To rent (a car) or not..........

[moredisneyplease]

I'm an extremely seasoned WDW visitor and I have a trip coming in up 17 days woohoo: ). It will be me, DH, DS3, DS 5 months old, and a mommy's helper. DH and I are celebrating a 10 year anniversary and right now I'm debating a minivan rental. I've gone back and forth on the pros and cons and would like you're thoughts and suggestions. Pros and cons:

Pro: much easier at MCO to go up to the rental car desk, check in, get car, and go (Last few experiences w/ ME have been loooong)
Con: even though I'm locked in at a great rate of $190 for an 8 day minivan rental, its still $190 when ME is free and WDW transportation is free

Pro: we're staying a villa and i like to cook in so with a rental car we'll be able to go grocery shopping and get what we want at a reasonable price (versus grocery delivery)
Con: I tend to over shop for groceries at WDW and then have massive left overs but if I have the groceries delivered i'll only pick what i need/want

Pro: DH and I are doing the early morning surfing at TL as an anniversary present and there are no buses at that time so we'd just hop in the car and go.....without car we'd have to pay for a taxi
Con: I dont see a con on this one

Pro: easier w/ an infant to hop in car and get to park/water park/DTD....... quicker than waiting for a bus coming and going
Con: I have to either bring both carseats or spend even more money renting them through the car company (yuck)

I could list more but these are the ones that are sitting at the top of my thoughts. What would you do? Rent the minivan for the flexibility or just stick w/ ME/WDW transportation and order the groceries?

Thanks!

 

[Marshay]

If you can afford the cost of a rental car/van and like to be in control of your traveling arrangements, then rent.

We stay at DVC and always rent a car, for many of the reasons you said...I'll list mine:

1 - little/no waiting at the airport
2 - ability to drive to Super Wal-mart for groceries
3 - faster to drive from parks
4 - always have a seat
5 - car seat for DD for safety
6 - no waiting for bus/boats or standing in line
7 - leave cold drinks in a cooler for after the parks
8 - leave spare clothes in the car in case someone gets soaked on a ride or spills food -- no need for everyone to leave the park
9 - go directly to the park of your choice -- no stops along the way like at BCV which stopped at Typhoon Lagoon before going to AK or at the other close by resorts.
10 - option to <GASP> leave Disney for a meal, shopping or other entertainment
11 - go to the airport on your schedule, not as early as ME makes you go
12 - FASTEST way to get to another resort to explore or eat at their restaurant
13 - No need to empty the stroller and fold it up to use Disney transportation each time (except for the tram, if you take that). We just put the stroller in the back of our SUV w/o folding it -- made it a lot easier on us.
14 - Keep toys in the rental for DD to play with to/from the parks
15 - Nearly every morning we ate our breakfast in the car on the way to the parks
16 - When we weren't eating breakfast, we were putting on our suntan lotion in the car, to save some time.
17 - Try out new vehicles -- helps us decide which vehicle we want or don't want to buy next

 

[Marshay]

I'm sure you know, but you could always just rent a car from WDW property (Swan and DTD??? -- don't quote me on the location...) just for the days you really think you will need one.

Also, don't discount using a taxi to get around -- it's not that expensive to get from one end of Disney to the other and there usually are taxis at all the parks/resorts, or one can be called...esp if you only need to use it once in a while.

 

[eliza61]

I'm sure you know, but you could always just rent a car from WDW property (Swan and DTD??? -- don't quote me on the location...) just for the days you really think you will need one.

Also, don't discount using a taxi to get around -- it's not that expensive to get from one end of Disney to the other and there usually are taxis at all the parks/resorts, or one can be called...esp if you only need to use it once in a while.

This could be expensive though. We did that at the nationals on site and they gave almost no discounts, unlike at the airport.

I always rented a car when my kids where little. I simply hated having to load and unload the strollers on the bus.

 

[las3888]

My vote is to go with the car...we stay in a villa and use the kitchen too, so we definitely need that 'grocery run'...there are definitely times when taking the bus is easier, but there are just many times when we really appreciate having the car too.

I hear you on the car seat issues and everything...we check ours at the airport...I put them in a car seat bag and stuff all kinds of diapers and bulky items in there. It works okay for us.

As you've experienced ME, we are just not up for doing that with DS in tow...once we get there, we are SO focused on getting checked in...

As a side note, to avoid over-buying groceries, maybe go with your list made in advance and only buy those items (or MOSTLY)...I know...I am notorious for going to a grocery store and wanting to buy something just because it's on sale (and we will have zero opportunity to use it in Fla...duh). I can relate. I have a grocery list I have used on our trips and it is pretty concise and helpful. Better yet...have DH go with your list...he won't buy anything else extra (well, at least my DH wouldn't...he just wants to be IN and OUT).

Good luck!

 

[all4fun]

I'm sure you know, but you could always just rent a car from WDW property (Swan and DTD??? -- don't quote me on the location...) just for the days you really think you will need one.

Also, don't discount using a taxi to get around -- it's not that expensive to get from one end of Disney to the other and there usually are taxis at all the parks/resorts, or one can be called...esp if you only need to use it once in a while.

This is from
http://www.mousesavers.com/dollar.html

Dollar also has a location in the Regal Sun Resort near Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World. Thank you to Jim W for info.

and according to this Kevin Yee article on Miceage, decent deals can still be had from Dollar.

This could be expensive though. We did that at the nationals on site and they gave almost no discounts, unlike at the airport.

I always rented a car when my kids where little. I simply hated having to load and unload the strollers on the bus.

We have gotten discounts in the past renting from the counter at the Dolphin, so it is possible. Once, we only paid $15 a day for a full size. Pretty good! We have found that using DME to get to and from the airport is convenient and then we we can rent a car for the days we need for one of the on property locations and save money. The one thing I did NOT like about doing it that way was that dh would have to go pick up and return the car which meant taking part of our day for him to get to or from the car rental agency. When we stay at the Boardwalk and rent from the counter at the Dolphin it's a short walk, so it's not that bad. When we were at SSR we considered renting from Dollar but it seemed like getting back and forth to the location in the DTD area was more of a hassle so we decided against that. Just some thoughts about that!




As far as the grocery shopping goes, why not make a list as if you were ordering, then when you go shopping yourself, just stick to your list! I know, easier said than done. lol

 

[puffkin]

With your kids ages, get the car!!!!!!

My son is a nightmare on the busses, he just doesn't "get" it. The car is so much easier and he thinks the tram ride is just another ride at WDW. We had much less stress when we had the car and him.

 

[hapamama]

I agree 100% with Marshay! We compared rates with AAA and Costco and surprisingly Costco had the best deals and we were able to use some coupons we had! so for a week we are rentng a SUV (boo, on the gas yeah on the room for all our luggage!) for $107.00 cant beet that! plus you never know what little emergencies might come up and you'd need to make a trip to the store!

Good Luck!

7 Days until Wilderness Lodge!

 

[rangermom]

When we went last year we did not rent a car. It was Me, DH, DS 9, DD 3, and DS 1.5. ME and the bus system worked great from CBR. DH adn I loved not having to drive anywhere.

I could see how a rental car would help, especially for teh anniversary at TL. Being new DVC members I can also see how the car will help with the groceries.

We have chosen to drive to WDW from now on for various reasons, mainly airfare for 5 can get crazy. But one of the perks for having our own car is that we can leave WDW when we want and not have to depend on ME time schedules.

Long story short, I think the rental should work great. I would check the car seats at the airport.

 

[Marshay]

I agree 100% with Marshay! We compared rates with AAA and Costco and surprisingly Costco had the best deals and we were able to use some coupons we had! so for a week we are rentng a SUV (boo, on the gas yeah on the room for all our luggage!) for $107.00 cant beet that! plus you never know what little emergencies might come up and you'd need to make a trip to the store!

Good Luck!

7 Days until Wilderness Lodge!

OK, I definitely need to know how you got such a great deal! I paid over twice that (we got a standard SUV and for 10 days). I had checked Costco rate but it didn't work for us. I forgot to check AAA. I used Alamo -- I really like them since they are on-terminal.

Oh, well -- next time!

 

[MO Nurse]

We aren't renting a car from the airport but will from property for the day we plan to visit Seaworld and Universal Studios. We also make a grocery run so the car will be used for that too. You just have to budget it and see if it's worth it for your needs