Should we rent a car or depend on disney?

[kitkatsmom]

I want to know from those of you who have been there before.

We are flying in on a sunday morning and leaving the following sunday night. When we booked our package we didn't get a rental car. We are staying in the park (port orleans) and were under the impression we wouldn't need a car. That there is bus, train etc service that will take us everywhere we need to go once in the park. So we instead paid to have a shuttle bus come and pick us up at the airport and take us to Disney.

Is this smart? Should we just cancel the shuttle bus service and instead rent a car? If so would we have to pay for parking when were in the park?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Luvdisney]

I think it depends on what you plan on doing while you are at Disney and the rate you get from the rental car Co. When we go for a week we like to have a car to drive off Disney for dinners go to Universial, Sea world and Belz Outlet. Also sometime you can get a better rate on a car then the shuttle fares. Another reason we like having a car. My family seems to always get sick while on vacation. It's nice to be able to drive to a Walk in clinic or a drug store. I think a rd trip fare is like $28.00 per person so for a family of 4 this can add up. Last time I was in Disney for a week I think I paid somewhere around 125.00 for a mid size car. Just keep an eye out for rates and coupons. Depending on the year park hours are shorter in the winter if is the time you are going you maybe looking something to do. That's when you'll wish you had a car. My vote get a car.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Pros of renting a car:

1) Freedom to come & go as you want; no waiting for buses or monorail
2) Freedom to explore Orlando (outside Disney)
3) Easier to get to/from DTD (although parking can be a chore)
4) No parking fee at parks
5) Don't have to wait for someone else to take you to WDW or pick you up & return you to the airport.

Cons:

1) Cost -- can be expensive unless you get a deal
2) Can be a long walk after parking at resort and parks
3) Where the heck or which one is MY car in a sea of look-alikes!
4) Pick-up and return at airport can be a pain (get in line, wait for paperwork, wait to return, etc.)
5) Always looking for the one GREAT parking space
6) Looking out for the idiot who thinks there's a bulls-eye painted on your bumper (i.e., accidents)

FOr my DW and I, we always rent a car. For us having the freedom to come and go on our OWN schedule outweighs the cons. We use codes at www.mousesavers.com or other sites to snag a good deal (you can also try Priceline).

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We've been to Disney twice on Disney property. We have had great luck with the bus service. Very few waits longer than 5 min.

Crowded busses on our trip earlier this month. But other than that no problems. My main goal was to have my 4 Y.O. sit. My hubby and I had no problem standing so that other little ones could too.

One night after a late dinner at Boma, we took a cab to CBR. It cost $11.00, but it was raining and we did not feel like making a connection at Downtown disney, and getting soaked.

By the time we paid for the towncar, and the cab, plus tips to the bellmen, we could have probably rented a car, but we like not having to drive anywhere.

 

[kitkatsmom]

Thanks for the Pro's and Con's.

We don't plan on leaving the park at all. We've never been to Disney and plan on devoting our entire time to seeing everything in the parks.

However we upgraded to the Silver Plan and want to try as many of the restaurants as we can. Some are located in other resort/hotels and I know that bus service doesn't run from one hotel to another. So I am thinking we'd have to take a bus to a main location then catch another bus to a hotel to use the restaurant etc.

This is where the car would come in handy. Plus no waiting for buses. I think I will call and see just how much I really am paying for that shuttle and see what sort of deal I can get on a rental car.

thanks

 

[scrump]

I think it really depends on what you're used to. I go with a friend, and both of us are ex-Manhattanites (ie, we are not used to driving, and we often like not having to) and we really don't care to go off property anyway. So for us, Disney transportation suits our purposes very well, and a car would be an unnecessary expense. But my friend is flying in from overseas, and she truly wants to soak in the Disney atmosphere as much as she can, so off-property restaurants or attractions don't appeal to her at all.

But the freedom to take in other attractions such as Seaworld, or Universal (which we've never done) is a big bonus, I would think. If I had another Disney friend to experiment with, I would like to try renting the car someday.