Why don't you rent a car vs bus transportation?

[alecshawn]

Why don't I rent a car? Why WOULD I rent a car?

I park my car in the cheapie lot ($4/day!!) and take the shuttle to the airport. Once I give my bags to my friendly Southwest agent, I am hands-off until I pack them post-bedbug check.

Arrive at MCO, cross to B-side, down the elevators (can you take the escalator down?) and then follow the signs. On the bus, where your biggest decision is how close to a monitor to sit. Someone else handles the tolls, the traffic, and the directions. Arrive at Po'Half, check in, and head to the room for the aforementioned bedbug check. Drop our carry-ons, and off we go.

All week, all we have to do is follow the signs. Marathon weekend, half the roads closed? No biggie. Want to start at DHS, have lunch at Cap't Cook's and spend the evening at the MK? No worries about where you left your car.

I pay for the busses, boats, and monorails, plus DME and luggage delivery, in my $169 "value" room rate. I don't spend $3500 for a week at the Poly... I guess I could, but it would be an annual trip, instead of several as an AP-holder. We get on that shuttle at the airport parking lot and have no worries, all week. If the worst thing I have to fuss about is standing for an 18-minute bus ride, I am golden!!

ETA: We stayed at a hotel with mandatory valet a few years ago. Talk about a hassle... I waited longer for my car than I wait for a bus, 95% of the time. Also, we DID rent a car at the start of one trip last year - went to Universal, then drove to MK for the night before heading home to Pop. It didn't really save us time on the WDW end of things, not to mention, I am not a good tired driver, and we leave those parks EXHAUSTED, so it's best that I let someone else do the driving!

Very well stated....The buses are FINE.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

The bus system may not be perfect, and sometimes it's downright aggravating, but driving to the parks is just as bad. It's not just the expense...I have a rotten sense of direction and get really tired of getting lost and turning around! Even my Garman kept letting me down last time we rented a car in Orlando. I'd rather wait in line, then sit back and let someone else drive!

 

[si-am]

For me, being able to park my car and not look at it again while I'm on vacation is part of the immersive experience of a WDW vacation. I drive 45 minutes each way to work 5 days a week. Don't really want to drive at Disney, too!

Plus, I enjoy my drinks on vacation, too, and it's nice to not have to worry about who has to drive home.

 

[kris4360]

We always rent a car at the airport. We stop at a grocery store on our way to the resort and pick up snacks, breakfast items, a case of water and soda. When we are ready to go to the parks we jump in the car and go, no waiting in line for the bus and hoping you get on this one. And same at the end of the day. We also like to take a day or two and go to US/IOA or sea world or even cocoa beach.

 

[blackacex2]

Im one of those who stay deluxe and dont bother renting a car. Why? Many reasons really. For me personally it involves lugging two large and extremely heavy britax car seats through a crowded airport four times that we otherwise don't need while there. We would need a van, those are not affordable. We priced at $537-1100 for our vacation. Where i come from (Toronto) and other large metropolises like NYC etc plenty of people dont ever have a license since it's not needed. Public transportation is a way of life. Many more people do not own a car than those that do. Not everyone drives or enjoys it. I do, but here I am not the norm. For me my money is better spent on a splurge to stay deluxe than renting a car and staying value or moderate. We have a budget. We stick to it. Rental cars don't fit into it if we want deluxe accommodations. Not everyone staying Poly is loaded with money. Many many people plan and budget to have that specific vacation of their dreams. Others may not rent because they don't have credit cards. They are required 99% of the time, and 100% of the time when you are getting deals like you suggest. Others may have health issues, want to enjoy adult beverages, are nervous of driving in unknown areas, view it as part of the experience etc. Just because of these reasons, doesn't strip a person of their right to voice an opinion over an unpleasant Disney transportation experience. I'd be careful on how quick you judge others.

I am not picking on or judging anyone- simply stating my advice that if you are one to complain about the bus system that you should rent a car and make it easy. I think it is a worthy consideration and you can get incredible deals in Orlando. There are specific cases where it doesn't make sense, but for the price it's often an inexpensive way to improve your vacation experience at disney. When my wife got sick on our honeymoon, renting a car made it easy to get her treatment. When you need cheap groceries Walmart is just a few minutes away to make a quick stop before moving in for your stay. Visiting AKL, boardwalk, DTD, making it to last minute reservations, golf, the airport- it's all easier. And yes I stand by what I said- if you are spending $3500 for the Poly it is not a stretch to rent a car.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We rented a car for our last trip, even though we stayed on-site. Our oldest son is mildly autistic and can't stand to be touched or bumped by people he doesn't know. He is much more comfortable in a car. We only used the buses to get to MK because you get dropped closer to the gates than if you drive. It was OK, but we still prefer having our own car. We will be renting again for our August trip since we're choosing to stay off-site this time.

 

[tcufrog]

I'm not a Disney fan so one of the things that sold me on the trp to WDW was the fact that we would get a vacation from driving. We wouldn't have to lug two car seats or worry about getting safe ones from the rental car agency. I am a stay at home mom with one kid who goes to school 30 minutes from home. I do more than enough driving as it is and joke that my minivan is my office on wheels.

We went during Pop Warner and had no problems with bus transportation to and from Wilderness Lodge.

I so love not driving during vacations that I specifically choose vacation destinations that don't involve driving.

 

[melifeld]

Whether we drive to WDW or fly, we prefer to have a car at our disposal. We like to eat at restaurants at resorts other than our own. In the evenings and early mornings this can be a giant pain on the bus, particularly with a stroller. We have found that the buses also can take quite some time when going from resort to resort. It once took us 2 hours to go from WL to POR. This would have taken us 15 - 20 minutes if we'd had a car. I have no desire to repeat that. Disney transportation can turn an hour and a half dinner into a 4 hour long experience. I can think of a lot of other things I would prefer to do with those extra couple of hours!

 

[Megsie1000]

Try $50 or more a day if you need a mini-van for a larger family. Not to mention having to lug (or rent for more $) carseats or boosters for your kids.

It is *much* easier if you have small children and you fly just to get off the plane, walk to the bus, get on it and not try and juggle your kids, strollers and keep them happy while you get your bags. Even better when you're departing and you don't have to wait at the awful check-in lines at MCO.

If we have to rent a car and park we will just stay off-site. Staying onsite streamlines everything for us.

I do complain about the bus transportation on some routes (e.g. Beach Club to MK) because it's awful and for the premium you pay to stay onsite they ought to fix some of the problems.

Driving is also not always as convenient as you think it would be, either. Some of those parking lot walks are brutal. And at MK you have to park all the way over at the TTC and take 2 more transportation devices (tram and monorail) just to get to the entrance.

 

[babydoll65]

Iv never had any problems with the bus transportation. I whould like the idea of having a rental car but my mother requires a scooter and we usually rent from an outside company so there is no way we whould be able to get the scooter in the car unless we rented a van. I dont see any savings in that. But it whould be much easier to go from resort to resort. We do like to eat at the different resorts

 

[jade1]

We do split stays with BLT and BCV. Do mostly MK at BLT, and EPCOT/DHS at BCV. That leaves one bus ride for our 1/2 day at AK, and maybe one more for MK while at BCV (if we dont go thru EPCOT).

 

[FantasiaMagic]

We always rent a car when we go to the world. We will use the other transportation Disney offers also (buses included). We like having a car to go to different resorts, go off property, get to and from MCO and just to go to the parks. I always think its worth it since we get a great rate.

 

[busymommy2pink]

I am not picking on or judging anyone- simply stating my advice that if you are one to complain about the bus system that you should rent a car and make it easy. I think it is a worthy consideration and you can get incredible deals in Orlando. There are specific cases where it doesn't make sense, but for the price it's often an inexpensive way to improve your vacation experience at disney. When my wife got sick on our honeymoon, renting a car made it easy to get her treatment. When you need cheap groceries Walmart is just a few minutes away to make a quick stop before moving in for your stay. Visiting AKL, boardwalk, DTD, making it to last minute reservations, golf, the airport- it's all easier. And yes I stand by what I said- if you are spending $3500 for the Poly it is not a stretch to rent a car.

You can stand by that statement all you want, doesnt make it anymore true. Like I said, we are one of those families that stay at poly/beach club etc and a rental car would be a stretch. We have a budget and stick to it. We would nt be able to stay deluxe with a car rental. We save for a long time to have the luxury of staying deluxe.

 

[nkereina]

Agreeing with those who won't rent a car while there. It's just my fiance and I when we go, so we have no problem going at a slow pace which means waiting for a bus, and standing on it if we have to. We are not familiar with the roads of WDW at all so the last thing we want to do is pull up maps on our phones and GPS our way around. We are on vacation, so we let someone else do the driving. Plus we like to have a few drinks. And lastly, your $27/day is underestimated based on what I've seen.

 

[mamalovesdis]

We had a car for our first trip with 5 of us, but it was a split vacation and we needed something to drive down to Treasure Island, Fl after Disney. We ended up paying for a mid size but they gave us a van through Thrify, I forget what option they called it (wild card?), but it was kind of a gamble on what we would end up with. Now we would HAVE to pay for a van (we are now a group of 6) and a van for a week is NOT cheap. Plus car seats to deal with.... Ill pass.

 

[blackacex2]

You can stand by that statement all you want, doesnt make it anymore true. Like I said, we are one of those families that stay at poly/beach club etc and a rental car would be a stretch. We have a budget and stick to it. We would nt be able to stay deluxe with a car rental. We save for a long time to have the luxury of staying deluxe.

So save a little longer and get a rental car if it's important to you, if it's not important enough to save up for then you probably aren't the type of family that cares all that much.

 

[maxiesmom]

So save a little longer and get a rental car if it's important to you, if it's not important enough to save up for then you probably aren't the type of family that cares all that much.

Agreed. We all make choices about what type of vacation we want, and how long we will save and wait to make that happen. If the buses bother you to the point of ruining your vacation (not saying that about any particular poster) then saving longer and getting a car makes sense. What does not make sense is knowing the buses are not a good fit for your family, and continuing to use them.

 

[Masonmj84]

We've rented a car and not rented a car and we definitely prefer no car. As previous posters have mentioned, we like the vacation from driving. And I love a vacation from getting three boys in and out of the car. We really enjoy Magical Express, even if it takes more time, because it's a festive start to our trip.

As for getting around, we just plan our park days, resort stays and ADRs in a way that reduces transportation time and reliance on the buses. For our upcoming trip, we'll stay at Poly for the first few days and spend our time at MK and AK. Then we'll transfer to BWI and spend time at Epcot and DHS. The only time we'll take a bus is to/from AK. And we don't mind an occasional cab - might do that on the way back from Artist Point to Poly.

As a side note, when our oldest (now a teen) was little, his favorite Disney ride was the bus!

This is us as well.

In addition, as other PPs have mentioned, we dislike dealing with the car seat issue. Also like being taken right to the front of the park as opposed to having to navigate a huge parking lot (and later trying to remember where we parked, etc.).

And even on vacations where we don't do the MK resort/EP resort split stay, we generally get by fine on the buses because we almost never ride them when they're crowded. In that regard, we usually get to the parks early and leave early (usually go for either a pre-park opening character breakfast or otherwise try to arrive at least 45 minutes before official opening time).

I also don't mind the occassional cab. I've found these to be most useful for dinners at AKL (we usually eat there once a trip), as well as getting back to the resort after Wishes or Illuminations on trips where we don't do the MK resort/EP resort split (for example, after Wishes, catch a cab from the Contemporary and after Illuminations, catch a cab from Beach Club).

 

[ljcraw555]

We have always had a car at WDW. Last year we drove, so we had our own. Previously, we have always rented one.

Here's what I will say, I have control issues. I KNOW and ADMIT I have control issues. So, I feel better having a car. However, last year we did take the buses several times. It wasn't bad. We actually had some really great talks with a few of our bus drivers. One was even from our area in Ohio.

And I know some people will think this is bad, but a couple times, we drove to the bus stop. I knew we would be spending ALL day at the park. I knew we would be exhausted when we got back and the last thing we would want to do is hike it back to our room. We were a decent walk to the bus stop. My DH made a bit of fun of me, but when we got back from closing the park - he was a very happy camper.

This time I do have a car ready to go but I have been thinking of not doing so (but I did get a great deal - $169 for 8 days). I guess it will be a last minute decision. DH & DS would like to ride the ME. So, we shall see.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I was always one of those "I don't want to drive while on vacation" people. We even drove to WDW from Illinois once, and didn't use the car once after we parked it at the resort.

This past weekend, we flew into Sanford, so it made sense to rent a car. We got a deal on the car rental. So, we decided to make the most of our rental and try driving to the parks. I'm now slapping myself for not driving before. Disney has everything very well marked and getting to the parks is SO easy. We are AAA members and had the diamond parking pass. We got to the parks about 40 minutes early each day. No joke, yesterday at the Studios we were in the 3rd parking space closest to the entrance...just steps from the bus stops.

We even drove to MK. We walked to the monorail, which was fine. After wishes, we got out quickly (watched Wishes from the Main St. train station) and were in our car in no time.

The other benefit, to me, is not having to deal with other people. We got in our car and it was just US. No crying kids or complaining adults. Plus, I was guaranteed a seat, which was a big deal at the end of a long day.

I highly recommend renting a car. You can shop around for deals - we got a rental through Alamo. We had 3 days of a fullsize car (Chevy Impala) for about $150 (including all taxes, etc.).