Transport from International drive to Disney?

[Tnatibahni]

Hi there,

I've spent a bit of time looking through some of the threads and hope this has not already been posted but if it has, I'm sorry!

I'm a first timer visiting Orlando staying at International Palms resort at 3rd June for 10 days. I don't plan to hire a car and believe that our hotel does a shuttle service every day.

There may be occassions where myself and my partner will want to stay at Disney after the shuttle service has left to come back again so may have to use a taxi a couple of days to get home and just had a couple of questions.

Does anybody know roughly how much a taxi from the Disney resort to International drive (to roughly where Wet n' Wild is) and how easy they are to track down?

Thanks very much (and this is my first post so please don't shout at me if this is out of place!)

Louise

 

[Alesia]

Expensive. From MK it will be about $50 each way. There will be plenty at the taxi stand outside of each park.

I can see why, being from the UK, you wouldn't want to rent a car, but I wouldn't stay offsite without one. Free shuttles are terribly inconvenient and taxis are pretty expensive. Without a car of your own, it's usually much cheaper to stay onsite.

 

[skelooch]

Welcome to the Disboards, and enjoy your first trip to the Orlando area and WDW.

A cab from just about anywhere on Disney property to the International Palms resort will cost approx $40-$50 plus tip.
There are taxis available day and night at any Disney resort or park.

 

[rwdavis2]

I tend to agree with everyone else. If possible, stay on site or rent a car.

 

[wdwrich]

Another vote here for renting a car when staying off site. Off site hotel shuttles are notoriously inconvenient.

 

[maxiesmom]

Honestly? I would look at staying on site at a value resort. By the time you factor in an occasional taxi back and for to I-Drive, you will probably be paying more than if you just stayed on site.

By the way, how are you getting to your resort? That is another cost, and one that you wouldn't have to pay staying at a Disney resort.

I have no problems with an off site stay, but I would never do it without having a car. As you have already noticed, the shuttles don't run all that often, and having to use a taxi for back up will get pretty expensive.

Are you stuck to the idea of staying off site?

 

[Tnatibahni]

The holiday has already been booked and paid for unfortunately so have no other choice than to stay off site -

The hotel we stay in does its own shuttle so will just have to check it out.

Would ideally want to get away with not driving there but I'm open to opinions!

 

[Tnatibahni]

We're flying into Orlando Sanford and have already got the transport factored into our travel plans so we're getting transport from the airport to the hotel itself anyway.

I think I mentioned before this is the first time we've done this! I'm sure that you can tell!

 

[Lewisc]

You're new at this and are asking for advice. The unamious advice is to either change your hotel or hire a car.

Try to change your hotel. Call your tour operator. Find out what it will cost. Tell us what hotels are available to you. Paying may save you money in the long run.

Are you willing to drive? Are you at least 25? Post in the UK forum. The things we do, waive the gas plan and waive the inflated rental "insurance" isn't applicable to you. You need to either book using a code applicable to residents of the UK or book through an agency/tour operator which adds the required extras at a more reasonable cost. You may even be able to hire the car through your current travel agent/tour operator.

Give us the exact name of your hotel. We might be able to give you better information. Email the hotel and ask for their current shuttle schedule. Ask if you need to make reservations in advance.

 

[msjprincess]

The holiday has already been booked and paid for unfortunately so have no other choice than to stay off site -

The hotel we stay in does its own shuttle so will just have to check it out.

Would ideally want to get away with not driving there but I'm open to opinions!

If you can't rent a car or change your hotel using their shuttle is probably your best bet.

 

[maxiesmom]

You're new at this and are asking for advice. The unamious advice is to either change your hotel or hire a car.

Try to change your hotel. Call your tour operator. Find out what it will cost. Tell us what hotels are available to you. Paying may save you money in the long run.

Give us the exact name of your hotel. We might be able to give you better information. Email the hotel and ask for their current shuttle schedule. Ask if you need to make reservations in advance.

This is everything I was thinking. Even if you are paid in full you should be able to switch hotels. And what hotel are you booked at? That will help us figure out the taxi fares a bit better. And we may be able to figure out how often they run a shuttle.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The hotel we stay in does its own shuttle so will just have to check it out.

How often does the shuttle run? Where does it go? What does it cost? Is it the hotel's own shuttle, or is the hotel merely suggesting an "authorized" transportation provider (in return for a sales commission)?

I agree with the advice of others on this board. For people who don't want to rent a car, staying at an on-site Disney resorts (value, moderate, deluxe, or "home away from home") is the best option. If your travel provider will allow you to switch to Disney, even at a higher price, you're likely to save time and money.

Renting a car can be a good option for off-site stays. But if you're accustomed to driving on the left and having the driver on the right, I can certainly understand not wanting to drive on unfamiliar U.S. roads. As someone used to driving on the right, I don't ever want to drive in the UK or other countries that are the opposite of what we have in the U.S. I would probably have no problems, but I would not trust myself to react properly in an emergency situation.

Relying on an off-site hotel's transportation service is likely to chew up lots of valuable time.

Relying on taxis is likely to chew up lots of money.

 

[NotUrsula]

Presuming you are old enough to be eligible to hire a car at a reasonable cost, it really is your best bet, at least for your Disney days, and days that you wish to go shopping in any serious way.

The tourist-area roads in Orlando are not as intimidating as you might think, because even most of the surface roads are laid out in major multilane configurations, which means that you can comfortably hug that left edge of the lane without problems much of the time (to avoid traffic snarls by people trying to turn in the middle of the road, most of the major surface roads in Orlando have raised median dividers in them, so it is quite difficult to accidentally veer into oncoming traffic -- think motorway.) Also, all hire cars here have automatic transmissions at no add'l charge, so you don't have to worry about shifting right-handed whilst in motion. The only major differences to concern yourself with are that there are no roundabouts, and that the off-ramps on the motorways are on the right (except for one important one near Universal, which is the odd one out as it is on the left.)

If you are not familiar with this map site (http://www.orlando-maps.info/orlando_maps.htm), you should be. It is designed specifically for UK visitors, and it is the most detailed set of road maps imaginable. It shows exactly where every off-property hotel, shopping area, restaurant and attraction is in the main tourist corridors, even down to the number of lanes in the road and where the turns are.

 

[samv]

Me and my family are staying in International Palms Resort in October and have been trying to find out the shuttle bus times, but had no luck so far!

Other option is to get the lynx bus, I think the 50 goes from Transportation Area to outside Seaworld then catch another bus from there to your hotel.

There is a Lynx bus website where you can see the times.

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