When you stay on WDW property, do you need a car?

[mommykds]

We usually drive to WDW from NY. This time we are flying & will not be renting a car (to save some $). IF we are staying on site & not leaving Disney we shouldn't need a car right?
Thanks!

 

[Kae]

Not really. What airline are you flying & our you using Magical Express?

Kae

 

[Dan Murphy]

No need for a car, but a car can be nice at times. If you don't do a lot of resort hopping, very little need or use.

And welcome to the DIS, mommykds. Stop by the Community Board and say hello!!

 

[crzy4dsny]

When we are not going to leave property we do not rent. We have rented a car when not leaving property and the car sat the whole time. You can get where ever you need to go by using Disney transportation. I think it is much easier to sit back and let them drive.

 

[jadejazzkayla]

of course you don't need a car. you can walk, monorail, take a boat or bus it to almost any place on disney property. and if you are golfing, a taxi will bring you there (included in the price of the round).

 

[mommykds]

Not sure what airline yet..I am checking rates on line now. We will be using the magical express (going in Oct).

Dan - thank you for the warm welcome..I am a huge Disney fanatic & now I have found with people who understand..hahhaha!

 

[powellrj]

I agree that you don't NEED a car, but they sure are nice to have! I love to have a car so that I can make grocery runs! Check some prices and you might see that its not that great of an expense. If you are staying on-site, parking is free at the parks and we always like to drive to the parks so that we don't have to depend on transportation!

 

[tae1218]

Out of our 3 trips we have taken, 2 times we had our own car. We never used it once. It sat in the parking lot all week. We used Disney transportation everyday. It is very convienent and reliable.
On our next trip we are having a town car service pick us up at the airport and take us to the resort.

 

[Lord Fantasius]

As powellrj commented, a car is definitely not NEEDED, but...

Honestly, it kind of depends on where you are staying. The biggest hassle by far is getting between resorts. Since WDW buses only go from individual resorts to the parks, if you want to go from a value or moderate resort to a deluxe for a meal or character dining or event, it can take almost an hour from door to door between waiting for your bus at your resort, driving to one of the parks, transferring and waiting for the bus from the other resort, then traveling to the other resort...and then do it in reverse after your visit. The monorail resorts are far the easiest to get between, as are the clump of those next to EPCOT.

The other issue is if you want groceries, but then again, there's always wegoshop.com.

But whatever you decide, relax and enjoy your vacation!!

-R

 

[travelbug]

For me, it depends partly on how long I'm staying. When I go for only 5 days or so, I generally stay on property the whole time. I use a towncar service, including the free grocery stop, and then rely on Disney transportation for everything else. I've always been more than pleased doing that.

If I'm staying longer (last month 9 days, later this month 10 days), I rent a car. Then I find I'm more likely to want to explore the area a little more, make more than one run to the store, drive among resorts, etc. Last year when it rained a lot one day, I was glad to have a car to drive to one of the malls to shop. I also prefer to drive to Downtown Disney, since my longest waits for buses have always been returning from there. Even when I rent a car though, I never drive it to the parks. I prefer to sit back and let the bus, boat, or monorail take me right to the gate.