Would you rather rent a car or take Disney transportation?

[luckyprincess]

Hi everyone!
so, we're down to less than two weeks until we go on vacay!! My biggest sticking point right now is: do we rely on Disney transportation or rent a car? We are staying at AKL at the end of August. We really don't want to spend our precious vacation time waiting at a hot bus stop for 30 minutes waiting for a bus. My bf has very little patience for that kind of thing, honestly. Also, we don't want to wait for an hour after a park closes to grab a bus to AKL.

I took Disney transportation 10 years ago from POR resort and it was fine. I just don't know how its changed . I've asked on the boards a couple of times and gotten some pretty mixed answers and opinions - all appreciated! But I still just cannot decide! What we have planned right now is taking ME from MCO to AKL. Then, we plan on going to MK at night for EMH. I have a car reserved the next day just in case - if we feel that the buses are just too time consuming. But I really don't want to spend $120 on a car for 4 days, you know? So - give me your honest opinions!! Thanks!

 

[pepe of ohio]

For us, after 43 trips to WDW, we never used nor rented a car. One of the reasons we keep going back. A car a time saver........all in ones mind. We feel Disney's transportation is part of the experience, waiting 20 minutes for a bus or boat is not eating up my time........there's plenty of time in Disney for that and relaxation.....we're not at a race or control freaks. On our trips maybe have of the bus experiences we walk to the bus stop and in pulls the bus we're after....wait time "zero", most we've waited say 20 minutes....in all our trips the service has been consistant and very reliable. We've never seen the need to add to the expense of a trip renting a car.

 

[Minnie J]

We will be renting a car as seeing that the last time me and my friends went, the buses took wayy too long, it was soo packed from other resorts getting on and I wanna sneak off and adventure outside of Disney so a rental car was the best choice for us

 

[Figment&Piglet]

Especially at AKL, I'd rent a car. Unlike some of the other resorts that have either monorails or are walking distance to at least one or potentially 2 parks, AKL is sort of out in the middle of nowhere (part of the charm and theming of course). We stayed there a year or so ago, and both said to ourselves that we'd never stay there without a car. Of course I, too, hate waiting for a bus (hate waiting in general, but that's me) and don't like to potentially have to stand on the bus for that long of a trip after a long day, or to wait for one for long at park closing. We always rent a car.

Now, that said, for this trip, it's a short one, only 4 nights and at BWV, which is walking distance to both Epcot and DHS, so we're going to try Disney Transportation just to see if we can stand it. (And save $200.) But if you have the means and can rent the car--again, especially at AKL--then I'd vote for do it!

 

[TandLMommy28]

We are driving and still plan to rely on Disney transportation 100% of the time once we get to our resort. I have no desire to worry about where I parked, or get into a steamy hot car after a long day in the park. Yuck. Maybe if I had remote start and the car could be cool by the time I got there... maybe. But probably not. I'm completely in favor of Disney transportation.

 

[nutty4wdw]

we always rent a car now. like the flexibility to be able to just get in and do what we want especially if going out of the world. if you are just going to the parks the disney transportation will work fine.

however, i do find it faster then a bus. can't tell you how many times we pass bus stops of people waiting thinking that could be us. maybe the distance is the same but the waiting for a bus i think makes a car a quicker mode in many instances especially if you just miss that bus and have to wait another 15-20 minutes. one exception is the MK where the bus lets you off at the entrance and the car needs to go to the TTC

but again this is really a personal matter and many will have differing opinions so just use what works best for you

 

[karen l]

I drive all year long - when I'm at WDW I'm on vacation. No driving, no cooking, it's fantastic.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

"I don't mind waiting a reasonable amount of time"... I would agree with this on an all-adult trip (with kids, I will ONLY go with a car rental though )... except that the wait times we have experienced were not what I'd call reasonable many times. Maybe we just got unlucky, though. Also, at least with a car, you actually know how long your round-trip will be -- helps when you're trying to make dinner reservations or a show.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We have been using Disney transportation for 20 + years and have never had a problem with it. We are DVC members at AKL and have always found the buses to be fine.

 

[mzozzietj]

We almost always rent a car, but it would depend on how good a deal we get on the car. Now we are traveling with an infant and will need to run out to the store for things during the week as well so we definitely rent a car.

Another thing to consider is if you plan to be at a park until closing time. That tends to be when the wait for buses is longest. We don't typically stay out that late so didn't usually have trouble on the buses.

We also purchased tickets from AAA so we have the Diamond Preferred parking this coming trip which should alleviate time waiting for the shuttle back to the car. For us it was really about comfort with an infant, not having to cram into a bus with a tired infant not securely buckled into a car seat was our deciding factor. Her safety is #1 for me

Have a wonderful trip whichever you decide to do!

 

[Atchley]

We drive down as well and rely on Disney Transportation the entire time. Even if you have to wait for a bus, are you really saving that much time? You have to go to your car, then drive to the park, park it, get to the entrance of the park. The bus will usually drop me off pretty close to the front of the park. Yes, I may have to wait a short period for the bus, but all in all, I don't think driving is much of a time saver. The air conditioning on the bus doesn't hurt either.
The only place that I would drive to is Downtown Disney. I hate the bus services to that place.

 

[guitarob]

I think Disney Transportation is part of the experience of being in Disney. If we have to wait for a bus/boat/monorail we just look at it as a few minutes to slow down, talk and people watch.

I like being immersed in Disney. I don't want to have to worry about anything from the minute that I check in to the minute I check out, and Disney Transport is a big part of that. If I need to get somewhere, Disney gets me there. No worries about parking, gas, tolls, pickup and drop-off, etc... I just show up at the transportation stop and get on.

 

[chipscamping buddy]

I agree that if you plan on leaving the Disney environment, you need a car. Otherwise, I rarely find it worth the effort, especially for the cost. How much time will you save? Going to MK, none, you still have to get from TTC to MK, might even cost you time. Fo most of the other parks, it will take you and extra minute or two to get to your car at AKL, another couple of minutes to pull into the parking lot, 5 minutes to get to the gates, so figure about ten minutes over drive time. If your bus wait takes 20 minutes every time, that is only ten minutes a trip. Four days you can save a whopping 80 minutes for the cost of $120 rental car plus gas. Does that seem like a good value?

 

[CLR4321]

I'd rather use WDW transportation in about 90% of circumstances. That other 10%, I will live without it rather than pay. If you would need things from the store (off property), you can use one of the shopping services (I have used wegoshop.com). The buses tend to run about every 20 mins, sometimes a little less. When you figure in the time to walk to your car, drive, find a parking spot, and usually take a tram...the difference is not much.

 

[lustergirl]

<<< own personal car gets parked at Buffalo airport and we use disney transportation always. This is part of the vacation for us, let someone do the driving. We have been to DW several times and never had any issues with the bus services including DME.

 

[Pineapple Whip]

Car. More expensive, better time, faster times.

 

[TiggerDadof2]

We've always used Disney transportation. However DW and I went 8/1/10 - 8/6/10 and are seriously considering renting a car our next trip. It seemed that we spent so much time this last trip waiting for buses,monorails and boats.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

We always rent a car, I remember once my sister did not when I was younger and went with them and no one liked it. I have tried to not rent to save money,but the time savings just win out. I do a lot of ADR's before rope drop and at other resorts, relying on Disney transportation there is a hassle. I rent even staying in a monorail resort like next month.

 

[linzbear]

I've done both, I prefer car, however- I do not have a commute (neither does DH) so we aren't sick of driving by the time we hit vacation. I also love to drive, and losing that on vacation is kind of disappointing to me.

That said, AKL has some of the best WDW transportation because it only makes 2 stops and they are both at AKL (Jambo & Kidani) and then straight to the park. It is far away, but unlike the other resorts it's not stopping anywhere else, either.

 

[luckyprincess]

Thanks for all of the opinions! Please do keep them coming! I'm wondering if time of year matters. We are going the last week of August, which seems to be a low attendance time. I wonder if this would make a difference in shortening Disney transportation times? Or do they run the buses less frequently when the park is less crowded? Does anyone know the answer to that by chance?
Thank you everyone!