Using a car while staying on site - did you save time?

[disneyatl]

Since we live in GA, we drive to Orlando but we only use our car for driving to Downtown Disney or driving to Lake Buenta Vista for cheaper meals. I wouldn't want to fuss with parking at the different parks, finding your car when you leave and definitely don't want to wait in traffic trying to get out of the park. The buses are definitely worth staying in the WDW resorts.

 

[johnnyr]

I don't know what the walk times are, but we used to rent a car. It would end up sitting in the resort parking lot for our entire stay. Now we just take a towncar from the airport to the resorts and spend the savings in the parks. In all the years that we have been going to WDW, I can honestly say that we never had a very long wait for any of the Disney Transportation. We use it to get us everywhere on property.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Even when we drive down we still use the busses, Disney transportation is the best! I just love the monorail, boats and busses, it's all so much fun.

We had to drive when we stayed off-site once I hated parking and taking the tram and stuff, I felt like I was missing out. The only time we'll drive now is if we're running down to Downtown Disney from the resort for a quick trip or when we go to Steak-n-Shake-yummy!

I know it may sound a bit strange but I just love those Disney busses!

 

[nanalisa]

We have stayed at WDW for 2 weeks at a time and never got in our car. Even when we fly we never have rented a car. Last summer I got the bright idea to drive to AK. When we left due to the rain, it was one miserable walk to our van. Other than that we use the transportation all the time - it's one of the reasons we stay on site.

 

[kkozma]

We are also the rent a car type family. I have my fill of the crowds at the park and just love being alone in the car after a long day. Also sometimes we have gone and had a lot of rain, we enjoy riding around the WDW area and seeing some of the backstage areas. We just get inthe car and drive around. I like the freedom and since I do all the driving I guess the control is nice to...I also have a memory of holding a stroller, trying to hold the bar on the bus with suntan lotion all over my hand and falling on some guy who would not give up his seat. That was enough embarrassment for me---we rented from then on.

 

[Geoff_M]

Great responses!

Two more questions:

1. How much does it cost to park your car at the various Disney parks?

2. I remember a guy from work going to WDW a few years ago. It was at a busy time - either spring break or summer. All he could talk about was the hour + wait he had to pick up the rental car. Is this common?

I'm not sure anyone directly answered your questions.

1) If you're staying on-site or are annual pass holders, parking is free. If not, it's $7 per day.

2) Depending on variables, there can be long waits. We've rented four times (two times in January, once in May, and once in mid-June) and used either National or Avis. Five minutes is about the longest I've waited.


For us the car is very much worth it. For some things the buses are quicker, for others they are not. Last trip we rode the bus to PI from WL. It was a mistake. We waited about 10-15 minutes for a bus, and then it had to trek to FW and make a stop, and then stop at DTD. Our door-to-door time was 45 minutes. We opted for the bus because I thought parking space would be an issue at PI, but I saw lots of open space when we got there. One sure-fire bus route is the direct resort buses to MK. With them you bypass the TTC and avoid the added time of a monorail or ferry ride.

As others have mentioned, the car is very handy for off-site trips for more provisions, cheap eats... and the Belz Outlet. The costs savings (if you want to look at it that way), of buying WDW stuff at Belz vs. in the parks covers our rental cost almost every trip.

As for the fun of finding your car in the parking lot goes... we make a habit of being sure to remember what section and row we've parked the car.

I would also say that if you are going to WDW at peak periods, the buses may have more of an edge over a rental car for intra-WDW trips.

 

[Kaitysmom]

Another vote for the car - I find that we save sooo much time this way. It takes the pressure off for us in the mornings. Not only do you not have to wait for the buses to show up, you don't have to go through all the stops on the way to your destination. I also don't miss the crying, totally exhausted children at the end of the day. Getting hit in the face with Mickey balloons. Don't you just love those Mickey spinning toys? Waiting for people to fold up their strollers after the bus arrives instead of being prepared.

Also, once you get the hang of it, getting around WDW is a snap. The buses seem to take really convoluted routes to get around. I used to think that the place was hard to navigate. It is really easy and almost impossible to get lost. Either way, have a great time.

 

[Tiggerafferty]

Unsure about the wait time on the rental at Orlando Airport, but at other airports with ressie the wait has been very minimal.

Self parking is free at most of the disney hotels (I read recently that they may start charging for this but not yet). The Car tag that you get for Hotel parking also lets you park at the Theme Parks for free.

Have a great time.

 

[ww52]

Originally posted by missypie

I remember a guy from work going to WDW a few years ago. It was at a busy time - either spring break or summer. All he could talk about was the hour + wait he had to pick up the rental car. Is this common?

Alamo used to be notorious for this at MCO, since so many travel packages used them as the rental company. I had that experience once and avoided them everytime after that.

Wait times are non-existant if you belong to a rental company's member program (like the Avis Wizard). I don't know if it costs to join, I belong to three (Avis, Budget, and Hertz) all from my employer. Every rental agency has one, and basically when you reserve that way the car is waiting - in some cases you go directly to your car (the rental car shuttle bus driver will have your name and the car's stall number); in other cases you go in the member's line which is always much shorter. Even if it costs a small amount to join, the convenience is worth considering.

By the way, as you can tell, my vote is for getting a car. We use it to dine offsite, go to Universal, get groceries, resort hop, and sometimes just drive around (my favorites: seeing the unique Disney road signs and driving under the water bridge between Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon.)

But don't forget about the Disney transportation. Dumbest thing we ever did - drove to Hoop-De-Doo from GF. I didn't know you park in a lot and then take a bus over to Pioneer Hall. After the early show, we took the boat to MK. Then we had to take the boat back to Pioneer Hall, then the bus back to parking lot, then drive back to GF. We could have done all that by boat and left the car at "home".

 

[icelady]

The only time we use are car is to go to another hotel for dinner and to shop at DTD in the morning the day before we leave .Bus or boat to the parksif staying on site.

 

[walt's assistant]

We've done trips with and without the car. Here's what we've concluded:

1) Going to and from the parks seems easier and less expensive using Disney Transportation. So even if we have a car, we tend to just leave it at the hotel and take the bus/boat/monorail if our destination is one of the parks.

2) If your intent is to go a lot of other "non-park" on-site places to sightsee, go to Sea World or Universal or Busch Gardens, or off-site to eat, a car is your best bet. We did this in 1999.

3) If you are flying into Orlando WITH A FAMILY, rent a car. If your stay is short, what you'll pay for the car will be worth the convenience versus the cost and hassle of the airport shuttle/limo services. If your stay is long, chances are you plan to go to various "non-Park" on-site places; the car is best for that.

Good luck!

WA

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I think I'll add my 2¢ to this discussion.

Whenever I have family down, staying at a Disney Resort, we always use the provided transportation. I personally have never waited more than 9 minutes 32 seconds for any bus. (And yes, I time it.) We've stayed at the CR, Poly, GF, and Music. As a driver, I get to see what goes on backstage with the dispatching. I can assure you, no one works harder than our Flex & MOD Dispatchers on getting those busses out on time. And 98% of the time, they are right on time.

Most "Extended Waits" are usually not as extended as they seem. Not to say the occasional service issue don't happen, but rather, the vast majority of the time the bus is on time, it just felt like a longer wait than it was. The more anxious one is, the longer it feels like. Also, if there's one person at the stop who makes a comment, it acts like a domino effect. Pretty soon, everyone is making comments... and the supposed wait time increases.

Often times, I'll see a bus exiting a resort just as I'm entering. When I see that, I know the wait has been no more than 10 minutes, but yet I still will get a group saying they haven't seen a bus in 30 minutes. Happens all the time.

Getting back to the topic at hand, though...

You will not neccessarily save time going from Resort to Park by using a rental car. In fact, there are times when driving will take you much longer, namely for the Magic Kingdom.

Other advantages include:
Bus is already cooled off... no hot car to go back to.
Bus load zones are clearly marked, and close by... no schlepping through huge parking lots, searching through a hundred similar rental cars.
Leave the driving to us... no need to battle traffic, or idiot drivers. And beleive me, they are out in full force.



However, renting a car will provide you with more flexibility. You can go resort hopping, and drive off property. Downsides include having to deal with idiot tourist drivers (and there are PLENTY), and tons of traffic during park exits. Also, you have to wait in the HUGE line for the Monorail or Ferryboat at the MK, in addition to the Tram line at every park.

 

[photobob]

I drive to WDW, but never use my car once there. We always stay onsite with the Disney tansportation as the primary reason. I don't want to drive when I'm there, that is part of my escape from reality. If I have to wait a few extra minutes for a bus so be it, it beats the heck out of driving there, parking, finding the tram and then doing it again when I get out. They have busses for each park at every park so you hop on a bus and go elsewhere or back to the resort.

 

[missypie]

Tell me more. When you drive to the MK, you still have to take the monorail to get to the park? (Forgive my utter ingnorance, but the last and only time I was at WDW was the summer of '73 or '74 when the MK was WDW [and I wasn't a licensed drived at the time so I wasn't paying attention.])

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by missypie
Tell me more. When you drive to the MK, you still have to take the monorail to get to the park? (Forgive my utter ingnorance, but the last and only time I was at WDW was the summer of '73 or '74 when the MK was WDW [and I wasn't a licensed drived at the time so I wasn't paying attention.])

Correct. When driving to the MK, you park at the Transportation & Ticket Center. The parking lot is quite huge, and taking the tram is really your best bet. From there, you can take the Ferry boat, or the Monorail. During park exits, these can have lines that are quite long.

 

[wdwrich]

1. If you're staying on-site, you do not have to pay for parking at any of the Disney parks.

2. I use National's Emerald club, so I go directly to my vehicle. I can't address the wait times at rental conuters- sorry.

 

[Geoff_M]

Chip 'n Dale Express,

I want to assure you that we aren't "down" on the WDW bus system. We've ridden it a lot. We've also driven our car a lot too. The bus to MK is quicker than a car, hands down. But during the times of the year we've been (January, mid-May, mid-June) we've often found the car to be quicker, or as quick, as the bus.
I would also say that not having a car at WDW is NOT a handicap. The buses will do nicely.

As I stated, our 10 PM trip from WL to PI this month was a prime example of the advantages of the car. It was 10-15 minutes before the DTD/PI bus pulled up (I too look at my watch!)... which I don't consider excessive. I assumed it wasn't peak time to DTD and we probably just missed the previous bus. If the bus had been direct it probably would have been a toss-up between car and bus. Put we had to stop at FW, and DTD on the way there. The door-to-door time was 45 minutes. I will say the trip back was great. We timed the bus right and waited about a minute. And since the route must be a loop, the first stop was WL and we were back in no time. I think the sharing of buses between the resorts is the biggest thing that slows the buses down.

As for the walk, car hunt, hot car, etc. that's not a problem for us. We get to the parks early and when we drive have been able to park close enough to the front gate that all that's required is a short walk. We've never lost our car, and it seems to cool down quickly enough so that nobody wilts.

But I bet a lot of our experience is due to the fact that we avoid peak season. I would also bet that the buses are a lot more convenient during those periods.

 

[n2mm]

Always rent a car here and always use it. I find the layout of WDW and the signs the easiest place to get around. We love the flexibility of going to and from parks. We use national car rental most of the time and it usually takes us less than 1 hour to go from the plane gate to the resort, last trip, 45 minutes.

I think the bus service is a great option, just not for us. We were at the Movies in May and watch the huge line for early entry not get on the bus because it was filled. We zipped over to TTC and had a walk to the monorail parking spot (always a favorite for us).

personally I imagine if you never use public transportation it would be a treat for some folks and their kids. I, on the other hand, use public transportation to and from work in Wash. DC everyday--5 hours round trip a day (on a good day). When I'm on vacation you can't pay me to get on or wait for a bus. Just the thought that I would have to hang from the top bar from park to resort just makes be think of work.

We are at the CR next trip and will find it a treat to walk to and from the resort, especially after MK closes.

 

[BrerMom]

I like the bus system and not having to worry about getting from point A to point B. We have used our car, but it's strictly a personal choice, not a must-do by any means.

The bus system was actually what lured us to stay on-site for the first time. Our DS was 8 months old on his first trip. I had no idea how he was going to react. We stayed on-site so that I could take him back to the resort whenever he needed to go and DH could keep going with the older two kids. We didn't have to separate at all that first trip, but the peace of mind that it gave me knowing that I had a choice was priceless.

 

[jordanyosh]

Cars=going off-site, going to other theme parks, all the stuff everyone else has said.

Busses=leave the real world behind and let Disney do all the work.

Everyone wants to convince everyone else that renting a car is better or riding Disney transportation is better. To summarize what people are saying, it is a matter of what you are doing and preference.

People who drive like to go other places and want the flexibility. Whatever the true benefits are, they want that freedom to have that car available.

People who use Disney Transportation don't go off-site and want to have someone else do all the work. Wait time doesn't really bother them too much. They use that time to gab, let the anticipate build etc.

It is all about what category you fall into.

Whatever route you choose you are gonna have fun......by the way we do the combo method. i would do busses all the time, but the people i travel with fall into the car category. what can you do.