Trip without a rental car

[ktmouse]

Have any of you ever taken a Disney trip without a rental car, after trips in which you usually rent one? How did that go? Did you miss it? We usually rent a car to be able to get to the grocery store and to visit the other resorts. I've liked the freedom it has given us. I know renting a car just to get groceries makes for a very large grocery bill. We will have extended family coming with us on this trip for a total of 12 people. I have a feeling when we go anywhere, it will be all toghether. Do you think a rental would be a waste of money?

Our trip is Nov 4-14th, and I'm sure I'll be asking for more helpful advice in the future.

 

[ktmouse]

Please...anyone out there that would give me an opinion?

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi,
I've never taken a trip without a rental car but I posted just to say we also enjoy the freedom it gives us. We do prefer taking the busses to the WDW major parks, but tend to use our car for the disney water parks, DD shopping/dining and offsite shopping (Publix, Belz outlets etc) as well as Sea World or Universal. I think I might feel a little "trapped" without a car staying at any of the wdw resorts. Hopefully you'll get some counter-experiences from those that vacation without a car as well.

 

[mac6115cd]

We did not rent a car on our last trip (first week of August) and, with some planning, didn't miss it at all. We had to use a Taxi to & from the airport, but still saved money and bypassed the hassle at the airport.

On our next trip (April 06) we plan to stay at SSR and use the Disney Magical Express, saving money and time.

Renting a car does give you freedom, but can complicate the vacation...and you don't want to become the "taxi" for your party.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We did not rent a car on our last trip (first week of August) and, with some planning, didn't miss it at all.

Did you venture offsite mac6115cd ? If so, just wondering how you did with shopping and attractions offsite ? Did you use a taxi ?
If the OP's main intent is to stay strictly on wdw property, I think they can do without a rental car. But for those of us that like to sightsee/visit off property it could be tough.
Another occasion where our car was helpful : My dd's contact lens tore this past trip. We thought we had packed her replacement lenses but had forgotten them. After 24 hours of going back and forth with her eye doctor and vision centers in the Orlando area we finally found a store that carried her prescription in stock (all others needed 3-5 days to order them). It was Pearl Vision in the Florida Mall. Boy were we glad we had the car that day. It's just things like this that can pop up where I feel better having one.

 

[lllovell]

If we could fly we would, but it just doesn't make economic sense to fly down from Atlanta with a family of 4 (soon to be 5). So, we have never taken a trip without our car.

However, we have often parked our car and not used it at all. If I were a flyer, I would use WEGOSHOP to get my groceries (takes some planning, but in some ways wouldn't it be nice to have your meals planned out...not day by day, but knowing you have the makings of 5 dinners for example), use ME to get on property and finally using the bus system for all other trips. I guess we consider the buses to be part of the WDW magic. My children LOVE riding the buses to and from Disney (their one chance to sit up really high and see the sights around them without the restrictions of a seat belt I think is the appeal - even though they have to sit still and stay in their seats) and so we just make sure we are never in a hurry to get anywhere. Actually, that is our mantra for all of our vacations at WDW. Get to the parks early in the morning and then we don't have to hurry for the rest of the trip.

If you think you would be doing off site things (Sea World or Univ for example), why not do them early in your trip and combine it with a trip to the grocery store. You can rent a car (I believe at the Dolphin) on site and you would only have to have it for the exact time you needed it. If you aren't going off site for shopping or other parks, I would not even worry about it.

The charges for WEGOSHOP seem sorta steep at first glance sometimes, but they have reduced rates for WDW travelers AND when you value in the cost of a rental car and your time to actually shop - its a bargain! (also, they schlep the goods up to your room for you - woohoo!!!)

Good luck with your plan!

Laura

 

[MLK-RI]

We have only had a car once or twice. Most trips without one. We've used Tiffany Towncar to/from the airport and we didn't have any problems. That being said we also didn't leave the property. Used Disney transport to everything on site. Sometimes you have to be creative - like getting to Fantasia minigolf by bus to Swan and walking - driving there is much easier.

We will be going again in November. Using Magical Express this time and no car again. We hope to use WeGoShop, but haven't set that up yet.

On one occassion when we did have a car, DH's glasses broke and we couldn't get them fixed on site, we had to drive to Orlando and search out a place. It was very good we had a car then. Now DH brings a glasses repair kit and extra items in case.

So it will really depend on what you plan to do (on site vs off) and what curves may get thrown at you. Other friends have use taxis with great luck and still saved money over renting a car.

Hope this helps some.

 

[Nanajo1]

We rented a minivan for our 1999 trip when we had 9 adults and 1 infant. We used a car service as well for to and from airport. DH would have to make two trips to get everyone to where we were going. After a while it didn't make sense. On subsequent trips we used a car service and the grocery stops. We will be 10 adults and 9 kids next trip and we are using DME and WEGOSHOP. But DS is renting a car for the weekend because DIL has relatives she will visit. Unless you plan to go offsite I would not bother with a rental car(s?) for twelve. What would you get a 12 person bus?

 

[MiaSRN62]

What would you get a 12 person bus?

Believe it or not, you can rent a 12 person van ! We almost did this one year when we vacationed with extended family but it was cheaper to rent 1 minivan and 1 car.

 

[ktmouse]

Thanks everybody! I think we'll give it a try without a car this year and save the $25o!

 

[DeeDeeDis]

ktmouse
alot of times we rent a car to travel from the airport for 24 hours, this allows us to stop on our way to the resort for our groceries. We return the next morning at dophin then jump on the ferry to MGM for the day.

You may want to consider doing that. If there are 12 of you i'm assuming its more than one family, take half the adults (spliting the cost), rent the car go to the grocery store, the other half (with the kids?) could take the free Magic bus to the resort.

Rental cars are fairly expensive this year, i imagine it would cost a small fortune to rent a car big enuf for 12 people.