To rent a car or not

[bumbershoot]

I really like a car, but then I own DVC so my parking is included. I even drive to MK, because while getting there in the morning is fine taking transport, in the evening it's not, for me. I want to be in line for the ferry, on the ferry, and walking to my car, rather than standing in a never ending line in the second to farthest away bus line (b/c that's my luck) for a bus that will be too hot or too cold.

That said, having Lyft available is starting to shift my thinking. I haven't done it yet, but it's out there, waiting for me.

Respectfully, it’s not. There are signs everywhere. There are people who come from around the world to Disney, and Disney has done a great job of trying to make it easy for everyone.

Agreed.

Know where you are (epcot area?) and where you're going to (animal kingdom area?) and follow those signs.

I love the Magical Express - not having to schlep my luggage around the airport is a huge plus. For me, the DME is a nice way to unwind, relax and watch some cute videos on the way to the resort. Of the 2 times I've used DME the longest I've waited to board a bus is 15 minutes.

FWIW you don't have to rent from the airport. You can take DME and then rent onsite or close to onsite if you wish. I have taken DME in the last few years b/c my cousin likes it, and then I rent from Alamo right there onsite.

With the bus, I never felt stressed, even while waiting on the next one to come.

Lucky.

 

[PixieT78]

Our first trip was back in 2010. We stayed in an All-Star resort and did a few day trips to Universal. I think we rented a car part of the way through the trip since these were the days before Uber/Lyft. The days we didn't have a car (or chose not to drive due to adult beverage plans lol) we did experience long waits for the busses which definitely soured us a bit on Disney transportation. We rented cars for the next couple of trips and really prefer it. In fact, our next trip we were not going to rent a car, especially because of the parking fees, but it is looking like it is going to be around $50 more for the trip than our estimates for Uber/Lyft so we decided the added convenience was worth it (we'll also be stopping at a grocery store/Target on the way to our days at Universal). That said, if we were only going to be on Disney property, we'd probably try again with the busses. I think skyliner will be a game changer for our future plans as well.

 

[GoingSince1990]

The last time we rented a car at WDW was in 2014. We only used the car twice, to drive from the airport to the hotel at the beginning of the trip, and to drive back to the airport after the trip, and have never rented one again. Now we use Minnie Vans and Lyft as well as buses, monorails and boats, and I love not having to drive or worry about parking during the vacation.

 

[DSLRuser]

No. Even when we drive down, we park our car for the week. Part of "vacation" for me is just unwinding and not having to drive...anywhere!!!

Now, i will admit. we go to WDW every year and some times twice. So an hour from hotel to gate instead of 25 mins, means nothing to us. It is just more time to spend with my family.

 

[_19disnA]

This is essentially a first timer trip for us......

It is partly a matter of personal preference, budget and how much other driving you plan to do. If you plan to have meals outside of Disney, you own vehicle provides maximum flexibility. Renting a taxi can be pricey if doing a lot of traveling. Some people love/hate the Disney buses, so if you haven't used them before, you won't know which camp you are in until after your trip. Disney signage CAN be confusing to new visitors. Those who stay many times over the years, probably know their way around without even using a map. For our first trip several years ago, finding the Contemporary was a challenge, since NO sign we saw told us which of those many freeway ramps to take. There is a LOT of traffic and you have to make quick decisions about where to go. Now that we know Contemporary is part of "Magic Kingdom Resort" we know where to turn. First timers might not realize they need to know that and was certainly NOT obvious to us.

 

[McMonsters]

We have rented while flying and not rented. I debate renting every time I fly solo with the kids. This past early December trip we had horrible luck with busses including Magical Express. We waited 45 minutes for the bus to leave the airport and then we were the last to be dropped off which ended up being an hour and a half trip due to the very large group on our bus who had tons of luggage to unload at two different resorts. We did a split stay between All Star Movies and Saratoga where both had horrid bus timing. That said, I've had trips where the busses were excellent. My sanity requires me to rent a car for the next trip but we've been enough times that we know the property well enough to navigate without stress. As first timers, let Disney drive you, its totally doable with park hoppers too. The last day of our trip this year the kids wanted to do the four park challenge, so I humored them. We did a ride in all 4 parks, myself, 3 kids, 8, 6, and 4 while depending on Disney transportation.

 

[Disneypro1]

Unless we drive from Ohio. We never rent. We use Disney transport. And if we drive....we still use disney transport..

 

[ncc1701]

We have flown on all but one of our trips. Two of those trips we had a rental car . On one trip we only used the car to go to Cape Canaveral and Sea World. The other we stayed off-site the 1st night & ate that night at the now closed Emeril's at Universal. Other then that we only used them to go back to the airport. Even the trip we drove down we only used the car to go to Sea World one morning.
The rest we used DME. Going to and from the Parks we are good with Disney buses and if we want to go to another resort for a meal we use taxi/ rideshares. Just a FYI we use Public Transportation for work so the waiting for and standing on buses are no issue for us.

 

[Day-Day]

We have always rented a car when we fly to WDW. The "new" extra parking cost now adds to the expense and it may not even justify the cost now but we have spoiled ourselves by always having a car so we are planning on renting for our next visit as well. I usually start to get picky and start chopping away at expenses when we book a trip to WDW but haven't done it on the car yet.