rental car vs. wdw tranport

[surfmom]

Costs being equal, is it better to have a car or use wdw transport. We are staying on property (SOG). Last time we waiting a while for buses, but parking could take as long?

[SandmanGStefani24]

i vote rental car all the way!

i personally hate waiting, and the rental solved that issue. you can go when you want, and leave when you want. the only issue is if you leave close to the end of the fireworks. there may be some traffic, but i'd rather be in a rental car by myself with nice a/c and my choice of either my music or silence to listen to. set the seat position just right, and then cruise home. nothing against the shuttles, but last trip spoiled me. have fun!

[disneyfan328]

This is such a personal decision, but IMHO I think WDW transportation is the way to go - and this is coming from an Asthmatic with Anxiety who hates to be anywhere where I am not in complete control. Yes there are times when you wait, but in my opionion paying for gas, and the possibility of being hopelessly lost since we have never driven in FL makes the busses seem easier to me. While I would love the convienience of being able to leave whenever I want and head back to the hotel and then come back, I just can't bring myself to spend the extra cash to do it. We are too happy just being able to go to Disney so every penny counts.

That being said, I am actually considering renting a car this year as we want to go to Sea World for a day depending on the rates, we'll see if we actually do it or not. I would say if you enjoy your own vehicle and can afford to spend the cash to rent that by all means go for it but Disney's transporation isn't bad at all. (again imho)

[KylesMom]

As disneyfan328 stated, this is a highly personal decision and you'll have a lot of opinions on one side of the fence or the other.

We've rented a car (or driven) each trip we've taken to Disney, and we've never regretted it. Other than utilizing the boat from WL to MK, we drive to each park, and when we're ready to park hop or head back to the hotel, we can do so without waits. It really helps, too, when we have ADRs scheduled for a certain time - you don't have to plan for an hour+ to make it to the resort/park your ADRs are at if you're at a different location. We usually end up walking from the parking lots to the entrances anyway (skipping the tram unless it's mid-afternoon), so parking really has never been an issue for us.

[Ksmith75]

We rent a car and take the WDW transportation within the parks.

We use our rental car for to and from the airport and for having dinner at other resorts - it is so much more convenient and we spend a Saturday at DTD. We use the buses to get to and from the parks. If we are super tired near the close of the park - we hop a taxi - I tell ya that can be the best $10.00 you spend in the park. We got back to our hotel in 7 minutes one time - ahhhhhh....

[thumperbug]

for me..having a car is an inconvience. When my FIL meets up with us when we are at WDW he has his car and insists we take it to the parks.

When we do that, we first have to load the stroller and backpack into the trunk, strap my son in a booster seat, drive to the park, get a parking space, unload child and stroller, open stroller, put child in it, walk god knows how long to tram stop, unload kid, fold up stroller, board the tram...get closer to park entrance, off the tram, open stroller, put the kid in it. Reverse on way back to car...

For me, I prefer the short walk to the bus stop from my resort, get on with folded stroller, child walks on bus, sits, we get to park, get off the bus, open stroller, load child and in we go.

Going back...stroller to bus (which is open anyway from the parks), fold up, back on bus, back to resort.

It is a totally personal choice

[epceddie]

My wife and I always rent from National.

We're Emerald Aisle members and we get to bypass the counter and choose ANY car we want in the aisle. The keys are in the car, we hop in and drive to the checkout booth.

The whole process takes about 15 minutes and we're on our way.

We love to eat at different resorts and having a car makes that incredibly easy.

We were at WDW Jan. 4-9 and we were able to head off to Gatorland for an afternoon. It was a nice break from the parks and we also used the car to hit a grocery store for breakfast and lunch items that helped us save money on food.

The car was $189 for the week and it cost me $23.50 for gas.

For all of the convenience that it provided, the money for the car was worth every cent. In fact, I paid for it using some of the money I put in my change bank all of last year.

When I'm on vacation, the last thing I want to do is sit around waiting for a bus. To me, it's just not worth the hassle.

[MinnieMommie]

There is value utilizing the bus system but I am partial to renting a car. I find it streamlines all that we do while on vacation. I can directly go anywhere I want when I want. For instance we will be at AKL the end of the month and have dining reservations one night at Kona in the Poly. Without a car we will have to take a bus to the MK and then a boat or monorail to the Poly. With a car we will drive to the Poly and park there. It is quite direct to drive to Disney from MCO and really not too hard getting from place to place once there. Like OPs have said this is a matter of personal preference. :mickey:

[ThanxForNoticin]

You are probably going to find about a 50-50 split on your question. Many folks like to park their car at the airport, fly to Disney, and not drive again until they get home. Others like the control and convenience of having access to their own car or a rental during their trip.

Over the years, we have evolved completely into a family that wants and uses a car on our trip. With free parking for on-site guests, we use the car to drive to most of the parks (we still take the bus to MK because it's much more convenient). We also like to do dinners at some of the resorts, and using a car in that situation is far more convenient. Driving and parking all around Disney is pretty simple.

Can you comfortably do the trip using just Disney transportation? Absolutely. Just be prepared that you might need to be very patient at times. You also should leave 60-90 minutes of lead time if you are going from resort to resort (since you will need 2 buses to get to your destination).

[tjstrike]

We always drive to WDW, but the only time our vehicle ever gets used is to go shopping, grocery store, the beach or to visit my sister. I hate driving to the parks, I'd much rather stand in line for a bus as to sitting in traffic and then having to wait in line for the parking lot tram on top of that.

[DisneyGlutton]

If I can jump in and ask a question...for those of you who have both done the bus and driven around, how much time, if any, does it save? From what I've read, both have their own advantages and disadvantages, so time saved for me may be the deciding factor. Thanks!

[Mendelson]

Our upcoming trip (22nd - 27th) will be our first trip without a rental car.

I have always gotten a car in the past for the reasons many of you mention...freedom of movement without time constraints. If I want to park hop, go back to the resort, etc., I don't have to fight crowds waiting for the busses nor do I have to wait for the busses. I like the comfort and freedom of the car.

However, looking to save money this trip we will be taking DME, and thus bussing. So we shall see.... One thing that appeals to me is the "escapism/immersion" aspect in that I won't have to do any "real world" stuff like get in a car and hit the gas pedal.

I'll give my two cents on which I think is better when I get back!

[spoiledraf]

Costs being equal??/

Ones free, the other is not so costs are not equal!:)

If you are not leaving Disney property you don't need a car. My vote is use a cab if you are in a hurry. There is usually one sitting at the front of most resorts so there is no wait. They take you right to where a bus can drop you off and if you aren't in a rush,maybe take a bus that particular time. Time lost parking, picking up a rental, dropping it off and just parking at your resort will be more than any time lost catching a cab or waiting for a bus. Not to mention, I tend to get lost on Disneys highway system.

[Utopia74]

I'm curious too. I've quoted Budget, and it looks like with discounts I could get a rental car (for 7 days) for about $150 (including all taxes), which seems relatively cheap.

My main concern is that we go on the Deluxe DDP, so typically have 2 ADR's per day at TS restaurants..most of the dinners are at resorts. It's a bit of a hassle to have to keep waiting for the bus to go from park to resort, than back again. Especially going from hotel to resort, which requires us to go from hotel to DTD first, then DTD to hotel. Travel time adds up quickly.

It seems that having a rental car, even if we're not going offsite to Universal (or whatever) would save a lot of time, and also possibly eliminate the need to have to meticulously schedule each ADR around proximity of the restaurant to the park we'll probably be visiting that day.

[Piglet822]

SOG does not utilize Disney Transportation. It is an outside company that runs their buses so it will not take you as close to the entrance as the Disney buses do.
This might help you decide :)