Staying onsite..do you really need a car?

[Sparkly]

We're staying at CBR for a week next Feb and I know Disney provide a bus service, as well as the Magical Express to and from MCO so do we really need to rent a car too? We will go offsite maybe a few times to go shopping or to Walmart (but you can have groceries delivered to the resort, but then we're on the QSDP so don't need a ton of stuff).

Renting a taxi a few times to go offsite will probably be more expensive then just renting a car, though.

 

[helenk]

I use Disney transportation most of the time. I have rented a car a few times, but mostly rely on Disney.
When I've rented a car it sits in the parking lost most of the trip. I do like to rent a car if we take a side trip to Sea World or Universal as well as to the Port for a Disney Cruise.
I like using the bus system, I keep in mind I am on vacation and really not in a rush to get anywhere. If it is a longer bus trip, say from AKV to MK and there are no seats on the bus, I will wait for the next bus, for shorter trips I do not mind standing.
That said when we've rented a car I have found it to be rather easy to navigate around WDW and beyond.

 

[ncc1701]

I believe one of the car rental companies has a location or 2 in WDW and maybe in the Swan/Dolphin so you could look into renting for a day or two to do what you want offsite.
We don't bother with a rental car while at WDW. It is just DH and I so we get by well with Disney buses and feel the cost of a car would eat up any savings from getting dinner and other stuff offsite.We aren't interested in going to Universal and have done Seaworld.
Other than some local restaurants there isn't anything we can't find near home. If we did want to go offsite for dinner one night we would just get a taxi.

 

[dmunsil]

This is one of those topics where you can get ten opinions from nine people. Some people would never do without a car. Some people never use a car.

We've done both, but most of the time now we get a rental car for the whole trip.

For all of the parks except MK, driving is almost always significantly faster than Disney transportation (with some obvious exceptions, like the Epcot resorts are walkable to Epcot and DHS; it would be silly to drive). If you like to eat at other resort restaurants, it's quick and easy to just drive over to the other resort and park.

We've had some great experiences using Disney transport, and we've had some absolutely terrible experiences. Using a rental car gives you a more consistent experience. You never have to wait in a crowded line for a bus that's late. You never have to stand on a packed bus and wait for it to stop at a couple other resorts before getting to yours.

If you're going in the off season, it's much easier to use busses, as most of the problems are worse when the parks are crowded. I can tell you that from our perspective when you're tired at the end of a day it feels great to walk past the people waiting in line at the bus stops straight to your car and drive back to the resort. But in the off season there aren't lines for the buses and things go much smoother.

Another option is to take cabs. If you really only have two or three "tricky" trips you'll need to do, you can supplement bus travel with a cab ride or two where buses or boats don't offer a simple route.

Where you're staying is another factor. If we're staying at Old Key West we always drive, even to the Magic Kingdom. If we're staying at Boardwalk we might go without a car since we can walk to two resorts and a car is only marginally useful for the Magic Kingdom.

For us, if we were staying at Caribbean Beach, we'd definitely rent a car and drive every day. But lots and lots of people use the bus system and are happy with it. It's a judgment call.

One question can help make up your mind: what do you want to do when you're tired and footsore at the end of the day? Would having a car make you feel better or worse? If you feel like being able to walk straight to the car and drive back feels like a great idea, then there's your answer. On the other hand, if driving feels like a chore you would pay money to avoid when you're tired, then there's your answer.

 

[smidgy]

you don't need a car. do we miss a car when we don't have one? yes. but not enough to make it worthwhile (for us) to rent one.

early in the trip we take the bus to downtown disney.. we walk across the street to the hess and pick up beer, snacks and maybe some sub sandwiches.

we do like to drive to AK or the water parks.. oh well.

we did a split stay in april AOA and BWV. we were going to have disney transfer our luggage, take the bus to DHS, then the boat to Boardwalk, keeping a small boarding bag with us with our swimsuits etc. aoa is SO close to BW.. it was a $7.00 cab ride! with our luggage (which BW held for us till our room was ready.) 20% was only $1.40. no way was I going to tip the guy that little! so I gave him 5 bucks. $12 total to avoid all that hassle. and it took about 5 minutes to get a cab!

 

[bumbershoot]

In the same way that I *need* a vacation, I *need* a car when at WDW.

Our last trip really solidified that we'll be driving pretty much wherever we go, even to MK. We've just had too many annoying experiences with/on buses, and NO annoying experiences while driving. So driving wins for us.

Of course, even as I write this I remember that we'll be taking the special disney transportation for runners and spectators to the TOT run in October. It'll be night, we don't know where we're going, and it just seems to make more sense. But, of course, with that, we (especially me, the runner) will be going incredibly early, so apart from the annoyance of just standing around, it'll be unlikely to be annoying in other ways. (but if I do the TOT the following year, maybe we'll figure out how to drive, instead)

 

[sam_gordon]

You don't NEED a car in that if you don't have a car you won't be stuck at your hotel and not able to visit the parks.

There are people who feel a car increases their enjoyment of a vacation, there are others who feel a car is superfluousness, and there are others in between.

A car gives you transportation when you want it and to where you want it.
Disney transportation is free
A car allows you to avoid the "masses".
Disney transportation allows you to meet and talk to others.

As mentioned, there are car rental sites on (and immediately off) property. IMO, if you think you don't want a car, I suggest not reserving one. If you decide you then need one, you can arrange to get one.

 

[Minnesota!]

Personally, I think a rental car is a waste of money at WDW. Great transportation is already provided, so I could never see spending the money to have something that is already provided "for free". However, we have never had an issue with the busses. No ridiculous waits (even the 2 hour wait last time - no big deal. We sat on a bench and people watched...enjoyed ourselves. Part of vacation for us is to just chill). WDW busses = vacation to us. The busses are one of the main draws of choosing WDW as my vacation destination.

I know not everyone feels the same.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We're staying at CBR for a week next Feb and I know Disney provide a bus service, as well as the Magical Express to and from MCO so do we really need to rent a car too? We will go offsite maybe a few times to go shopping or to Walmart (but you can have groceries delivered to the resort, but then we're on the QSDP so don't need a ton of stuff).

Renting a taxi a few times to go offsite will probably be more expensive then just renting a car, though.

No, you don't really need a car. Although, we did have one once when we planned a trip where we would only visit the parks part of the time and it was REALLY nice (we could go to the grocery store, went to outlets, went to off site dining, drove to the parks). On all of our trips, we have only had a rental car once. The disney transportation was just fine and I found no reason to leave the property for anything.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

If deluxe ; no car

If value or mod : yes car

This is what I do.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[CourtneyL]

You certainly don't need a car, but it can make life easier occasionally. We like having a car because I'd rather not depend on the buses with a stroller and a baby. Plus, we usually visit my grandmother when we are in Florida.

I noticed you are from England, how comfortable are you (or your group) with driving in the US? If it would be stressful, then don't bother with the car. Lots of people visit disney world and rely exclusively on Disney transportation. If there are things you need offsite, I would try to only do one or two trips to get everything you need.

 

[Kristibo42]

We have never rented a car. Alway use Disney transportation. We when have gone on our big family trips someone always has a car so we take a trip to Walmart.

 

[tjmw2727]

For me not driving is one of the main things that makes it a vacation!

I don't mind slowing down a little and waiting on a bus or standing if its crowded if I am not the one driving I will say the DTD bus service has been frustrating the past few trips - so much so that we may not bother next trip.

We have never rented a car and never missed it; but we don't go offsite at all. For the few times we have dinner reservations or need to get from resort to resort we call a cab - usually under $20 plus tip anywhere on property. I do plan so this doesn't happen though, maybe once per vacation. I try and plan resort restaurant meals around visits to the closest park.

We use DME from the airport (love the luggage delivery perk!) and have water, juice snacks and cold breakfast items delivery from garden grocer or wegoshop.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

I find that having a rental car saves us about 12 hours in travel time over our normal week vacation. Since that's the equivalent of almost an extra day of vacation, I find the ~$250 we spend on a rental to be completely worth it.

 

[bumbershoot]

No ridiculous waits (even the 2 hour wait last time - no big deal. We sat on a bench and people watched...enjoyed ourselves. Part of vacation for us is to just chill). WDW busses = vacation to us.

2 hours sitting on a bench waiting for a bus is no big deal? Half hour into it I would be going to the cab stand. And, in fact, we did just that (only...before waiting any amount of time) two separate times on our last trip. I'd rather be at my next destination for an hour and 15 minutes rather than watching humanity while waiting on a bench for a bus.

I think that most people want to chill and relax on vacation. But I think that many of those people want to be relaxing in the place where they want to be (next park, DTD, pool, room, restaurant, pretty lobby of hotel, etc); not while sitting at a bus stop.

 

[rwdavis2]

I find that having a rental car saves us about 12 hours in travel time over our normal week vacation. Since that's the equivalent of almost an extra day of vacation, I find the ~$250 we spend on a rental to be completely worth it.

This! If you can afford the cost of going to WDW then the cost of the car is almost a rounding error. I hate wasting time waiting when it is possible avoid it. After, I think 5 trips to WDW I rode a bus for the first time last November.

 

[NJRRK]

This! If you can afford the cost of going to WDW then the cost of the car is almost a rounding error.

This is the type of statement I take issue with.

If renting a car is important to you then rent a car. But the above statement is not true for those of us who skimp and save for our Disney vacation.

We're going in September because free dining and great airfare (under $375 for two (cheaper than driving)) put us at an affordable rate at ASM. I could not afford a rental car on top of that. Well maybe if I forgo some souvenirs but we normally don't spend that much on extras at all.

Now if you stay off site, well then I think a car is needed.

 

[Lewisc]

I find that having a rental car saves us about 12 hours in travel time over our normal week vacation. Since that's the equivalent of almost an extra day of vacation, I find the ~$250 we spend on a rental to be completely worth it.

I think it depends on where you stay and how you plan your trip.

Are you going to stay in one park from rope drop to closing? A car might get you back to your hotel a few minutes earlier but not the end of the world.

Are you going back to your resort, to other resorts to eat, DTD, mini-golf....Car makes a lot of sense.

Where you're staying. Staying at an EPCOT resort. You can walk to 2 parks. You can go to WS restaurants for dinner after returning to your resort for an afternoon pool break.

This! If you can afford the cost of going to WDW then the cost of the car is almost a rounding error. I hate wasting time waiting when it is possible avoid it. After, I think 5 trips to WDW I rode a bus for the first time last November.

$250 for a car is enough to pay for dinner for 2 at almost any restaurant, excluding V&A. People make a decision as to how they'll spend their vacation budget.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

It looks like you have already gotten a lot of great input, but I wanted to add that on our recent visit it seemed like every other bus that came was for CBR. I don't know if they have extra busses or what, but it looked like the CBR guest had little to no wait time for the buses.

We were at AoA and were very happy using Disney transportation. DH was leaning towards renting a car, but after seeing the parking situation was really glad we didn't. Also our 2 yo LOVED the buses! It may have been his favorite part of the trip.

 

[ParrotBill]

We always use Disney transportation but we are DVC and we want to make a grocery trip, and often we want to go offsite or to the beach. So we will rent a car for just a day or two or three from one of the nearby places.

Go to Google Maps, get all of WDW in view, then type "car rental" into the search box and hit enter. Now browse. Many of these places will pick you up and drop you off if you call in advance. Some of the locations are out of date but most are correct. I like to shop for a better price and have not seen Alamo, Hertz, National and Avis offering much lately in the way of good prices. We almost always use Dollar out of the Wyndham for best price and because I can walk to the DTD bus if their shuttle is not available or delayed. I also used Hertz out of US192 West once with no problems and prompt shuttle service.

If you search for rates on agency sites, use locations like Lake Buena Vista, Disneyworld, Kissimmee to try to find the local locations. But it's not easy. When you get a lead on a decent rate, go to that car rental company's direct web site and search the locations to find the one you found on the Google Map.