Renting a Car - Yes or No?

[NewbieMouse]

I've been reading conflicting things on whether or not a car is a good idea at WDW, so thought I would pose the question to experienced DISers given our situation. We are flying in to MCO, then heading straight to WDW for 6 days, then to Universal for 2 days before flying out again. Total trip length (i.e. rental period) will be 9 days. I know from a cost perspective it's clearly cheaper to take a the express to WDW, a cab to universal and then a cab back to the airport (especially when factoring in Universal resort parking fees), but was wondering if there is an advantage to having a car on site at WDW. We are staying at POFQ (unless a BC deal comes up), plan to buy hoppers, and are a family of 4.

Thanks!

 

[larryz]

Do you value your mobility?
Do you expect to need to get off property for anything?
Have you read some of the resort bus horror stories? Many have expressed that they only use the busses going directly to the MK -- all others, they drive themselves.

Personally, I'd rent a car. If you're comfortable being stuck at the resort, then you'd probably be OK.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Do you value your mobility?
Do you expect to need to get off property for anything?
Have you read some of the resort bus horror stories? Many have expressed that they only use the busses going directly to the MK -- all others, they drive themselves.

Personally, I'd rent a car. If you're comfortable being stuck at the resort, then you'd probably be OK.

I don't expect to go off property until we actually check out to go to Universal, but do expect to park hop sometimes. I value the mobility if it would mean a time savings. I had heard the buses at POFQ are not bad so I wasn't sure how much of an issue that would be.

We are arriving around 4:30 and I would love to get to the hotel and maybe take the boat to DS for dinner that night. Some express horror stories have also made me think just jumping in a car from the airport would simplify my life...

 

[Fueledbycoffee]

I think it depends on what makes your vacation special...
We've flown into MCO 2/5 times that we have been to WDW and never missed having a car. When we drive down we typically park it and don't touch it 'till we leave to go back home. To use being on vacation at WDW means we don't worry about anything (traffic and parking) except what our next snack will be and who won the game on Buzz.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We're a solid YES to having our own car. Every trip, we give the bus another go and find ourselves wasting precious park touring time and missing out on pre-park opening MK breakfast. Definitely not magical...

This past trip, family members who flew in to meet us ended up renting a car halfway through the week (1 family) and renting a cab 6 different times for transportation between parks (another family). We had our car, too, and used it everyday though only left property once.

If you've never tried to go sans car, give it a shot. A lot of people are okay with the buses/cabs. You can always grab one midweek if you feel it's needed.

 

[NewbieMouse]

So you find the disney transportation does a decent job? I am also looking to be as hassle free as possible, and wasn't sure if a car would help that. I think if we weren't going to Universal I would waffle about it less and just take the express there and back...

 

[HopperFan]

I drive to WDW. I've stayed 10 days and honestly didn't know if my car was still there at the end until I went to pack it up. So yes it is possible to do just fine without a car. I have a few resorts I don't like the bus situation and would drive but POFQ is fine. The only real plus to me for driving, other than leaving property, is getting to different resorts to eat. Now if I drive to the parks other than MK, can I save travel time - yes. Is it a deal breaker - no. Biggest plus is leaving a park at closing and long bus lines.

 

[austinsmommie]

We do not rent a car. We like not having to drive while we are at Disney. We have had 5 trips ranging from 8 days - 12 days and were fine without it. We did one time needed steroids that my sons doctor order when his asthma started giving him trouble, but there was a pharmacy that brought it to the resort. My kids love the Disney buses. They both went on trips with my sister who rented a car and they both missed the buses. We have had some difficult times on the bus, 2 sleeping kids, stroller and bags, but those are some of the things that we laugh about. Can you get to places quicker with a car, yes sometimes, but for us it just more relaxing to let someone else do the driving.

 

[Travis B]

On our last trip a week or so ago we took ME from MCO to Disney, Uber from Disney to Universal (a little over $20) and then Uber again from Universal to MCO ($17). The only time I wished we had a car was when I felt 'trapped' at Universal and wished we could go exploring. As far as Disney goes, I prefer to use the transportation and avoid driving and parking. It's just two adults in our party, so transportation is easier for us than those with small kids. It's just so convenient, and relaxing to know that I don't have to worry about driving and can have cocktails in the park/with dinner if I want to. It works great for us, and I wouldn't consider renting a car unless I wanted to explore off-site.

 

[edolee]

As with most things Disney,different strokes. Here are my experiences.

1) Renting cars at MCO is CHEAP!
2) I like to have my travel to be predictable. I feel I can do that better when I drive myself. Taking a bus can be faster, but might be slower. I want to KNOW how long within a few mins.
3) Privacy... Frankly, I don't want to sit next to you after we have both been in 90 degree weather all day!
4) Emergency exit. If my kid is feeling sick, I want to get them to the room/house asap.
5) FREEDOM There is fun stuff offsite! Universal, Medieval times, Discovery Cove,and on and on.

I should note... I have traveled a lot on business and driven in unfamiliar places many times. It is a bit of a learned skill, so I don't mind driving, in fact I enjoy it. If the thought off this stresses you, I would say skip it. If not, I think it can make your vacation better.

Ed

 

[Happy_2_B]

We are two adults, and rent a car. Taking a bus is rarely faster- we only use Disney transportation for rope drop mornings at the MK when we have a long afternoon break- drive ourselves for everything else. We have a TiW card, so plan to valet the car at a resort that gives us a quick exit strategy at night (CR at MK, BC/YC at EP). We used public transport for a two week trip in London this summer- was great- very efficient. Disney has a long way to go to reach that level of efficiency IMHO. Every person is going to have a different take- it will come down to what works best for you.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'd rent a car.

 

[kelmcg]

We rented a car a few years ago and now we will never go without one. We like to park hop and we like to eat at restaurants at the resorts. Having our own car allows us to hop easily, we can just swing by the resort if we need to pick something up, and we are on our schedule. If we are park hopping we will leave jackets, etc.....in the car just so we have them later in the day without having to carry them everywhere!!!

 

[lorenae]

I'm renting a car- $133 for a Saturday to Saturday rental. I did the last time I was there as well.

The only time I take a Disney bus is to MK (and even then, I might drive and park at the TTC so I can get "home" early for rest time), and sometimes to Disney Springs if I think I'll have a drink.

I love having a car- we're stopping at a grocery store on the way to the resort. We can keep our backpacks with raingear and warmer clothes in the car. At early morning hours (my GS is a morning person), we can drive to AK and be there long before the bus, and leave when we want. One time, we got SOAKED on Kali and we just bopped out to the car to grab warm dry clothes and have a sandwich from the cooler at the same time.

We drove to Universal, but for some reason I had free parking so that was really not an issue. I do hate paying for parking when I rent a car, but this time we're not going to Universal or Sea World. We will do one "other" day, though. Maybe a little river tour or a beach day depending on weather, and we'll have a car. We can also eat off-property easily if we choose to.

 

[msmama]

I have a rental car sitting in the parking lot right now (because I needed it for our non Disney part of the trip and it was cheaper to keep it for the whole time I'm here). It will stay parked until I have to drive back to the airport on Monday morning, which I am DREADING! Not because I'm leaving, but actually because of the driving and the hassle of returning the rental car and dealing with all of my luggage instead of ME handling it all.

I'm at CBR which I would consider the bottom of the bus barrel and we've yet to wait more than a couple of minutes for a bus. I do hate all of the stops it makes around the resort, but not enough to drive myself!

 

[NH-to-FL]

We always rented a car. Primarily so that we could go shop for some unique food needs. We would drive to the parks except for MK where the advantage of not having to go through the TTC offset the wait times for the bus. We would also drive to our day at Sea World. We enjoyed having the flexibility of a car.

You can do fine without a car with a combination of Disney and hired transportation. We decided that the flexibility was worth the extra cost.

 

[mom2rb]

DH refuses to rent a car. He sits in traffic every day and likes having someone else drive him. When I went for a convention with a co-worker, I had a rental car. It wasn't bad driving around DW, but I didn't like driving to and from the airport.

 

[Figmentmommy]

We have always rented a car when we've traveled by plane. Pre kids & post kids. When we drive we also use our car daily. We rent and return at the airport - pretty good prices and we've often used our credit card rewards point towards the rental making it free or almost free. We like it this way. I don't foresee a trip where we wouldn't rent a car if we didn't have our own.

 

[pkdof]

We've done it both ways. This trip we are staying exclusively on property, although at the Swan, which charges for parking. Because we are four adults with too much luggage, renting a car is expensive. Decided it is much cheaper to use Happy Limo for airport transfers and use Über if busses don't come right away.

 

[Donnainnj]

I have a rental car sitting in the parking lot right now (because I needed it for our non Disney part of the trip and it was cheaper to keep it for the whole time I'm here). It will stay parked until I have to drive back to the airport on Monday morning, which I am DREADING! Not because I'm leaving, but actually because of the driving and the hassle of returning the rental car and dealing with all of my luggage instead of ME handling it all.

I'm at CBR which I would consider the bottom of the bus barrel and we've yet to wait more than a couple of minutes for a bus. I do hate all of the stops it makes around the resort, but not enough to drive myself!

You can check your luggage at the resort if your airline participates. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/resort-airline-check-in/