Why no love for cabs?

[TheShea's]

We always use cabs when going from resort to resort. I think it's silly to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation, and then spend 1-2 hours out of your evening getting to your dinner reservation just because you don't want to spend an additional 10-20 dollars. I have never understood it.

Agreed 100%.

We tried using WDW transportation during our last trip and got tired of the long lines at the bus stops. Especially leaving MK. We're from Boston and I travel for work so cabs are a way of life. I've recently started using Uber as well and would love to see them service the WDW area.

 

[shyjade]

We live in the Chicago area, where taking a cab means going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, without characters. The idea of taking a cab while at WDW is very unappealing.

Exactly!! I live in a very small, Unincorporated town in Wisconsin. I've only ever been in a cab 2 times in my life, and all 2 times were in Chicago. The first time the ride was so scary that my DD begged me to never take a cab again (I agreed) and we opted for the public bus. The second time, I got us lost in a bad part of town (took the wrong bus) and had to track down a cab to get us where we were headed safely. That was the best $20 I ever spent!

The thought of using a cab is VERY intimidating to me (where to find a cab, how much it will cost, am I getting ripped off, are we safe). However, I have been warming up to the idea for our next trip. We will primarily continue to use Disney transporation but I'm thinking that a few times when we want to get home from a late night in the parks (and the bus lines are long) might be a good idea?

 

[goofy4tink]

We've been going to WDW since the 70's, back when MK was the only park, and have never used a cab. We live in the Chicago area, where taking a cab means going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, without characters. The idea of taking a cab while at WDW is very unappealing. Besides, Disney transportation is free.

I don't know why some people consider dropping $20 for a cab ride to be "no big deal". Twenty bucks will buy two of those fancy drinks with a glowing plastic ice cubes.

I've spent enough money for a WDW trip. I really don't want to spend more money when I have other options. I'm not saying I would never take a cab, but so far I've done fine without it.

Yep, it's all about priorities!!! I'm right there with you!

Does it take 1-2 hrs to get from one resort to another? Well, if you had asked me this a month ago, I would have answered differently than I will today. But, trying to get from AoA to both 'Ohana and 1900 Park Fare was nightmarish. I know my way around the WDW transportation system...obviously. I know how long it's going to take and plan accordingly. I am seldom in a big hurry since I'm on vacation. Then, I traveled to WDW in late May/early June. OMG...it was awful.
There was the morning we needed to get to 'Ohana from AoA. Okay....I made the ADR at nice time....9:45. So there shouldn't have been an issue getting there. Dd and I headed to the MK bus stop around 8:30, knowing we would have lots of company...since it was close to park opening. The line was long, so figured that the bus had left awhile before. Nope. We stood, for 35 mins (yes, I timed it. It's what I do), watching bus after bus arrive and leave, headed to other parks. By the time the bus got there, it was close to 9:15!!! And of course, we got the world's safest (slow!!) driver. And we hit every possible red light. Okay...got to MK. No monorail was leaving, so figured that was a good sign and trudged up to the platform. Got on, and it sat there, waiting for 'stuff' up ahead to clear. It took forever to get to 'Ohana. By the time we got there it was close to 10:10!!!
Then, that night? Same thing..headed to 1900 Park Fare for 4:45 ADR. Well, it would have been better to just stay in the MK that day...but no, we had decided to just head back to AoA after 'Ohana and chill for a bit. Okay. So, we swam for a bit and then returned to our room and got ready for dinner. We headed to the bus stop by 3:15...since we had had such awful luck that morning, figured we wouldn't take any chances. Yeah, right. Got to the bus stop around 3:20 and again, stood there, waiting. Other guests had been waiting for 10-15 mins already (at least that's what they said) so we figured the MK bus would be along shortly. Well, one came, after waiting about 30 mins (yeah, again), but when dd and I got on the bus, the driver halted us..yelled to those standing and told them to move to the back of the bus...for the third time!! Well, no one moved much, so we had to get off the 'expletive deleted' bus!! Stood there for another 15 mins!! A bus finally comes, but,,,yep, 2 ECVs had to be loaded. We got to MK by about 4:35ish. The boat was just leaving, and there were people waiting for the next one, so we decided to do the boat vs the monorail. Another 10 mins and the boat arrived. Of course, the captain was painfully safe!!!! Finally got to 1900 Park Fare at 5:10!!!
I vowed to start thinking about renting a car. I had the worst bus luck this time around....we'll see what happens in Sept. I have a car to get from WPalm Intl to Vero Beach and then over to BWV, but will be returning the car once I checkin. If I have the same experiences with Disney transportation, I'll be taking cabs in Sept and renting cars after that!!!!

 

[dmunsil]

We will primarily continue to use Disney transporation but I'm thinking that a few times when we want to get home from a late night in the parks (and the bus lines are long) might be a good idea?

I think WDW is about the safest place to take a cab you could imagine. It's this smallish location where many of the cab rides are short (which is good for a cabbie, because they always get the meter drop fare just for starting out), there are a limited number of locations around the World so it's easy to learn, etc.

All the cabs that wait on property are from Mears, which runs multiple different cab companies in Orlando. Each company has limits about where they can pick up and drop off, and only one (Yellow, I believe) is allowed to wait at WDW locations for fares, though you do see other Mears cabs carrying people around WDW. I think other Mears cabs are allowed to pick people up, but not to sit and wait for fares. Again, they're really all Mears but they're divided up this way to make sure all the cabs don't just cluster at WDW and the airport, where it's easy to find fares.

The bottom line is that the Mears drivers who sit at WDW know WDW, because they spend the bulk of their day there, every day. For rides inside WDW, cabs pretty much never get lost. I have not yet had a really lousy or filthy cab inside WDW. I have had plenty of foreign drivers (like any other cab system), but no one rude or weird.

And to be clear, I don't take cabs myself that often. We often rent a car. Even when we do, sometimes it's just more convenient for certain trips to take a cab. But when we're using Disney transportation, we always supplement with cabs for any trip that would be more than one leg. It's just too much time spent waiting for buses otherwise, for us.