Is renting a car while staying on resort worth it?

[Midwestisbest]

My kids complain about walking and waiting constantly.

I am thinking about staying at Coronado springs but have heard horror stories about the bus only transportation.

Is renting a car while staying on resort worth it?

 

[Heather07438]

DVC helps because there’s no parking fee I think Coronado is $20/nt now, something to consider. We like to rent a car so renting DVC saves us even more $ without having that fee.

There’s the cost of the rental, gas and parking fees which add up... in return you have easy access to groceries and probably saving money on food and sundries overall, you own transport when ME ends, more time per day to sleep or be in the park, more convenient to take a long afternoon break or pop over to another resort for ADR or offsite, (and most importantly to my DH) no hot sweaty or raining bus stops. But many people don’t do much of this stuff often anyway and can just get grocery delivery and use Uber for a couple situations instead.

We did 1 out of 5 recent trips without a car and while DH said never again I didn’t feel it was bad at all. We were staying AoA and iirc only 2 times where the wait was really long and inconvenient: MK at closing and AK back to the resort one afternoon. Personally I’d rather spend that $400+ on something else during the trip but it makes DH happy so that’s his splurge. I’m happy to ride along

 

[ElenaRN]

We used to use Disney transportation only. One year we decided to rent a car and we have done it every time since.

We are DVC so don't have to think about $ for parking.

We like it for the convenience of being able to just come and go as we please and not being dependent upon bus wait time etc.

We also go off property quite a bit for shopping, dinner or visiting other parks.

It is an extra expense but it is worth it for us.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

My kids complain about walking and waiting constantly.

I am thinking about staying at Coronado springs but have heard horror stories about the bus only transportation.

Is renting a car while staying on resort worth it?

No need to rent a car... UBER is typically around $10.00 to AK, EPCOT, DS or HS, from GDT. MK just take the bus.
We just got back at the end of the month from a 12 day trip and stayed at the Gran Destino. The bus times were hardly an issue and my wife and I were some of the first in the parks in the mornings.
We never spent more that 10 minutes in the morning waiting on a bus at Gran Destino Tower and AK, EPCOT and HS are all under a 5 minute ride to and from the resort. MK is no more than a 15 minute ride. In the morning they sent 2 buses at a time for MK and HS typically so it wasn't a big huge deal people make it out to be. Again, we have stayed at Gran Destino 3 times since it opened and we never have issues. Plus an UBER is only $10=$15.00 to most places on property as well. Don't take an UBER to MK though as it drops you off at the TTC not the front gate.
What I found out very quickly after being on the board is that people have their favorite hotels on these boards and constantly over inflate the bus situation as "nightmarish" to justify their wanted spending. Ha What it really boils down to is they want to find some justification for staying were they stay even though it's costing them thousands of dollars more, so they simply yell, bus. As if they are not going to have to take them to at least 2 parks if they visit all 4 regardless of where they stay. LOL Rather than coming up with some excuse just say, I like staying where I like staying, there is nothing wrong with that. They don't need to demonize other resorts. Ha I'm glad people stay other places, more room for me at my favorites. Ha
Most people have never stayed at the hotels you are asking them to compare in the first place so their go to is, over exaggerate the buses. Ha They may or may not know that when you stay at places that have alternative transportation WDW limits the bus service at those resorts. If you are staying at resorts with only buses, they send more, which only makes sense. Ha

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We've been DVC for about 20 years now and up to 5 years ago, flew into MCO and always rented a car (husband insisted). We don't have the parking fees, which is nice, and that really does add up. Parking at the resorts and hotel are generally not a problem (at least for us). Disney Springs, on the other hand, can be a nightmare. The traffic just to get there is horrible and to find parking on top of that...ugh! The reason we always got a rental car was my husband. He wants to be able to come and go as he pleases without delay. I will say it does help a lot when you have an ADR to make. I'm fine with the waiting and would have rather spent the money elsewhere. I know everyone has their own experiences with Disney transportation, especially when it comes to the buses. I have to say we haven't had the best experience(s) with the buses. I know you need to give plenty of time, but still....ugh. Got married at WDW. Gave it an hour to get to our rehearsal, we were still late. An evening at Disney Springs waiting for a bus....waited and waited. Other buses already have made 2 and sometimes 3 trips. Some guests were getting tired of waiting and either walked away or tried another bus to take them anywhere. All of this was before Covid and from what I've heard, not all transportation is up and running so waits are longer. Take into consideration that car rental prices have gone up. There has been posts about this not only hear but on a totally non Disney related forum that I frequent. We now can drive to WDW so we have always have our own vehicle and don't need to rent. But I can say that I find ourselves not using our vehicle as much as we did when we had the rental.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

My kids complain about walking and waiting constantly.

I am thinking about staying at Coronado springs but have heard horror stories about the bus only transportation.

Is renting a car while staying on resort worth it?

It really just depends on your family. Unless you have to be in control of arrival/departure times and feel that's needed, I don't see a huge benefit.

We always drive to WDW so we have our car but we try to do as little of driving as possible and rely on disney transport 100%. We've also stayed at some of the resorts with notoriously bad bus situations like Caribbean Beach, Coronado and POR and while waiting for the buses isn't ideal, the walk to/from the buses isn't the problem, it's the waiting. We walk a lot at Disney since that just goes with the territory. I will say, parking at Coronado can be iffy depending which section you are in so you may not really be that much closer and as far as driving your own car to the parks, there are no parking lot trams running right now so the walk from the lots to the park entrances can be long and with MK, you'll be subjected to heading in via the TTC so that just adds more time. Also, keep in mind you will pay a daily parking fee for the rental and right now there is a major car rental shortage so prices are inflated. Not sure when you are heading there but something to keep in mind.

 

[ZellyB]

"Worth it" is a very individual decision. We rent a car almost every trip now. We typically stay at Shades of Green and don't really like the way their bus service runs, so that's part of it. But, the bigger thing for me is the freedom it gives me for coming and going on my own time. It may not really be quicker than bus/boat/monorail, but it "feels" like it is to us since there aren't really lines to stand in and wait, so the fact that we are moving the whole time makes it feel faster to me even if it isn't. LOL. We are also early park-goers, so we get to the parks very early and thus usually have a good parking spot that makes it easy to walk in and out (even at MK we are at least close to the Ticket and Transportation Center). We often leave Disney property to go shopping or out to eat as well, so having the car is nice for that. We don't mind driving at all and we've driven around Disney and the surrounding area enough that we are comfortable with where we are going usually.

It's definitely an added expense, but we've always felt like just the few meals we eat off site more than makes up for the cost and then for the benefits mentioned above. Uber could get you many of the same benefits for less cost, but again we just enjoy having more control of the coming and going and having our own car. It's very much an individual preference though.

 

[Jtrem]

We stay at BLT due to DVC member and enjoy being close to MK. The first couple times (2012/2013) we used disney transport monorail for Epcot and bus for AKL / HS or occasionally uber but went at low crowd times. Last several times we have driven or rented a car. We usually have our family of 5 plus some extended family so great to get 7 or 8 into a minivan vs multiple ubers. At this point I don’t think I could go without renting a car. Love the flexibility of not waiting for a bus (though kids always go monorail for Epcot while someone drives with me so have the car to get back at end of the night) and being able to go to offsite easily (needed to get a Rx after an on site doctor visit once and so much easier since we had a car)

 

[kanerf]

Having a rental car is useful to get groceries, eat off-site (and save huge) and visit other attractions. If you are staying at a DVC you don't need to worry about parking fees.

 

[tinkerjo]

I don’t have post COVID Info but I have stayed at Coronado springs and never had an issue with the bus. I think Disney springs transportation is a nightmare wherever you stay on property. We bring our own car and usually use it, but that being said, I would not waste the money on a rental and then have to pay parking on top of that. Most of the time transportation is sufficient even though I feel it used to be better. My kids love the buses because they keep them so cold. My car will have baked in the sun all day and we have to open it all up, start it, turn the air on and wait to get in till you can breathe. It cools down about the time you get back to the resort. If it wasn’t for early morning rope drop, we wouldn’t use our car at all

 

[Kerr84]

I like being in the Disney bubble. The cost of renting a car plus parking is so much more expensive than a shuttle/private ride/Uber right now.I never use the car once I am on property.

 

[Heather07438]

For people who have moved from renting a car to using rideshare instead, is there any issue getting rides at park open or close?

We usually open/close the parks and take an afternoon break. Wonder if long waits or surge pricing could impact that trip style.

 

[Disfan454]

Yes, it is very worth it. Not having to wait for buses or shuttles and going wherever you want when you want is the best. I highly recommend it. I will not go to WDW without my own vehicle.

 

[leahgoogle]

We always rent a car. Not having to wait on Disney transportation is worth it to us.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Never owned a car and live in a city with many transport options much like parts of WDW. We stay in the hotels with multiple transportation choices and thus feel no need for a full time car. When we leave or arrive a decision is made to take a taxi or the Disney bus depending on whether we are traveling by plane or train. We’ve taxied back to our hotel from Disney Springs on NYE and that was a traffic mess for livery cars, Disney transport, and private vehicles.

 

[katyjeka]

Ask my husband and he will answer YES!! He hates any kind of bus. Ask me and the answer is NO!!! I love everything Disney including the buses ..I guess I wasn't very helpful. Enjoy your trip, car or no car....

 

[_19disnA]

We always rent a car since it gives us more flexibility on where to eat or shop in additional to getting around Disney. Eating is way cheaper off-site with many good choices. We have also stayed off-site for some trips and the cost of hotels are much lower as well.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I would tell my kids to suck it up. It’s the parents’ vacation too and driving around WDW is not enjoyable, especially when you are tired after a long day. I get frustrated with the idiot drivers. Plus they would have a lot more walking going to and from the car in the parking lot.
But that is my opinion for my family.

 

[Blondie58]

Ask my husband and he will answer YES!! He hates any kind of bus. Ask me and the answer is NO!!! I love everything Disney including the buses ..I guess I wasn't very helpful. Enjoy your trip, car or no car....

I agree with you. Everyone is different. My DH hates to do the driving so we bus, monorail, gondola or Uber. In all our stays we have rented a car one time to get groceries and go to International Ave. The wait to pick up the car was over an hour. To return the car was almost as bad. Plus the transport time to and from the GF. For us personally, no need to rent. (We are going to Key West next winter. Rental car prices are out of sight right now.)