Toddler: Bus vs Renting Car

[Jedi5]

Would it be better to rent a car or just go with the bus service at WDW when you have a 2 yr old?

Staying at AKL and I thought I read that AKL has their own bus service.
If so, should I be concerned about the wait for the bus or how crowded they might be?

It seems like a car would be more convienent but then we'd have to rent a car seat as well.

Thoughts?

I'm in the air right now I guess. On one hand I don't want to kick myself because we didn't go with a car and we're struggling lugging our stroller and diaper bag.

On the flip side we rent a car and think... we should've gone with the buses after all.

 

[lclark0621]

We never rent a car. It is one more expense to add to the trip. And we love not having to worry about driving around.

DS (who is now 4.5) has been going to Disney since he was 9 months old. We have never had a problem with the Disney transportation.

 

[puffkin]

We almost never rent cars when we go to WDW except when we visit off site parks. AKL is probably one of the best resorts as far as the bus transportation goes.

That being said, our 19 month old was a NIGHTMARE on the busses in October. He just did not get the concept of sitting on the busses. We had an especially hard time on the busses with a more open layout. He thought he could just walk around. It was very trying to say the least.

We NEVER have problems with my son in the car. He likes to be in his seat and doesn't mind the restraints. When we go next week, we are renting a car. Hopefully it will be a lot less stressful for us and the other guests! Hopefully in a year or so we can try the busses again, but until then we will be renting

 

[Jedi5]

Hopefully it will be a lot less stressful for us and the other guests! Hopefully in a year or so we can try the busses again, but until then we will be renting

This is exactly what I want to avoid, for both us and the other guests like you mentioned.

How do buses work though in terms of seat belts for infants/toddlers?
There aren't baby seats so they sit in an adult seat and just get fastened in?

 

[hopare]

A big question for you is what will you be doing for a stroller? If you are renting at the parks you must consider that sometimes it is a walk from the bus to the gate espescially when carrying a child. Another thought- If you bring a stroller, it is a pain to fold it up to get off and on the bus, espescially when the line is long. I have done it both ways, when they are little I prefer a car.
when they are over 4, I prefer the bus.
Good luck.

 

[Jedi5]

we're taking a stroller with.
thought of that too.
sigh...

what to do
what to do

 

[Nom]

How do buses work though in terms of seat belts for infants/toddlers?
There aren't baby seats so they sit in an adult seat and just get fastened in?

There are no seat belts on WDW busses so there is no way to fasten in a toddler... they just have to sit on a lap or a seat (if available) and you hope they behave! I only took dd on a wdw bus once (it was fort wilderness so there was no other option) and she was wonderfully behaved because it was such a novel experience for her. WE rent a car though not for that reason, more for the dreaded bus waiting reasons.

We always rent a car, because I have gotten cranky waiting for WDW busses, and if a 30 year old woman gets cranky, I can't imagine how bad it would be waiting with a toddler!

Even though it can be a trek to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, at least you are in continual motion... it would be the long wait in those bus queues that I would dread. I can just imagine dd being so bored and acting up. That is why we get a car.

 

[hopare]

I get the whole continual motion thing. The worst part of the buses for me was waiting in line and having a bus come and not fitting on it so you have to wait for another. The kids get very frustrated by thisn especially when they are tired.

 

[Jedi5]

Arg... isn't going to WDW supposed to be fun?
Back to the drawing board I guess.

 

[Nom]

Arg... isn't going to WDW supposed to be fun?
Back to the drawing board I guess.

Hey, renting a car is not all that bad. We always rent from Alamo, which is onsite at the airport. The night before you check in online, and then when you land just go up to the parking deck and pick out your car- the keys will be in it. Alamo always seems to have the best deals too (that I have seen at least).

It's fun sometimes to try out different cars. Last time we had a PT Cruiser- I booked for a compact but they were all out so I got that car- it was very cute!

You don't necc. have to rent a carset- bring your own! You can check it with your baggage. We actually bring ours on the plane for dd to sit in it- that is actually the safest bet, so you might want to do that, then you don't have to worry about renting one.

Finally, you don't have to use it all the time. For example, if you are at a monorail resort, you only really have to use it for MGM and Animal Kingdom. So you can have the best of both worlds.

But let me tell you, many times when I was leaving the parks and walking to our car, I would see those long lines at the bus stops and think how greatful I was to have the car. When dd is older it will not be a problem, but at this age (3)- the wait in those lines would be intolerable.

 

[barnaby1]

We have gone with our dd when she was 8 and 18 months (leaving again in 2 weeks - she will be 22 months). We have never hired a car even for when we stay on I-drive. Just catch the lynx buses or the disney buses when on site. We have had occasional boughts of crankiness about sitting still on the bus but generally she is pretty good. Only a couple of times waiting in the pouring rain last trip did I wish we had hired a car but that passed when I was dry again.
We always use a very lightweight umbrella stroller though, I wouldn't attempt bus travel with anything bigger. I also might consider hiring a car with 2 children or if we were travelling in the hot weather.

 

[mshoo1]

I have never stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but I can provide some information based on our stays at the Poly. We always use the monorail for MK and Epcot and take a cab to the Animal Kingdom. The waits for a bus can be quite long, and my daughter (and my wife for that matter) have no patience whatsoever. Cabs from one site to another are only about $13 each way.

My wife's take on the matter is this "If you can afford to stay in a Disney deluxe resort, you can probably afford the cost of a cab." To give you a point of comparison, it took us about 45 minutes to get from the Poly to AK counting wait time and bus stops. The same trip in a cab takes no more than 15 minutes.

 

[Manda]

When we went when DS was 2, we stayed at AKL and rented a car. We rented a car when he was 3 as well, but it wasn't as necessary. Last trip, he was 4 and we didn't rent. With a 2 year old (or at least my 2 year old), I really feel that the car was necessary for us. Especially driving back and forth to AKL.

We stayed at the park until nap time and then we'd buckle him in the car and drive him back and he'd fall asleep. Then I'd just carry him in asleep and he'd nap. No worries about trying to get him to sleep in the hotel room and there's no way he'd have fallen asleep on the bus. We did the same thing every evening. I'd take his PJs and nighttime diaper and leave it in the car and then change him and he'd be sound asleep and ready for bed when we arrived at the hotel. We also left most of our diapering supplies in the car, so that we only had to carry a bare minimum in the park. One of us could always run to the car for extras if we needed an outfit or more wipes or something. Also, (again, at least with my 2 year old), he'd would kind of flip instantly from sane child to tantrum child and in those situations, we needed as quick of an exit from Disney overstimulation as possible. Hauling a tantruming 2 year old to wait in a bus line would not make the situation any better.

 

[CindyCharming]

We stayed at Pop Century in September with our 2 year old. I never, never thought I'd be someone who would rent a car at Disney, but after the first few trips with a 2 year old, every time we got on that bus my husband and I would look at each other and say, "We're renting a car next time!"

We stayed at the Contemporary the two times before our Pop stay and although we had to take the bus to go to MGM or AK, we didn't go to either park enough for it to be a big deal. We spend much of our time at MK and that bus line and ride got really old a couple days into our Pop stay.

If we HAD to just rely on the bus service, we could do it. But I think we will be renting a car if we go again in September (we are staying off-site for this February trip). If you have a car you can still use the busses, but no car and you are stuck with the busses. A car is especially nice if you want to go to Marketplace or eat at other hotels.

Once our daughter is a little older I'll probably be back in the No Rental Car camp.

 

[dreamer423]

FWIW-AKL is Fabulous! but if you don't want to rent a car and you want easy-I'd think about switching resorts to a monorail resort where you can roll the stroller on and off.

The busses from AKL are good-but you do have to fold up the stroller.

good luck deciding.

 

[KariC]

We, FWIW, love the Disney Transportation system. And, we have even done the buses with a double jogger. Our twins were 2 turning 3 on their 1st trip, and they loved it. We'll be using a single jogger for this next trip. and waffling on a stroller for the 5 year olds. It can work! Sure, it takes a little longer than a car, but....it's "complimentary", it's a novelty for the kids, and you don't have to deal with a rental carseat....which, in our experiences have not seemed the safest.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I don't have the rental car issue, because we are driving down, but whether to use the car or the bus from Pop Century was a hard decision...at first. When I thought of how my older son (3 years old today...happy birthday to Philip!) fights naps when there is any shred of excitement (and he will have the ULTIMATE excitement when we go to WDW), it reminds me of how he also falls asleep within minutes of putting him into the car when we leave someplace where he has had a lot of fun, like the zoo or aquarium for example (or even someone's house for that matter!). So, thinking of that, I did not want to have to hold a cranky, hot and tired (or sleeping already) 3 and a half year old, my husband hold the baby (who will be 14 months when we go), and somewhere in this picture is the double stroller! Would not work for us! I wouldn't even want to wait in the Florida heat for the bus 15 minutes (then again we are going in July).

Since we do not own a double stroller (older son prefers to walk everywhere but we know he will need a stroller at WDW), we decided to rent a double stroller from A Baby's Best Friend instead of at the parks (so we have it the whole trip and it cost the same anyway) and to drive to and from the parks to save time and sanity! That way, when we leave the park after lunch for the afternoon rest time and nap, my older son will 99% surely fall asleep on the car ride and we can carry him right into the room and put him into his bed. The little one will fall asleep too I am sure (sleeps anywhere so far), and we can put him right into the pack 'n' play. No time wasted, naptime for the kids, then back to the parks for a nice dinner and a little more fun before bed! The downside for us...it will be July and it will be Florida and very VERY hot and humid. So getting into the car won't be fun...but neither would waiting for a bus and lugging everything onto it. With the hopes of fitting onto the bus and not having to wait for another one. 15 minutes back to the room vs. 45 min. or an hour...car is the way to go for us!

-Bonnie

 

[elderfam]

Google "discount codes rental cars" and look for a good deal. That way if it turns out that the buses work for you, it's not that big of a deal. (we also like alamo)

We have done both and I could argue for both sides.

Have a great trip!

 

[Minniemouse07]

We just spent 9 days at POR last month w/ a 6.5yo dd and a 2yo (he turned 2yo while we were there) ds.

We took ds' car seat w/ us to use on the plane and then sat it in the corner for the remainder of our trip. He rode on our laps on DME as well as all the Disney buses once we were on property.

We had a stroller (a Peg Perego Aria) as well as a Baggalini (for me) and sometimes a Land's End Backpack Diaper Bag (if we were out all day, otherwise I just threw some diapers and wipes in the Baggalini)... and the biggie, a Beco baby carrier.

We definitely had no need for a car. We took the buses (or boat to DTD) everywhere and it was fine. Sometimes ds fell asleep in his stroller, other times dh or I carried him in the carrier to sleep. Bus transportion was easy and convenient. I'm glad that we saved the $200+ and didn't rent a car.

Oh and I definitely would NOT rent a car seat. Bring your car seat from home, use it on the plane and then use it in your rental car (if you go that route). Rented car seats CAN be dirty, missing parts and/or instructions and you don't know the history of the seat (could have been in a crash, etc.). You already know your child's seat, as does your child. You know how to install and use it correctly and it will be more comfortable for everyone concerned!

 

[Colinsmom]

We went in December, and I think that the busses were our 22mo's favorite part of the trip! When we did take our rental car somewhere, he spent the whole trip pointing out all of the Disney busses. Our car rental was so cheap that we used it when we needed it, and some days we didn't use it at all.

If you go the car route, bring your own car seat!! There is no guarantee that they will actually have a car seat for you (even if you reserve it), or it could be gross or expired or even the wrong size for your child (infant bucket or backless booster, for example).

We were also at AKL, and we always drove to DTD. AK was 50/50 - if we went in the AM, we took the car, in the PM we took the bus (when we'd have to park farther back in the lot).

Honestly, with our 22mo, we never had to stand behind more than 5 people in the bus queue - we didn't stay out late enough to do the fireworks and other evening shows that generate huge bus lines, but if you are planning to do something like that, it would be a good time to drive vs. fight the bus lines.