Staying off property

[gottaluvtink]

OK, we ALWAYS stay on Disney property, but this upcoming trip, May 2012, we will be staying at the Hilton Bonnett Creek. We have friends who have points for rooms and airfare, and they want my daughter and I to go with them since we go to Disney frequently. They are giving us the room and airfare for free! I can't refuse such a good deal, but I am concerned about the shuttle service. The Hilton provides the service, but I'm wondering if anyone has used it and what the opinions are. Maybe we would be better to rent a car? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

[brivers222]

OK, we ALWAYS stay on Disney property, but this upcoming trip, May 2012, we will be staying at the Hilton Bonnett Creek. We have friends who have points for rooms and airfare, and they want my daughter and I to go with them since we go to Disney frequently. They are giving us the room and airfare for free! I can't refuse such a good deal, but I am concerned about the shuttle service. The Hilton provides the service, but I'm wondering if anyone has used it and what the opinions are. Maybe we would be better to rent a car? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

I am keeping an eye out for RCI exchange points for our week in Oct 2012 at bonnet creek actually. I can't comment on the shuttle service at all as i have never stayed there before.

But I will say that staying off site at other hotels back in the day and even the place we will be at if bonnet creek falls through (Blue Greens The Fountains) that i am not a fan of the shuttle service. It seems to me you are always waiting for one to come and not only that you have to quit the park at a certain time (their given end time). To me that always reminds me of the tour groups at Cedar Point... the park closed at 11pm but they all had to leave at 9pm because that was when their shuttle was leaving.

I would only consider renting a car when offsite (actually onsite too) as I hate relying on someone else to get me somewhere.

Keep checking rental car sites (I use costco travel) because they change almost daily. For instance right now it $378 +LDW for my week in october. The same happened last year when i first started looking.... 3 days before i left i got that same car for a rate of $400 INCLUDING the LDW.

[Buttercup]

I haven't stayed at that particular resort off-site before, but I have stayed off-site and taken advantage of shuttle services before. And let me tell you, they're terrible.
I seem to remember one hotel having a shuttle (I want to say it was the Howard Johnson? not sure) and it only ran about every 3 hours. Not very convenient.
Brivers222 is right: when the last shuttle is leaving, you'd better be on it (and it's pretty much guaranteed it won't be at park closing time), or you'll be paying a pretty penny for a cab to come pick you up!

HOWEVER... I *think* the Hilton is considered a Downtown Disney resort isn't it? Someone once told me that people staying in the hotels around Downtown Disney often just hop on the WDW busses there and transfer at a resort to get to the parks. I'm not saying it's allowed or it's legit, but I've heard some people at those hotels do it.

[Aurora]

I would rent a car. Non-Disney hotels, even the Hiltons and Marriotts, are notorious for their bad transportation options. Even when they're on time, it takes forever to get to and from a park (way longer than the Disney buses).

The pick-up and drop-off spots also are second-rate. Disney buses are right next to the parks and you can tell where to go to catch the one you want; offsite shuttles are usually out in the parking lots and trying to find the right one is stress-inducing -- the last thing you want at the end of a long park day.

[WDWCrazyKaren]

I would rent a car too. I just feel it's necessary when staying off site. Haven't stayed off site in years, but I do recall how difficult it would have been getting to the parks.

[mydisneygirls]

There are a lot of reviews on TripAdvisor....check it out! Some even review the buses.

[iheartdisney]

We've stayed off property a few times but always had our own car. But we've listened, ad nauseaum, to complaints about shuttle transportation from other guests at breakfast each morning. From their on the spot reviews we've decided we would never rely on off-site transport.

[Patricia]

I HOWEVER... I *think* the Hilton is considered a Downtown Disney resort isn't it? Someone once told me that people staying in the hotels around Downtown Disney often just hop on the WDW busses there and transfer at a resort to get to the parks. I'm not saying it's allowed or it's legit, but I've heard some people at those hotels do it.


In this case, Hilton Bonnet Creek is not a DTD hotel... but if you are holding a Disney Pass, all Disney transportation is included no matter which hotel you are staying in.

[princessgirls]

Bonnet Creek offers shuttle service. It picks up on the HOUR every HOUR in the front of the resort, and makes a full loop starting at the Magic Kingdom.

I would rent a car!!!!!!

Julie:mickey:

[disneynarula]

I would look into getting a rental car. Do you have an annual pass? Parking is not cheap at the parks but it's free if you have an annual pass. I priced it out and it was cheaper to buy an annual pass for one of us rather than pay for parking.

If are used to WDW transport most "shuttles" are not that great.

[gottaluvtink]

Thanks for all the help. I kind of figured that depending on these shuttles was kind of a risk, and you have all convinced me I was right! A car it shall be.

[mickeyman42]

not to beat a dead horse but we always rent a car, onsite, offsite, for us its a no brainer. We dont like relying on someone else to get us to where we are going and found that driving ourselves saves us so much time. with the exception of the MK, parking is a breeze, and not having to wait an hour for a bus at the end of a long day is great. I know lots of people would rather let someone else do the driving and thats great but we enjoy driving around and taking in the sights as we go from the parks to our resort (wherever that may be).

[GeorgieRussell]

Rent a car. The major rental companies all have pick ups and drop offs right at the airport. It'll cost you $1.75 in tolls from the airport to the hotel (and $1.75 going back). Parking at the parks is $14 a day, and the only parking hassle anywhere is at DTD (but at least it's free). The car also frees you up for off site restaurants, shopping, etc. And NOTHING is easier than driving in the Disney area--no GPS required.