Disney Bus Vs. Driving your own Car

[ljv1975]

We are staying at CS the first week of March. According to a guidebook I have, it is usually quicker for us to drive our own car to all of the parks (including DTD) except for the MK. Would you recommend taking the Disney transportation to MK and driving ourselves everywhere else? Or is it a big hassle to take your own car even if it will save you 15-20 minutes? Thanks!

[ThanxForNoticin]

You are going to get mixed opinions on this topic, but generally I agree with the recommendation in your guidebook. We tend to drive most of the time to the parks and DTD, but not to MK. Until you park at MK, catch a tram, and catch the monorail, it's usually more efficient to take the bus that drops you off at the front gate. Since you are staying on-site at Disney, parking is free, so that's not an issue. Also, if you plan any meals at the resorts, it is significantly easier to have your own car going from park to resort. Have a great trip.

[KylesMom]

This is strictly based on personal preference. You will find opinions on both sides of the fence, and you need to make the decision to drive yourself or take Disney Transportation based on your own situation.

We rent a car and drive literally everywhere we go, except for the MK (we take the boat from WL to MK). By the time you park at the TTC, take a tram to the gate, board a monorail or boat and arrive at MK, you could easily have spent almost an hour to get to the park.

If you take Disney bus transportation, you'll be dropped off at the main gate without having to filter through the TTC.

While many folks like to leave the driving to Disney, we prefer to hop in our car and take off on a whim without waiting in line for a bus. Good luck in your decision!:mickey:

[illini]

Definitely personal preference. Ours is to drive to the parks when we can, except the MK. I know a lot of people don't want the "hassle" of driving, but we don't want the "hassle" of waiting ages for a bus, trying to stand up and hold onto 3 kids, etc.
Try both and see which works better for you.

[CanadianWDWFan]

Ours is to drive to the parks when we can, except the MK. I know a lot of people don't want the "hassle" of driving, but we don't want the "hassle" of waiting ages for a bus, trying to stand up and hold onto 3 kids, etc.
This is exactly how we feel about it. We find that by having our own car we are free to go wherever we want to go without being crowded into a bus. Don't get me wrong we do use Disney transportation but our preference is to drive everywhere but MK.

[Tygger7]

As others have said, it's really personal preference. We drive 2 hours every day to & from work, and have to drive 16 hours to get to WDW, so I don't want to see my car or even think about driving while I'm there. For us, it's more relaxing to take WDW transportation exclusively. Even if it takes a little longer, it's less stressful for us. It's part of the whole vacation experience for us not having to worry about driving.

[SheLovesDisney]

We've done it both ways and there are definitely pros and cons on each side. We found that with small children, driving to all the parks (except MK) was easier in general...less waiting around, no hauling strollers on buses, etc. We always took the bus directly to MK, however.

It was also much easier to eat at other resorts' restaurants with our own car. Plus, returning to the hotel for a midday rest seemed to take forever with the bus - they just don't run very often that time of day.

Now that our kids are a bit older, we rely more on Disney transportation and save the car rental $$. Good luck deciding!

[1goofyfamily]

We love riding the buses & monorail and even the ferry some times; it gives us a chance to talk to total strangers who are all there to enjoy the same magical experiences with their families that we are. It's great talking to people who are just ending their trip when we are starting ours and we love telling people of some new experiences for us when we are at the end of our trip. We would also rather put the rental car $ to better use.

[Mendelson]

We love to drive for the freedom that it gives, but if you do this I would make one suggestion: if you don't have a AAA membership, get one. This allows you to park in the special AAA lots that are right up front. They do fill up fast, but if you get there early enough, you've got a great spot. We almost never tram into MK.

[sneezyone]

I had a bad knee a few years ago...the busses were so helpful...I wanted to save all my walking for the park...so that worked well.

[WelshieLover]

We never rent a car. For the most part Disney transportation works well for us. However when we have resort hopped to have dinner especially the time we stayed at Key West a car would have been handy. There is no direct resort to resort buses so it requires using an open park or DownTown Disney as a hub to change buses. That is really no fun and is very time consuming.

[PinKy]

We prefer the busses! We don't have to look for our car - we don't have to race out of the parks and jump into traffic at the end of the night trying to just leave the parking lot.... We don't have to park/tram and then walk all the way in from there. IMO, the bus system is just easier - but its really a personal preference. We live in a big city where we are used to busses and such.... we find them convenient.

[Mary M]

What everyone else said, plus...we've found that for shorter trips, we prefer to have the car. The cost of getting to/from the airport pretty much offsets the whole rental, and we like the flexibility.

YMMV.

[Jeff]

We almost always rent a car.
We have 2 rules on when to drive the car
1. Drive to Downtown Disney
2. Drive to Water Parks

Other than that, we take WDW transportation.

[4277]

We rented a car the first couple of times we went to WDW but no more. Like others have said, personal preference. We just find it much easier and relaxing to use disney transportation. Never had a problem with it.

[Dopey's Girl]

We almost always have a rental car, but it's basically just to get us to and from the airport, and to church. Most of the rest of the time it sits in the parking lot. I have driven to the parks, and most of the time, it's just been more hassle for me than it's worth. I can see where it would be nice to drive if you were with "stroller kids" though, so you didn't have to deal with folding up the contraption, and stand in another line. I guess for me, not having to drive, remember where I parked the car, and having to navigate is just one of the perks of staying in Disney!

[Polynesian Dweller]

We always rent a car and that's for flexibility. We can drive to any park or to DTD in about 10-15 minutes max at the time we want, not when the bus goes. It also lets us take trips off site if we want to. It also makes possible things like driving to AK and doing EE then driving to DTD and shopping, back to the resort, drive to the Studios do TOT and RNRC, go to the resort and then DTD for dinner in one day possible. Would be real hard to have that flexibility with the buses.

[RAIDER]

We always rent a car when we come to Florida as it gives us more freedom and saves a heap of time :thumbsup::mickey:

A good thread and it would have made an interesting poll

[snerd475]

If you're staying at CS, I'd say drive to AK because it's so close. Like most have said, it's always easier to bus to MK.
If you are going to Epcot for Illuminations, I would definitely drive, as the majority of the crowd leaving head for the bus stops. That time of night, everyone's tired and doesn't feel like standing for maybe 2 or 3 busses.

[CleveSJM]

Using the bus for MK is the best in almost every instance.

If you have your own stroller, then driving is almost always best to all the other places. Strollers and buses are natural enemies.

That said, I would not rent a car to be able to drive. It's not that much of an advantage. :mickey:

[crltkcagle]

I was just wondering the same thing. Glad you asked! We are driving in sept. and wasn't sure if we should take the bus or our car. thanks everyone!

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We drove to WDW from NY four times when our boys were young. (We have flown since and will continue to! ;))

Even when we had our car there, we always found Disney transportation easier. Even with a stroller. The car stayed parked at the resort everyday except the one day we did Sea World.

I just find the thought of trams, parking lots and getting three kids to the car...well, stressful. :)

But, what works for one doesn't work for all.

Have a great trip!

[wdw_bound]

We drive to WDW, so we have our car. I don't think I'd add the expense of a rental otherwise. We typically drive to the parks (except MK), but you need to be aware that parking at DTD can be a nightmare depending on the time/day. We have used Disney transportation to DTD if we weren't on a "mission" with a time limit.

We also use our car to get to our resort ADRs.

At least once in the trip, we split up (DD9 likes thrill rides at night, and DD3 likes his bedtime), and in those instances, we have found Disney transportation to be great.

[PhilHarHarMagic]

We like the freedom of the car - it also lets us take side trips to the grocery store or Chick-Fil-A when we want something a little different to eat.

We sometimes gauge if we are going to drive based on the crowd at the bus station when we leave the resort to go to a park.

We actually like driving to MK and taking the ferry over and back - something very relaxing about it.

It also has to do with where you are staying - sometimes you have several stops on the way to/from your resort - that will sometimes grate on my nerves for some reason...

[pwdebbie]

We are a couple in our fifties that just made our very first trip in October. We drove from PA. Our first day there, we drove around to get familiar with the property. The next morning we used a bus to go to our first park and dh declared afterward that our car would not be moving again until the day we headed home.

The busses were great for us. We are early birds so we usually had little wait in the morning. And we too enjoyed talking with people at the bus stop. We were in the crowds at the busses a few times at night but found that the busses ran very frequently. In fact, in order to avoid standing (dh has health problems) we passed one bus up and waited for the next one.

But remember, we are two old folks with no children. Since you have kids, you might prefer to use your car.

As for the AAA parking -- I was told quite emphatically by a AAA TA that those parking spaces are only available to people who book their trip through AAA and that since I hadn't booked through them, I had no right, regardless of my AAA membership, to use those parking spaces. Just wanted you to be aware of that ahead of time.

Debbie
POFQ, Oct. 2007

[KAJUNKING]

As others have said, it's really personal preference. We drive 2 hours every day to & from work, and have to drive 16 hours to get to WDW, so I don't want to see my car or even think about driving while I'm there. For us, it's more relaxing to take WDW transportation exclusively. Even if it takes a little longer, it's less stressful for us. It's part of the whole vacation experience for us not having to worry about driving.

couldnt agree more, not driving the week we are there is a vacation in its self

[Darbylew]

We always drive to WDW. We live in Florida.
We always stay on property and use WDW
busses. Once we park the car we never get in it
until it is time to go home. We think this is the
way to go. But whatever is easier for you is
what you should do. :mickey:
We wants the redhead! º0º º0º

[jszczur5]

We always use our own car to travel from park to park. If you are a Disney resort guest,the parking is free, and if you book your trip through CAA/AAA, you can get the Diamond parking pass, which allows you to park right up front in a special lot beside the handicapped parking lot. Very convenient!

[Kathie_WE]

Another vote for letting Mickey drive and here's why:

1) Convenience. I'm trying to figure out how a car is easier even with kids... the stoller still needs to be folded and stored and unfolled.

2) Vacation mode. Any time someone else will drive for me is a bonus. Also the car to me is a symbol o daily life...and I'm looking to get away from that.

3) Getting to know you. We love talking to people at Disney and the bus is a great place to do just that. Meeting people from all over the country and world.

4) Park hopping. We love to move around WDW through the day and Disney transport makes it easy.

Just my .02....

Kathie

[jefmblrd]

I know many people who rent cars at WDW and swear by it. For me, it comes down to the fact that I don't want to be driving while I'm on vacation in Disney.

We are DVC members at the Beach Club and usually stay there which eliminates two busses because it's a five minute walk into Epcot and you can take the boat or even walk to the Studios. That only leaves a bus to AK & MK.

But even before we bought there, we would always take the busses. There are times when the wait is a little longer than you might like, but we've never had a problem and even met some nice people and had some great conversations.

[KevMcNJ]

We drove and used Disney transportation last time

Riding the busses and monorails isnt bad, all the other passengers are usually pleasant because they are in fun mode too. But sometimes when its SRO, its no fun sitting in a seat and some strangers butt is 18 inches from your face. Also standing waiting for the busses an get tiresome.
cranky kids can make the trip seem much longer too

I like the car. As we learn to navigate the property better Im thinking we will drive our self more and more. But thats me and the wife