Using The Busses v. Renting a Car at The World

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Last time we went to The World (last Dec.) we hated the whole bus thing. Maybe its because we have kids now (went there on our honeymoon and don't recall having any issues with the busses) or what, but it was pure hell. Two strollers, bags, two kids, etc. rude people - just couldn't take it! Has anyone ever stayed in The World but rented a car to go everywhere? Do you have to pay every time you park in each park, or do you get a pass?

 

[BellyBaby]

You pay $12 for each DAY. If you have hoppers, take your parking stub and show it for any park that same day. It adds up over a week, but I can't imagine not having a car. We do midday breaks often. But we also stay offsite, so the hotels savings pay for the car rental.

 

[HGD24]

I believe that if you're staying on-site, parking at the parks is free.

We never had a rental car but after going last Oct for the first time with a baby, we're using one for our Nov visit to see how it goes. We had instances where we waited for over 45 mins at our resort for a park bus and there were other instances where buses were too full at park closing and we didn't want to stand with DD so we had to wait for the next bus so that we could sit rather than try to hold her and balance and hold on to the poles. The bus issues did make for some of our more stressful moments so we're going to see if having a rental car makes things any less stressful.

 

[clc053103]

if you are staying on property, particularly at a deluxe resort, I would pass on the rental car. We used to get one and barely moved it the entire time. Also depending on the age of your kids, they may actually enjoy the transport!! my DS at 3 loved the monorail, buses and boats more than any ride!

 

[Don Disney]

We used the buses last Sept.,and it really wasn't too bad! The worst part about it was the distance we had to walk to the bus stop after a long,hot day trudging around the parks!!!!! If we stay-off site,we drive.

 

[gottagodisney]

No car the first trip with kids= ok because we stayed in a deluxe (WL). Had the ferry to MK and easy access to the monorail through the Contemporary or from MK, and the buses.

Stayed value (Pop) and had a car = fabulous! Used bus some, car some.

Last stay was at a moderate (POR) = annoyance quite a bit, sometimes ok.

I have concluded that unless we stay at a deluxe MK resort I would not go without a car again! We also have a toddler to deal with so that does figure in to this scenario. The sheer # of people piling on to buses to the moderates and values makes for a very long wait sometimes. The other thing was that bus schedules seemed very erratic sometimes. You could watch 5 buses come and go for a particular resort (with no one waiting because they all got on the first bus) in the time that one bus would show up for your resort with 50 people waiting! That would irratate me. I know it is a minor thing in the scheme of the world ....but come on! The other thing that takes time (and sometimes a lot of time) is the loading of ECV's on the bus. IMO these seem to be used in greater #'s than say- 5 yrs ago or so. There is no value I am assigning to this-just my observation. Stating it for the people who may not be aware of this and the amount of time you could stand in line waiting for a bus.

My vote is get a car with kids unless you are staying at a deluxe or don't mind waiting on buses.

 

[Don Disney]

Although it's true you may have to wait for another bus in order to sit(we are 4-DH,DW,DD'S 4,5 ),we found it to be just as irritating waiting for the parking lot trams;even worse,getting to your car when you are'nt early enough to park close to the tram pick-up/drop-off area ,and having to trek across the parking lot,dodging mini-vans,and various other vehicles making a mad dash to exit is no picnic either!!To us,it's just not worth all the hassle if we don't have to do it!!

 

[Lovin' Disney]

We have always rented a car when we go to WDW. If you are staying at one of the WDW hotels, parking is free. If you are off-site, parking is $12 per day.

We have 2 young children and a stroller, so waiting for a bus is not viable for us.

The only bad part is that rental rates seemed to have doubled since previous years....but if you do your research, you can get a decent rate.

 

[dizneechic]

I have been down personally 25 times, this will be my 1st though since having kids. That said, I have stayed on property at least 15 times and never once NOT rented a car. I am not a fan of buses and much prefer to get from point A to B when I want to, plus I love International Drive so used to venture away from the parks for night life.

Staying on property you get a parking pass, it goes on your dash and you don't need to pay the daily rate. As a family of 5, it will be much easier for us to have the convenience of the rental car, and if we want to park hop we can use the monorail or drive.

 

[srwarden1928]

I dont particularly like busses and drive around the world quite easily, as their signage is as clear as I have ever seen at any vacation destination. However, I have never RENTED a car at WDW and do not ever intend to, as we always drive to the world. It is only fourteen hours. We stop for the night each way. It is actually a pleasant drive. The best part is we have our own car to use without renting.

 

[daisyduck123]

"Other" ---we always drive our own car to WDW & use it for all our transportation needs.

 

[laceemouse]

We much prefer using Disney transportation, riding the buses, boats, monorail, etc. is part of the fun of the trip for us. We just relax and talk while we are waiting to be picked up.

When the kids were younger they enjoyed riding the buses and stuff. I do agree that the strollers are a hassle, but when you park at the parks you will have to get on those trams anyway, and at the MK you will have to do the monorail or boat anyway.

What we did and what I always recommend.......
If you don't have any TINY babies rent a stroller (or a double stroller) once you get to the park each day. That way you are not fooling with folding and unfolding a stroller, which you will have to do if it is your own car or not. This is what worked best for us.

Also, we ditched the stroller entirely once our youngest hit about 5. I know this is a controversial subject and some people want to keep the stroller to carry all of their cr*p in, but we just pack really light. We can move through the crowds so much easy NOT having a stroller to push!

 

[laceemouse]

if you are staying on property, particularly at a deluxe resort, I would pass on the rental car. We used to get one and barely moved it the entire time. Also depending on the age of your kids, they may actually enjoy the transport!! my DS at 3 loved the monorail, buses and boats more than any ride!

ditto!

 

[El&Asmom]

I think it really depends where you stay. We just stayed at BCV, and would never had used a car at that resort. Quick walk to EPCOT, boat to DHS, and easy bus rides to MK and AK. Plus we wouldn't ever drive to MK with the extra ferry or monorail ride from TTC.
Staying at more of the remote hotels, I think a car would be easier. We stayed at AKL when dd was 18 months and had a car. It was nice having a car at that resort. I'm sure the values would be similar.

That being said, since we fly, and now have three dds that need carseats, we will be using ME until at least one or two of them are out of the carseats. We really don't want to have to lug those things around the airport, wait for a rental car, buckle the seats into the rental car, and deal with having to drive around. The other thing I hate is buckling tired, crabby kids into hot cars after the parks. It's so nice to walk onto an air conditioned bus with no buckling of three kids. The stroller and bags are not that big of a deal. I say this having just come back from a trip with a 5.5yo, 3.5yo and a 5 m old. We had a lot of stuff, and a baby that can't yet sit up. It will be buses for us for a while.

 

[two-foxes]

We have rented a car for the past few years and it is well worth it. Even more so with kids. As DVC members, parking is free. The only park we refuse to drive to is MK. By the time you park, take the ferry or monorail over and finally get either to your car or the entrance, it is harder, IMO, to drive than to take the buses.