To rent a car or not?

[bethifoody]

Hello, all. Headed down Nov. 21-24, staying AKL Kidani with 3 friends. The purpose of the trip is MVMCP, viewing resort holiday decorations and heading to USO for a day. I'm inclined to rent a car, but one of my friends seems inclined not to.

If we don't rent a car, we'd use DME to/from MCO, buses to resorts, Springs and MK, and Uber/Lyft to USO. How feasible is this plan? Thinking we'd hit Epcot area resorts on Thursday afternoon, them MK area resorts Friday morning, with the intention of grabbing a late lunch at a resort before hitting MVMCP. Saturday is USO. Sunday morning, Disney Springs before our late afternoon departure.

Alternatively, we'd rent a car and drive to resorts, Springs, USO, and MCO.

I'd love to hear some expert thoughts on this...

 

[WDW Queen]

Don't rent.
It adds hassle at the parks and resort parking fee.

 

[Alesia]

I wouldn't rent a car. Using Uber or Lyft for the times that Disney transportation isn't as easy will be much cheaper and easier

 

[Grnl706]

I'm also not renting a car and leaving Uber as a substitute if Disney's transportation doesn't work out. A car just ended up being too expensive.

 

[sam_gordon]

I would price out a car (don't forget to include parking fees). Going from resort to resort using Disney transportation is not the most time effective way to travel.

Compare the rental car price with doing everything (exception being DS) via uber.

 

[cluvsdisney]

If you plan to drink going to any of these places and don’t have a designated driver, I wouldn’t bother renting a car. If that’s not the scenario, I would price things out. I wouldn’t want to waste tons of bus time on a short trip and ubers add up. We stayed at UNiversal Studios in our last trip but ubered over to the Magic Kingdom/contemporary for an after hours event that cost $60ish round trip.

 

[TheMick424]

This is such a personal decision. My DH prefers to rent a car because he doesn't like being at the mercy of someone else, schedules, etc. I, on the other hand, would be fine just relying on Disney transportation or uber/lyft. Different strokes I guess. Good luck with your decision!

 

[bethifoody]

Parking fees don't apply - we are DVC. Looks like a car will run about $130 for the weekend (plus gas & tolls). Divided 4 ways, that's not horrible. Really.

But I'm trying to keep an open mind for others' points of view. I'm the most experienced Disney traveler in the group so I'm trying to arm myself with as much info as I can.

My first thoughts were regarding resort travel - but if we stick to one area/day, it shouldn't be terrible. Get there & get back to Kidani using buses (recognizing the need to go to a park or Springs to get to the first resort and back again...) , but walk/boat/monorail between resorts. (EC - YC, BC, BWI, Swan & Dolphin on Thursday; MK - CR, Poly, GF, Wilderness Friday morning...) Am I correct in my thinking? (As much as I'd really like someone to tell me no, lol...)

Thank you all for your expert opinions!

 

[gharter]

We often rent a car, if we can get a good deal on it.
We do it for many reasons:
1. We can stop at the grocery store on the way to our resort. We are DVC so have a full kitchen which is nice for breakfast as well as picking up snacks.
2. We can go directly to DS from the arport, then drive to our resort when we want.
3. It gives us more flexibility to go to some parks and not rely on the buses.
4. Even if we go from the airport directly to our resort, it is much faster than MDE.
5. If you eat at multiple resort restaurants, the cost for taxi/Lyft/Uber add up quickly and can offset a large part of the rental cost.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I hired a car for 21 days, 14 at WDW and 7 at UOR. We stayed at AKL and then a few days at FQ before HRH and the car basically sat in car parks gathering dust and leaves. I enjoyed not having to avoid alcohol, particularly during food and wine. We got around using Disney transport easily, even with EEMH and used Uber/Lyft in the evening. I don’t think that we were ever charged more than $10.00.

 

[JimMIA]

If I understand you correctly, you're looking at

• no resort parking because you're DVC
• no theme park parking because you're staying onsite
• and you can get a rental car (including gas, tolls, Universal parking, etc) for $200/4 = $50 each.

To me, that's a no-brainer. Go when you want, where you want, with no waiting for a bus or Uber.

We drive up from Miami, and that's how we do it -- and IMHO, that can't be beat.

You can more than recoup your rental fee by eating offsite (and doing breakfast in your villa as gharter suggested above) -- and enjoy better food, more variety, and lower cost.

Check out Celebration, FL (8 miles from AKL) for dining, and in particular, try Columbia Restaurant. Do NOT eat desert there. Walk around the corner to Kilwin's for ice cream.

Unfortunately, you're going to miss snow (at Celebration) and Ice (at Gaylord Palms) by a couple of days, but you'll still have a great trip.

 

[jdisnut]

Like everything at Disney, this is a decision between saving time and saving money. If a car fits in your budget, having one is a wonderful luxury, and it will undoubtedly get you where you want to faster than Disney's inefficient -- but free -- transportation. Only you know what you feel comfortable paying for. I always would prefer to have a car. Sometimes, it's just not worth the price.

 

[Christine]

I think the car is a no-brainer (agreeing with JimMIA). Cost seems good. What is the price of an Uber for 3 people between AKL and USO? Resort hopping is also not fun on the bus.

 

[JimMIA]

What is the price of an Uber for 3 people between AKL and USO? Resort hopping is also not fun on the bus.

According to RideGuru, the Uber price would be about $22 for X or $31 for XL. That's each way, and does not include tip.

 

[Christine]

According to RideGuru, the Uber price would be about $22 for X or $31 for XL. That's each way, and does not include tip.

Makes a $130 rental look like an even better deal.

 

[bethifoody]

Well... We've decided not to rent the car, for better or for worse. It is what it is. I'll be at Disney, doing the trip I wanted to do. It's all good!

Thank you all for taking the time to offer your thoughts!