To rent a car or not to rent a car....that is the question! About This Page:

[Stinker Bell]

We are staying onsite (Shades of Green) for the first time in ages and are probably flying for the first time. I'm just wondering if we will feel "stuck" and miss having a car. We really can't decide what to do. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. (We plan on going to Sea World for a day, but I know that SOG offers a shuttle.) I don't know why this is such a hard decision. Also, where is the Car Care Center in case we decide to just rent a car for a day? Thanks in advance!

[Jennifer2003]

I've never been to Shades of Green, but we've rented a car the last three trips. WE've always been able to get a great rate thru Alamo that if we were to pay for the towncar service, a car of our own for a week was only a little bit more.

We use the car to go to all parks but MK and we venture off property to eat at least twice. Works out for us.

The Car Care Center is in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. If you don't follow the signs to park but follow the signs to exit it will take you over there.

If you or someone you know has an Entertainment book, there are LOTS of rental car coupons in there. I've dealt with Alamo and Dollar before and been fine all three times.

Jennifer

[Fortissimo]

The only time we didn't rent a car for the whole trip I really regretted it. I like the freedom of the car, and like Jennifer, we drive it every where except MK.

Since you need transportation from MCO to SOG it might be cheaper to rent a car for you entire trip.

[WillCAD]

RENT!

In 16 trips I have only relied solely on the Disney transportation system twice, and hated every minute of it.

People constantly sing the praises of the Disney transportation system, and it is one of the best in the country, but it's still mostly made up of busses. You still have to wait for the busses to arrive, you still have to wait for the busses to load, you still have to wait while most of the busses make multiple stops, and even during the off-seasons I wind up standing up on more busses than I sit down on.

With a car, I wait for nothing, I never stand, I move at my own pace, and I have complete freedom to go anywhere I want, any time I want - on or off-site.

Even with a car I still use Disney transport for some things. I love the boats and monorails as much as I despise the busses, and there are times when it is quicker to hop a boat than to drive. But I always rent a car, even when I'm staying on-site.

[Luv4My4]

We always rent a car when we go and we also drive to all parks except MK (unless we plan on having a few drinks at EPCOT [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img])! I don't think we have gone to WDW without renting a car since our honeymoon in 1997!! We have used it to go to the parks, go to Walmart to buy necessities, leave property to eat on occasion. We love the flexibility of having the car and I also love the convenience of putting tired cranky kids in the car instead of waiting for a bus all the time. We also have used Alamo for our last 3-4 trips and have been very happy with them. Good luck making your decision.

[songbird]

We've gone both ways with renting. At SOG you are right across the street from Transportation Center and Poly-easy acess. However, if you do rent a car, and need a quick get-away from the parks at the end of the day, your resort pass on your dashboard can get you into adjacent resort parking lots. Just an option. If you don't like long, stop at every resort, trips to DTD or PI, rent a car. Enjoy! It's all about the fun! Please post a report on SOG. It looks so beautiful with HUGE rooms!

[blondie]

We have always rented a car or had our own car with us. We enjoy the Disney transportation to get to Magic Kingdom early and/or stay late. we use our car to go get snacks at one of the local grocery stores, go to Sea World or Universal, go souvenier shopping on Route 192 and to go to Walgreens to have digital pictures developed. I don't think we would be happy not having a car to get us where we wanted to go. They come in especially handy when it rains and there isn't much to do at the resort. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[luvgoofy]

We recently flew to WDW for the first time (we usually drive) and stayed at SOG. There was a few times we missed having a car. My son really wanted to go to mini golf and we didn't have a way to get there. The bus to DTD only runs after 6pm so no afternoon trips direct from SOG. And there was a couple times we just missed the bus and had to wait 1/2 an hour for the next one. You'll be Ok getting to the 4 parks without a car but renting one will give you a bit more freedom to explore.
Amy

[brideto_be05]

I can tell you that the freedom of having a rental car is WONDERFUL!! We have gotten a rental car on every trip and just makes you feel better knowing that you don't have to be on anyone else's schedule. We absolutely love renting a car. That's my advice to you!! RENT A CAR!!

[Stinker Bell]

Ok, I'm convinced. We'll rent a car! I think I'll feel better having one. You all brought up some good points. (Silly me didn't even think about rain!) I was hoping to cut costs somewhere since we're splurging by flying, but it seems the cost difference wouldn't be worth sacraficing convenience. I'm am sooooo looking forward to this trip!!! Thanks again for your sage advice!

[vsonnier]

This is so funny because I posted the exact same question like a month ago and had almost nothing but responses saying renting a car was a waste of money and I should just stick with Disney transportation. We have decided to just rent a car though. In our last 5 trips we have always had a car and I just don't think I would like having to wait for a bus. I know on our last trip DH and I were constantly commenting on the long lines of people waiting for a bus as we drove by on our way to the parks. I think it's worth the money!

[DogLady]

Everyone has good points for renting a car but i think renting a car is a waste of time and money.
I have never rented a car on any of my trips to DW, as my DH says, not having a car is part of the magic of DW.
SOG has even better transportation than it did when we last went and you can always walk over to Poly and take monorail.
but after reading everyone's posts maybe i will rent a car one of these trips and report back on the difference.
Noreen

[DogLady]

the downside to renting a car is finding a place to park, ugh, not my cup of tea, especially if you go during a busy time.
you could always call a cab.
noreen

[DVC_Increda_Man]

We like riding the busses and other transportation at Disney world because we like meeting all the people from all over the world that come to Disney.

At our Nov. 2005 trip we met a family of 8 from Portugal, a family from Argentina, a family from Brazil, 2 families from UK, a 4 generations Japanese family, and a couple from New Zealand.

Now I know most people here in the US hate the busses and such and don't talk to each other on busses, but Its just another part of the magic of Disney interacting with people from all parts of the world.

[stonewall]

We always rent a car, but that's just because I like the freedom of being able to keep my own schedule. the Car Care center is over around the bend from the Poly and I believe that all resorts will run you over there should you want to pick up a car for a day or two. If you belong to a wholesalec club,check out their rates as BJ's always saves us a TON of $$.