To rent, or not to rent (a car)...that is the question?

[jsgrand0]

Ok. We don't necessarily NEED a car we are staying on property, and don't really have any plans to go outside Disney. However, would it make it a lot easier and less stressful? I've read that you should allow 1 1/2 hours to get from one destination to another when using Disney transportation?! I know it doesn't always take that long, but guess we would have to allow for that long, to make sure we don't miss ADRs. While we were on a really tight budget, and did not plan on renting a car, we have freed up some extra money, and wondering if we SHOULD rent a car, so we don't have to waste so much time for travel allowance. Instead of leaving for somewhere an hour in advance..we could leave, say oh, 20 minutes? What do you all do, not really considering the cost difference? Also...how much am I looking at, to rent a car for 8 days? Might as well rent it from the airport, so we would need to fit our luggage...for 4 people...so no compact, extra-small car! Prob a midsize...if not an SUV...thanks!

 

[dgw9]

We've rented a car for our DisneyWorld vacation this week, because we are splitting time between Disney and Universal and there is no economical way to get to Universal from Disney.

At four months out the price for an intermediate car for 8 days was a total of 215.00. I checked a few days ago and found the price for a car two sizes larger (full-size) for 8 days was now 135.00 total. We rebooked under the new price. So check back if you do make a car reservation. You pay with a credit card, but you don't have to reserve with a credit card.

 

[Robin K]

You will get several different responses on this question. Some people either love or hate the Disney buses.
We personally love the bus system. We like to leave the driving to someone else--mostly because we don't like stressing over how to get places, parking etc. This will be our 5th trip this Sept and we never had a car. The only times we have had long waits is after any of the firework shows.
As for your ADRs most people tell you to allow at least an hour just to be safe...because you never know what can happen. I have read that ADRs are usually held for 15 minutes after scheduled times.
It will depend on how quickly you want to get in and out of the parks. I can't really share the rental car pros/cons because we haven't used any.

 

[Tigpooh]

I am actually wondering the very same thing...whether or not having a car would make transportation faster than buses. We went in '07 and were forced only to use the buses and it took SO long to get from point A to B...at least an hour. We did end up having to rent a car in the end because DS got very sick and we had to take him to the doctor, so I wish we had just rented to begin with. It was at the end of our trip though so no idea if it helps with skipping buses.
We are driving down this year with a rental, but I am now wondering if it is any faster to drive since you have to deal with parking, shuttles ect. Any insight would be great!

 

[jsgrand0]

We've rented a car for our DisneyWorld vacation this week, because we are splitting time between Disney and Universal and there is no economical way to get to Universal from Disney.

At four months out the price for an intermediate car for 8 days was a total of 215.00. I checked a few days ago and found the price for a car two sizes larger (full-size) for 8 days was now 135.00 total. We rebooked under the new price. So check back if you do make a car reservation. You pay with a credit card, but you don't have to reserve with a credit card.

Wow!! Where did you find these prices?? The cheapest I saw for an intermediate was around $360 after taxes and fees...and that was really cheap (I thought) through a "pay now" discount with Budget. Might make our decision easier if we can get one for $135! Although I hadn't thought about how it will be stressful wondering where to go (oh my, the arguments we've had over DIRECTIONS!!!), parking and shuttles, remembering WHERE we parked, etc....

Thanks for all the tips everyone!

 

[CathieArms]

Ok. We don't necessarily NEED a car we are staying on property, and don't really have any plans to go outside Disney. However, would it make it a lot easier and less stressful? I've read that you should allow 1 1/2 hours to get from one destination to another when using Disney transportation?! I know it doesn't always take that long, but guess we would have to allow for that long, to make sure we don't miss ADRs. While we were on a really tight budget, and did not plan on renting a car, we have freed up some extra money, and wondering if we SHOULD rent a car, so we don't have to waste so much time for travel allowance. Instead of leaving for somewhere an hour in advance..we could leave, say oh, 20 minutes? What do you all do, not really considering the cost difference? Also...how much am I looking at, to rent a car for 8 days? Might as well rent it from the airport, so we would need to fit our luggage...for 4 people...so no compact, extra-small car! Prob a midsize...if not an SUV...thanks!

Generally speaking, I'd say a car can be a waste of money. When you make your ADRs, try to do it in a way that causes you to lose the least amount of time.

For instance, your Magic Kingdom day would be a good day to eat at 'Ohana, Chef Mickey or 1900 Park Fare. Your Epcot day would be a good day to eat at Cape May. See what I mean?

I have our ADRs set up so that the worst of the travel time is consumed getting BACK to the resort. For instance, on our MK day, we'll have Chef Mickey's as a late breakfast (11:15) and then Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. MK is a short 15 minute walk, and WCC should be a relatively quick jaunt by boat, I think.

 

[jsgrand0]

Generally speaking, I'd say a car can be a waste of money. When you make your ADRs, try to do it in a way that causes you to lose the least amount of time.

For instance, your Magic Kingdom day would be a good day to eat at 'Ohana, Chef Mickey or 1900 Park Fare. Your Epcot day would be a good day to eat at Cape May. See what I mean?

I have our ADRs set up so that the worst of the travel time is consumed getting BACK to the resort. For instance, on our MK day, we'll have Chef Mickey's as a late breakfast (11:15) and then Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. MK is a short 15 minute walk, and WCC should be a relatively quick jaunt by boat, I think.

This is definitely a good tip..however, while I DO have a tenative schedule of where we will be and when...we are not big planners...we have hoppers and will probably just go wherever we feel like going each day...while trying to SOMEWHAT stick to plans...Thanks!

 

[CathieArms]

This is definitely a good tip..however, while I DO have a tenative schedule of where we will be and when...we are not big planners...we have hoppers and will probably just go wherever we feel like going each day...while trying to SOMEWHAT stick to plans...Thanks!

I totally "get" what you mean by that. I make a schedule of where we'll go on which days and then leave a day or two open to be flexible. If you want complete flexibility, then a car might be helpful. But, at the same time, you *do* need to make ADRs far in advance if you want to eat table services, so it just make sense to plan where you'll be on those days.

 

[dickyrader]

We have done with and without a car. Both have benefits and disadvantages. It all depends on your plans. For us we like to have a car incase we want to go to an outside restaurant or shopping or something off property. And even though how much I love Disney World, it feels a little weird to have that feeling of not being able to leave.

The buses at Disney are great though. You don't have to wait any longer than 15 minutes for a bus. It all depends on how you want to spend your trip.

 

[Zuzu03]

We love renting a car down there because not only is it more convenient to get to the parks (depending upon where we're staying), but also to get to Downtown Disney for our shopping sprees!!! I find that sometimes it's a LOT quicker to drive yourself to a park, than wait for the bus. We also love to go off property for dining and shopping! But we've also gone without the car and been fine. Just depends on what you want to do!

 

[bjmzl]

The way we do it, we rent a car for most of our stay but not all. The first and last day we do not. The first and last days are our shortest so it is not worth the cost for those two days. We like a car for every where but MK, cause it is easier to get dropped of at the entrance then to go through the TC and tram. Also if you get it at one of the places outside of the airport it is sometimes cheaper too. We really like the Alamo at Disney World and yes they will pick you up.

 

[tobin04]

We don't rent a car, b/c first, I like to just get on the airplane and have no other worries about driving, how to get there...or even more so, picking up my luggage. I love the magical express. We just walk off our plane down to the ME, and hop on, they take care of our luggage! We also have little ones, so we'd have to bring car seats if we rented a car, which adds a whole nother element.

I always hear people complain about having to wake sleeping kids to fold up their stroller to get on the bus, but don't you eventually have to wake up that kid to put them in their car seat in the car?

Another plus is the busses drop you off at the front door of the park. To get from the parking lot to the Magic Kingdom, you have to take the monorail or a boat anyway. Plus walking in from the parking lot, depending on how far out you have to park. KWIM?

And finally-Disney is expensive enough...I'd rather not add that expense if I don't have to. Heck, for a few hundred dollars, I bet you could take a cab to your ADR if you are worried about being late, for a lot less than the cost of a rental car (and don't forget how expensive gas is, when renting that SUV!!!))>

 

[MHSweb79]

When I started looking at cars for our trip later this month, the rates were outrageous. They've been dropping like a stone every week since.

Check out the "rental cars in May" thread over in the Transportation forum. You'll see folks like me who are down to $95 for a FULL SIZE car for 8 days through Alamo Insider's, using a $40 coupon code. The coupons come out closer to your travel dates. Pick up and return at MCO (Orlando Airport).

It's free to join most car rental members programs and you'll get emails with special deals. There's no penalty for cancelling a reservation - in fact, I've got a big stack of cancelled reservations (nine, to be exact) from rebooking every time I found a cheaper rate.

For a hundred bucks, would a rental car make sense to you? If you have AAA, ask your local office about getting the AAA Diamond Parking pass. You'll be directed to a much closer parking area than the general public, which helps at the end of the day. Some offices give them out to anyone who asks, but others have purchase requirements. Still, it never hurts to ask - our office hands them out to anyone with a AAA card.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We are renting a car for our May 8 day trip and we are staying onsite. Our rate for an 8 day mid size with Alamo is $84! We joined the Alamo Insider club which is free to join. Used the $40 off coupon plus the code 7015820 as well as our Insider member ID.

Just think if you forgot to pack something you have a car to go get it. If you want to go get snacks for your room you have a car. It beets waiting 20-30 for a bus to arrive.

 

[ktlm]

We find it less stressful NOT to have a car. We don't even have to think about driving anywhere, we just let WDW do all the transportation for us. The last time we rented a car, we never even got in it from the time we arrived on WDW property, until the time we left. It was a complete waste of money. The only time we rent is if we have plans to go to Universal or somewhere else off property. If you are on a tight budget, at least for us, we would much rather use the money on more TS meals, or souveniers etc.

 

[KatieCollette]

Sometime its worth getting a car, but I find that waiting till the month you need to rent it and booking it then you can save hundreds of dollars. For example, looking to rent a car for 6 day in September at MCO is 430 for a midsize, while renting in May is only 118. Also, signing up for email alerts also comes with more codes to save.

With that being said, I think it's not worth is if you plan on just going to the parks during your vacation. If you are planning on going elsewhere in Florida, then get it. Andits not a busy time of year at Disney, riding the buses is actually kind of fast!

 

[disneymom06]

I just went through the same situation and decided to rent a car. We were staying at POR and while the children like the bus the only park that we did not drive to was MK. Our vacation was the week of Easter and I got a rate of $148, (no coupon because I did not stay over Saturday night). It was very nice to run over to DTD and exchange an item and to HESS to pick up a few drinks and snacks. I do have AAA so I was able to get the diamond parking pass and it made parking close wonderful. Mind you, we arrived at parks most of the time no earlier than noon.

The best was when we left, I did airline check in at the resort, they took our checked bags and I drove to the airport on my own time schedule.

While the rental car was not necessary at all,we never left Disney property, for us it made the trip really pleasant. Getting places on our time schedule, never a wait, and at park closing a quiet, seated ride "home" was well worth the money I spent on the rental.