Should we rent a car?

[wideeyes]

Hi when I originally booked it was just for one week so I did not think we would need a car as we are staying on site however we are now going for 2 weeks so wondering would it be more advisable to hire a car? I will be happy using Disney transport to get the parks however I am thinking it would be better to use a car to get to US/Sea World and to shopping Malls.
We are flying in to Sanford with My Travel, and staying at AKL.
This our first visit so we don't know the place at all however dbf has experience of driving in the US and he will be driving in California so its not the driving thats a worry.

 

[jjpenguin]

It depends how much you plan to use it, you could also rent a car for couple of days when you want to do offiste stuff. You can pick up/drop off the hotel at the Dolphin or the Car care centre. (Alamo). We find the car doesn't get used much, but it's nice that it's there, and it's not that expensive (10 days for $200 for our coming trip) especially if you can find a good discount code.
When I went alone (I don't drive) I took a taxi to the premium outlets, this was about $10 one way.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Definitely rent a car - whilst you can have a great holiday without one the convenience of having your own transport cannot be beat and if you want to visit shopping malls etc it's just so much easier.

 

[carolfoy]

We've never rented a car even when staying off site, for the total of $150 dollars spent on taxis last year we had days out to seaworld, premium mall and florida mall! was a lot less than car hire.
You do have a greater choice of eating and entertainment establishments when you go off site but WDW is so fab I hated leaving it even for a few hours

 

[foxylady]

We would always hire a car - means you can be much more flexible!

 

[Verity Chambers]

IMHO - If you are planning on staying mostly within WDW, then maybe not. But if you are planning on visiting sea world, universal and the malls then i would. DH loves driving about and it's really part of our holiday hopping around to different places, taking everything in.

 

[LoopyLoo]

It is of course a personal decision but i would have to recommend you hire a car for your second week

 

[Goofyish]

We've never rented a car even when staying off site, for the total of $150 dollars spent on taxis last year we had days out to seaworld, premium mall and florida mall! was a lot less than car hire.
You do have a greater choice of eating and entertainment establishments when you go off site but WDW is so fab I hated leaving it even for a few hours

Same here

 

[AndRu]

Definitely rent a car - whilst you can have a great holiday without one the convenience of having your own transport cannot be beat and if you want to visit shopping malls etc it's just so much easier.

Couldn't agree more. A car will give you the freedom to roam, visit different shops, malls & restaurants. Of course Disney have nice restaurants but they're also expensive - try some of the restuarnts on 192 or I-Drive for great value!

I personally wouldn't even contemplate going to Orlando without a car ...

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I personally wouldn't even contemplate going to Orlando without a car ...

Neither would I ....especially as we stay in a villa!

 

[Miffy2003]

We find a car unnecessary (for the most part) when staying onsite. It tends to get parked in the hotel car park on day one and not get touched again for most of the trip

What we have found suits us best (and we are all different!) is to hire one for a few days at the end of our stay. We pick it up from one of the WDW locations (eg the MK Car Care Centre or the Dolphin), and do our shopping mall and other offsite trips for those days

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I think it also probably depends on how you like to spend your holiday.
Over the years we have driven around all parts of Florida.

If you are staying on-site and spending the majority of time at the parks or just at WDW, then you could get away without using a car.

However, we enjoy exploring a bit more and find a car essential for getting around, staying in a villa means you have to have one anyway so we have no choice.
I just would feel too restricted without one, and we could never spend an excessive amount of time at WDW as there are many other things we like to do.

Part of our August holiday we are staying at the Boardwalk, but plan on using our car when staying there - I mean if you are staying at a DVC property how would you go about getting your groceries etc if you didn't have transport?

I realise we are all different but being in Florida without a car is just unthinkable for us.

 

[AndRu]

Even if you are staying onsite at least a car gives you freedom allowing you to visit other places. America has been built around the car and the shops take this into account. Take International Drive - how long would it take to walk from the Convention Centre to Belz? 3+ hours? In many cases it's safer to use your car to drive to the next set of shops as crossings aren't the friendliest - even Linford Christie would have trouble getting over before the lights changed!

Disney transportation is (alegedly) very good but Orlando is more than just Disney. There are too many other things to do, see and enjoy that, with public transport, you might not find. I wouldn't ever stay on site as I like having a villa, pool and the 'home from home' atmosphere. I also love the feeling of getting into the car and heading off to find new treasures.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Even if you are staying onsite at least a car gives you freedom allowing you to visit other places. America has been built around the car and the shops take this into account. Take International Drive - how long would it take to walk from the Convention Centre to Belz? 3+ hours? In many cases it's safer to use your car to drive to the next set of shops as crossings aren't the friendliest - even Linford Christie would have trouble getting over before the lights changed!

Disney transportation is (alegedly) very good but Orlando is more than just Disney. There are too many other things to do, see and enjoy that, with public transport, you might not find. I wouldn't ever stay on site as I like having a villa, pool and the 'home from home' atmosphere. I also love the feeling of getting into the car and heading off to find new treasures.

Completely agree. The sight of seeing people trying to cross the busy Sand Lake junction on I-drive is not a pleasant one, especially in 90 degree heat.

And it is nice as I said earlier to get away from Orlando and the parks and explore other things, a day at the beach , a trip to Winter Park and even the malls, so much easier if you have a car.
There is nothing wrong with staying on-site and enjoying all WDW has to offer, but we prefer a bit more freedom and flexibility. Similar to you AndRu.

 

[Madjock]

Last trip DDs and I went without DH so we had no car. We stayed on site and as it was only for a week we didn’t plan on leaving WDW so it wasn’t a problem. The Disney transportation is good but sometimes it was still a pain having to wait for buses and sometimes they didn’t always take a direct route either, at the end of a park day you just want to get home. Also, often the buses would be pretty packed and no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t always avoid skin to skin contact with strangers, after a sweaty day in a park believe me it’s not pleasant.

Another thing is if you plan on eating at Disney resort restaurants getting from your resort to another involves a bit of planning and time or you fork out for taxis anyway.

So, although not essential, especially when staying on site, personally I just find it more convenient and more pleasant to have your own transport.

 

[wideeyes]

hi..Thank you for your replys. I think that dbf would rather have a car, I think we will rent one so it is there if we need it. I take it as we are staying onsite we would get free parking at wdw parks?

 

[carolfoy]

yes, you get free parking if you're staying on site.

 

[Miffy2003]

Part of our August holiday we are staying at the Boardwalk, but plan on using our car when staying there - I mean if you are staying at a DVC property how would you go about getting your groceries etc if you didn't have transport?

Quite a few different ways Johnny, luckily.

If you get a towncar from MCO many offer a free grocery stop. Or you can use one of the many online grocery services to pre order your groceries and have them delivered for when you arrive.

Personally I never cook on holiday so my grocery requirements are met by the DVC shops onsite - all we ever need is cereal, juice, cookies, fruit etc so we are happy with that. If you cook actual meals then you might prefer to go with one of the other options. As you have a car anyway you won't mind but in case anyone else is wondering

I think it also probably depends on how you like to spend your holiday

Absolutely

 

[Hilary]

I think the answer depends on whether you plan a holiday to WDW, Orlando or Florida.

My answer would be:
For a holiday in Florida, yes, you'll need a car .
For a holiday in WDW, I don't think a car is necessary (or even desirable) .
For a holiday in Orlando (staying in WDW but visiting SeaWorld , USF and a shopping mall or two), you could manage very well using taxis and/or shuttles to get around out side of WDW, but you may prefer the convenience of having your own transport . Hiring a car for just a few days to do the offsite attractions is a good compromise.

We're all looking for slightly different things from our holidays, even when they're to the same place, so there are no right or wrong answers, only different ones

 

[mikki.young]

We have done both but now feel lost without a car. Having said that we probably spend almost as much time out and about as we do in WDW so it may not be a fair comparison. I think it is fun to have a car so you do have options - but we would not often use it to go to parks unless we planned to go elsewhere as well as Disney transportation often got you closer.