To drive or not to drive - That is the question?

[abbey_price]

Hello Everyone,

We have our accommodation booked:
23rd - 30th April 2010 - Hilton @ Sea World
30th April - TBC
1st - 8th May - Disney Saratoga Springs

My mum has RCI so we have managed to exchange weeks and stay at the above hotels.

As Friday is pay day we need to book our flights, however im not sure whether to book a fly drive or not?

The 2nd week we will use Disney transport to do all the parks and as we are on I Drive we can catch busses etc and sav on parking charges, however i can see the advantage of having a car.....

Does anyone have any advise or experience or any thoughts or comments?

Anything would be appreciated.......Thanks in advance.

 

[fuse04]

Obvioulsy having a car gives you more flexibility, however it really depends upon what you intend to do on your visit and what your meal plans are. If mainly doing the theme parks and not planning any long distances then you probably will not need a car based upon waht you have said.

As we are new to Orlando, only been three times we are still doing the parks and shopping, either eating on site or close by so we have not yet needed a car. However there are others who wouldn't be without one.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Irrespective of where we stay we always book a car, there are many reasons but just that flexibility of being able to go wherever we want when we want is enough for us.
Couldn't contemplate a holiday without one and have been lucky to travel all over Florida by car.

 

[DISWolves]

Agree with Johnny...the flexibilty that a car gives allows you to have a change of plan or direction in a moments notice. Have stayed on Disney property 5 times up to now.....and never been on Disney transport!.

 

[PudseyChancer]

Depends how far you want to travel from where you're staying. Staying near Seaworld means that access to i-drive and Universal is covered, be it taxis or i-ride, onsite you've got the Disney transport which is excellent.

Personally, have done four visits and have a fifth booked for next year, all done without a car, it makes me laugh when people say you have to have a car to do Orlando - I can't think of anything less flexible than being tied to the drivers seat, no off the cuff mojito's!

 

[luke]

I couldn't imagine not having a car in all honesty.
The freedom it gives you to go where you want, when you want is so worth it.

 

[Danauk]

While WDW transport is very good, we still always hire a car. We like the flexability to drive off site if we want to. Plus the parks that are not walking distance for us we like to drive to as we find it easier to get back to our hotel especially after park closing when the bus lines are really long.

 

[Disneydolly]

We went for almost a month and stayed off site at LBV. We took our car back after 1 week as were were not using it. It was great the first day to go to Walmart and stock up big time and we used it a few days later to go to Kennedy and Seaworld when we stayed out very late one night but we had a fantastic free shuttle service from our accomodation and found we were just not using the car much to justify keeping it.

It is handy for a few things but once it had gone we did not miss it.

We were extremely lucky though to have a free shuttle service that albeit only had 1 pick up time every morning (Got us to the parks before opening), was mega at picking us up. We just had to call him an hour before we wanted picking up on an evening. He was there without fail. In the day we used Disney transport and by the end of our holiday we were very good at sussing out the fastest way to get from A to B on it!!LOL

I suppose if your shuttle buses are crap then a car would deffo be a huge advantage but if its good you can be fine without.

Another thing you could do is perhaps hire a care for a few days just a few days into the holiday. See how you like it and see how reliable the alternative shuttle/Itrolley is. You can always extend your hire period if you felt you wanted to keep the car or take it back after a day or two going to places only accessable by car.

 

[Lilybee]

This year we had a car and we will never go back to using the buses. We stayed at SSR in a villa. Not that the buses where bad or anything it was just soo nice thinking right lets go, get in the car and then drive. instead of come on we have to get a bus and then wait around because some times there dont arrive on time and then you cant get a seat. I have to say that it did make our hoilday that sooo much better and we will be booking another car for next year.

 

[mitchfishguard]

doing. i-drive and disney like you are from the 24 th april to the 12th of may. ill only need a taxi twice, from i-drive to the pofq and from i-drive to old town to have a look at whats there. the rest will be buses, even the lynx from the airport. why would i need to hire a car? it is all down to personal choice, but dont let the gloom and doomers tell you you do. you dont need a car

 

[wayneg]

Every family is different, some have no problems using Disney transport, taxis and hotel transfers. Others like myself wouldn't go without a car.
We used Disney buses in 2000 for 24 hours and hated it, I know it was Xmas and busiest week of the year but we did not enjoy it at all. Tried again this August, just 1 journey from OKW to Hoop Dee Doo review so I could drink, just confirmed how much we dislike getting on public transport. After waiting 20 mins in the August heat it took 45 mins with an arrogant bus driver and sat opposite someone wanting to talk to me about motorized wheelchairs I so wished I was in the car taking 5 mins to do the same journey.
We also go a lot further than the parks, last year drove 5 hours each way to Savannah, Georgia. We also drive to the Port for cruises, Mannys (Haines City) Clearwater, Daytona, eat a lot at Hunters creek, visit friends houses, go Geocaching. evenings at Old Town & Celebration.....
A car is a must for me but not for others.

 

[2Tiggies]

Depends how far you want to travel from where you're staying. Staying near Seaworld means that access to i-drive and Universal is covered, be it taxis or i-ride, onsite you've got the Disney transport which is excellent.

Personally, have done four visits and have a fifth booked for next year, all done without a car, it makes me laugh when people say you have to have a car to do Orlando - I can't think of anything less flexible than being tied to the drivers seat, no off the cuff mojito's!

I do as you do - NO CAR!! Having said that though, I can see how people could "not manage without one".

For example, at this stage my DD is still fairly young so we don't stray from Disney property more than once or twice. That may change in time to come. Also I can imagine a whole host of circumstances that would make not having a car very challenging.

So many factors to consider. Best is to list them and decide what is better for YOU and your party.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

It is all about personal choice. You just have to find your own way. We all see things from our own viewpoint, if people have a great holiday without a car then that's fab - for us a car is essential.

If you are on I drive and have restaurants all within walking distance and are happy using public transport and have a great holiday then cool

If like us you stay most of the holiday in a villa then a car is a must-have, you can have a perfectly good holiday without your own transport but for me I would rather have that freedom & flexibility, irrespective of where we are staying.

 

[xenole]

I'm looking at doing a bit of both.
I'll be staying at Disney so don't really see the point of having a car sitting idle in a car park - it's not like there's a major rush to get from A to B to honest.

The second week, I'm looking at heading out to take in Seaworld, Discovery Cove, Universal etc, and don't really fancy trying buses and taxis for that especially if I spend say 5 days at those parks. Might cost a bit for parking, but the ease of having a car to jump into and go when and where I want is a bonus - just like at home when I need something from Tesco for example - no hour or two round trip on a bus, waiting in the heat or cold etc when it takes 15 mins there and back in a car.

Last time I was at Disney, stayed on I-Drive and walked to Universal / Wet N' Wild and got a bus up to Seaworld. Did catch the Lynx 50 back from Seaworld once. As for getting to Disney, sure it took up to an hour by bus which stopped everywhere, although we were in no real rush and got about easily and got to see the evening fireworks etc.

 

[CustardTart]

We always used to pick up a hire car at the airport without too much thought but nowadays prefer to just have one at the end of the holiday. After the flight, the last thing either of us feel like doing is driving TBH, so have used ME to get to the WDW resorts for our last few trips. Going to try a towncar next time tho'.

None of us mind the WDW transport and just go with the flow so really don't miss the car for much of the holiday. Towards the end of the trip we pick up a rental from the onsite Alamo and use that for a flurry of trips to shopping malls/off-site theme parks etc. Then we drop it off at the airport on the last day. Works for us...

 

[jharrowell]

I've done trips with and without a car, and honestly I prefer having the car. That's not to say that WDW trasport wasn't up to snuff, but apart from MK we found getting places using the car was just quicker.

I also think that having a car makes park hopping more viable, again because of the faster time between parks.

The only times we don't use it is if we're doing am MK day, or if we all fancy partaking of a little adult beverages at a park (usually Epcot). None of the possible drivers when in orlando are happy driving with any amount of alcahol in their system.

However I am an AP holder and I usually stay on site so I don't have to pay parking fees. If I was having to pay the extra $14 a day to park then I'd seriously consider forgetting the car.