To rent a car or not to rent a car, that is the question.

[jennr620]

Planning a sept 2012 trip with or 2 kids, age 7 and 10. I say we want a rental car because i dont want to stand in long lines at the end of a long hot day wainting for a bus. My hubby says we should save money and forget the car all together. Although we would need to rent a car for at least one day to go to Legoland. There are a few things I would be worried about getting to on time with the busses like 8am breakfast at crystal palace and getting to chef mickeys from all-star movies. Any opinions?

 

[Kathi OD]

For 13 trips to WDW we rented a car. Never even considered not getting one. Then for our trip last April (Easter week), the rental car agency canceled our reservation and to rebook it would have cost almost $1500 We had no choice...ME & internal buses were the only option. It was awesome! We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes for a bus at any time during our entire trip. Everything worked so well that when we went back in November, we didn't even consider a rental car. Again, things were smooth as can be. We've come to the conclusion that the rental car isn't a necessity and won't be spending money on something that we really don't need.

 

[carrie1626]

A one day ( and that's an exact 24hrs not more) will be expensive enough. I'd either go with rental for the entire trip or cancel the Legoland trip and stay within WDW and use free transportation.

Both have their own own advantages

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

For 13 trips to WDW we rented a car. Never even considered not getting one. Then for our trip last April (Easter week), the rental car agency canceled our reservation and to rebook it would have cost almost $1500 We had no choice...ME & internal buses were the only option. It was awesome! We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes for a bus at any time during our entire trip. Everything worked so well that when we went back in November, we didn't even consider a rental car. Again, things were smooth as can be. We've come to the conclusion that the rental car isn't a necessity and won't be spending money on something that we really don't need.

I agree with this. I do think you will definitely need to rent a car for your day trip to Legoland though.

 

[disney67]

For all my 18 trips to Disney only 1 trip we did not rent a car and we felt lost and trap I know it sounds bad but even my daddy daughter trip I had one .
Good luck on your decision .
But I might be able to save you money for Legoland
If you go to Legoland there website they send out for the kids a free magazine quartly and usually every other one the have buy an adult admission get a free kids ticket I'm on my phone at work not good with it but I will post the link later tonight

 

[staceyatdisney]

We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes for a bus at any time during our entire trip. Everything worked so well that when we went back in November, we didn't even consider a rental car. Again, things were smooth as can be. We've come to the conclusion that the rental car isn't a necessity and won't be spending money on something that we really don't need.

I agree. I'm not sure a car would save any time when traveling on property as you have to park and would likely walk farther than you would if the bus dropped you off. Disney really does a great job moving people around fairly quickly.

 

[hugApug]

Since you have awhile to go until your trip, I would recommend "bidding" for a car on Priceline through their name your own price program. We've gotten SUV's for around 13$ a day, and compact cars for around $10 a day. You can keep bidding every day until you get the price you want.

We loved having the car while at WDW. It was nice to alternate between driving(free parking when staying on-site) and taking the bus, depending on how we felt that day. We also enjoyed the option of going off site for food (Cici's pizza- we don't have them in Nor Cal!) and other items (a Target run for sunscreen, etc.).

IMO, if you're going to get a car for your trip to Legoland, you might as well just get one for your whole trip. Happy planning!

 

[jtopp]

keep in mind that you still wait, only in a different line. Wait for the parking lot tram, walk out to your HOT car, wait to exit the parking lot. It is cheaper to just rent for the one day needed. We have done both ways, and most times the car sits in the hotel parking lot, wasting money by the day. Granted, its great that we have the option to use it, but if your concern is saving money, just rent for the time needed.

 

[bumbershoot]

I can't imagine not having a car. We've had ups and downs with Disney transportation. (like the fabulous time DH and my aunt had waiting and waiting and waiting at DHS one evening, finally FINALLY getting home to OKW 2 hours later...those of us who chose to take the cars were home in approx 15 minutes) We have only had UPS with a rental car.


We've never had a wait to get out of a parking lot, but even if we did...temperature set to our own needs, music playing, not crowded, just us....very nice.



There are threads on the Transportation forum about codes, etc, for certain months. I recommend checking it out!

 

[eliza61]

Planning a sept 2012 trip with or 2 kids, age 7 and 10. I say we want a rental car because i dont want to stand in long lines at the end of a long hot day wainting for a bus. My hubby says we should save money and forget the car all together. Although we would need to rent a car for at least one day to go to Legoland. There are a few things I would be worried about getting to on time with the busses like 8am breakfast at crystal palace and getting to chef mickeys from all-star movies. Any opinions?

The first time I went to Disney my sons were small. After the hassle of dealing with the buses at the end of hte night with strollers, I said NEVER AGAIN.

I know people rave about how friendly guest are but that was not my experience. If you did not have your stroller broken down the nanosecond the bus pulled up, all heck broke loose. Twice I got into an argument on the bus over a snide remark some one made about taking to long.

We're a family of 4 so we can easily get a great deal on a weekly rental for a small car. eating offsite one time darn near makes up the rental fee.

Lastly, I hate how long it takes if you want to go to dtd or another resort from your resort. 2.5 hours round trip travel time easy.

I like the monorail but for any thing else, I'm driving.

 

[disney67]

here is the link to the lego brick leyers magazine
http://club.lego.com/en-us/behindthebricks/default.aspx
just fill out for each each kid you have and quarterly they send out and usually everyother one or so they put a coupon in it for legoland
the one i got last week was a free kids admission with a full paying adult ticket .

 

[dougsmom98]

I would make two car reservations now to get a good rate, one for a one day rental and one for a week long rental. Between now and September try to save some money specifically for a car rental. If you have enough money before your trip, look at the cash and decide whether you want to spend it on a car rental or not. If you don't have the money for the car rental or when you look at the cash you had to scrimp and save for and you decide you don't want to rent and want to use it for something else, cancel your week long reservation and don't get one.

 

[scottmel]

Really depends on where you are staying. We have ALWAYS rented but this summer I was able to work the trip so my MK days are at the Poly and we are doing a split stay at BC. So my epcot days are on that end of the trip.
i won't be using the bus transportation just walking to Epcot or monorail to MK from Poly. Seemed to almost make sense NOT to rent. We are picking a car at MCO for 24 hours to use at universal and then returning to a DTD hotel which will shuttle us for free to the Poly. Crazy cheap rate. 43 rental for 30 hours. So I jumped on that. Our first trip without a rental the whole time and DH is giddy with excitement. He said he is looking forward to having someone pick him up and take him to the airport without the hassle of returning the car, traffic concerns. etc.

 

[puffkin]

keep in mind that you still wait, only in a different line. Wait for the parking lot tram, walk out to your HOT car, wait to exit the parking lot. It is cheaper to just rent for the one day needed. We have done both ways, and most times the car sits in the hotel parking lot, wasting money by the day. Granted, its great that we have the option to use it, but if your concern is saving money, just rent for the time needed.

I have never had to wait more than a few minutes for a tram...can't say the same for the busses. And you always have the option of walking out to the parking lot but they move the tram lines fast. I also have never had issues getting out of a parking lot....most don't even have lights. The car cools down fast enough with the air. I would much rather be hot an extra minute or two than jammed on a packed bus with a bunch of smelly strangers. In a car, you are always guaranteed a seat!

We used to only use Disney transportation. Then one trip I was pregnant and didn't want to bother and we had a car. We will not do Disney again without a rental. We go a lot (2-3 times a year) and the "magic" of Disney transportation just isn't there for us. We love having a car, especially with kids. Target runs, offsite activities, getting to ADR's at resorts, Downtown Disney, etc are just so much easier with a car. Go to the Transportation board and sign up for the monthly rental car thread for when you want to go. We ALWAYS get great deals on rentals in Disney.

 

[cluvsdisney]

After we rented a car the first time, we both said "what were we waiting for?" It gives us the freedom to go offsight for groceries, misc. items and dining. It's so much easier to dine at different resorts instead of the dreaded DTD bus transfer. We love always having a seat, in a quiet vehicle, by ourselves, with air conditioning without waiting. Oh and it's so nice to get in your own car after going to a water park.

 

[aprilgail2]

For all my 18 trips to Disney only 1 trip we did not rent a car and we felt lost and trap I know it sounds bad but even my daddy daughter trip I had one .
Good luck on your decision .

I agree--ONE time we didn't have a car rental and boy did we regret that! I am really not a bus person and waiting in that bus line as one bus after the other filled up and we still waited really sucked. It took forever to get from one resort to the other- if we were having dinner at another resort we had to take the bus to one of the parks and then change there to another bus to the other resort- added over an hour to the travel time! Forget it--never again will I not have a car!
We are going for 2 weeks in July and are renting a car-we are going to discovery cove, universal and st. petersburg beach while we are there-impossible without a car!

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

We have never rented a car while at Disney because we always drive there. BUT, if we DID fly down, we would DEFINITELY rent a car for a couple reasons: 1)we never stay on Disney property. For us, it's always cheaper staying in a condo near Disney and 2)we like the freedom of driving whereever we need to go. I've heard great things about the Disney transportation, but I've also heard some horror stories about it. Start looking now for some good deals on rental cars if that is the route you decide to go.

 

[ceecee]

We have gone for the past 13 years, never rented a car and never wished we had. My BIL insisted on driving (they live in Fl and had their car) we almost always beat them to the parks and when we rode back to the hotel with them we waited to get a tram in the parking lot, got into a HOT car and then waited to get out. They have met us for the past 6 years and they now park at the hotel and use Disney transportation!

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I wouldn't do Disney without a car. Just our personal preference. If I didn't have a car or couldn't rent one I would wait until I could afford one (or we drive our own car there)

 

[Anniegirl]

Try carless and save the money. If you are truly miserable without one for this trip then you'll know to rent one next time. Can you do Legoland at the begininng , or end of your vacation? That way you can rent from the airport on arrival, return at the end of your Legoland visit and catch ME out to your resort.

We always rented until we realized the car sat in the hotel parking lot for the entire trip while we used Disney transportation.