WillCAD
Where there's a Will there's a way
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2004
Inspired by AngelEyes' thread Why do people choose to rely on Disney transportation?, I thought we could list the other side of the equation and state our reasons for renting a car when there is a perfectly good - and better yet, FREE - system of public transportation in place at WDW, including airport transfers.
Note: the other thread is currently at 4 pages and so far has had no arguments, name-calling, or Disney transportation bashing. Let's try to keep this thread similarly civil, and if you want to tell us why you DON'T rent a car, please do so in the other thread! This thread is for those who DO rent a car!
I'll start with my own reasons:
1) Flexibility! With a rental car, I can go anywhere that has a road, without waiting for busses, planning transfers, or trying to figure anything out - all I need to do is get in the car and GO. I can eat off-site, shop off-site, and visit Universal, and best of all I never have to worry about re-booking other transportation options if I change my plans at the last minute.
2) Time - Lots of people don't mind waiting for busses, boats, or monorails, and even I can wait for the monorail or the boat once in a while. But my vacation time is always severely limited, and even though I prefer to do the Lazy-Butt touring style (as opposed to the Commando style), I don't want to spend too much time waiting for busses.
Example - on my last trip I arrived at the Pop Century bus stops at 8:30pm, waited 20 mins for the bus to arrive, and stepped off the bus at Pleasure Island at 9:20. That's 50 minutes door-to-door for a trip that would have taken me 15 by car (but I was planning on having a Kungaloosh so I did the responsible thing and took the bus).
3) Other People - a bus carries lots of people. At WDW, the busses all carry LOTS of people (to the point of actually being dangerous IMHO, but that's a subject for its own thread). Sure, when I come out of a park in hot weather my car is hotter than the tenth level of Hell and takes several minutes to cool down enough to drive, but when I leave the park after a long, hot day, I don't want to spend the next 40-50 minutes standing up on a dangerously full bus with 100 hot, sweaty, stinky, noisy strangers. And by the way, those nice air-conditioned busses aren't all that cool when they're full to the gills with people - but my rental car cools off after a few minutes, and I ALWAYS get a seat immediately.
4A) Inbound Storage - Since I drive myself to and from the airport, I have a secure place to keep my luggage if my room is not ready that is easy to access. I can get into my suitcase to pull out my utility belt and park touring gear, change from travelling clothes to park touring clothes, and most importantly, store my laptop and camera bag in a place that nobody can access but me. My laptop/camera bag is one of my carry-ons for a good reason - NOBODY handles my expensive and fragile electronics but me, either at the airports or at WDW.
Also, with the recent liquids/gels ban, all of my toiletries go into my checked bag, and since I can access that bag easily in the trunk of the rental car, I can brush my teeth, freshen my deodorant, or clean my contact lenses if needed, and I don't have to worry about the "moving target" of constantly changing TSA regulations regarding stuff in your carry-ons.
4B) Return storage - on my return travel day, after I've checked out of my resort, I like to do some last-minute park touring and shopping, and since my suitcase is in the back of the car, I can easily pack some of those last-minute purchases in it instead of in my carry-ons. I can also wear my park touring clothes and gear till the last minute, change into travelling clothes in a bathroom somewhere just before going to the airport, and pack that stuff in the suitcase.
Those are my reasons for renting a car. YMMV.
Note: the other thread is currently at 4 pages and so far has had no arguments, name-calling, or Disney transportation bashing. Let's try to keep this thread similarly civil, and if you want to tell us why you DON'T rent a car, please do so in the other thread! This thread is for those who DO rent a car!
I'll start with my own reasons:
1) Flexibility! With a rental car, I can go anywhere that has a road, without waiting for busses, planning transfers, or trying to figure anything out - all I need to do is get in the car and GO. I can eat off-site, shop off-site, and visit Universal, and best of all I never have to worry about re-booking other transportation options if I change my plans at the last minute.
2) Time - Lots of people don't mind waiting for busses, boats, or monorails, and even I can wait for the monorail or the boat once in a while. But my vacation time is always severely limited, and even though I prefer to do the Lazy-Butt touring style (as opposed to the Commando style), I don't want to spend too much time waiting for busses.
Example - on my last trip I arrived at the Pop Century bus stops at 8:30pm, waited 20 mins for the bus to arrive, and stepped off the bus at Pleasure Island at 9:20. That's 50 minutes door-to-door for a trip that would have taken me 15 by car (but I was planning on having a Kungaloosh so I did the responsible thing and took the bus).
3) Other People - a bus carries lots of people. At WDW, the busses all carry LOTS of people (to the point of actually being dangerous IMHO, but that's a subject for its own thread). Sure, when I come out of a park in hot weather my car is hotter than the tenth level of Hell and takes several minutes to cool down enough to drive, but when I leave the park after a long, hot day, I don't want to spend the next 40-50 minutes standing up on a dangerously full bus with 100 hot, sweaty, stinky, noisy strangers. And by the way, those nice air-conditioned busses aren't all that cool when they're full to the gills with people - but my rental car cools off after a few minutes, and I ALWAYS get a seat immediately.
4A) Inbound Storage - Since I drive myself to and from the airport, I have a secure place to keep my luggage if my room is not ready that is easy to access. I can get into my suitcase to pull out my utility belt and park touring gear, change from travelling clothes to park touring clothes, and most importantly, store my laptop and camera bag in a place that nobody can access but me. My laptop/camera bag is one of my carry-ons for a good reason - NOBODY handles my expensive and fragile electronics but me, either at the airports or at WDW.
Also, with the recent liquids/gels ban, all of my toiletries go into my checked bag, and since I can access that bag easily in the trunk of the rental car, I can brush my teeth, freshen my deodorant, or clean my contact lenses if needed, and I don't have to worry about the "moving target" of constantly changing TSA regulations regarding stuff in your carry-ons.
4B) Return storage - on my return travel day, after I've checked out of my resort, I like to do some last-minute park touring and shopping, and since my suitcase is in the back of the car, I can easily pack some of those last-minute purchases in it instead of in my carry-ons. I can also wear my park touring clothes and gear till the last minute, change into travelling clothes in a bathroom somewhere just before going to the airport, and pack that stuff in the suitcase.
Those are my reasons for renting a car. YMMV.