Year of 100 Questions: #8

[King Triton]

You're flying in and staying at a Disney resort. There's more than two options here, but consider just these two. Do you:

- Rent a car
- Use Disney's Magical Express

Have a great weekend everyone! Weather finally improving here in the northeast. I may sneak a question in over the weekend in the Theme Parks category....

[disneymom15]

Before DME we would hire a towncar for roughly $100. Can't beat the price for DME. The Disney magic for me starts as soon as we board the bus.

[darthmacho]

Three trips, three cars, six trips back and forth from airport, and I've gotten lost five of those six times! :scratch:

[pshokie]

Three trips, three cars, six trips back and forth from airport, and I've gotten lost five of those six times! :scratch:

You got lost on you way to WDW? :blush:

Oh the shame....

:funny: :funny: :funny:

[bibbidiboo3]

Our first family trip is in Sept and we'll be using DME. With 2 DD's in prime princess mode:princess: , we figured that this would truly be a Disney vacation!:mickey:
We decided against renting a car because we could use the buses, boats and monorail and we won't be going off-site. Extra $$ to spend on DD's souvenirs!!:thumbsup:

[WDWCP Spring99]

I've only used Magical Express once for a return trip to the airport. They over filled the bus and a woman had to have her child sit on her lap so that I could have a seat. Add to that the extra early time that they want you to catch the bus and I probably won't use it again. I do like the check-in service that they offer at the resorts so that if you're flying on a participating airline you don't have to worry about your suitcase. (Though somewhere between them taking my suitcase and me picking it up at home, they lost my Mickey luggage strap!:( )

[mdricks]

I voted dme but the reality is,

If with the family DME, if solo a get a car..

The time spent getting to WDW is about the same but the time spent getting back is much less. When solo, that extra hour of play time is golden..

:number1:

[King Triton]

I know I voted with the minority here, but I like to have a car...although DME is growing on me, especially for getting stuff back to the airport.

I do like the car though...we like to be able to hit the grocery and drug stores, sometimes eat off site and usually if the trip is long enough we have another excursion (usually Sea World or KSC)

[BigRedDad]

Would have liked a third option for Limo/Town Car service. When I go to WDW, I go so I don't have to drive. I like using the transportation that is available. If I need to go somewhere quicker than the transportation provides (if I am in a rush), I get a cab. I can understand why others may want/need a car. Going to pick up snacks and food for the room to save money, going to the outlet to buy lower cost souvenirs. Once all is said and done, the cost about evens out anyway.

Vacation = no driving :blush:

[avantgardeinker]

We always rent a car if we fly. We don't want to be stuck on property for our whole vacation and don't want to pay the cab fare to venture out into Orlando.

:mickey:

[MsMin]

I've gotten lost on my way to the airport. I was doing my own shuttling b/c I drove up with the girls and we stayed at an airport hotel the first night. The guys flew up and then we couldn't fit in the car to get to Disney so I ran my own shuttle. The problem was that I left my purse in the hotel by mistake and didn't have any cash to jump back on the toll road to the airport so I ended up lost in the pouring rain. It was a nightmare. Now when we meet we let DME take the family members from the airport and I only use my car when I HAVE to like going to the outlet mall.
Yes, I can understand the want for a car but after driving down my need or want to be in my car is diminished:D Yeah! :clappy: for DME

[Caroleh]

I like the idea of not having to drive....a great vacation...no worries

[Tynkerbelle]

We use ME, I like to get aboard an ME bus and watch the videos knowing that my trip is just starting! At WDW we like to take Disney transportation while there - it makes us feel more immersed in the magic. The monorail and boats are great ways to get around - we're not big fans of the buses, though (not too magical)!

We'll rent a car for a couple of days if we're there for a couple of weeks, this way we can do some outlet shopping and hit the other Orlando parks...

[princessjojo]

Since we rarely go off site the need for a car is none. We use DME because first of all it it's free. Secondly since we don't leave WDW usually, we use the extra cash for extra treats in "heaven."

[vamaggie]

We're car people. Like to have the flexibility of coming and going as we choose. Not really into the buses so like to have car for AK and MGM (unless we boat from Epcot). We keep checking the rental cos and book when it is low (have a $177/wk ressie for Nov). While I could use the $177 for something Disney, the piece of mind of having my own way around is worth it to us (also, we have 2 kids so nice to be able to get back to resort fairly quickly)

[mrsHerbie53]

We like to come and go whenever we want. My husband drives and I navigate -- we rarely get lost (unless we are in Jersey - crazy signs and turns in that state! :)

Actually last trip we drove from PA and it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. Plus we had our own vehicle that we are used to. So I doubt we'll plunk down the $$ for plane tickets again. Although the last time we flew we only had to pay 1/2 for fuel and the car rental because DFiL flew us -- that is the way to fly!!!! We could leave Florida whenever we wanted to...talk about feeling spoiled and lucky all at once!

[TTA Metroliner]

We use DME because the price is right and I agree vacation is about not driving, if you can help it. We stay on property the whole time, so we leave the driving to the experts.

[WDWfeelslikehome]

I chose rent a car, but it's really rent a driver for us. We get picked up at MCO with no wait, get a grocery stop, and straight to our resort with no waiting for other stops or our bags.

[Mom2princesses]

We rent a car because of a few reasons. We have to go to Universal basically to see Barney. My soon to be 3 year old just loves him and we did the same for her older sister. I still have the video of her big sister totally in awe that she was seeing the real Barney. So usually the first day we drive to Universal first for a couple of hours and then check into WDW. On our checkout day we pack up the car and head south to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live in the West Palm beach area so mom and dad can rest those poor tootsies! :) Before we head down we spend a few hours at Sea World.

Then we fly home from West Palm Beach.

But if we were just going to Disney without any of the other stops we would use the Disney ground without a doubt!

But for now we will renting a car. Maybe next trip unless of course Universal does a Harry Potter ride then my older daughter will just have to go! :cool:

[GiltterDisneyGirl]

99% of the time we drive and i think the one time we did fly to WDW we rented a car. because they didn't have the magical buses then.

[walstib]

I've never had a bad experience with ME, and we've always stayed in Disney property - so, no need for a car.

I know a lot seem to have issues with Disnet transportation, but I like feeling immersed in the trip. I generally enjoy the buses to the parks. Going back to the resort can be a little interesting, but I always just stand anyway.

[DizNee143]

rent a car...its just sooo much easier...dont get me wrong magical express was/is nice..but in the long wrong getting a car and doing your own driving is waaaaaaaaaay easier!! :mickey:

[BritCody]

We always rent a van. The last two trips 3 members of the family took the ME and the suitcases from the Airport to the hotel and 2 other family members took the carry-ons picked up the van and drove it to the hotel. At the end of the vacation everybody takes the van back to the airport.

[PirateLover]

I chose resnt a car, even though we usually get a towncar. Was never a big fan of Mears, and have heard too many horror stories about Magical Express to want to give it a try. I hate stopping at other resorts and I like having my luggage with me.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Our flights are always way early for the 3:00pm check-in so a car lets us drive to Downtown Disney or a place offsite etc. Can also checkin early and then go to DD or a Park. In other words, we're free to move around right away. Also, we find a car the easiest way to move around throughout the week.:thumbsup:

[Kairi_7378]

We stayed at POR in the last week of March (during a "peak" season.) We used Magical Express. We loved the service. We arrived at 8:30 in the morning, and we waited for perhaps 20 minutes before the bus left for Riverside. There were only 2 other families on the bus, and they went to Sarasota Springs, which didn't cost us any time. On the way home, there were also only 2 families on the bus. We had to stop at French Quarter but it didn't take long at all.
The one drawback to ME is that they don't guarantee that your bags will arrive in the resort until 3 hours after you land or check in. This can be a problem for some families. For us, we packed a carry-on park bag, and went directly from the resort to AK. The hard part was finding sunblock that was less than 3 oz in size so I would have some to put on when we got to the AK.

[sleepingbooty]

Enjoying these polls, thanks!:thumbsup:

[4ubie1]

I choose rent a car. I think the freedom of movement is definately a plus. Although i might try Magical Express the next time I go. It was not offered the last time i went. ;)

[KAT1811]

Not a huge DME fan but I certainly wouldn't rent a car in WDW. Personally we like using a car service.

[rsumrall]

DME is a WONDERFUL THING! First of all, it's "free" (don't lecture - I know nothing is truly free). But my kids consider it the second ride of vacation, the monorail in the airport being the first!

[pianobabe]

When I was single and it was just my son and I, we always took a shuttle. It was great that the only driving I had to do was to and from the airport. Not having to drive and mess with directions and toll roads was a wonderful vacation. I don't think I could have handled the stress of being in unfamiliar territory with a child. With DME, we just sit back and enjoy the ride. If we are arriving later in the day, we don't put the special luggage tags on and pick up our bags ourselves. That way we have all of our things and we don't have to wait 3+ hours. DME is great. We have never had any problems with it.:thumbsup:

[QTPie68]

I chose resnt a car, even though we usually get a towncar. Was never a big fan of Mears, and have heard too many horror stories about Magical Express to want to give it a try. I hate stopping at other resorts and I like having my luggage with me.


Yep......:thumbsup:

[Fortgoofy97]

We ALWAYS took the ME from the airport, but one time the DW and I went by ourselves and rented. Now, if we can get an inexpensive rental the DW prefers to rent! Just for the convenience of being able to go off property and to get to theparks a little quicker!

[SurferStitch]

One of the things I love about a WDW vacation is the fact that we don't have to get behind the wheel of a car for the entire trip! WDW transportation really is quite efficient, and our waits for a bus are hardly ever long, except when leaving a park at closing, but who cares? You're on vacation afterall.

We used DME for the first time this past December, and we were pleasantly surprised. We always got a limo or towncar, but you can't beat free. We were out of the airport within minutes of getting there. I like to get to the airport early, so their pickup time at the resort was perfectly fine by us. On both DME trips the bus was pretty empty....maybe 5 or 6 other families from the airport, and only a couple other families on the way back.

[mdearmas]

I think I would use ME because it's complimentarY which means more money for souveniers!
:goofy: