 30 minutes when that is not what my research has said. So I'm trying to figure out who is right! I've also seen people mention the hassle of driving, and since I didn't have any issues driving, I'm wondering what issues others have had.

 

[dburg30]

The problem is more of a when were you there, how did everything work out that day, just basically how was your luck that day.. I'm trying to think in my trips since 2007 5 or 6 of them, if I ever one time thought "God I wish I had my own car / rental" trying to get somewhere.. Now, full disclosure, I dont have kids, but I do have a mom that we wheel around in a wheel chair, so I get to load / unload from the bus and stuff.. Even staying at CSR and getting on at the first stop to the parks, the others just didnt seem that long, but maybe I just like not having to drive etc etc while on vacation. I had a crappy ride from SSR to AK, but that's about the longest trip you can have, plus there was just something wrong with that bus driver that day... Unless you speed, the actual travel time is not going to vary that much. The only real difference IMO is the waiting for the bus, which COULD be as much as 20-25 minutes worst case. I've NEVER waited for the 25 minutes and normally MUCH closer to 10-15 minutes. Two trips that's all I did was take notes on how long it took to get from place to place / how long I waited etc etc.

Now, someone will come along and say "all of our trips took 3 hours each way, uphill, thru the snow, no way in hell I'll use buses again"

edit to add: And sometimes just where you were staying on the SAME DAY can give totally different results.. But NORMALLY 10-15 waiting for the bus, plus travel time. Dropped off almost always closer to the gates then parking etc etc..

 

[rwdavis2]

I ALWAYS get a rental, I like to come & go as I please. I take my GPS down with me, have all the addresses down (Most I have downloaded form Mousesavers) And I zip around easily.

Could not have said it better.

IMHO, it's just quicker to drive yourself.

 

[Alesia]

I haven't seen many posts on here saying 30 minutes is the norm...more like an hour is the norm, less is fantastic, and more is unlucky? Still, an hour is 4 hours of time wasted in transport a day, instead of 2 hours with a car.

We had 0 issues with a car last time, so what's the expected hassle with parking?

I can get a rental for $163 and we could always take the bus to MK on those days.

People recommend giving yourself an hour, but that doesn't make it the norm. An hour from your resort to a park is a worst case scenario. If you have an ADR, you should allow an hour to get there, but that includes a little extra padding for waiting and getting to the restaurant 15 minutes before your ADR.

It has never taken us more than 35 minutes (including wait times) to get from the resort to the turnstyles.

 

[dburg30]

I haven't seen many posts on here saying 30 minutes is the norm...more like an hour is the norm, less is fantastic, and more is unlucky? Still, an hour is 4 hours of time wasted in transport a day, instead of 2 hours with a car.

We had 0 issues with a car last time, so what's the expected hassle with parking?

I can get a rental for $163 and we could always take the bus to MK on those days.

Again, you just never know, there arent any EXPECTED hassles with the buses either, but sometimes things just happen. You know that some days you're the dog, somedays you're the fire hydrant

edit: and like SO many things related to WDW (and other stuff) you tend to find your 3 different schools of thought.

1) I'll always have a car
2) I'll never have a car
3) meh.. whatever, I really dont care one way or the other.

You can probably guess which 1 I'm in.. I look at it once I'm thru security at my home airport my vacation starts and I dont want to have to be 'responsible' again til I'm back and driving home

 

[davale4]

It's not going to take nearly that long. From CBR to any of the parks is going to be closer to 30 minutes. And going to and from MK, the bus is less of a hassle (and often faster) than driving your own car. If you take the bus, you're dropped right at the MK gates. If you drive, you'll need to park, take the tram to the TTC, and then take the monorail or the ferry to MK.

If you want to travel from one resort to another (which requires a transfer at a resort or DTD,) allowing 90 minutes is a general guideline, but that's really a worst case scenario.

Totally agree with you!! We always rented a car thinking it was better until one year we decided to try Disney transportation. We could not believe that we wasted so much money on rental cars ...We have not rented a car ever since ...and we have a little too.

 

[Eliza32]

We always get a car as it gives us so much freedom and car rental in Florida is geberally a lot cheaper than Europe!!

The only day that we didn't use the car was Epcot day, so that we could both have a few margaritas!!!!

 

[sam_gordon]

To me, there is an added stress while driving... am I in the right lane? what's the right way to get to 'x'? What's that other driver going to do?

I'd prefer to let Disney handle the driving and I can relax and see the sights while being transported.

As mentioned, the 90 minute time you were give was a 'budget' time, not an 'AVERAGE' time. For example, i might budget $10 to go out to lunch, but it only cost me $6. That doesn't mean I'm going to change my budget.

I'd guess an AVERAGE time for transportation using the bus service is probably 30-45 minutes. That's from when you get to the bus stop.

If you're not sure whether you'd like it or not, reserve a car for the second or third day of your trip. Try Disney transportation for the first day or two and if you don't like it, get your rental. You can get a rental at the Car Car Center or the Dolphin(?), both on Disney property.

 

[maxiesmom]

My mind isn't made up, but two people now have said 30 minutes when that is not what my research has said. So I'm trying to figure out who is right! I've also seen people mention the hassle of driving, and since I didn't have any issues driving, I'm wondering what issues others have had.

The 90 minutes is what Disney recommends you leave yourself, if you are trying to make something such as an ADR, which has a time attached to it. And that is to cover their bases, in case a bus is really really late, or the monorail decides to take a nap on the tracks.

Typically the Disney buses going from resort to park run around every 20 minutes or so. There is no set schedule, so you can't plan on say the MK bus hitting your stop at 8:45. It doesn't work that way. Disney aims to have a bus for each park swing by every 20 minutes. Sometimes it is less, and sometimes it is a bit more. But 20 minutes is the average.

 

[goofy4tink]

'If' you get to the resort bus stop, just as your bus is pulling out, you 'may' have a 20+ min wait. Then, once the bus comes, it will probably make addtl stops along the way, and then go to the desired park. This could feasibly take up to an hour or so. I have been to WDW, stayed onsite, 30+ times...it seldom takes me an hour to get from my resort to the park..usually more like 40 mins. But, that's still going to be too long for some.

I'm one of those that has driven around WDW before. I have been a passenger in a car driven around WDW. I will say that when trying to leave MK, and head to Sanford INtl, I somehow ended up entering Epcot!!!! Go figure. Good thing I have an AP and didn't have to pay to park.....we weren't at a resort the night before!!! I just turned around and went the correct way. But I have to say that I have seldom seen so many confused drivers on the roadways as I do in the areas surrounding WDW!!! And they don't slow down...they just figure they'll get into the right lane when they need to..usually just as their exit is coming up!!! And that's fun to watch. I usually feel so badly for the poor bus drivers who deal with this day in and day out.

But, there are those who really enjoy having a car at their disposal. And that's fine. Up to each person to make the choice that works for them.

 

[goodferry]

We used to always rely on Disney Transportation, then one trip we were going to Universal also so we rented a car. I now seriously regret all the time we have spent, countless hours, on Disney buses. You never know when something will happen, a scooter will have trouble loading, a driver will need to wait for his replacement, etc. I like being the master of my own destiny.

Using our GPS and the file from Mousesavers we have never spent more than 15 minutes getting to a park (from BLT to DTD) and we have always been able to park up front (AAA Gold Parking Pass)
I would rent a car

 

[Rpsemont]

It really is up to you. How many days are you going for? One option might be to arrange for a car rental the third day after you arrive. Then try the transportation. If it seems Ok, just cancel the rental. There is always an ebb and flow to everything at Disney and I'm always surprised by posts from people who will say I was at CBR last Week and the busses were horrible and the next person posts I was there and I thought they were great! Guess it depends on whether you get the transportation Pixie Dust

We had horrible experiences with busses our first trip to Disney, so more often than not, we rent a car - providing I can get it without spending too much money. There are car rental places on Disney and many in the hotels at DTD. We have used Dollar many times which is at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista right across the street from the DTD bus stop. When I can't get a good price from the airport, I have sometimes been successful renting from here and returning to the airport. You could make a cancellable reservation ahead of time, OR just get there and try Disney Transportation first, but be open to looking for a rental after you arrive. If you make the reservation beforehand you have more opportunity to get a lower price. Then if you end up wanting a car, one of you can head to the parks and one can take the bus to DTD get the car and come back.
Even when we have a car we don't always use it to go to the parks (mostly because we enjoy a cocktail now and then on vacation.

But IMHO if two people walked out of the same room at the same time and one took Disney transport and one took a car, I really think the car guest would arrive at the gate earlier more often than the disney transportation guest. Sounds like a fun thing to test out for frequent travellers looking for something different to do!

Good luck on your decision!