To rent a car or not to maximize park time

[Mad Hattered]

Huh? The person you quoted there said they park at a resort then use Disney transportation, never parking at the parks?

The linked post is a contradiction to what the poster is saying now. They said they never use their car but earlier admit to parking at it Fantasia mini golf and catching a ride on a bus. Hence USING their car.

 

[siskaren]

The linked post is a contradiction to what the poster is saying now. They said they never use their car but earlier admit to parking at it Fantasia mini golf and catching a ride on a bus. Hence USING their car.

Exactly. Whenever there's a thread about parking at the resorts for theme park access, this person brags about how he does it all the time and refuses to see anything wrong with it.

 

[kathy884]

I really appreciate all the posts / opinions. It sounds like on this particular trip we could do it either way, but that renting would be more efficient. That's what I think I'll do then. I usually stay offsite and on the few times we've stayed onsite we did lots of things offsite, so have gotten a car on all my other trips and don't have any problem / stress driving around Orlando and Disney. This is the first trip I've taken with mostly Disney activities, but figure I'd spend at least $60 plus tip to the Titanic and back with cabs (won't due buses due to extra time), and a rental car for three days isn't all that much more. I might as well go for it.

 

[DSLRuser]

Case in point: last time there we didn't rent a car and was staying at Wilderness Lodge and had a dinner ressie at Boma (AKL). I think it took close to 1.5 hours. Could have driven it in 15 minutes, maybe less.

If it took you 1.5 hours. you did it wrong.

take the 1st bus or boat or monorail to the 1st park. doesn't matter what park. get to a park.

Then go to what ever park you went to's bus depot, and take the bus to animal kingdom lodge.

do the opposite to go home.

won't be 15 mins, but no more than 45 tops. and extra 30 mins is totally worth it not to drive.

 

[DSLRuser]

The linked post is a contradiction to what the poster is saying now. They said they never use their car but earlier admit to parking at it Fantasia mini golf and catching a ride on a bus. Hence USING their car.

uh no. was off site. parked at fantasia and used disney busses to not pay for parking.

see my sig. i am 60% on property, 40% off.

when we stay on and drive, the car never leaves its spot.

 

[doctornick]

There is park to park transportation (either bus or boat from Epcot to DHS).

Or ferry/monorail to monorail between MK and Epcot.

Going between DAK or DHS to MK it is definitely quicker to use the buses since you avoid the TTC and get dropped off (or picked up) at the MK gates.

Going off property is obviously a great reason for a rental. So is going to different resorts on property (for meals, etc.). Going to the parks, it's probably quicker with a car -- and certainly less variable due to the vulgarity of the bus system -- but it might not be that much quicker. Park to park is probably the one time I would suggest that internal transport is better, especially since you are pretty much guaranteed to park far away at the second park, with the requisite tram ride or long walk as a result.

I'd also say that it can depend on the parking situation at the particular resort. Some you are parked literally right outside your room, which can make for a lot of efficiency with driving. Others you might have a decent walk to the parking lot, which can make regular driving less ideal.

 

[richmo]

If it took you 1.5 hours. you did it wrong.

take the 1st bus or boat or monorail to the 1st park. doesn't matter what park. get to a park.

Then go to what ever park you went to's bus depot, and take the bus to animal kingdom lodge.

do the opposite to go home.

won't be 15 mins, but no more than 45 tops. and extra 30 mins is totally worth it not to drive.

Nope, that's what I did. Took first bus that came, which was to AK. Problem was, and maybe this was my mistake, it was getting within an hour or so of AK closing time. For whatever reason, the line for the bus to AKL was packed. Filled up the bus queue area and beyond. Eventually got the 3rd (maybe 4th) bus to AKL. It was a non-event...Boma was busy but still accommodated us, but it did take a long time.

 

[NavyDad]

Hi,

We are also going to be at WDW for 2 days and will be park hopping.

We are staying at Beach Club. On first touring day,, we would like to tour AK and then MK. Should we drive or take Disney transportation? If we get to MK around 11:30AM, is it going to be a real pain to take a car, and park, and then monorail?

We stayed at Beach Club June 2013. We park hopped every day to at least two parks and used Disney Transportation with no problem. The freedom of hoping on a bus or monorail and not having to go out and find your car or remember where you parked was great for us.

Example of one of our park hopping days:

Rode the bus from Beach Club to AK. Plenty of busses in the morning with little to no wait. Toured the park and left early afternoon.

Rode the bus back to Beach Club. Spent a couple hours at the room relaxing. Walked to Epcot late afternoon and had dinner.

After dinner hopped on the monorail and transferred to MK monorail at TTC. Little to no wait for either monorail and we walked into MK for Wishes and the parade. Stayed a few hours for EMH and walked out to the bus back to Beach Club. Again little to no wait and a nice easy trip back.

I do think it matters where you stay. Staying at Beach Club was very central to almost everything. Also Deluxe Resorts have their bus stops closer which saves some walking. When we stayed at Pop we were the last bus stop at every park and that got old.

If you are at a Epcot or monorail resort there is no reason to rent a car IMO.

 

[siskaren]

Nope, that's what I did. Took first bus that came, which was to AK. Problem was, and maybe this was my mistake, it was getting within an hour or so of AK closing time. For whatever reason, the line for the bus to AKL was packed. Filled up the bus queue area and beyond. Eventually got the 3rd (maybe 4th) bus to AKL. It was a non-event...Boma was busy but still accommodated us, but it did take a long time.

A better option would've been to take the boat to MK then get on the bus to AKL there. And this is why I schedule dinners at other resorts for days when I'm going to be at the nearest park, so for instance I do Boma on the day I go to AK. I still have to do a transfer to get back to my resort, but I just use that as an excuse to spend some time at DTD.