Transportation/Rental Car

[MicheleC]

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a decision I'm trying to make. Usually when we go to
Disney, we rent a car. I'm pretty sure we are a minority in doing this, but we've always liked the
freedom of driving to Downtown Disney or wherever else and not having to worry about the busses.
We've actually never used the busses in our 10 years of vacations. This year is our first Vacation Club
stay (Boardwalk) and we are staying for 10 nights which is double the time we usually stay. I was
thinking that to rent a car for that whole period would be pretty expensive and how much would we
really use it. We could walk to Epcot and take the boats to MGM. What I'm not sure of is 1. How are
the busses from the boardwalk and returning from the parks, and 2. what would I do to get there from
the airport--transfers? And if so, can you use a car seat on those shuttles??

Thanks for any advice--we can't wait for our trip. Also, I will be a little over 7 months pregnant on this
trip so I'm wondering if it would be hard waiting and fitting on the bus!!

Michele C
Old Bridge, NJ

 

[drusba]

Actually, a lot rent cars, including us. We stay at BWV. It is not a necessity but we do use it for going to DD, off-site, AK, golf courses, and any waterparks or other resorts. Busses to MK from BWV are fine--every 20 minutes, 15 minutes to get there, about 25 to 30 coming back (it stops at YC/BC coming back); in fact trip to and from MK is usually faster by bus than car particularly since you have to park at the TTC and the bus goes directly to the park.. To AK, they are adeguate but also stop at Blizzard Beach and coming back at S/D and YC/BC; thus we drive. Rest of busses are nothing to write home about and you can get some time-consuming trips (like to DD which itself has three different stops and the bus may also stop at Typoon Lagoon). Transportation to another resort is abysmal (switch busses) except you can walk to S/D and YC/BC and there is a bus to Coronado Springs. Note transportation from one resort to another when at any resort at WDW is always worst than abysmal except for resorts right next to each other.

There are various Towncar and Limo services from the airport. Others can speak better on those but some even offer grocery store stops on the way in.

 

[MikeBW]

We used Tiffany Towncar to get back and forth from BWV to the airport, it was very good and cost $80 (?) round trip. They include a 30 min grocery stop, so you can load up for those 10 days at WDW. They have car seats for little ones at no extra cost, but car rental companies charge you for them.
If you don't mind waiting for busses, then a car is not needed. I believe a car would cost at least $250, so is the extra $$ worth it for you.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We always rent a car and use it to go grocery shopping, to DD, other resorts for meals, etc. We're at the BWV, so we use the boat or walk to Epcot and MGM and take the buses to MK and AK. We were there last week and found the bus service to be efficient. In fact one bus returning from MK to BWV made its first stop there (rather than YC/BC) so the return trip was as quick as the trip to the park. As drusba mentioned, the bus back from the AK stops at Blizzard Beach (and the YC and BC), so it is a much slower return trip. I would consider driving the rental car next time.

There are ways to reduce the cost of a rental car, but there is always going to be a price for the convenience. In a sense, the premium will be greater for a longer rental (such as your indicated 10 days), since even weekly or combined weekly/daily rates include a daily fee for extra state fees/taxes (currently a total of $2.46/day or fraction of a day). Disney Club membership (which itself costs $40 per year) includes discount coupons for National Car Rental (and free membership in the National Emerald Club which otherwise might cost a one-time $50 fee) which can reduce rental costs, but it will still be more than using one of the towncar services. We paid less than $140 for a weekly rental including all taxes and fees and including our gas, but we could have gotten to and from the airport via towncar for around $90-100 including tips. Stretching our car rental out to 10 days would have increased the cost to around $225.

Regarding airport transfers if you do decide to forego the rental car, definitely evaluate the towncar option. The price difference between the Mears shuttle and a towncar is reasonably small even for a small party (it can actually be cheaper for a family of 5) and your comfort (7 months pregnant, congratulations!) will be great. Tiffany Towncar Service will include a grocery stop on request. I believe they can also provide an appropriate car seat or accommodate yours if you need it on the plane in any case. A lot of additional information about this option can be found at the Transportation forum at this site.

Ralph

 

[RweTHEREyet]

If you decide not to rent for the whole time, keep in mind that there is a National desk in the Swan or Dolphin, and it would not be that much to rent for a couple of days if you have off-site activities planned. On a previous trip, I rented at the airport and kept the car for a couple of days and returned to the Dolphin, I believe. The ladies there were very nice and there was no line to get assistance.

 

[bres@westernMA]

Rent a car. There are always deals - try Budget, National, Alamo, etc. We have actually gotten a car for $88/week (it was as economy as you can imagine but it served it's purpose).
Two reasons:
1. You can save the cost of the car by visiting a grocery store a few times during your trip. If you simply pick up coffee, milk and breakfast stuff, you will save hundreds of dollars over 10 days at WDW.
2. The transportation system is not bad at all but after 4 or 5 days (and 4 or 5 waits) you will be sick of the bus system. It always seems that you miss the bus on your way home from one of the parks or other resorts. Being 7 months pregnant (and OBTW congratulations) you deserve to be able to take your own car whenever you need it - this isn't the trip to try to get bye without transportation. Also, use the valet parking (all it cost is a couple of bucks per time for a tip). They will simply whisk your car away with no parking hassles.

 

[Goofy Fan]

We have always rented a car. Good to know that once you get off the plane you go right to your car. The same holds true for the return trip. Main point for us is the convenience. Whether its pool hopping at the Polynesian, dinner at Wilderness Lodge, checking out Animal Kingdom Lodge, etc., it surely beats getting to other resorts by bus. People have mentioned shopping. Maybe Universal Studios or Sea World is in your plans for a day. Is it worth the extra $$ to you to have that convenience? To us, it is always worth it. I didn't see anyone mentioning Priceline. I have used it the past 2 years with great success. I usually bid on a SUV (family of 4) as this vehicle isn't as popular (IMO) in Florida as in other states. Last year bid $18.00 per day for 10 days; year before $17.00 (started at $15 both times). With tax about $200.00 for the 10 days. Now subtract the cost for 4 people with Mears or Tiffany if not renting car, and ask yourself if what's left is worth it to have a car.

 

[dumbo33]

I have to agree, renting a car for us is well worth having it there at your disposal whenever you want it. I am not sure that we could have stocked up for the 12 days we were there in the summer, in just 30 minutes. We went twice to shop at the Landstar exit, the cheapest Albertsman's I believe. It payed off, along with being able to drive to wherever we wanted and didn't have to be slaves to the transportation system. I especially like using the car when going to water parks and back. You have to decide on your priorities for spending the money. If you decide to rent, keep checking even after you make your reservations. We did and our price went down about 50 dollars, even from last year.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

We did not rent a car this trip. We found last year (at the Poly) we only used it to go to MGM, AK and DD. Since BWV is so centrally located we tooka chance on the busses this trip. Sure it's not glamorous, but it wasn't all bad as far as I was concerned. Got right at MK on EE day at 7:05, which was my main worry! Our big trip was to the HDD revue, and we took the bus to MK then the boat to FW.
It did get long on the way back from places since the bus always stopped at YC/BC first, and sometimes Swan and Dolphin too. My kids almost always nodded off on these long trips. On the upside, my quick view of BB helped me decide we wanted to spend a morning there, which was fun. I will say that DH did NOT like to be without a car and I don't know if I'll get away with it again.
We used TTC to get to and from the airport. We had an $8 coupon in our passporter so we only paid $72. While it is nice to get a car at the airport, last year that process was very time consuming and our $219 van for the week ended up costing $349 with all the crap we had to sign. This year our driver was waiting for us as we got off the plane, carried most of our luggage and took us to the store (all the while my 3 year old DS is having a very noisy meltdown too). We got to our hotel a LOT faster this year.
Perhaps if you plan out your itinerary you can work it so all your "need a car" days are close together, and you can just rent a car for 4-5 days. You will never need a car for MGM or Epcot; it's unbelieveable how close they are (I don't think you realize how close until you stay at BWV!)
Robin M.