To Rent or Bus it that is the question...

[myfavvac]

We are staying at POP in October and have rented a car but are not really sure if we need one. Does the need for and convienience of a rental car change based on the season and crowd levels? Should we bother with the rental? We have dining reservations almost every night and I am not sure if driving a rental would really be any faster then the bus. Any advice or opinions are welcome. THANKS

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

You will get many answers both ways on this one.

Unless you are planning on leaving WDW property I personally do not see a need for a rental. For us a great part of vacationing at WDW is not having to bother driving anywhere. Disney transportation does a great job in moving people all around WDW.

One tip I will give is at park closing do not run to the exits. Relax, walk around, shop or window shop for about 20 minutes while the throngs storm the exits. Then when you arrive at your bus station is will be peaceful.....and you will have no problem getting a seat!!!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[clkelley]

We park hop a lot, and we usually eat at other resorts most every day and never use a car. Love the Disney transportation!!

 

[Brian Noble]

It depends less on season and more on where you have to go, and where you are going from. For resort-park travel, a car is marginally slower to MK, and marginally faster to the other parks. For resort-DTD, a car will be a bit faster still. For resort-resort or DTD-park travel, a car is significantly faster.

We'll skip a car if we're on an "extra" or "budget" trip. Normally, though, we get one. I like being able to pop offsite to a pharmacy or a grocery if need be. Most of my bus waits have been fine, but every once in a while, you get a really long one, and those just drive me crazy.

 

[DisneyConvert]

Many have discussed this . . . over & over again.
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In the last few years, Disney has upped the ante to encourage folks to NOT rent a car (and spend more of their time & $$'s on WDWorld property) by:
a) raising parking rates - this affects off-property guests who do NOT have AP's; and of course,
b) Magical Express to eliminate what used to be a fee for coach, limo or town car ride to/from MCO.
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Also, during the last year or so, rental car rates have increased quite a bit as there aren't as many extra-surplus manufactured automobiles being dumped into the rental car fleets. Florida taxes keep going up as well, so what used to be a $270/week "deal" is now a $410/week hit for a rental car. Plus some tolls and, of course, gasoline.
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All that being said, it's still a question of how you value and want to spend your time. I take public transportation most days to/from NYCity and since the congestion and parking is terrible, I don't mind waiting for the train and dealing with the uncertainty of delays and not getting a seat. Driving around WDW is not a problem so I love the freedom of an automobile in WDW.
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It also depends on the size of your party -- since the more people, the more total time wasted, waiting for the bus. The Unofficial Guide has some estimates of the time it takes to travel by automobile vs. Disney transportation between resorts - parks - downtown disney and it's not pretty. Typically, a group will require an extra 10~20 minutes for each trip. That's twice per day for the standard resort - park and then park - resort transportation. More if a group is park-hopping or going to another resort or downtown disney at nite for a meal or entertainment.
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The only exception is getting to/from the Magic Kingdom where driving is interrupted by the TTC while -Disney- buses go to/from the park entrance. In fact, the only time we did NOT rent a car was the first time we stayed at the Poly and our son was young (meaning we spent most of our time at MK).
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Generally, we rent a car because our vacation time ends up costing approx $30~35/hour ($3000 total travel/parks/meals/souvenirs cost for a "week" or 7 x 14 hrs of vacation = $3000/98 hrs). So if we use up an extra hour each day, more on the arrival and departure days, waiting -- that's 8 hours wasted. 8 hours x $32 = $260 . . . or maybe a little less than what a rental car would cost.
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So it depends. How many people in your party? Will you want to go off-property once for groceries or a much less expensive meal? Will you be going to one park a day or doing a lot of hopping? Is your resort proximate to the park(s) you'll be going to most.
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Either way, have fun -- there's lots of ways to do Disney and most of them are just perfect!

 

[Tara]

For us, we'd never go without a car. We do most of our dining at resorts, and it is so much faster and easier with our rental car. Plus we enjoy the freedom of having our own car, the privacy, always having a seat. Want to run get a McDonald's cheeseburger (my son's absolute favorite food) after an afternoon at MK? Easy with a rental car. If I want to get up early to go over to Chick-Fil-A (which I miss dearly here in NY!), no problem.

 

[Uncleromulus]

That's about how I see. A bus is "ok" if all you want to do is go from POR to a park and back. But for anything else (including dining at other resorts) a car is SO much faster and convenient.

 

[mgilmer]

We stay in a DVC unit and not a regular room so our needs are somewhat different, but what we do is rent a one day rental from National at the airport, use it to shop at the grocery before checkin, and then return it to the Dolphin the next morning incurring only a one day rental charge (about $50). This gives us the convenience of shopping for drinks, food, and water (which you cannot do with DME) and is cheaper than a one way rental of a car service with a grocery stop (currently in the $70 range). When the week is over, we take DME back to the airport so we use Disney transport during the week. Now if you are going to go offsite to eat or shop, this would not work for you, but if you are staying onsite for your vacation, this plan may work for you.

 

[buzz5985]

I don't think the price of a rental car is worth it, especially now with the prices. That rental is equal to a nice meal at Jiko's and Artist Pallette!! Or a nice piece of jewelry. LOL

We drove down our last trip, and our car stayed in it's parking spot the whole week we were there. I had GardenGrocer deliver all our groceries, along with our adult beverages all for $12 and a tip. As for the cheaper eating establishments offsite - if I wanted to eat at a chain restaurant - I'd frequent them at home.

Just a heads up if you do take the bus. Keep your eyes open. We have been in several lines that the front people don't get on the bus because there are no seats - so the driver will close the door and drive off. We don't mind standing so we will yell - we will stand, duck under the ropes and get on. Just be aware of how full the bus is.