Wouldnt it be so much better to rent a car??

[nurseypoo5]

I've been looking at http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.asp?action=rts logistics on time it takes to get from place to place using disney transportation.

It seems a logistic nightmare. For instance to get from POR to the Poly, requires you to transfer busses at MK, for a wait/drive time of atleast an hour. This seems unreasonable. If you, like us, want to go to the hotel in the afternoon for a rest, your looking at a min. of 2 hours travel time.

Seems like a lot of time is spent on that bus. If we go from POR to MK, then from MK to Por then POR to Poly for dinner, we could be in a bus for 3-4 hours in one day!!!

Has anyone else considered that perhaps the extra 200.00 might in the long run be worth it to rent a car and take a hour bus ride into a 10 minute drive?

How is parking at the parks? Is it a nightmare also? Were going the first week in October, just catching the free dining deal.

Thoughts???

 

[GalDisney]

Seems like you have answered your own question. Yes, I would rent a car.I remeber it taking an hr on the bus just from DTD to the Boardwalk.

 

[Barbers2005]

We decided not to rent a car and used Disney transportation our last trip. I would definitely do it again. I found it convenient and easy to use, and it was nice to avoid the hassle of driving/getting directions/finding parking. It really doesn't take all that long for most of the bus rides. It helps if you plan you day to minimize resort to resort transfers- for example, plan to be at one of the parks before a dinner at a resort and you can avoid the whole transfer issue. The two times we did resort to resort transfers we made it fun by riding the ferry (to WL) and the monorail (to Poly) so it was actually kind of fun. Just my take on it, but I really liked not having to bother with a car on vacation.

 

[BlindTyldak]

It really depends on where you plan to do most of your travelling. I've heard just as many complaints from people who drove getting stuck in traffic, long waits for a tram in the parking lots, etc. if you're hotel hopping or plan to go to DTD a lot then by all means, yes, you can't beat a car. But if you're going to spend the vast majority of your time just going to a park from your hotel, you can often be in the gate just as fast or faster (since you're dropped off near the entrance) with the bus system . . . I can probably count on one hand the number of times it has taken as long as the projected wait times in guidebooks and such.

 

[Quinn222]

How often are you going from POR to the Poly? We did it in a cab. It cost $10 including tip. Another night we went to AKL, that was $25. So we spent $35 in cabs. Way less than renting a car and I didn't have to worry about being a designated driver or self-parking miles away or paying a valet or even finding any of these places.
I've found the Disney transportation system to be fast and efficient and just supplement with a cab for the occasions when it's not.

 

[KarenAylwood]

How often are you going from POR to the Poly? We did it in a cab. It cost $10 including tip. Another night we went to AKL, that was $25. So we spent $35 in cabs. Way less than renting a car and I didn't have to worry about being a designated driver or self-parking miles away or paying a valet or even finding any of these places.
I've found the Disney transportation system to be fast and efficient and just supplement with a cab for the occasions when it's not.

That's a really good idea actually- I've never thought about taking a cab at Disney!

I know when you make ADR's they say allow 45 minutes for transportation- I think this is just a safe bet because you never know what could happen. Better to leave more time than less.

For our trip we plan on staying at POR as well and having dinner one night at Boma at AKL (we also just want to see the resort) and another at Cape May Cafe. We plan on going to the parks, then taking transportation from there. Then usually we have plans to go to a park for the night or DTD so we can easily take a bus from that resort to the park.

I think you should either plan your Poly visit (or other resort visits) after you've been to a park, or use a cab. $200 seems a bit steep for what you're getting when Disney provides transportation- the cab is a much better deal.

If you're going to the parks - don't you have to pay for parking? I'm not sure about this. But after seeing the lines at the ticket booths and the trams out to the parking lots I'd rather spend my 30 minutes on a bus chatting with other Disney fans than waiting in line, getting a spot, and waiting for a tram to take you to the gate- AND risking the possibility of getting lost!

We have always had a car when we go to Disney because we visit a relative in Tampa as well- but for the last 5 trips I can't even remember using it, even when visiting resorts.

 

[Skye23]

We're renting a car for our trip in 6 days for the convenience. I really winced at spending $200 for 5 days worth of car rental but there's more to it then just the usual get to the parks and back. A friend I've had for somewhere between 8-9 years is going to disney, and despite the fact we often talk daily we've never been in the same state at the same time together. So basically we're crashing her family vacation but because it was a last minute thing we couldn't get in the same resort. According to the trip time thingies it would be 50-60 minutes minimum to use Disney transportation to get from her resort (ASMovies) to mine (POR). I tried to get CSR but it wasn't available - that was only 20-30 minutes. When I figure in that hour each time we go from one resort to the other, either to meet up for meals or spend time together - the car rental just seems worth it. Particularly since its less then 15 minutes or so in car time. The cabs would have been almost worth it - but I'd rather pay up front for the car then have to have cash for the cab all the time. Plus with a car I could go to that surplus warehouse perhaps

As for parking its my understanding that if you're staying at a Disney resort your parking at the parks is free, and if you go to another Disney resort they'll give you a 3 hour parking visitor pass.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We decided not to rent a car and used Disney transportation our last trip. I would definitely do it again. I found it convenient and easy to use, and it was nice to avoid the hassle of driving/getting directions/finding parking. It really doesn't take all that long for most of the bus rides. It helps if you plan you day to minimize resort to resort transfers- for example, plan to be at one of the parks before a dinner at a resort and you can avoid the whole transfer issue. The two times we did resort to resort transfers we made it fun by riding the ferry (to WL) and the monorail (to Poly) so it was actually kind of fun. Just my take on it, but I really liked not having to bother with a car on vacation.

We continue to vacation at Disney just for the reason that a car is not needed to get around. We've been on other vacations that require you to get up and drive to every function all day to see and do the sights. After driving all that way to get there, using the car every single day is not my idea of a relaxing vacation. We take the train now to WDW, we're 1200 miles away and long ago we used to drive to get there, after 20 hours of straight through driving the last thing a wanted to do was get in the car and figure out how to navigate around WDW.

Disney bus system is efficient and adaquite for us. The wait times vary, even from resort to resort but most times we're gone in less then 20 minutes. The bus is clean, AC to the max and a fun way to get around, no worries and dropped off right at the gate. What could be better, no looking for your car, trying to figure out the roads in the dark around WDW and the mass stream of cars exiting the park parking lots. We plan our park visits to coonside with our dining so as not to be jumping all over the world. We basically stay either Poly or WL, and from there we can boat or monorail to alot of different and favorite dining places. We take afternoon breaks at our resort and do go to DTD a few times but the bus serves us well. Getting into a super hot rental and trying to get the AC to chill the interior then finding your destination, finding the parking lot, going through the security check point, parking then walking to the planned area to save what, 10 minutes by not using the bus let alone paying the big bucks for gas to me doesn't seem worth the effort.

We do not go off property for anything. We walk to Goodings from DTD bus stop for our groceries, we eat all meals on property and have no ambition to see Universal or Sea World. We enjoy WDW for is convenience and logistics of many things to see and do and providing us free transportation is a bonus.

But as stated in these forums, different strokes for different folks, if your bag is driving and renting, so be it but we feel it does not save alot of time and its an unneeded expense renting a car when transporation is provided.

 

[Greg K.]

From our experience -- 10 years, renting a car every time -- here's what we do:

We drive our rental car to other hotels, DTD or places off property. But we use Disney transportation for the parks, since they drop you almost literally at the front door. (Driving to the MK or Epcot can be a nightmare and eat up a lot more time, once you figure in parking and tram time.)

You can't imagine how renting a car liberates you. You can wander away from WDW for lunch or dinner, or run a quick errand to pick up something.

And you wind up saving money. For example, you can drop your digital film card at Walgreens and have the pictures transferred to CD for five bucks -- less than HALF what it costs in the parks! And everything is cheaper off property -- food, meals, sundries -- with the curious exception of gas. The Hess stations at WDW were the cheapest places around last summer!

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

We have always used Disney transportation to move around within the Disney property. We have been going to Disney for the past 25 years, and drove from NJ most of those years. For the past 3 years we have been flying. When we arrive, the car gets parked and never moves until its time to checkout. Even with flying, we take Disney transportation for most of our travels. We do take a cab if we are behind schedule or need to dress up in suit or tux, and DW in evening dress/gown for dinner, to arrive at our destination more refreshed. We have found that the transportation system is very reliable and on schedule most of the time. Also, we find it very interesting to be waiting at the bus stop with other Disney'ers, it makes for good conversation and you learn alot about other people and could just find a new friend. All in all we use the Disney transportation system for our travels, to avoid the hassle of driving, parking, and waiting on trams to the gates.

 

[jann1033]

i've looked at various time to drive vs transportation charts and the transportation usually wins.. sometimes people don't take into account the time it actually takes to get from the park entrance to their car, out the lot etc..it's also a big place and like driving in a new city, not all that easy imo( past trips we usually drive once somewhere on property, get turned around and take the trans. the rest of the time, just a pain to drive)
we always leave an hr for point a-b but it usually doesn't really take that long
add the convenince of not having to drive/fight traffic when you are tired...
we drive to wdw then that's the end of driving for the week
if you have tons of small kid stuff, driving might be easier but it won't be faster for most places . a few times people have posted they "raced", driving vs ds trans. with their family members and the trans wins
it sure wouldn't be worth the rental cost for me

your eg of driving( might be off since we don't do it) but i think if you drove wouldn't you have to go to the lot, hike or tram to the ferry or mono to mk and back then hike or tram then car again... and i don't know how far you would have to walk at the poly ( no idea where the visitors lot is) but i know some have complained some lots are a hike from the resort for adrs) and the time is limited so it's not like you can just leave your car for the day..our day would be bus to mk, mono or boat to poly for meal,mono or bus to open park then bus back to resort...( we do go off season and don't waste the day napping) :

we don't hardly ever leave property though as i can go to walmart etc at home with out wasting precious "disney time" so if you went off property to eat and stuff it would be different but we never do

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We always take Disney transportation when we our at WDW. It is so nice to be able to hop on a bus, boat, monerail etc. We do not wan't to have to deal with parking, traffic etc. Part of the fun at Disney for us is not having to do the same things like driving that we do at home. Sure there are times that there are long lines, but I just tell myself that we could be back home and the time seems to go so much faster.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We've only had a rental car once in all the times we've been to WDW, and thats because we stayed off-site.

For us a car is more inconvenient. We love the Disney transportation. If we want to hop to another park just get on the bus or monorail. Don't have to drag the kids out to the tram ride it 5 miles to the car, pack them in then drive to the next park, take the tram again and so on.

If we have a place to go that doesn't have direct bus service, we'll take a cab. Its fast and alot cheaper than a week long car rental.

 

[Hopefully]

We've done both, and on our last 3 trips we have used DME and Disney transportation and not rented a car. We found that for the most part when we rented a car we only used it to get from the airport to the resort. We then parked it and never moved it all week. We found Disney transportation faster and definitely more convenient.
As others have said, I think the transportation charts put time on the high side. And you can not understate the time it takes to get to your car from a park entrance. It isn't a matter of just walking to your car and off you go.
On our last two trips we also supplemented the Disney bus trip with a cab or two per trip. For that difficult trip to another resort for dinner, we took a cab. At about $20 each way, it was still way cheaper than renting a car for a week and we were very pleased.
All of this said, people are differnent and their needs are differrent. If you think you need a car, then by all means go for it. Lots of people do. Just don't be surprised by the time it takes to get from place to place, the traffic etc. Disney is crowded and however you travel it is going to take time to go from point A to point B.
Have a great trip!

 

[FigNewton]

Personally when I'm on vacation, I do as little driving as possible. There have been times where, yes, Disney transportation was a little slow for me, but the extra 15 minutes or so was worth it to not have to drive.

I do like the idea of taking a cab in some cases though!

 

[Vickie46]

we took a cab from boardwalk to cbr... we wanted to go over to the boardwalk after the illuminations at Epcot.. the cab was only 6.00 plus tip and we thought that was wonderful!

 

[Suedrews]

Here is something else to think about.....when we were there the 1st week of May (slow season?), we rented a car for the first time....never again! We stood in line for an Alamo car forever! There had to be 50 people in front of us....I never expected that, so I was disappointed that we wouldn't be in the parks as early as I had planned....also, driving to MK & parking in their lot doesn't mean you are there yet....now it is on to a tram, onto a boat or monorail & finally at the gate....way too much trouble....jmho

 

[Quinn222]

The funny thing is that I awalsy have a car at Disney, we drive there. It's only two hours. But I park at the hotel and never touch the car again. I take cabs to other hotels and Disney transportation everywhere else. I'm always the designated river and while I never get drunk I refuse to drive with even a drop of alcohol in my system. On vacation I like indulging in a glass of excellent wine or bubbly or one of thos tropilca drinks and if I drive, I can't. Hence the cabs.

 

[drewswife]

I agree with using taxis - we used to rent a car and found we only used it to get from resort to resort. We saved alot of money just using taxis the 2 or 3 times we had ADR's at one of the hotels

 

[Skylarr29]

I always have a car with me and I don't know if I could do with out. We love to be able to get in the car and go whenever we want. I don't think I would be happy at the end of a long day waiting with mobs of people to get on a bus.