Suggestions please - Disney w/o a car - is it a smart move?

[Terry's Angels]

Hi everyone,

We're going to WDW 5/7 - 5/14/07 and for the first time we're staying onsite. Whenever we've visited in the past we've always had a rental car and used it A LOT to travel not just around WDW but through central Florida. Since we're just going to committ to spending time at WDW and getting the DDP to eat onsite (decision has been made) I was wondering is it really logistically possible to stay at a moderate (maybe AKL) without a car without going crazy waiting for disney transportation. We (DH,DD(5) and me) plan to eat at our favs (O'hana, Whispering Canyon and Boma) and we're getting the water park and fun so that we can go to the water parks and DQ. So is really possible to do all of this without a car. We are an active family and tend to keep going on vacation until we drop to sleep at night. The more I read, the more I think that we need to get a car but dh thinks it will just sit in the lot. Any suggestions would help

 

[snowy76]

FWIW we've never had a car on site -- we go for 5-7 days at a time, hit each of the parks for at least a full day each, a water park, plus one or two ressies at other resorts. We've had no problems.

AKL was our best bus experience, btw, because it doesn't share a bus with any other resort.

 

[MariDisney]

I think it just depends on your individual tempermant and vacation style. I would never not rent a car (well, I guess never say never). I drive the car everywhere and never take a bus. Obviously, I take the monorail from TTC over to MK, but that's it. I feel much more "in control" by going straight to the car and leaving a park. Having a car makes going from one resort to another easier. Though, there are those that don't mind relying soley on WDW transportation. It's just not for me.

 

[Shere_Khan]

I've stayed at the Carribbean without a car, and had absolutely no problem at all. So the bus picks you up and depending on which part of the resort you are in sometimes you have to ride around the resort once to make all the stops but I believe we made it to the park within a half an hour each time and in my opinion that was not a long time to wait. I have never driven to the parks from a resort so I am not sure the difference in timing. The only way I would go is without a car. It is just nice to not have to worry about it and get carted around everywhere by Disney.

 

[PattiPB]

You could always rent a car for a day or two in the middle of the vacation if you feel like going to the outlets, or to replenish your snacks. Pick it up at S/D or the Car Care Center.

 

[Terry's Angels]

thanks for the input - things like things are pretty evenly split. More suggestions?

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Rent a car. You'll get frustrated when getting from one resort to another takes more than an hour, especially for dinner. If you stay onsite, parking is free the duration of your stay at every resort and every park. We get so much more time IN the parks and waterparks by having a car instead of waiting in line and taking buses.

 

[Castillo Mom]

We had no problems being without a rental. One day we were running a little late for HDDR and we just called Bell Services who arranged for a taxi which was waiting for us once we were done getting ready.

 

[kathylovesdisneyworl]

Up until the first time we went to Disney without renting a car I would have said none was needed. The transportation is just fine. The one trip we needed the car for other reasons and I now won't go without one. It makes life so much easier when you need to go to the other resorts for meals. It is really nice at the end of a long day to just get in you car and go instead of waiting for a bus. The only time I take the bus now is to MK, otherwise it is driving for us.

 

[Uncleromulus]

For those resort to resort dinner trips you may wish you had a car--as ExpirateshopGirl says, those trips can take an hour, or more. Disney's own literature suggests allowing up to an hour and a half!!

 

[averill94]

FOr our last two trips we stayed onsite and did not rent a car. We stayed at POP and CSR and had great bus service.
THis last trip at POP - when we went to 1900 park fare and Kona for adr's I did"splurge" for a cab - it cost about $20 (w/ tip) for 4.
We really enjoyed just getting on the bus and not hinking about where we were going.

 

[SarahSs]

I have stayed at CSR and POR with out a car and loved it. The bus transportation does not bother me, I like not having to worry about driving for a week. Plus I think my family would be more angry getting lost while driving our selves around the property than waiting for a bus.

 

[corinascot]

We've done both. We had a car when we stayed at POR and POFQ. This was b/c we drove to WDW. We used a mix of bus and car transportation. We tended to use the car in the evenings when we'd return to a park after a break at our hotel. We preferred the bus sometimes.

This year we flew to WDW, used ME and stayed at CSR. No car. I liked not messing with a rental car. We've done that on other trips to other destinations and I think it's a pain. We really liked ME. Getting to and from the parks from CSR on the bus was great. Never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. Usually just waited a few minutes or none at all. We did have a problem getting home from the Wide World of SPorts after a ballgame. I'd take a taxi the next time. How much resort to resort dining are you going to do? I'd take a taxi for that. You can take a whole lot of taxi rides for the price of a rental car.

We are also a family of 3 and very active. Bus transportation to the water parks was fine also. Going from resort to resort is the only sticky part.

 

[clkelley]

Everybody keeps mentioning resort to resort dinner trips. I am so confused as to why folks leave the parks to go back to their resort, then try to get to another resort for dinner!!!! Plan your meals around your park touring, and around park clsoing times!!

If you want to eat at Ohanna, make sure you are at Magic Kingdom or Epcot that afternoon. Make your dinner reservation early enough that you can go back to Epcot or Magic Kingdom to get back to your resort when dinner is over!

If you want to eat at Cape May Buffet, again, be at Epcot or the Studios that afternoon then walk/boat over to Cape May, but make it on a night where Studios is open late, then you can just walk/boat over to the Studios bus stop to get back to your resort.

Want to eat at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge? Do an early breakfast, then get on the breakfast bus, and usually the driver will take you straight there.

Make your later dinners at Downtown Disney, then you can go straight back to your resort from DTD without having to transfer at a Park.

Most of the resorts with popular dining options can be reached with a walking or monorail from a park, then to get back to your resort, it should be a short walk, then bus back to your resort.

Sit down with the park schedules, the evening EMH schedules, and make your ADRs wisely!!

For example, don't make a 7:30 ADR for dinner at Boma, when Animal Kingdom closes at 5:00, and you are taking your day off staying at All-Stars. Now that is a transportation nightmare.

 

[powellrj]

we were going to bypass the car this trip, but I was the sameway as you are. I debated back and forth about it. DH finally told me to rent the car. He reminded me that I really like having my own car so we could come and go as we wanted to.

We drove everywhere. The only time we didn't drive was riding the monterail back and forth to the CP for dinner at the concourse streak house.

Parking is free for resort guests and if you like to be at the parks when they open, parking is never a problem. What I like is the short trips we could make.

A couple of time the kids and I would run to DTD while DH was taking a nap. We could drive down, shop and be back in an hour. You couldn't do that with the busses.

 

[go cowboys]

No need for a car. We have never had one and do the same special restaurants that you do. I have on occasion taken a cab to the hotel for dinner when we were running late but thats only about $10.00 and way cheaper that a rental car. We were at WL one year and when I asked for a cab they asked where we were going and the bellman offered to take us in the WL van for free. Plus you never feel like you are paying for a car and then it sits in the lot all day unused.

Save the rental car money and buy your princess something extra.

 

[MariDisney]

Everybody keeps mentioning resort to resort dinner trips. I am so confused as to why folks leave the parks to go back to their resort, then try to get to another resort for dinner!!!! Plan your meals around your park touring, and around park clsoing times!!.

For us, we like to go back to the resort late afternoon and take a shower, get changed, etc. before we head out to dinner. I never feel right going into a restaurant without having cleaned up and put on clean clothes. It's just a personal thing. I know lots of people go right from the park to dinner. I typically plan my dinners way in advance, but make a lot of changes to my park touring right at the end. So, sometimes we're at a park nearby a restaurant, sometimes not. It's never taken more than 15 minutes to get from a resort to another resort in the car, and I like not spending more time than that with WDW transportation.

 

[WOODY13]

I think it is a matter of convienence. It can be very frustrating waiting for buses. I would rent the car if money isn't an issue. Being on the DDP it much easier to get around with a car, also you can go to the store any time you want for water, beer, ect. I understand that for some that is the last thing they want to do on vacation is drive but for me the convienence out wieghs the other. I don't have a lot of Patience with the buses but that's just me.

 

[Kycha]

DH and I went through this in September. We have always rented a car, even while staying onsite. So, for our Sept trip, we would be using ME for the first time and didn't see the need to rent a car. And I thought it would be a nice break for DH, as he does all the driving. We had plans to rent a car for one day at the Alamo car care center to try and catch a shuttle launch. Well, after 2 days of Disney bus transportation from Pop I just called Alamo and extended the rental car for the rest of our trip(4 days for $98). I was surprised at how much I hated the bus system. I couldn't help but feel like cattle. And I witnessed some of the rudest behavior our entire trip while waiting in the bus queue. So, now DH and I know that we are rental car people and the extra $100 or so is well worth it for our sanity.

I just want to add that our bus drivers were great. They were true professionals and some of them even entertained us during our rides.

 

[Terry's Angels]

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I think I'm leaning towards the car. This is primarily because although we do plan prior to our trips, there may be times when we don't end up exactly where we need to be in order to take transportation in the best manner. I keep thinking that the car will just sit in the parking lot, but I think that if it keeps us from being stressed even one time, it will be worth it. I checked out dollar yesterday and found an intermediate for $124 for the week to keep, while we're thinking about all of this.

Thanks again for the insight - more advice is always great