To rent a car or not

[forever-sunshine]

We will be going to WDW in October. My dd will be 5 and 19mo. We are staying at Port Orleans, French Quarter. We will be taking a double umbrella stroller. We will have to be coming back to the hotels each afternoon for my baby to nap.

I need to know if it would be faster and easier each day if I rented a car vs riding the buses to and from the parks each day.

And - if I do rent a car is it better to find one now or are the last minute deals better?

Thanks

Amy

 

[safetymom]

You will get lots of opinions on this. We love having our own car. You can come and go when you want instead of waiting for a bus.

Start looking now at rental rates. It is better to reserve now and you could always change it if the price drops.

 

[Martha7]

We've always had our car or rented a car. One thing to consider is that when you get on one of the WDW buses, you have to take your 15-month-old out of the stroller and fold it up. I could imagine that'd be a pain when the child is sleeping in the stroller. At least if you're putting the kids in your car, if they're complaining, it won't be in front of everyone else! Will you have another adult along? A rental car is also handy if you're planning on stopping at a supermarket to stock up on supplies, (diapers, water bottles, snacks, etc.), although there are services which will shop for you and deliver groceries to your resort. I think it all depends on your budget. Keep an eye on these boards and you'll see people posting about good rental car deals, should you decide to go that way. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[forever-sunshine]

It will be my hubby, myself and my two dd (5 & 19 mo).

Oh and one more thing. On Sunday we don't have tickets to anywhere, so we were planning on renting a car for sure that day to go to the beach. I just wasn't sure if I should just rent the car the whole time or not.

thanks again
Amy

 

[gw_lit]

Something to consider would be to take Magical Express to and from the airport to your resort, and then rent a car from National at the WDW Car Care Center or one of the other rental agencies that have locations in some of the area hotels. I believe there's one at the Swan/Dolphin and a couple at the DTD hotels. This will also save you the airport concession fee on your rental which can add a significant amount of money to the cost of your rental.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

I would recommend renting a car at the airport for a few reasons....

1. Leaving the park when you want and not having to wait on a bus

2. Not having to wait with the baby at the airport for ME

3. Not having to take the shuttle bus from your hotel to CCC to pick up your car.

Either way, have a great time!

 

[goosedwn]

Well, I am probably the minority in here. I would not recommand renting a car. Taking the Disney bus is faster and better in your case, I think.
1. The bus park closer to the park entrant, less walking for you and your husband and pushing the stroller. If you drive, you have to park very far, sometimes, you will even have to take the shuttle at Magic Kingdom park. This to me take more time than just waiting for the bus to come. I did this once and said never again.
2. You have to fold the stroller to put it in your car as well as inot the disney bus, so it's not that much inconvience to me.
3. The bus is cooler the minute you walk in. The car is so hot after parking under the sun for so long. Sometimes, we have to open the windows and let it cool down for 5 mintues or so before we can go in and put our little in her carseat.
Having say that, I always rent a car when we go to disney. That's because we use our car to go other places as well. If we go to the theme park, we ALWAYS use the disney bus. If we go to water parks, downtown disney, and other places, we drive.

HTH
Wendy

 

[Debbie Jean]

It will be my hubby, myself and my two dd (5 & 19 mo).

Oh and one more thing. On Sunday we don't have tickets to anywhere, so we were planning on renting a car for sure that day to go to the beach. I just wasn't sure if I should just rent the car the whole time or not.

thanks again
Amy

I like having options which is why, even if I am staying on-site, I rent a car. With your little ones and the stroller, I can't help but think it would be easier to have a car at your disposal. If you are staying on-site, you park for free and frankly Disney has it's parking down to a science. The trams run constantly throughout the day and drop you off at the front gate.... EXCEPT Magic Kingdom That is the one park we use the bus. The parking is across the lagoon at the Transportation Center so you still need to take either the boat or Monorail to get to MK.

Trying to juggle the kids is hard enough... without a car you may wind up waiting for the bus and then not even get a seat. This is especially true if you stay for the fireworks at the end of the day.

If you know you want to go to the beach, anyway, I would go ahead and get the car at the airport. I always consider it money well spent

 

[Disneyjosh229]

I like having options which is why, even if I am staying on-site, I rent a car. With your little ones and the stroller, I can't help but think it would be easier to have a car at your disposal. If you are staying on-site, you park for free and frankly Disney has it's parking down to a science. The trams run constantly throughout the day and drop you off at the front gate.... EXCEPT Magic Kingdom That is the one park we use the bus. The parking is across the lagoon at the Transportation Center so you still need to take either the boat or Monorail to get to MK.

Trying to juggle the kids is hard enough... without a car you may wind up waiting for the bus and then not even get a seat. This is especially true if you stay for the fireworks at the end of the day.

If you know you want to go to the beach, anyway, I would go ahead and get the car at the airport. I always consider it money well spent

Nicely said