Your opinion: Rent a car or take the buses?

[Tonberry]

Just wondering which you prefer and why.

I was toying with the idea of renting a car after our last trip.
Last trip, we stayed at the Poly and used the buses. We went in the end of Nov. and beginning of Dec. for our last trip and the buses were an absolute nightmare!
Almost every day we had a problem.
Just some examples:

1) One night at HS, the lines to board were so long, it took 3 buses before we got on. They came 30 minutes apart, so that was an hour and a half wait to get back to the resort. They packed us in tight. The driver said that "if we could see the floor, there was room for more". DD7 and DS4 had to stand the whole way back with no pole or anything (other than me) to hold onto.
I felt bad for the people going to the GF. Their line was twice as long as ours and only one bus showed up the whole time that we were in line.
To add insult to injury, POP buses were so frequent, they were often pulling out with 4 or 5 people in total on them.

2) At DS, 3 scooters got loaded on along with their families. By the time everyone else was on, there was no room for us, so we waited 25 minutes for the next bus. On that bus, a young woman with an infant got on, and nobody even acknowledged her. I gave her my seat and spent another 25 minutes standing.

3) We took the morning bus to MK for CP reservations at 9. Even though our bus was loaded up full, we still had to stop at the GF. When the bus got there, there were 6 other buses in front of us that were dropping off / picking up, including 2 other MK buses. We waited nearly 1/2 hour until we got to the bus stop. Nobody got on and nobody got off. Everyone on the bus was pretty upset. We barely made it to our ADR.

Next trip, we are staying at the Beach Club in late September. We usually park hop a day or two during our trip and do the DDP with daily ADR's at different places.
I can't make up my mind if I want to rent a car, or stick with the buses. Maybe we just had a bad experience and was a fluke. I don't know.

Now driving is not my idea of a relaxing vacation, but those buses last time were the only downside of a nearly perfect one.

Any experience or opinions would help big time! Thanks!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We always use the buses and have never had issues like you described. Sorry you had such a rough time.

 

[DVC California]

I'm sorry to hear about your poor experience with the busses. I thought that the drivers were able to communicate with their dispatchers to send additional busses as needed. The only times we had really long waits were middle of the day or during peak sea on (Easter, Christmas, etc).

That being said, we typically rent a car and decide to drive to a park or not depending on plans for the day (although I'd say we drive and park 80% of the time).

It's also very nice to have a car just to drive to a store or dine offsite. Even to get from resort to resort, it can save hours.

 

[jahber]

I don't like the buses, in general. Especially at park opening or closing. If you plan on rope drop or closing the parks, just do yourself a favor and rent a car.
That said, I was leaving the Contemporary just before park close on Thursday, and I saw bus after bus after bus headed to MK. They *may* be attempting to compensate for the mad crowds lately, but then again, maybe not. There are so many resorts and sooooo many people leaving at once. It's maddening for me and I don't need stress at Disney!

 

[minnie mum]

In over 30 years of using Disney bus transportation we've never felt the need to use our car to go to parks. It stays in the parking lot for the whole trip. If you're staying at an Epcot resort you're within walking distance of half of the parks.

But some people just aren't "bus people". If you think that renting a car to get to 2 parks is worth it, then go for it.

 

[nacho113]

We rented a car a few years ago for a split stay (the summer Harry Potter opened at Universal).
Have never looked back and always rent a vehicle now.
Gives us the flexibility to come and go on our own schedule.
Grocery stops, off site restaurants, a trip to the beach or just some entertainment outside the Disney bubble are just a few of the plus's we enjoy.
Nothing like coming back to a nice quiet vehicle after a long day in the parks (instead of standing in a long line waiting for the bus and then packing into the bus for the ride back to the resort).

Tip: We always pick up one of those disposable coolers for $2-$3 when we do our grocery stop.
We fill it with snacks, drinks and ice when we go out for the day. It's very handy for offsite days and it's even great to have some snacks and drinks in the vehicle after a long day at the parks.

 

[alliecat523]

In our experience, the busses are consistently inconsistent. We've had great experiences and horrible experiences. There really seems to be no rhyme or reason to their process. In any case, we still have not rented a car as it does seem like more of a hassle.

 

[Tonberry]

This is great information so far.
I've never had bus problems in the past, which is why last time was so much of a kick in the you-know-what for us.
We were also thinking that if we rented a car, we could do either Sea World or Universal for a day. But like I said, I hate driving while on vacation .

 

[Dis703]

We've never had experiences like that with buses at Disney. Once in a blue moon we may have a long wait (as in 30 minutes) but it's definitely not been the norm. When we stayed at BC we drove so we had our car there, but after the first day we didn't touch it until we left 9 days later. Renting a car would be wasted money for us.

And like pp pointed out, you will be walking distance to two of the parks which means you won't need a bus for HS or Epcot.

 

[leebee]

We have almost always had similar experiences as you had with the buses, which is why renting a car is high on our vacation budget. We find that you can get back to your hotel far faster, and more rested, than you will standing in line for a bus. We don't even mind driving to MK; riding the monorail is part of the fun of visiting MK! Besides, the absolute WORST bus wait times we've ever experienced have always been at MK!

 

[tobikaye]

I usually have a car at WDW, and prefer to have one, but I usually end up off-site for some portion of the trip.

Since you are staying at Beach Club, the only parks you would need to take a bus to are MK and AK. In this case, I would probably not rent a car unless you are set on going off-site. Then I would just look at a rental from the Dolphin or Swan for the day. You can use DHS and Epcot to help you get around, especially if you have hoppers.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think it really depends on the family. We always rent a car no matter where we are on vacation. It does add a pretty penny to the expenses but we find we like the freedom plus it never fails we always end up at Walmart several times during a trip.

On my last trip to WDW with my then boyfriend now husband in Sep 2011 we rented a car and stayed off site. Our hotel had a free shuttle to WDW and USO; we did use it but we also drove our car I believe twice to WDW (had 5 day hopper tickets) and once to USO (had 3 day park to park tickets). Our shuttle was not advertised as being shared with another resort but we found that out (at least only for USO) when we were picked up just after 7 for USO and went to another resort and didn't make it to USO til just before 9 (park opened at 9). It was a hassle in the end to use that shuttle especially because of the times it picked you up at the end of the night we were always worried about making the shuttle on time;should have just paid to park.

Now with WDW buses I like to balance and utilize them both. I know from All-Star Movies a car is faster to get to all parks but MK and that is because of where you get dropped off at MK when riding the bus (I haven't stayed on-site yet; can't remember the website which listed the average car and bus times from each resort). You also have to consider how long you will be staying at a park at one time. Is it worth driving and parking for a few hours in the park or would you be better off using the bus.

Also no matter what (driving or taking disney transportation) how long you wait can be very dependent on the time of day. 1st thing in the morning likely won't be so bad either way compared to those trying to get to the park at 10 or so. Also trying to get out of the park when it closes when everyone else is leaving can be bad either way for a car or disney transportation. Like at MK when the park closes most people immediately go for the exits which can clog both the monorail and the bus and the ferry as well as once you get to the TTC it can be clogged with cars trying to get out. If you stick around MK for a bit either wandering around the shops (which stay open an hr later than the park closing) or sit down somewhere for a bit you might find that you won't be waiting so long for the monorail/ferry/bus.

 

[bumbershoot]

We almost always have a car for at least part of our trips.

We have to go to Publix, and often go to Whole Foods. Now that Trader Joe's is open in Orlando, we'll go there, too. We like to go off site for souvenirs; GiftLand next to Waffle House has extended sizes of the exact same Disney shirts that are in the giftshops (but not in the extended sizes). And of course we ALWAYS go to Universal for part of our trips (and stay onsite).

So having a car is essential.

I cannot stand the buses. On our FIRST trip, my aunt was having some sort of tantrum and stormed off to the bus line rather than going back to the cars with us when we were leaving DHS. DH joined her so she wasn't alone. We got in the two cars and we were home at OKW for over an hour before they even got into a bus. Now, why we didn't just go and get them, I don't know, but I think at a certain point they had some sort of sick wish to know just how long it was going ot take.

They were waiting in line with a duo that had an ADR at Olivia's. The ADR was for about half hour before closing at Olivia's. They got there WELL after Olivia's was totally and completely closed. And they only got to OKW because a driver going to SSR took pity on them (he had gone and come back at least two full rounds and had seen them) and let them onboard. Went to SSR, dropped all the SSR people off, and then hit OKW.

And while that was the worst bus experience, even our decent bus experiences aren't great.

So it's a car for us. Even to MK.

Now if I were staying at Boardwalk I'd walk to Epcot, though that walk is so much longer than it feels like it should be. Not sure how that works, but it is how I feel.

We've never walked to DHS from Boardwalk. I'm still not sure how to do it. But I'm not sure if we've gone to DHS from Boardwalk anyway...

Anyway, for us it's all about a car.

The driver said that "if we could see the floor, there was room for more".

I would have gotten off the bus, called a cab, and chatted with a few different Guest Services groups about that driver's lack of safety practices.

In any case, we still have not rented a car as it does seem like more of a hassle.

I have never once felt like a car was a hassle.

 

[MillauFr]

After reading threads like this I never considered riding the buses on our last trip. Renting a car was a no brainer.

 

[bbak30]

We always use the buses. Well, since we started staying Moderate or Deluxe. We had terrible experiences when we were at Pop. That's why I won't stay at Pop again. But we have had great experiences at POR and Saratoga Springs.
However, we drive down to Orlando so we have our car for back-up!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We always have a car. We drive to the World.

That said, we rarely drive to the parks. Maybe once in the past few years.

 

[Pooh2]

We rent a car so we do not have to plan our comings and goings around crowded bus times and worry about having to stand on the bus at the end of a long day.

 

[Minniesgal]

We always always rent a car we don't like being trapped on WDW property we like to go offsite to eat without the crowds sometimes or shop or just buy Groceries.

Whether or not we use it for the parks depends on where we are staying. We use it all the time at AKV or SSR but never tough it at BLT or VGF.

 

[Disney Ron]

We always rent a car. On our first day once we know the room is ready, we leave property to shop for beer, drinks and snacks for the room.

We start each morning leaving property to go to Dunkin Donuts for our morning coffee. I can't tell you how many times in the parks people approach us to ask where we got the Dunkin coffees.

We also enjoy a couple of off property restaurants that we go to each trip.

And we love the car to go explore the Disney resorts we aren't staying at, and love the car when leaving our resort to make it to an ADR at another resort.

So if I was you I'd use the busses. (Just kidding) Rental car all the way.

 

[georgina]

The only time I have used the buses is when I go solo. I did have some long waits to get home if I waited for park close to leave. It is very convenient to have a car, driving to the parks is easy and usually quick. We often can walk in from the parking lot, sometimes use the tram. Rental rates are usually reasonable at MCO.

Our next trip I was thinking of staying at the Boardwalk and convincing DH to use the buses for MK and AK. It is easy to walk to Epcot and HS from there. We don't usually go offsite, but have had ADRs at other resorts, which would require a cab if we didn't want to spend a long time on transportation.