Should we rent a car? First time WDW visit

[thewelts]

Greetings from Portland, Oregon!
We are flying to to Orlando for a 7 night vacation in mid-December (3 nights at Portofino Bay and 4 nights at the Villas Grand Floridian).
We are normally Disneyland visitors... At DL we always take the shuttle and love the freedom on being car-free. We really don't like the stress to driving, traffic, parking, etc. We prefer to be car-free.
Something tells me that Orlando may be a bit more complicated and perhaps we should rent a car:??

We arrive around 6 PM on Saturday, 12/14. We will need to get to Portofino Bay Resort at Universal. We were planning to take a taxi ($50?).

On Tuesday, 12/17 we check out of Universal and head over to WDW. We were planning to take a taxi ($50)?

Our return flight is at 7:45 AM, so we cannot take the Magic Express as to the airport. We will have to take a taxi ($50)?

Please tell me about renting, driving, and parking in Orlando (specifically at these resorts). Other than a quick stop at Whole Foods (between Universal and VGF), I do not expect to use the car. As I mentioned earlier we love the freedom of being car-free.

We rented DVC points so we have a studio at the VGF. We normally like to order groceries (at Disneyland) so we can eat most breakfasts, lunches and snacks in the room. Grocery delivery in Orlando seems rather spendy and limited. I suspect we would save significantly (and have more options) if we can stop at a grocery store with a car.

Note: I read the water does not taste very good in Orlando. We are BIG water drinkers so I suspect we will want/need to buy bottled water.

Any advice for us?

 

[Robo]

Our return flight is at 7:45 AM, so we cannot take the Magic Express as to the airport...

If you are staying at a WDW resort, you can take DME to the airport at any time.

 

[bsjs0708]

I honestly don't miss having my car. That being said your issue will be as you know getting to Potofino from the airport and from Porofino to WDW. For that reason ONLY I would rent a car. Having to research shuttles and mess with taxis with luggage and all I would just say "to heck with it" and just rent a car. You can find great codes on mousesavers.com and that way you would have the freedom of transport between resorts..PLUS since you are staying in a villa you may want to stop by at a grocery store and get snacks drinks or whatever for the resort..

 

[Run princess]

Most DVC resorts sell some basic food staples,breakfast items,etc. not sure on VGF as it is newer. As you aren't going for very many days it may be worth the slightly higher cost vs. inconvience of finding a grocery store. We've also done the grocery delivery when doing a longer trip. I hate wasting time at a grocery store when I could be in DISNEY!

I personally hate having a rental car...an expense for something you don't use to often.

It comes down to personal preference really so YMMV.

 

[Rose23]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/transportation/magical-express.htm

Above is the link for information about the Magical Express bus which I believe you can still take even though your outbound flight is 7:45am. You'll need to be ready pretty early though (5am I bet).

If you are not going to utilize a vehicle for groceries, shopping or visit other Orlando or Florida activities, it sounds like you can pretty much go without one. If you find you do need groceries, you can always take a quick cab ride to Walmart Supercenter on Route 535 near Downtown Disney or the Goodings Supermarket. You could even take a Disney bus to the Hess and grab snacks and more bottled water (as long as you don't mind carrying it back on the bus to the Villas).

When leaving the Magic Kingdom, you should be okay on taking the monorail (just linger a little after park closing so you will not be in the major crowd of folks trying to board at park closing). At Epcot, again take your time getting back after Illuminations via the monorail and you'll be okay.

Two most important things to bring if you do not have a car? Patience and comfortable walking shoes.

Enjoy your time with your family!

 

[Sheilby]

I don't like renting cars so I'm a little biased but I definitely wouldn't have a car for your Grand Floridian part of the trip. You can definitely take DME to the airport (it runs 24 hours a day) on your last day, you just have to take your luggage with you because you are leaving too early to take advantage of checking it at the hotel.

I *might* consider renting a car for the first part of your stay so that you can get from the airport to Portofino and from Portofino to the GF while stopping at a store to stock up on things. You can return the car to the Car Car Center in Disney World if you rent from Alamo (not sure if other car companies can be dropped off there). Remember though that Universal doesn't give you free parking at your resort so add in the cost of that expense if you rent.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We rented a car in August for the first time and it was the equivalent of throwing $300 in the toilet. You do not need one.

 

[richmo]

I would definitely have a car for the first part of your trip. Once you're onsite at Disney, its up to you whether to keep it.

If you rent from Alamo or National, you have the option of renting the car at MCO, then dropping it off at the Car Care Center (or Dolphin hotel). If you drop the car at the Car Care Center, they will shuttle you to your resort (or park, if you like). Since you haven't been, the Car Care Center is on-property as you exit the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Depending on your dates, you may even find it cheaper to just keep the car and return it to MCO yourself instead of using Magic Express. (A couple factors: sometimes dropping at the Car Care Center is a little more expensive (sometimes the reverse is true) and keeping it longer might kick you into a weekly rental instead of daily rates, where you may find additional discounts.

 

[ses1230]

Greetings from Portland, Oregon!
We are flying to to Orlando for a 7 night vacation in mid-December (3 nights at Portofino Bay and 4 nights at the Villas Grand Floridian).
We are normally Disneyland visitors... At DL we always take the shuttle and love the freedom on being car-free. We really don't like the stress to driving, traffic, parking, etc. We prefer to be car-free.
Something tells me that Orlando may be a bit more complicated and perhaps we should rent a car:??

We arrive around 6 PM on Saturday, 12/14. We will need to get to Portofino Bay Resort at Universal. We were planning to take a taxi ($50?).

On Tuesday, 12/17 we check out of Universal and head over to WDW. We were planning to take a taxi ($50)?

Our return flight is at 7:45 AM, so we cannot take the Magic Express as to the airport. We will have to take a taxi ($50)?

Please tell me about renting, driving, and parking in Orlando (specifically at these resorts). Other than a quick stop at Whole Foods (between Universal and VGF), I do not expect to use the car. As I mentioned earlier we love the freedom of being car-free.

We rented DVC points so we have a studio at the VGF. We normally like to order groceries (at Disneyland) so we can eat most breakfasts, lunches and snacks in the room. Grocery delivery in Orlando seems rather spendy and limited. I suspect we would save significantly (and have more options) if we can stop at a grocery store with a car.

Note: I read the water does not taste very good in Orlando. We are BIG water drinkers so I suspect we will want/need to buy bottled water.

Any advice for us?

We don't rent a car and we find that the Disney transportation system works fine for us. Especially staying at GF, you only need a car for HS and AK. MK and Epcot you can take the monorail.

We use Garden Grocer to have water and groceries delivered. Delivery fee is $14 but it is worth it imo to not spend 2.50 on a bottle of water.

If you order from WeGoShop they will shop at whatever store you ask them to, and you can request certain brands, sizes, etc. The delivery is a bit more than Garden Grocer.

 

[bsjs0708]

I would definitely have a car for the first part of your trip. Once you're onsite at Disney, its up to you whether to keep it.

If you rent from Alamo or National, you have the option of renting the car at MCO, then dropping it off at the Car Care Center (or Dolphin hotel). If you drop the car at the Car Care Center, they will shuttle you to your resort (or park, if you like). Since you haven't been, the Car Care Center is on-property as you exit the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Depending on your dates, you may even find it cheaper to just keep the car and return it to MCO yourself instead of using Magic Express. (A couple factors: sometimes dropping at the Car Care Center is a little more expensive (sometimes the reverse is true) and keeping it longer might kick you into a weekly rental instead of daily rates, where you may find additional discounts.

YEP !!!! But keep in mind DME picks you up for the airport 3 hours before flight....so IF you have your own car you can sleep in..

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

YEP !!!! But keep in mind DME picks you up for the airport 3 hours before flight....so IF you have your own car you can sleep in..

That's not really true at all. It takes time to drop off the car, etc. And even in the morning, the Orlando security lines because of the government issues are about an hour.

 

[angierae]

For my upcoming split stay like that, I rented a car at the airport for the first days, and then I will drive to WDW, check in to our resort, drop our stuff off, and then turn in the car at the Alamo desk at the Swan/Dolphin. I think it's the best of both worlds, cost me about as much as the cab from the airport to my first hotel and then a cab to WDW would have cost me, and I'll be able to pick up some snacks/water/etc. But once I get to WDW the last thing I want to do is drive.

 

[thewelts]

Wow... thank you so much for the quick replies!
You convinced me... We will stick with taxi's (and Magical Express) as planned and give the Garden Grocer a try.

Thanks so much

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation board.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Get a car.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[bumbershoot]

We have *always* had a car during our Orlando stays. Even with our first in December 2010. And we have NEVER regretted it.


We finally had a chance to take DME to the resort, though we got in so late we couldn't take advantage of the luggage delivery. In a few days I will get to take advantage of that, so that will be fun. But DH and DS, coming in later than me, will be getting the rental car.

Taking DME back to the airport was fine, and we got to use RAC as well (checking in bags for your flight while at your resort). Both were fine. You can do DME back to the airport, but what you canNOT do is the RAC part because of your early flight. So you'll be taking the bags to the bus and then checking them in yourself at the airport.


We have realized that we almost always like to drive between resort and parks, and park to park and resort to resort. Waiting for the bus, being on the bus, etc, just bugs us. DH takes public transportation every day for work and doesn't much care for doing it on vacation, especially since it's so poorly designed and implemented compared to the transit in western WA.

We visit Whole Foods, we visit Publix (they have a decent organic section by the way, we have been very pleased with Publix). We like to go to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, and to souvenir-shop at GiftLand. We like having the car for those things.


At Universal it does increase your costs because you pay to park at the resorts. It's charged per midnight you are parked there. But we still like the car.


During the brief *portions* of last trip where we didn't have a car using the bus annoyed us so much we ended up just taking taxis around WDW. Do that enough and you could nearly have rented a car.


The one BIG big big thing to know about WDW for a first-timer who might drive is...it's HUGE. I thought "oh, it's about as big as Tacoma, OK, so it will be 30 mph city-type streets, cool". Ha ha ha. It's HIGHWAYS going from place to place, at 50 mph. Big huge highway-type exit signs (albeit in purple and red if I recall correctly), proper cloverleaf exits and onramps. It's pretty shocking for a newbie!

 

[Autumnslight]

If you can rent a car for less than the taxi rides will cost you (and I bet you can), I'd do it for sure. You'll have free parking as a resort guest, and then you won't have to rely on the Disney bus or Magical Express schedules, or bother with calling/waiting for taxis. You'd also have the freedom to run to whatever grocery store or whatever else you want. Or, you can just leave it parked at the resort most of the time if you prefer, and still not be wasting money by having it.

The only way I wouldn't be inclined to rent a car is if I were staying in a monorail resort for my whole stay, and not planning to go anywhere off site at all. I personally hate Disney transportation with a passion though. Other people don't mind it, so it all depends.

 

[Day-Day]

A rental car usually pays for itself with us when we can get a decent price. We save money by going to the grocery which saves from delivery fees and higher prices on items. We eat a few meals outside of the parks; depending on the size of the family, the savings from one meal can be enough to pay for a day or two of car rental.

Travel within The World is so much nicer with our own vehicle going at our own schedule. We have comfortable seats and are able to talk to each other. We usually pack a small cooler with drinks so when we leave a park we have a nice beverage while driving back to the resort.

 

[donkeyandshrek]

My FIRST trip to Orlando, we were picked up at the airport by Tiffany Towncar, stopped by a Publix supermarket and used the Disney shuttles. Tiffany picked us up and took us back to the airport. I would not have done the FIRST trip any differently. It is awesome to see someone holding a sign with your name on it and getting your luggage for you, etc. LOVED that experience.

All my other trips, I have rented a car. My last trip, I planned to do DME and shuttle and at the last minute, I booked a car. I cannot stand the thought of being at the mercy of Disney for every bite of food and every drink of water. We also don't stay at the parks from rope-drop to close down anymore since we've been there several times.

It is totally up to you to decide the experience. If you like "all things Disney" - do the DME and shuttles. If you think outside the Disney box, get a car.

 

[3pletprincesses]

With all the taxi expenses you will have, it would pretty much be the same price to have a car. That being said, I have done Disney transportation with young kids on my own and it was great. I love how the bus was right there to bring me back to the park or resort. No need to park and walk and then find the car again to leave. we usually only rent when we do more then a week just for the convenience of having one and when we have restaurant reservations all over the place.