Tell me your Top 3 reasons that you rent a car.

[seashoreCM]

My votes:

1. To go offsite with.
2. To leave things in, for example I can leave some of my clothing in the car at the water park.
3. (pre-Magical Express) Costs less overall when figuring airport transportation as well as offsite trips.

I still used the buses a lot rather than drive everywhere

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/magicx.htm

 

[thumperjr9]

I'm a big believer in renting a car while on a Disney World vacation.

Here are my main reasons:
Control - I have to be in control of my transportation. It's a Type-A thing. I can't rely solely on the buses. I can't explain it. I just can't do it.

Off-Site - We do go off-site to eat and shop sometimes.

Flexibility - I can get up and go to the airport when I'm ready and not have to adhere to a schedule that Magical Express gives to me.

Please share your Top 3 reasons for renting a car.

Thanks.

My reasons are pretty much the same. I will add that we make use of the buses and the rental car for travelling to the parks....depending on which park and the time of day. When we stayed at POR we ended up using the rental a lot. At CSR...not so much. Oh and we rent from National - Emerald Aisle so my family always gets to argues over which car to choose....it's a family tradition we wouldn't want to miss!

 

[Alexander]

Freedom
Freedom
Freedom

No waiting, go where we want, when we want.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Saves all kinds of time--waiting for a bus or monorail wastes SO much time!!

Always have a seat--no SRO in your own car!!

Flexible--getting resort to resort is a breeze. Change plans? Just go in that different direction!!

Keep in mind--there is a reason why Disney's own literature advises to allow up to an hour and a half getting from point A to point B if you aren't just going from YOUR resort to one particular park. To put that in perspective, it only takes 20 minutes longer than that for us to fly all the way down to WDW from BWI in Baltimore!!

 

[robinb]

1. We need to drive to/from Tampa to see my husband's Family.
2. I like to make a grocery stop for breakfast foods, snacks and beer.
3. I like not having to wait for a bus if I'm in a hurry.

 

[Lewisc]

Flexibility - I can get up and go to the airport when I'm ready and not have to adhere to a schedule that Magical Express gives to me.

Please share your Top 3 reasons for renting a car.

Thanks.

Posters in this thread have already given reasons, worded in different ways.

The poster I quoted is half right. A rental car gives you the flexibility to end your trip in a theme park or in another resort (having a meal). Passengers flying have to adhere to an airline schedule. Really not that much different then also having to adhere to a DME schedule. I'm talking about guests ending their trip at their own resort. Leaving after breakfast or a morning swim followed by lunch. DME picks up 3 hours before your flight. Guests with a rental car to return should leave 2.5 hours before their flight. Maybe even 3. I don't consider saving 15-30 minutes enough of a reason (by itself) to rent a car.

 

[zulaya]

Being that you quoted me, I thought I'd expound a bit.

I didn't go into further detail when I started the thread because I wanted to see what other people said. I didn't want to have a string of "ditto" posts.

I did deliberately leave off several other reasons that fall under the "Flexibility" category and am happy that others have chimed in so it wasn't one person from providing all of the reasons.

 

[Lewisc]

I understand you wanted others to give their reasons. I disagree with one of your reasons, at least the way you worded it. A person who's planning on ending their trip at their resort doesn't gain much with a rental car vs DME. Allowing enough time to gas up and return your rental car offsets most of the time savings.

People rent a car because they want to do stuff offsite (yes we can list lots of stuff), because they're doing non-theme park "stuff" at Disney (yes we can list all the "stuff" including visiting other resorts) where bus service is poor or because they have "issues" with Disney buses (yes we can list the "issues" including not wanting to wait, wanted to ensure they don't have to stand, etc).

Likewise there are only a few reasons why people don't rent a car. Some people can't easily rent a car (list the reasons but basically no license, horrible driving record, huge underage surcharges), prefer not to drive on vacation, prefer not to spend the money or aren't planning on doing anything that requires a car.

edited to add:

What guests have virtually no reason to rent a car? Guests who are staying at an EPCOT resort, who are on a meal plan and who plan on spending all (or almost) all their time in their resort, EPCOT and DHS.

Which guests should almost always rent a car for their entire stay? Guests staying offsite. Almost all offsite properties have limited to poor bus service.

Which guests should rent a car for at least part of their trip? Guests planning a trip to KSC, Bush Gardens, Clearwater Beach and maybe Universal.

Otherwise there isn't a "correct" answer. People need to balance the pros and cons.

The weekly cost to rent a car used to only a few dollars more then the cost of car service transfers. Some of the current rental rates are pretty high. Some people might consider using taxis to supplement Disney transportation.

I'll give you a positive reason, that can become a negative. A car may make it too easy to go offiste. I have outlet malls near my home. Souvenirs are cheaper in the Character stores in the outlet malls and in Walmart. Many of us wind up spending more dollars when we drive offsite. We get more "stuff" but more then we need or really want.