Staying offsite - need advice on getting around

[DJA]

Hello to All,
Just discovered this great forum and all the Disney veterans.

We are two families with young kids (ages 4 to 9) planning to visit WDW for the first time next Feb.

We are considering staying at the Regal Sun Resort, near DTD gate or Holiday Inn Express on Palm Parkway. We were not planning on renting a car.

The distance to DTD from either hotel is short.

My questions are:

Once we are at DTD, can we get easy transportation to all parks from there and is it complimentary?

Does it make better sense to take hotel shuttles to parks instead?

From airport, which is most economical fare to hotel? taxi?

Appreciate your comments and feel free to recommend other strategically located hotels/resorts.

Thanks to all.

 

[Jestocost]

There is no bus service from DTD to any of the parks; reportedly because too many people were using the free parking lots there to avoid paying parking charges. As a result, you have to take a DTD bus to a WDW resort and transfer there to get to the park of your choice. For Epcot and DHS, you probably would do best taking a bus to YC/BC, BWI or S/D and then taking the boat or walking to either park. For MK you could hop a bus to one of the monorail resorts and then use the monorail to get to the park. Actually, if you bused to the Poly you could take the resort monorail or boat, or walk to the TTC next door and take the ferry or express monorail. For DAK, I would just hop on the first resort bus you see and transfer to another bus at that resort.

Using WDW transport is free of charge.

If your resort does have shuttle service that's another option; they tend to have limited schedules, however, and the times may not be convenient. You always could use the shuttle one way and take a different way back. If you ever get in a bind, you can take a taxi. They're available outside all parks, except for the MK where you can just walk to the CR and catch one.

 

[Dodie]

Since you aren't planning to rent a car - is there no way you could stay on Disney property? You don't say when you're going (time of year), but I would think one of the value resorts would be comparable in price to what you'll spend offsite. Then you could use Disney's Magical Express to/from the airport (FREE) and all of the Disney transportation options would be available to you.

 

[DJA]

Hi Dodie,

Forgot to mention that we will be going at the end of Feb 09.

Thanks.

 

[Brian Noble]

Personally, I would never stay offsite without a car at my disposal.

 

[GranddadTom]

I have to agree with Brian. WDW is a very big place and getting around can be a very big hastle - even if you do have a car. Without one, I can't image how much of your vacation will be spend on buses or waiting for them.

 

[DC7800]

The Regal Sun Resort, though not an actual Disney hotel, is in fact on-property within Walt Disney World's borders and, as an onsite hotel, offers its own complimentary bus service to all four parks. You will not need a rental car to any Disney destination, nor will you have any need to go through Downtown Disney (literally right across the street) for transportation.

If you were destined to a WDW resort hotel (not a park) from the Regal Sun, such as for dinner, in that case Downtown Disney would make a good transportation hub. But in the interest of simplicity, just remember that the Regal Sun offers its own transportation to each of the parks.

The Holiday Inn Express, a couple miles away, is completely off-property. I don't know what - if any - shuttle service it offers. Many offsite properties have shuttle service, but not usually a continuous or regularly scheduled, all-day service such as offered by the Hotel Plaza establishments (including the Regal Sun) or WDW's own hotels.

 

[jodifla]

Hello to All,
Just discovered this great forum and all the Disney veterans.

We are two families with young kids (ages 4 to 9) planning to visit WDW for the first time next Feb.

We are considering staying at the Regal Sun Resort, near DTD gate or Holiday Inn Express on Palm Parkway. We were not planning on renting a car.

The distance to DTD from either hotel is short.

My questions are:

Once we are at DTD, can we get easy transportation to all parks from there and is it complimentary?

Does it make better sense to take hotel shuttles to parks instead?

From airport, which is most economical fare to hotel? taxi?

Appreciate your comments and feel free to recommend other strategically located hotels/resorts.

Thanks to all.

You'll enjoy your vacation a lot more if you get a car, especially with little kids. You can spend a long time waiting for buses, and particularly staying offsite, there's the issue of eating.

 

[madams2]

This will be my 5th year going and we stayed off site each time and rented a car. In my view, it is a must and worth the extra money. Dealing with the bus, when you want to get back to your room, is not something that I would want to do

 

[DJA]

Thanks to all for replies.

DC7800 - appreciate your comments on Regal Sun. I guess staying there would not qualify us for us Magical Express service from Orlando airport.

Any opinion on staying at Regal Sun?