Should we rent a car or use Disney transportation???

[Kailani6]

We are staying at ASMovies (August 13th-21st) with my DD6. We are planning on going back to the room at lunch time each day for a rest. I
was wondering if that was too hard to do using the disney transportation. Should we rent a car and does that even save that much time?
I keep going back and forth on whether it is more convenient or a hassle to rent a car and have to drive. What are your thoughts. Thank you!!

~Farley

 

[Scornelius]

I say use the busses, definitely. On the whole, they do their job really, really well, and parking at WDW is nuts. To be able to do the parks until you drop and let someone else deal with the drive back to the hotel is totally worth the occasional lengthy wait.

 

[WillCAD]

I posted this in another thread just now, but it fits here, so I'll repost it:

My personal choice is to always rent a car for the duration of my trip. Yup, that costs more than a towncar service, but has advantages of it own.

Pros of renting a car:

* I go where I want, when I want, and never have to wait for a Disney bus.
* I ALWAYS get a seat - I never stand up on an overcrowded bus full of sweaty, smelly, cranky folks who have spent all day touring the parks in the Florida heat
* I can go from my resort to any other resort for a meal, direct, any time of day or night, without agonizing over Disney transportation options
* I can go off-site for shopping, dining, and my obligatory visit to the Universal parks
* I can make a grocery stop (or 2 or 3 if I choose) on the way from the airport anyplace I want with no time limit
* I don't have to tip the driver, since he's me
* No chance of luggage getting lost or mistreated, since the luggage handler is also me
* I can crank the A/C as high as I want - or simply open the windows if I choose
* I can change the radio station any time I want

Cons of renting a car:

* Costs more than DME, Mears, towncar, or taxi (unless you factor in multiple trips like resort-to-resort or a Universal trip)
* Parking lots are not as close to the gates as the bus stops
* No booze on PI nights (cause my Mom didn't raise no dummies, except for my brother, but that's a different story...)
* I can't sleep on the way back to the hotel at night (the car radio keeps waking me up)
* Can't pawn off the driving on somebody else, it's all me ("Ya mean ya gotta use your hands?! That's like a baby toy!")
* Two words: GET LOST

Conclusion:

I rent. To me the pros outweigh the cons, whether I'm staying on-site or off-site.

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

I think using Disney buses is much easier. Getting to and from the parking lot from MK especially is a pain. I also ALWAYS get lost driving through WDW, apparently it's not just me! Plus in August, your car will be so hot when you get into it. The only downside of not having a rental car is groceries, but you can get delivery and the gift shops have a few staples. We actually bring a lot of non-perishables from home.

 

[Harvest02]

We stayed at ASMo in June and did not rent a car. I say save yourself the expense. We have two boys ages 9 and 5 and used the busses the entire time. We also came back to ASMo in the afternoon for break time. We never had to wait very long for a bus and in the heat, it was nice to get on an airconditioned bus! We LOVED the transportation system! It was so convenient. Have fun!!!

 

[WillCAD]

I think using Disney buses is much easier. Getting to and from the parking lot from MK especially is a pain. I also ALWAYS get lost driving through WDW, apparently it's not just me! Plus in August, your car will be so hot when you get into it. The only downside of not having a rental car is groceries, but you can get delivery and the gift shops have a few staples. We actually bring a lot of non-perishables from home.

Disney busses are easy to use, but have their drawbacks - 1) You have to wait for them, 2) You only have about a 20% chance of geting a seat. Getting to my car in in MK does take a while, since I have o take the monorail or ferryboat across the Seven Seas Lagoon first, but since they are attractions to me as much as Pirates or HM, I don't mind. The other parks have lots much closer to the gates.

On Disney property I never get lost. The signage is so good that you can find your way practically anywhere without a map.

Off Disney property I used to get lost, but these days I know the area well enough to navigate without a map most of the time and not get lost.

Hot car is not too difficult to counter. First, you leave all the windows open about 1/2". Second, you pick up a cheap cardboard sunscreen for the windshield. Third, keep some beach towels on the seats. Keep to these and the car won't be nearly as hot, and will cool down quicker when you get in. Additional tip: When you first get into a hot car, leave the windows about 1/4 open while the A/C is blasting; thiss allows the hot air in the car to escape while the A/C fills it up with cool air, thus making teh whole car cool off in only a few minutes.

 

[n2mm]

We always rent a car and yes we tried once without. I agree that WDW is so easy to get around by car because of the great signs and directions. We would never go without a rental car as we like to zip off to the grocery store to get stuff, plus we don't like to wait around for the buses. We do use Disney transportation occassionally, especially the MK bus from WL (and boats), and when staying at Pop, we use the bus to go to MGM since it's right next to Pop, other than that, we pretty much always use our rental car. Everyone should try the buses to see how they work for them. They just are not how we want to spend our time. Plus if you dine at other resorts, having a rental car makes life alot easier going from resort to resort. By bus you could easily spend over an hour going from one resort to another and by car, no more than 10-15 minutes. I think it's great that Disney offers the buses, but we choose not to use them.

 

[Kailani6]

Thank you everyone for your advise. I think we are leaning towards the buses now. I forgot about the car being hot! I hate hot cars and the thing I was worried about the most was whether or not it would take forever to get back for breaks.
Thanks again for the advise!! (I have no idea what I'm doing-this is my first adult trip to WDW)

 

[CleveRocks]

Disney busses are easy to use, but have their drawbacks - 1) You have to wait for them, 2) You only have about a 20% chance of geting a seat.

I'm assuming the "20%" is a typo. If it's not, what you're saying is that if a bus holds 50 people that only 10 people get a seat. I don't think you meant it that way. I can't imagine your experiences were that 80% of the people on a bus were standing.

 

[CleveRocks]

Thank you everyone for your advise. I think we are leaning towards the buses now. I forgot about the car being hot! I hate hot cars and the thing I was worried about the most was whether or not it would take forever to get back for breaks.
Thanks again for the advise!! (I have no idea what I'm doing-this is my first adult trip to WDW)

I love the buses and have no use for a car at WDW. I like staying in what I call the DISNEY COCOON -- nothing off-site for me!

BUT, if you find in your first day or two that you just can't deal with the buses, you have a few options for renting a car on-site (as long as they're not sold out).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would skip the car rental if all you want to do is go to WDW. It's easy and fairly convenient. Yes sometimes you have to wait but you also don't have to deal w/traffic or parking fees. On the other hand, if you're like us and want to see more of what FL has to offer like Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Gator Land, airboat rides, Medieval Times, Pirates Dinner Adventure, Arabian Nights, Dixie Stampede, Kennedy Space Center.... I could go on and on, then get a car.

 

[C U AT DISNEY]

I said the same thing before we started renting a car. I don't like hot cars either but just think, in the time it takes sometimes to wait for a bus you could be in your car with the A/C on already. You think that car is hot, and yes it is, for about 5-10 minutes. Imagine waiting for a bus for 30 minutes or even an hour, you don't have A/C then so that's why we choose to rent a car. No biggie everybody has what they would want for there vacation. I hope this helps your choice.



James

 

[briarrose]

We never rented a car until our last trip in March. We got a Saturn Vue for $180/10 days. We went to the parks before opening each day and got nice close parking. We would leave after lunch and take the buses back to the hotel and around supper take the buses back to the park. When the park closed that evening we would still have our close parking stop and would be back to out hotel in 10 minutes. We didn't do anything park hopping. We won't go back to WDW without a rental car now.

 

[WillCAD]

I'm assuming the "20%" is a typo. If it's not, what you're saying is that if a bus holds 50 people that only 10 people get a seat. I don't think you meant it that way. I can't imagine your experiences were that 80% of the people on a bus were standing.

Perhaps I did exaggerate a bit. It's more like 40%, if you count the number of people on the bus.

The last trip I took without a rental car, relying on the WDW busses to get everywhere, was early December 2004. It was not a crowded period; waits were low, crowds were low - and yet I only got a seat on a bus about every 4th or 5th trip. All the busses were SRO and packed to the gills with standing people.

So my personal percentage of sitting on the bus rides was about 20%, but the percentage of people sitting on any given bus was about 40%.

 

[pepe of ohio]

To us its just an unneeded extra expense. We're on vacation, we're not racing to go or get anywhere and the bus system at Disney is effiecent enough for us. We rarely stand, if a full bus is coming, we wait for the next, the length of the trip is minimal. Hardly 20 minutes at best, its always super cool in the bus so wasting money on a car rental in needless. As for groceries, we walk to Goodings for our necessities, pricey but cheaper than Disney prices, grocery delivery or renting a car for stuff but its to each his own.

 

[daisax]

* Parking lots are not as close to the gates as the bus stops

I've never understood this argument. You park your car and walk to the little tram, and it drives you right up to the entrance, which is closer than the bus stops (to the best of my recollection). At Animal Kingdom, in particular, the walk from the bus stops looked brutal in the full sun -- we whizzed by those folks on our shaded tram, having parked the car and walked about a third the distance they had, then boarded the tram. Exit the park, hop on the tram right there.

Unless you're unfortunate enough to end up having the very last spot in the row and have to hike all the way back to the tram/your car, seems to me that the walking distance is generally shorter using the tram than the buses (especially when you factor in lines of hot sweaty people trying to board the same bus).

 

[BuzzNutt]

We had an aweful time waiting when we went last year. BY husband's orders, we will never goto Disney without a rental again. I find it more convenient because as it was said earlier...we can go where and when we want instead of waiting. On the flip, I will be doing the driving but at least I am in Disney!!!!

 

[WillCAD]

I've never understood this argument. You park your car and walk to the little tram, and it drives you right up to the entrance, which is closer than the bus stops (to the best of my recollection). At Animal Kingdom, in particular, the walk from the bus stops looked brutal in the full sun -- we whizzed by those folks on our shaded tram, having parked the car and walked about a third the distance they had, then boarded the tram. Exit the park, hop on the tram right there.

Unless you're unfortunate enough to end up having the very last spot in the row and have to hike all the way back to the tram/your car, seems to me that the walking distance is generally shorter using the tram than the buses (especially when you factor in lines of hot sweaty people trying to board the same bus).

I agree, but so many people complain about how horribly inconvenient it is to have to take the tram from your car to the gates that I put it into the list.

It is most applicable to MK, since the parking lot there requires you to not only take a tram, but then take a monorail or ferryboat across the Seven Seas Lagoon. Personally, I enjoy the ride on the boat and monorail so much that to me, my MK day starts the moment I get to the TTC, but others consider the Seven Seas Lagoon nothing more than an obstacle between them and the park.

 

[d.kurz]

We always rent a car. WillCAD listed all the reasons. Not to mention, cheap eats offsite.