thoughts on renting a car VS. bus

[arielsleepingbeauty]

HI, need some input from the pros on DIS. We usually rent a car, but I don't really want to this time. I amfine with taking buses. It's not a big deal.The big deal is my 2 DD's who are imatient and would hate to wait an abundance of time for a bus. We enjoy Fantasmic and WISHES and opt to stay in the park until closing. It is rush hour and so I am wondering how bad the wait is for the buses at the end of the night? We are staying at POP and going the beginning of MaY. Please help me decide.
Thanks
Kristy

 

[sorcerermick]

We're debating the same issue for our trip in August. It will be interesting to see what others have to say.

 

[goofy4tink]

Are the buses that service POP going to be full? Probably. And the wait will most likely be on the 'longer' side. But, that said, it's all relative. The three times I've stayed at POP (mid-May, mid-Aug, and Dec), the waits at the end of the day haven't been all that bad.
Chances are that your dd's will have to wait in lines at some attractions. So, waiting for the bus isn't going to be all that different. It's just a part of the 'Disney experience'.....well, that's what I have been telling my dd since she was 5 and went for the first time. Now, at 13, she has come to realize the wait is going to be there.

 

[cfknight]

We rode the busses the last couple times we have gone, they were fantastic for just me and DW but last year it was terrible because we had the kids. The lines to get on the bus everytime and at the end of a long night at MGM with my son that fell asleap, we had to wait 2hrs to get on the bus and then stand up all the way back. Not very fun when your carrying a 7 year old boy THE WHOLE TIME! We will never be without a car from now on!

 

[lkjasd]

(As said previously, this is all relative. Your results may vary.)

We have always rented a car or drove down. This past September we decided to give the bus a shot since we were flying in and staying at Poly and would only need the bus for waterparks, AK, and MGM.

We will never do busses again.

Why? Because we live in a rural area and are used to driving everywhere. When we want to go somewhere, we get in the car and go. Also, sitting and doing nothing while waiting for a bus is "wasted" time for me.

The waits were not bad (15 min shortest, 40 min longest) but I could have been back at my resort by the time I got on the bus most of the time. That, to me, would be worth the cost of the rental alone. Also, the busses were always packed, even in September and I had the misfortune of being raised properly so I always gave up my seat and my son's seat to others. The busses were never that crowded when we got on, but by the time we were done picking up the Grand Floridian, they were leaving people at the bus stop.

 

[msmayor]

During a trip when my DH had a conference and needed the car, the kids and I decided to try the busses out.

We will ALWAYS have a car.

Don't get me wrong...the busses are adequate if you want to go from your resort to a park and back, although you'll probably wait in lines at the end of the day.

The big problem we had was getting to other places, and the incredible amount of time it took because we had to take multiple busses.

Example: the kids and I wanted to go to Fantasia Gardens to play mini golf during a morning when DH had the car. We had to take a bus from *** to Downtown Disney and change to another bus that took us to the Swan, and then had to walk over to the golf. It took us 90 minutes to get to a place that would have been 10 minutes in the car. Even getting back to the resort, a CM told us it would be faster to walk back to the Swan, take a boat to Epcot and then grab a bus there. Still took an hour.

When in Disney, the phrase "Time is money" could never ring truer. We scrimp and save and spend a good amount of money to enjoy Disney...I'd rather spend a little more and have more TIME for fun that spend it waiting for a bus.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

DH insists on a rental. I have to say that it is nice. We like to go to Sea World. We like to go to non Disney restaraunts (jungle jim's- which I understand is no longer there).

We go to Walgreens and get our pictures off our digital cameral and onto a CD.

This year we are hoping to do some resort hopping. (AK Lodge, Poly).

But, if it was just me and the kids, I would use busses because I think I might get lost. DH is a great navigator, me???not so much...

It was nice last time we stayed at POR. Seemed like a long walk to the food court to fill up our drinks, so we hopped in the car, drove to the food court, filled up our drinks and took off for a park - no waiting around for us!

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

Thanks you everyone. I have decided that I am going with a rental. We do use the buses to go back to POP for an afternoon dip and then back to the park. We drive the car back to the resort at the end of the night. It seems like that will be the fastest.
My DD's 5 and 6 have waited in lines, they have been 4 times already. But at the end of the night when it's late and we're all tired, I know it will be chaotic and just not fun to wait. I wasn't sure what everyone else's experience was taking the bus at the end of the night.
A rental car will cost more, but when weighing the cost against waiting time , well I guess it seems more logical for us to rent.
Thank you everyone, your thoughts helped me! I appreciate it!
Kristy