Will I regret this? no car rental

[soccerchick]

Hi all,
I'm hoping for some veteran advice here. We are doing POP in Sept/Oct. I was planning to do the ME and bus service only. Then I made our ADRs and I'd really like to check out some of the other resorts, something we didn't do on our last trip. I've been researching car rentals, thinking I'd rent one for the weekend we are there to do some more resort hopping, maybe hit the outlets if we want to. etc. We are a party of 4 (me, DH, DD 6, DS 2)

Here's a brief itinerary:
Day 1 (Wed.)-- arrive -- CM's dinner
Day 2 - park
Day 3 - rest am /MNSSHP
Day 4 - AK to AKL for Boma dinner (5 pm)to MK for Spectro (8 pm) - will this work?
Day 5 - rest, pool, GF for dinner
Day 6 - 7 parks

For 2 of the 3 days we are visiting resorts, they are "slow" days so the increased travel time isn't a big deal.
If we are too tired to do the marathon day on Day 4, we'll just go back to the resort and do counter service and cancel Boma.

The rates I found were pretty good - I thought -- $81 for weekend (F - Sun. night) @ Car center or $158 for the week renting @ MCO.

I am sooo overthinking this. Should I just relax and let it go or would you recommend a car?

Thanks for some "been there done that" advice!

 

[Alexander]

Personally, I won't go to WDW unless I rent a car. I don't like relying on the busses, although many people don't mind them. I have to think that if you are going to go to different resorts, it's much easier to have a car than to leave Pop, goto a park, get on a different bus, and do the same in reverse. Have you looked at prices of having a car for the week, believe it or not, sometimes it's cheaper to rent for a week than just a weekend. I am totally biased and will always rent a car, but it really is up to you.

Dinner at Boma 5:00 and then bus to MK for Spectro at 8:00 might be cutting it close, especially if you don't get your table until 5:30. I think it can be done, but it'll be crazy walking into MK just before Spectro starts. It might be hard to find a place to watch from other than the end of Main Street near the train station.

Have a great trip what ever you decide to do!

 

[SaraMc]

I myself never get a car. I take Mears in and will have ME take us in Feb. when we go. We take the busses and just relax because well were on vacation and I sit in Toronto traffic every day and I totally dont mind having a nice man or woman in a bright purple outfit with teal accents drive me around.
I dont usually go to malls or anything while Im there. If I did I know that I could rent a car, but really nah you wont missi it at all.

 

[powellrj]

we always rent a car because I don't like to have to depend on others for my transportation. I hate to wait for busses and I like to be able to go off-site when I want to. I know lots of people never rent cars, but I am just not one of those people!!

 

[CleveRocks]

I've never rented a car at WDW. I'm one of the ones who LOVES to be taken care of and LOVES to have others in control of such things so I can just relax and enjoy (I don't "put up with" Disney Transport, I revel in it!). I call it being in the "Disney cocoon."

Anyway, that being said, if I was planning to visit a lot of other resorts I think I'd absolutely rent a car. Disney Transport for resort-to-resort travel is balky and unnecessarily time-consuming. I'd do it once or maybe twice, but if it was going to be an often thing I think I'd go bonkers without a car.

-- Eric

 

[OzFan]

After staying at the POP in Feb. I would rent a car! I hate waiting for a bus then it is full then you wait for another bus and you're still standing. It is just me, I know! Alot of people love the POP but it just wasn't for me. We have been staying at OKW last couple of years and I'm spoiled. Our next trip is at the ASMo, and yes I'm renting a car just for the 2 of us. I have (3)entertainment books, if you need any coupons let me know, I can mail them to you. i got a midsize 4 door from Alamo for our 4 days (in Sept.) for 37.05.
Good Luck!

 

[Sporty]

We really enjoy being taken care of on vacation and not having to drive anyplace. We never rent a car at Disney and your daily plan should be pretty easy with Disney Transportation.
Day 1 for CM - take the bus to MK and walk or monorail to Contemporary
Day 4 - take bus from AK to AKL. After dinner take the bus to MK
Day 5 - take the bus to MK and monorail to GF
You can bus to MK and it's easy to get to any of the MK resorts by boat or monorail.
You can take a bus to MGM and boat to any of the Epcot resorts (BW, YC, BC)
If you want to go to the outlets then a car would be the easiet.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

We have not rented a car in many many years for our trips to WDW. Like others, when I am on vacation the last thing I want to do is drive anywhere when I don't have to. Too many rude and bad drivers today to enjoy driving. Also, the price of gas is not going to go down so why would I want to add that to my costs. I let Disney take care of us all the way through. The only time I would rent is to go to park outside Disney. But honestly, there is so much to do at Disney we have no reason to ever leave the property. As to shopping, how much different are the malls in Orlando in comparison to any other mallls where we are live?

 

[cocowum]

We always rent a car. This past trip we used Disney Transportation on our first day because we hadn't picked up our car yet.
We waited 15mins for the bus to DTD and then we waited 20 mins for the bus back to POP. The bus stopped at TL before returning to POP. We were hot and tired and just wanted to go back and swim. Some people don't mind waiting for the bus but we hated it.

 

[rchristiansen]

When it was just me and my DH I didn't mind not having a car. The last two trips with DD we had one. It is nice when my DD is getting cranking to just leave and get in the car and not have to wait for the bus.

Then this year, we thought about using ME, but I was the same way you were - kept overthinking it. So I just looked at Hotwire and found their lowest price. Then I bid one dollar lower on priceline and got a full size for $150 for the entire week. Since I had to pay for it right then and there I had no more thinking to do - I just did it!

Now I'm glad I did. I can make grocery runs, leave when I want to and not have to be on a time table.

 

[DiscussDisney]

I would rent a car, especially if you plan on going to different resorts. It will make your trip much easier. I find getting around Disney simple. The signage is excellent and I never encounter much traffic. Having said that, we don't drive to the MK because the bus drops us off up front. Everywhere else, we take the car. Have fun!!

 

[soccerchick]

Thanks for the advice and input everyone. I'm still torn and still checking different companies and combinations of coupons and codes. I knew there was a reason I hated the thought of renting cars. I rarely have to do it and it's not fun if you want to try and get a decent rate. I guess I need to make a decision soon -- we leave one month from tomorrow

On our last trip we drove and stopped for some groceries and at the outlets on the way in, but once we were at Disney, we only left once to go off site for a cheap meal. Because of that and ME i was thinking I could save the money and get by without a car. We stayed at CSR and the bus service there was awesome. Pop reviews seem to be more mixed and that makes me a little nervous.

Thanks again for the replies!

 

[laughinplace199]

We also have two small children and we always rent a car. Like you, we like to eat at other resorts and a car is really helpful in that respect. Also, I like to be able to get in the car and go vs. waiting for a bus, especially when leaving parks with hot, tired kids.

Have a great time!