Rental Car VS. World Transportation About This Page:

[kstock75]

Do most people find it easier to have a rental car vs. world transportation during their stay? If you have a rental car, do you drive it from park to park? We have access to Magic Express, but have a limo reserved. We are also going to have to have transportation to and from Seaworld as well as to and from Discovery Cove. I'm just trying to decide if I should go with a rental car or if using world transportation for us "first timers" would be the best thing. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Kristy

[judyjo]

We used to rent cars years ago but rely only on WDW transportation these days. I imagine that some trips are quicker using a car (from a park to DTD for example) but looking at the cost of a rental, I prefer Disney transportation.

[chezp]

We prefer to have a rental car. We find it much easier and in recent trips, we haven't found the WDW bus service has lived up to our expectations, although in May, I was pleasantly surprised by our experiences with it.

[nurse_mom]

we have done both. We find it a better fit to have a rental car/van with our family. This gives us the flex time, if we have a ADR at another place. Also if some of us want to stay and others like (DH) wants to go back to the hotel. we can take transport back or the car. Plus stroller on the bus, trust me not fun or cool.

[truenancy]

We do a rental car, mostly because we do a mid-day break. I can't imagine waiting in the 2:00 pm heat for a bus. Instead, we have the AAA diamond parking pass and we're in our room 15 minutes after exiting the park turnstiles. And we do find it very handy for Boma, DTD, etc. We sent out luggage through DME so we didn't have to deal with that, either.

[ripkensnana]

When we fly, we use Disney transportation exclusively. When we drive down, we only use Disney busses to get to MK and back...trying to get to the parking lot in the evening is a nightmare!

[twinsljo]

I had always used Disney transportation around the World, but this time I rented a car and was so glad I did...and will always do so from now on. We had the freedom to just get in the car and go wherever and whenever we wanted to, especially if we wanted to to from our resort to another resort...we saved so much time and hassle. If you do not mind spending the extra money on a rental car, then I highly recommend it. We also used the valet to park at the deluxe resorts (which normally cost around $10..I think, but DH has a handicap tag and it was free...but we did tip a few dollars).

[Sue M.]

I prefer to use WDW transportation! I find it pretty good. Usually have a wait time of under 20 min for bus or boat. And we usually go back to our resort for a mid day break!

[nursemom]

We rented a car. It worked out really great for quick trips to DTD, Wal-mart, and to the other resorts for dinner or just looking around. The few times we used the bus system it seemed to take quite a bit longer to get anywhere.

[Jennifer2003]

We always rent a car. We'll use the busses for the MK sometimes, though.

[Colexis Mom]

We've had rental cars for most our trips (except the 2008 one). We use Disney transport for the most part, and only used the rental car to go off site or to go to an ADR at a resort to save time! For going to the parks, we always used the busses/monorails/boats.

[claytrgtshooter]

We've rented a car at the airport, basically because we wanted the flexibility of being able to go where we wanted when we wanted. We have also used Disney transportation from our resort to the parks. When we needed to get from DTD (Cirque de Soleil) to a restaurant at one of the resorts for an ADR, the car was a lot more convenient than waiting for a bus.

[Sue M.]

Prices of rental cars are pretty high this year. We make a park touring plan, then fit our ADRs in so they are close to what park we plan on being in. Works for us. Usually I'm in Ft. Lauderdale first, and have a rental car there, then drive up to WDW and return the rental after we check in. Added advantage: I can have a FAB at Epcot or with dinner and not have to worry about driving

[guarn3md]

We have done both...Last week we had a rental car, reserved through Priceline. I bid $10 a day for a midsize and got it through Alamo! I liked having the rental car, we had so much flexibility and the transition time was much shorter. The only tricky part is driving to MK because of the parking situation, however we have found many shortcuts around this. After this trip I believe we will only use a rental car. The other advantage is the amount of time you can spend in a park on your last day. We always book the last flight home in order to maximize the amount of time we can spend in a park on the last day. We checked our bags into AirTran at the resort and then went to MK for the day. We didn't have to leave MK until 4pm for a 6:15pm flight home. If we used ME we would have had to be back to our resort at 3pm. Every minute counts for us!
Debbie

[kstock75]

Thanks for all of the information. I'm going to look into booking a rental car. We have a few off-site activities and we were originally going to have a limo from MCO to AKL... so I'll just put that budgeted money towards a rental car. I'll try booking through Priceline tomorrow!

Thanks, Kristy