Rental Car to and from parks

[Tpeila]

We are staying in the All Star Resorts and have been told to expect 1.5 hours to travel to the parks and to dining reservations. Some friends just got back and they rented a car. Any thoughts on renting a car at the Car Center just to drive to and from the parks, hotels and dining and avoid the long transportation times?

Thanks!

 

[sharonabe]

We are staying in the All Star Resorts and have been told to expect 1.5 hours to travel to the parks and to dining reservations. Some friends just got back and they rented a car. Any thoughts on renting a car at the Car Center just to drive to and from the parks, hotels and dining and avoid the long transportation times?

Thanks!

1.5 hours should not be the norm. Buses come every 20 min, so even if you just miss one, another will be along within the 20 min. Then there's just the actual travel time to wherever you're going.

We stayed offsite for a one-night trip in November. Never again! We were only 5-10 min from the parks, but the traffic getting there was horrible, and this was on a Saturday night and Sunday morning.

 

[Robo]

Nothing beats fun at WDW.

 

[cinnderly]

I have done both, and I have to say I really loved having a car. But I'm the kind of person that needs control over when I come and go, haha. The buses are mostly great at non-rush times, or if you're having a drink. If you're leaving the park when it's closing, and you've been on your feet all day, standing in line for 30 or 40 or maybe 70 minutes just to stand on the bus more is pretty much torture. Everyone is crabby, kids are crying... I found it much more enjoyable to just walk to my car in the parking lot, even if it was a long walk. Especially when my son was little.

 

[bumbershoot]

I love a car.

1.5 hours should not be the norm. Buses come every 20 min, so even if you just miss one, another will be along within the 20 min. Then there's just the actual travel time to wherever you're going.

But it's not every bus option every 20 minutes. Otherwise there would be buses at the bus stops every moment.

 

[beck00]

I have done both, and I have to say I really loved having a car. But I'm the kind of person that needs control over when I come and go, haha. The buses are mostly great at non-rush times, or if you're having a drink. If you're leaving the park when it's closing, and you've been on your feet all day, standing in line for 30 or 40 or maybe 70 minutes just to stand on the bus more is pretty much torture. Everyone is crabby, kids are crying... I found it much more enjoyable to just walk to my car in the parking lot, even if it was a long walk. Especially when my son was little.

Our last trip we rented a minivan and I'm with you! It was so nice having that car in the evenings leaving the parks. We've done trips on which we've used only buses, and they were fine. But man, is it nice walking back to your car and driving back to the resort without lining up to wait on a bus!

 

[anorman]

FYI on a previous trip we stayed onsite but had a car as well so we could increase our options for dining, shopping, etc. We used both the Disney transportation and the car depending on what we had planned for each day. One day we stayed at MK till after Wishes and we did have the car with us. The line ups to get back to the car centre were ridiculously long...both by boat and by monorail. We decided to split up just to see which option was the faster choice....I went on the bus with one DD and DH went for the car with our other DD using the boat as it was loading. Even though they got on the first boat leaving (those things hold a lot of people!), I got back to the resort using the bus at least 15 or 20 minutes before they did driving. I was actually quite surprised.

Disney does do the transportation thing quite well.

 

[mrzrich]

FYI on a previous trip we stayed onsite but had a car as well so we could increase our options for dining, shopping, etc. We used both the Disney transportation and the car depending on what we had planned for each day. One day we stayed at MK till after Wishes and we did have the car with us. The line ups to get back to the car centre were ridiculously long...both by boat and by monorail. We decided to split up just to see which option was the faster choice....I went on the bus with one DD and DH went for the car with our other DD using the boat as it was loading. Even though they got on the first boat leaving (those things hold a lot of people!), I got back to the resort using the bus at least 15 or 20 minutes before they did driving. I was actually quite surprised.

Disney does do the transportation thing quite well.

Magic Kingdom is the exception. Driving yourself to and from the parks is a breeze, EXCEPT for Magic Kingdom.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

The rule of thumb is to allow 90 minutes when you're traveling to an ADR to account for Disney transportation waiting and any transfers you may have to make (especially when traveling between resorts), to make sure you make it on time and don't miss your ADR. But that doesn't mean all trips, or even that trip, will take 90 minutes. It's just a contingency strategy. Park buses run every 20 minutes and more frequently at opening and closing times. Most likely, most of your trip if not all of them will take far shorter than that.

While some people have a preference to use a car on-site, there is no actual need. The majority of on-site guests get along just fine using Disney transportation, and there's always Uber/Lyft as a backup option. If you're from a city with a transit system, it will feel totally normal. Essentially, Disney runs the third largest transit system in Florida. Larger, in fact, in terms of number of buses alone, than Orlando's own transit system.

 

[Klayfish]

We stayed offsite for a one-night trip in November. Never again! We were only 5-10 min from the parks, but the traffic getting there was horrible, and this was on a Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Maybe that was just an unfortunate one time bad experience, because traffic really isn't that bad. We exclusively stay offsite, for weeks at a time and don't have issues with traffic. Yeah, there are other cars on the road, but it's not a complete log jam like major city rush hours. Anyway, for the OP, I can't speak to relying on WDW transportation, because we don't. But we wouldn't dream of doing WDW without a car. It gives you so much flexibility and freedom that you just can't get relying on buses. However, it's an expense you don't "need" if you're staying on property, so you have to decide if it's worth it.

 

[NH-to-FL]

We always rented a car when we stayed on site but that was because we always made a couple of off site trips for grocery shopping and to visit SeaWorld. We would usually drive to AK but that was because we would frequently use the return trip to stop and do some grocery shopping. As we stayed at the BWI we would walk to Epcot and boat to HS.

As others have noted, driving to the TTC to get to the MK from onsite does not make sense.

All that said, it was still a questionable value to rent a car for just those few extra trips but then my desire for control over our flexibility kicked in and justified the expense.

Unless you have other needs for off site transportation renting a car doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Psychodisney]

We are in the rent a car camp. For many years, we took the Disney transportation. Now, unless we are staying at BCV, we get a car. It's nice knowing you don't have to wait for transportation. We always have terrible waits at the water parks for example.
It would also be wonderful not to have to deal with a stroller on the bus!

 

[steviethegreat]

I like the rental car because after all the noise in the park, getting into the car and having that few moments of peace before heading back to the hotel is amazing. There's no waiting for a bus. No standing with unhappy children. I'm ALL FOR kids at Disney, it's their thing. I'm grateful adults can go. But! There's always one REALLY tired kid that just WAILS and makes everyone unhappy. So while my sympathy extends to them, I prefer to use the rental car.

It means that I'm never late for an ADR. I don't have to stand in line for a bus. And I can control when I leave, rather than waiting. It ALSO means if I need groceries, I can run out and get them instead of paying for delivery. I can also head to Disney Springs or resort hop a little easier. It's a convenience. But there's also the long walk from the gates to the car (wherever it's parked, always at the end of a row, all the way in the back). And if you're tired, it can be that one little thing that makes everyone grumpy.

So it just depends on what matters most to you. I like the comfort and privacy of the car before heading back to the resort. It helps me decompress a little.

 

[loves to dive]

We drive down, park the car and never get in it again until we leave. I have occasionally waited a long time for a bus but normally I'm at the bus stop and at the park in about 1/2 hour to 40 min. depending on the park and what resort I'm staying at. MK is the farthest park from every resort except the monorail ones so it can take as long as 15 just to get to the park, no matter what your mode of transportation. For me it's easier just to let someone else do the driving, even if we have to stand, my son goes to college and is used to standing on buses and we are never in that much of a hurry that it bothers us. We have been known to even wait for the next bus so people with little kids can get on instead of us. We've been going since my son was 3 and have always used the WDW transportation, when he was little he would just sit in my lap and sleep, he hated strollers so we never took one, if he got too tired we either went back to the resort to rest or I rented one so there was no having to deal with getting on and off the transportation with a stroller.

 

[Hopefully]

The last time we rented a car it sat in the resort parking lot the entire trip. We never used it at all.
90 minutes travel time is an exaggeration for the most part. Buses to the parks are pretty good. Resort to Resort transfer are the long ones. I often budget for a taxi or 2 for those trips. It is still cheaper than renting a car for a week.
Good Luck

 

[mco65]

LOVE having a car at WDW to drive to and from the parks.. but, i wouldn't RENT one just for that convenience.. some times we drive down (6.5 hours away) and sometimes we fly.. if we fly, we take the wdw bus to and from the parks (not the best but certainly not worth the cost of a rental car just to avoid, at least not YET).. if we drive our car down, we drive our car to the parks every day..

In fact, the last time we went (a few weeks ago) me and the boys drove down.. the girls flew... done that a few times too.. me and the boys take off a few hours before the girls.. and pick 'em up at the airport..

 

[McMonsters]

I went back and forth for our upcoming trip on renting as we have done both, I ended up going with a rental. I often visit with just myself and kids so having a rental helps me keep the herd contained. Trying to wait at the bus stop with a 6, 5 and 2 year plus all the necessary accessories we drag with us is a nightmare. We usually walk to the parks from the parking lot and don't use the trams. It never fails that one kid ends up asleep as we are leaving so putting them in the car seat in our rental vs juggling a cranky kid is worth the price of the rental. The kids really wanted to ride ME again but that too is difficult for us this trip. We arrive on a Saturday right before lunch and due to food allergies we don't have many choices in the airport. Added to that we can usually get from gate to resort in just under an hour with a rental where ME has usually taken twice that.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you aren't in need of car seats, I would suggest simply using uber. From resort to resort and resort to park, the average cost is about $5 - $7, it's super easy and you don't have to worry about rental contracts or driving yourself, parking, etc. We've done this multiple times now and it's just so convenient. When coming or going to MK, we will either have the driver drop us off at GF (and use the monorail) or CR (and walk) and then just reverse that on the way back to the resort. The other resorts, parks and DS are super easy to access with uber.

 

[megs1313]

we always rent a car. always.

 

[Tpeila]

Thanks everyone. I think we will plan on using Uber if we decide we don't want to wait for a bus.