1st Time in Orlando

[DebbieG3]

At the age of 53, I will be going to WDW for the very first time, since I have to be in Orlando for work. My husband and I are staying for 4 days (5 nights) at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I want to see and do as much as I can for my very short visit.

Would you recommend renting a car to make it easier (and cheaper) to park hop and resort hop?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[DisneyDaver]

I have used WDW transportation for my WDW trips except when I took a cab to AK for the early morning Wild Africa Trek. You are coming from much closer since you are staying at AKL (I was at staying at the Grand Floridian). The first thing I would do (like tomorrow is check and see what time you need to be at AK for your tour. Then, I would check to make sure the buses are running regularly at that time. AKL is only a 5ish minute ride to AK so if I thought the timing would work out based on the bus schedule and the tour starting time, I would take the bus. If not, I would take a cab to the tours and use WDW transportation for everything else.

As an aside, the Wild Africa Trek is amazing! My wife and I loved it!

 

[hanwill]

Have a wonderful trip!!!! And ride anything that you think you might be interested in-even the "little kid" rides... You won't be alone and they are as much fun as the other rides... There is so much to do... Take Disney transportation, don't worry about driving there... have a great time! And please let us know what you think when you get back... (oh, and be prepared to walk a lot-so wear comfy shoes!)

 

[DebbieG3]

I have used WDW transportation for my WDW trips except when I took a cab to AK for the early morning Wild Africa Trek. You are coming from much closer since you are staying at AKL (I was at staying at the Grand Floridian). The first thing I would do (like tomorrow is check and see what time you need to be at AK for your tour. Then, I would check to make sure the buses are running regularly at that time. AKL is only a 5ish minute ride to AK so if I thought the timing would work out based on the bus schedule and the tour starting time, I would take the bus. If not, I would take a cab to the tours and use WDW transportation for everything else.

As an aside, the Wild Africa Trek is amazing! My wife and I loved it!

Thanks! I'm getting pretty excited about everything! Disney transportation it is!

 

[DebbieG3]

Have a wonderful trip!!!! And ride anything that you think you might be interested in-even the "little kid" rides... You won't be alone and they are as much fun as the other rides... There is so much to do... Take Disney transportation, don't worry about driving there... have a great time! And please let us know what you think when you get back... (oh, and be prepared to walk a lot-so wear comfy shoes!)

I will be happy to report when I return! This forum is awesome!

 

[DebbieG3]

I have used WDW transportation for my WDW trips except when I took a cab to AK for the early morning Wild Africa Trek. You are coming from much closer since you are staying at AKL (I was at staying at the Grand Floridian). The first thing I would do (like tomorrow is check and see what time you need to be at AK for your tour. Then, I would check to make sure the buses are running regularly at that time. AKL is only a 5ish minute ride to AK so if I thought the timing would work out based on the bus schedule and the tour starting time, I would take the bus. If not, I would take a cab to the tours and use WDW transportation for everything else.

As an aside, the Wild Africa Trek is amazing! My wife and I loved it!

Thanks! The anticipation is building!

When I booked Backstage Animal Tales, I was told we may have to take a cab since we have to be at the AK's main entrance at 7:15 am. We have to be at the front of the park at 7:30 am for Wild Africa Trek. I'll double-check with the lobby concierge when we arrive, but these may be the only 2 times we use our rental car until we leave for our very early (7:43 am) flight back home.

 

[TXDisney]

Since you're staying onsite you won't need a rental car. Being that you're there for 5 days it might be hard to squeeze everything you want to do in that timeframe. You didn't state when you're going. When you go will affect the line times, making it hard to do everything. Doesn't sound like you're bringing kids, which makes it easier to get around the parks and do what you want. As adults you might really like Epcot. But of course MK is the park you think about when you think WDW. So this are full days if not more. My wife and I on shorter trips like that normally do HS and AK as 1/2-2/3 day parks. That depends on you guys though. MK and Eocot are our favorites. But if HS is s favorite park then spend more time there.

 

[Second Star to the Right]

Very exciting that this will be your first trip! We will be there right before you and the Fall is an awesome time to go to the parks. I agree with everyone else's sentiments about utilizing Disney transportation. Since you are staying on I-Drive, there is actually a lot to do right there, but I agree with an earlier comment about trying to go to Disney Springs one night. It will be a fun precursor to your actual days in the park. It's recently been revamped, and I am very excited to see the changes. Enjoy your trip and I think you are already well ahead with having a plan in place!

 

[JillC LI]

We'll be there in early October (including Columbus weekend). Thanks for all the useful information, including the time to get Spaceship Earth!

Make sure not to miss the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT!

Because work has me at International Drive for 3 nights before WDW, we have decided to rent a car for the week, but will plan leave it parked most of the time once we get on site.

If you have the car, I'd use it if you are comfortable navigating. We relied on WDW transportation for our first trip, and it was fine, but we hated waiting for and crowding onto the buses. For every trip since we've rented a car and it was worth the extra expense for the convenience. The only park we take the bus to is the MK as explained above. Since you're already paying for the rental car, I recommend using it rather than leaving it sitting at the resort.

 

[Jeff456]

I prefer using a car, the busses are good but I have been let down a few times now and ended up getting to a park much later than expected. With you own car you pretty much can guarantee when you will get there. It should however as others have said definitely be quicker to get a bus to MK due to not having to go via the TTC. The only advantage of driving to MK is getting to ride the monorail, if you wanted to however and did use Disney transport you could always take a ride on the resort loop, or catch the monorail from MK to Epcot or vice versa.

 

[kaitertot5249]

This may have already been mentioned so sorry if I'm being repetitive but one of my favorite thing about Disney transportation is the music that they play on the buses. This is a very small (and likely overlooked) detail but the music matches the destination and really helps to subtly get you even more excited for the park you are about to visit. This is definitely one are where Disney goes above and beyond to make sure that every detail helps to fully immerse guests into the magic.

Enjoy your first trip!