Question for those who drive to WDW or rent a car. About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

When we've had a car onsite, we wouldn't usually take it to the parks. If we had dinner at a resort, we'd usually drive over to the resort to save transit time

[Docrwm]

We drive and park the car for the entire trip Its really wonderful to just not have to drive, find a parking place, etc.

[Tinc]

We park are car an leave it until we leave at the end of our vacation. Only when we go to Sea World did we use it.

[RobDVC]

Originally Posted by nalexander

If you have a car do you drive to the parks yourself or take disney transportation?

We take our car to every park but the Magic Kingdom. At the MK, you have to park your car, then walk or take the tram to the TTC, then take a monorail or ferry over to the front gate. All of the other parks have parking lots next to the entrances.

Originally Posted by nalexander

If you drive I am wondering how much if cost to park at the parks and if you park hop do you have to pay parking for each park or just one rate for the day?

If you are staying in a WDW resort, parking is free. (You just have to display your parking pass).
If you are not staying in a WDW resort, parking is $11 per day. Save your receipt, as you will need to show it at any other park toll plaza you go to that day to get free parking there.

Originally Posted by nalexander

Also, can you park at other resorts if you have a meal at that resort?

Yes, you can drive to another resort and the parking gate security guard will give you a 3-hour parking pass.

[Melissa1214]

We always drive and usually stay offsite, so we have to use our own transportation. Even when we stay onsite we generally use our own car because it's quicker than using the busses and we know we'll be able to come and go without waiting.

[Disney Franatic]

We haven't had a car at WDW until this past trip, so we've always depended on the bus transportation. It does take much longer to use Disney transportation, but you don't have to worry about driving back to your resort at the end of a long day. Since we did rent a car this time, and weren't staying on property we opted to drive to Epcot. Also, if you are staying off property unless you are at a Hotel Plaza Blvd. hotel most hotels only offer transportation to the parks 3 times in the morning and 3 times in the evening. It costs $11 per day if you are not staying on property. We actually were happy we drove there since we got back to our hotel so quickly. We left before the big crowds at the end of the day, so I don't know how long it would have taken at the busier time. If you have a car it is also much better to drive to DTD.

[eff051102]

You could always try the Disney Transportation and if you aren't a fan
then use your car next time.

[wdwlovers]

We always drive our car to the parks. We prefer the freedom of being able to get around a bit faster and not having to wait for the buses.

[Nick and Ryans Mom]

We use Disney transportation to the parks and DTD. We only use our car to get to the waterparks and ADRs at other resorts. I prefer letting Disney chauffer us around (plus we can save gas!).

[JerseyDad]

.....after driving 1150 miled from Jersey to Orlando....there is NO way that I would drive to / from the parks, and therefore we always use Disney Transportation. However, on the one or two days we go off-site (Universal Studios, etc.), it's great to have the car (van, actually) with us. I think WDW transportation is fabulous...even if there are some "waits" required.

[lazanya]

We usually drive down to WDW and use the Disney Transportation while were there so hubby can take a break!

[DopeyGirl]

We've always driven to WDW.

The only times we have driven to the park is if we had a breakfast at a resort other than our own then we just drive to the parks straight from there. (as long as you stay on property, parking at the parks is free) Other than that, we park the car at our resort and don't move it until it is time to drive home or if, for some reason, we need to go off property for something.

[bitterchickey]

We always drive, park free(onsite guests) and use Disney buses most of the time, but also drive to parks on occasion.

[annafitch2000]

We usually drive to WDW, but while we're there we use Disney transportation. As others have mentioned, it's nice to not worry about driving. You do want to keep in mind that first thing in the morning, around park opening time, and in the evening when the parks are closing, there will most likely be longer waiting for buses with everyone trying to arrive and leave at the same time. My suggestion would be to use transportation, but maybe leave early or hangout in shops at closing to let the lines die down.

[pflamingo]

We always drive to WDW, park the car, and take Disney transport. We've never had any hideously long waits for busses, but we did get "stuck" a couple of times.

Once, when we closed down the MK and didn't want to wait in the long line for the boat to the WL, we thought we'd be clever and walk to the CR and get the boat to the WL from there (when they still did that) -- only to find that the boat stopped running about an hour before. We (and another couple) ended up "negotiating" with a cab driver (a.k.a., agreeing to pay whatever he wanted) to get back to WL. The other time, we'd had a very late dinner at Narcoossee's. When our waiter overheard us discussing how we might get back to AKL, he offered to drive us, since he was finished for the night anyway! And yes, that was after we'd paid the bill and tip. Still one of our favorite memories!

Even with these incidents, we still prefer not to drive. Okay, I admit it, we like to drink wine (a lot of wine) with dinner, and neither of us wants to end up in Disney jail for DUI. Not to mention the fact that I have enough trouble finding my way around the place cold sober. Nope, the busses suit us just fine!