Rental Car, or not to Rent-a-Car?

[Nextinline]

My wife and I just booked a trip to WDW from Aug 30-Sept 5, staying at Coronado Springs. We are struggling to decide whether it will be worth booking a rental car, or relying on WDW transportation.

We enjoy the Magical Express, but the buses on property aren't quite as "magical". On our last trip we used WDW transportation, and while it didn't take away from the experience, it was obvious that the transportation system as a whole needed improvement. But then again, I've seen the parking lots at WDW and I'm not sure that waiting for a bus is any worse than parading through a desert of cars in the Florida sun.

Please let me know your thoughts!

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

On our recent trip, we'd make a Dunkin' Donuts run a few times. Having a rental car came in handy for that, especially since I'm a coffee snob.

 

[bingie]

I always rent a car - and leave it at the resort the days i go to epcot so I don't have to drive....

Having a car also lets you escape the Disney bubble with 5 mins of driving, and you can visit a ton of nice (and cheaper) restaurants 10 mins from Disney.

It also lets you avoid the magical express.

Value of getting off property + not waiting for magical express (or getting up 4 hours before my flight at 4am) + i'm in control >> the cost of the cheap rental car at MCO

 

[bjlc57]

we have not rented a car on our last visit.. my wife has a scooter so the buses work well for us.. and this last time.. we booked groceries into the room.. that was much cheaper then the rent a car.. even the pizza delivery from Giordano's with tip was cheaper to the rent a car.. the only true thing I miss is a decent cup of coffee.. and that's not worth $200 for a rent a car.. I don't understand why the resorts can't get you a decent cup of coffee.. all the rest of the food is outstanding.. btw the coffee was "better" the last time 18 months ago.. but "better is a relative term..

 

[MickeyMomV]

Are bus schedules or arrival times are being published somewhere? Either at the parks, at the resorts or on the app? Last time we went in 2014 this was not the case, but I thought I read something about this being a possibility for some resorts.

This would make a huge difference in anticipating when to leave the room or parks to catch the bus without waiting an excessive amount of time.

Most, if not all, of the resorts have monitors at the bus stops letting you know of the status of the buses and approximate wait times. So there is no actual posted schedules but there are arrival times. To my knowledge there is way to get these in your rooms.

We have only had a rental car once while staying at the world and once we parked it we never took it out again. We like the idea of not having to worry about driving and just letting Disney take care of everything. We find WDW resort busses less stressful than the morons driving around the park late at night doing 20 in a 45 because they can't figure out where they are going.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Are bus schedules or arrival times are being published somewhere? Either at the parks, at the resorts or on the app? Last time we went in 2014 this was not the case, but I thought I read something about this being a possibility for some resorts.

This would make a huge difference in anticipating when to leave the room or parks to catch the bus without waiting an excessive amount of time.

We never saw any "published". We guessed that this was because publishing times would remove needed flexibility, for example a bus may be delayed because it is loading more than a few Wheelchairs/ECVs. Also, it would prevent a bus from departing even if no-one was waiting at a bus stop until the "published" departure time. It seems to be more of a system that fluctuates with a supply-demand type of function although many will tell you that the supply of buses at high-demand (i.e. park close) times is sorely lacking. We usually rolled with the flow as we were on vacation and had time to enjoy what was around us. We think a call to the front desk might help bracket your time-expectations. Good luck and the monitors mentioned in prior posts may help. Seems like even the app is getting "on board." Huzzah!

EDIT: We rent all the time and sometimes drive but tend to leave the car parked until we need to travel offsite, which seems to be enough to justify the cost. We are a family of 5 and appreciate the flexibility provided by this costly choice.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I do like the flexibility of a rental car.

 

[thomas998]

There are No additional costs for parking on property as a guest & if spending say $200 extra is not going to be an issue id say rent a car & take advantage of it. Personally i rent a care every time I visit and to me its money well spent for the convenience of not having to rely on the buses which can be iffy at best sometimes.

You can easily justify the cost of a car simply from the savings you can get by getting your breakfast from an offsite place before going to the parks, not to mention the offsite areas have much better tasting food for breakfast than anything you'll find in the parks. Add to that the amount of time you'll save and having a car is well worth the expense. Also if you need to buy any bottled water or other similar items while on your trip you can easily drive to wal-mart or target and get those things for a fraction of the cost of buying them at Disney.

Only caveat to having a car there is that you need to study a map before you get there because the roads at Disney can be confusing especially at night. First time we were there I think we got lost a couple of times because the Disney signs are less than clear in several areas where s sign saying next right may or may not actually be the right right after the sign vs what you might think is the second right... But if you get a map or use google maps before you get there you'll quickly see that you can also get around to some of the parks quicker using routes that aren't shown by Disney's signs than if you use the signed routes. There is even a route that takes you into the MK parking lot without going through the parking toll booths (though if your staying on property that doesn't really matter because your parking is free anyways.).

 

[Phonedave]

I don't rent a car anymore. I did at times, I have been at WDW plenty of times, both with and without a rental car. I actually LIKE not driving. I really have no desire to go off property to eat or to pick up groceries. I park admission is expensive, no need to spend time driving around the Orlando area.

As fas as WDW transportation vs. driving is concerned, it really is a toss up. Depends what park you are at, what time you get there, and what time you leave, where you are going, and what day it is. For me, there is always the option to call a cab. On those occassions where the bus lines are insane, and we are dog tired, $20 for a cab gets the job done.

I was actually on vacation last week, where I did rent a car (in the Atlanta area, not WDW) and after 3 days, I said to my wife "I am sick of all this driving around - we need to go to WDW, a cruise, or an all inclusive resort, because this rental car stuff stinks"

-dave

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

For some reason, not riding in a car makes it seem more like a vacation to me. I'm in and out of the car so much at home that it's nice to get a break from it.

 

[correcaminos]

Yesterday we decided to go to Pandora at night. Drove over, parked, and in the park in about 15 minutes. Going back was just as nice. It really has been great for things like that. That said we avoid parking at MK always.

 

[tsaintc]

For some reason, not riding in a car makes it seem more like a vacation to me. I'm in and out of the car so much at home that it's nice to get a break from it.

I completely agree... We never rent a car when visiting WDW. However, we do utilize the Mears taxis to move from resort to resort or if we are just too tired to deal with bus lines at closing.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

If you haven't bought your park tickets yet, you can buy them on undercovertourist.com and save money on the tickets AND you can add on a rental car for HALF the price of a rental. We've done it tons of times and it always saves us money. Good luck!

Edit: On a side note, to answer your question, we rent a car only for the first day and the last day as we stay at the Swan and do not get the magical express. With that said, we always utilize the Disney transportation system and we go back for naps. Never had a problem with it before. I love that I don't have to have my car with me or load the kids up in the HOT car. I like knowing I can sit with my kids on the air conditioned bus and talk about all the stuff we've done already that day or will be doing later. It's a nice relaxing ride from MK in the afternoon when no one is on the buses. Ha

 

[Smiley/OCD]

My wife and I just booked a trip to WDW from Aug 30-Sept 5, staying at Coronado Springs. We are struggling to decide whether it will be worth booking a rental car, or relying on WDW transportation.

We enjoy the Magical Express, but the buses on property aren't quite as "magical". On our last trip we used WDW transportation, and while it didn't take away from the experience, it was obvious that the transportation system as a whole needed improvement. But then again, I've seen the parking lots at WDW and I'm not sure that waiting for a bus is any worse than parading through a desert of cars in the Florida sun.

Please let me know your thoughts!

I disagree...I HATE the feeling of being "confined" (which is why I would NEVER go on a cruise) LOL...we rent a car every time we go, I usually have enough bonus points on my c/c to get a free rental, and since I use an ECV, we get an SUV...when we arrive at the airport (usually around 9 pm), we don't have to wait for the ME, just hop in and drive. The MOST important reason for the rental is that I HATE Coke, so I drive to the 7-11 about 10 mins. away, so I can get my Diet Pepsi Super Big Gulp and a few 2L bottles to take into the parks.

As far as the busses go, I couldn't disagree more...I happen to think that the bus system is excellent (USUALLY)...I find it magical to make small talk with other guests. We love it!