Rent a Car?

[DisneyGlutton]

How much time does renting a car/driving around WDW really save over taking the bus?

It seems to me that you'd replace waiting in line for the bus and the inefficiences of the bus system with waiting for the tram, walking in the parking lot, traffic, and getting lost. Other than going between resorts, I don't see the point, but since my best friend wants to get one on our next trip, I need input please! The $75 pp for the rental is not a big concern, btw, its all about convenience for us. Also, we really don't plan on leaving property at all and are not going to any other parks for sure. Thanks!

[faline]

It's really a personal decision. To be honest, even when we've had a car on property, we've generally parked it and used Disney transportation.

[paragon]

We've only used the Disney transportation one time, choosing to rent a car most of the time. We prefer the convenience of the rental. As for saving time, I'm not sure if it does or doesn't, as we are often stuck behind the never ending stream of buses! LOL, plus, we do have to go through the whole parking lot process.
We just prefer the rental car rather than waiting in yet another line.

[ThanxForNoticin]

We almost always have a car. We really enjoy eating at resort restaurants several times during our trips. When getting from resort to resort, the car is a big time-saver. If you are just using it for resort to park and vice-versa, the time savings can be a toss-up.

[SFTrny]

I think a lot of this depends on where you are staying and what you want to do. We stay at FW cabins and like to park hop and to tour resorts throughout the day. We aren't ones to go to the park in the morning and stay until the end of the day. With kitchens in the cabins, we do a lot of our own cooking too. For us, the car makes a big difference. But our style of stying at WDW is a lot different than staying in a regular hotel-style room at a monorail resort....where having a car probably isn't nearly as much of a value.

[Luv Eeyore]

Wev'e done both, and generally prefer to have a car. With a car we are not tied to the Disney transportation system, which can be a pain depending upon where you stay (many resorts have multiple bus stops, or share a route with other resorts). It is also very nice early in the morning or towards the end of a park's day when the buses are particularly crowded to know you will have a seat and not be packed in a bus like sardines.

[blondeinbrandon]

We always have our car and we always park it for the whole trip! DH loves not driving and riding the buses. Though we usually go when the crowds are at their lowest. But we really love the transport at Disney and stay on property because of it. If you don't like the transportation you might as well save money and stay off property.

[DisneyGlutton]

Thank you all for the input! My best friend ended up booking a rental w/o telling me, so I guess I'll be finding out whether its worth it.

[Dopey's Girl]

I like to have a rental for visiting resorts and getting back to the airport (I love ME, but getting to the airport almost 3 hrs early makes me nutty!). The last few trips I have driven to the parks, and it hasn't been too bad, but for the most part, I'm perfectly happy to have a bus get me where I need to go!

[tiggerandpooh63]

We just returned and were SO HAPPY we had a car although there were trade offs like with everything...Here's some pros/cons/thoughts:

- It was FREEZING cold in Orlando this week (literally hit 32 or below two mornings!!) and having the car enabled us to avoid sitting in the cold at a bus stop.

- We drove to the parks a couple of days and loved how quickly we got there and parked - but three days in a row we were directed to park at the very end of the row - a very long walk to the tram!!!

- The trams came to get us very quickly - never had to wait to get on one.

- One day we rode the bus and hated having to stop at every bus stop in our hotel complex - CBR which is big. The actual wait time for the bus was not long at the hotel or the park.

- The day we rode the bus we went to Epcot and the drop off was quite a hike from the park entrance vs. the studios or Magic Kingdom.

- We also personally liked the freedom of getting up this morning and having control of when we got to the airport for our flight home.

[DisneyGlutton]

The ME ride back to the airport 3 hours early is a killer for sure, as you're already suffering Post Disney Malaise and wasting so much time is the last straw. It might be worth it just for that reason, especially if the trams are as nice as described above.

[A Big Kid]

It's really a personal decision. To be honest, even when we've had a car on property, we've generally parked it and used Disney transportation.


We usually alternate between driving and flying. Even when we drive, the only time we start the car, is the day we leave.