DON'T USE DISNEY TRANSIT!!....bring your own car?...

[FUNDAD]

Do you agree?

This is our first time to WDW....We are traveling from Canada..... We'll either have to rent a car, or rely on the Monorail/bus/boat system......What have you found with the Disney Transit System (DTS)...If you are staying in a resort, do you use your own car to get around, or the DTS?

Comparing the Disney Transit System (DTS) to car travel times "door to door" in the Unofficial Guide To WDW 2006, it shows having a car can save you a lot of travel time.....For example: We are staying in the Polynesian for four nights, then moving to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.....Travel times to the parks per the guide book are:

Downtown Disney....by car: 22 min, DTS: 51 min.
Typhoon Lagoon......by car: 20 min, DTS: 55 min.
Epcot....................by car: 19 min, DTS: 40 min.
MGM......................by car: 19 min, DTS: 30 min.
Blizzard Beach.........by car: 12 min, DTS: 40 min.

Over a full week that adds up to a lot of time difference!...Time we could be spending in the parks..... Of course to Magic Kingdom, the DTS is about the same as a car....

Would you recommend we rent a car and shave some time off?

Daryl & Connie.

 

[Erika]

Maybe things have changed since my last visit, but those DTS times don't look right to me at all.

 

[wannab@dis]

We always utilize the busses to get to and from the parks. We will sometimes get a cab to go to another resort for dinner. I doubt the car times shown have parking lot trams / walking to gate built into them, so that would probably even out the times some. Never had a major problem with the busses and usually only wait a few minutes.

The money you save on the rental will pay for some great meals or souveniers.

 

[Monty]

We were at DAKL in February. I never had a ride that took over half an hour to any of the parks. I also would guess that they aren't counting finding a parking spot to actually put you car in or the trek from your car to and from the main gates of the various parks.

I can't imagine any circumstance where the timings you've copied from the book would be realistic, unless they count the longest possible wait time between buses as part of the travel time in every case...

 

[ErickainPA]

I have never had a problem with Disney transportation. To have to get resort to resort, we just take a bus to Downtown Disney or one of the parks.

Depending on what resort you are staying at some buses will be longer than others. The All Stars share buses, Pop has it's own.

I would rather save the money and have it to spend on items at Disney. None of those times seem right to me at all. Even during busy Christmas season, we waited no more than 10 mins for a bus (granted it was quite a wait for a bus from Pop to MK on Christmas Day, but buses were still coming non-stop

 

[bsandersjr]

True it may be that you can get from point A to point B quicker with a car. BUT, did you ever think about the amount of money you will spend on car rental fees, gas, and the headache of other drivers?

While on vacation, I personally would rather not hace to worry about driving myself around.

Waiting for a bus, or taking a little more time to get from here to there has become a part of a Disney vacation for me.

But, to each, his own.

 

[Scar Junior]

We ALWAYS bring a car. We use Disney transit sometimes and drive sometimes. We usually take the busses to MK cuz you are dropped off right in front.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I am renting a car for 2 reasons for my 11-day vacation:

1- I am spending time off-property (i know, i know flame me! :lol
2 - I know my way around property very well since being a castmember and I'm impatient!

If you're not going off-property then don't waste your $$ renting a car

 

[daverube]

I'll echo an agreement for the disney transporation services....

We visited last in August last year. Transit wasn't super backed up, yet the parks were still busy. In this regard, in park transit may seem to take a while sometimes, especially on the way to the park in the morning when you're all excited; however, the mid-day/late-day in-transit rest is a godsend. Looking at it from a go-go standpoint, it seems like you're wasting time, but over a week stretch, the body needs rest from the all day walking/sun. As such, I'd stick with in-park travel.

Hope this helps....have a GREAT trip....

dave

 

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

We've gone to Disney World the past 4 years.. 2003,2004,2005, 2006.. and we've never needed a car. In fact, one of the things that help us get into the magic is that you dont have to drive.. u just travel everywhere by monorails, boats, and the nice disney busses.

The times you listed didn't factor in the time wasted walking from your farrrr away parking spot.. and then walking back to your farrr away parking spot at the end of the night.

Another thing is that we love to park hop! A lot of our days go like this:

Epcot Morning/Day
Monorail to the Polynesian for Ohana Dinner
Boat Across Lake to Magic Kingdom for the night

Having a car would ruin our park hopping fun.

I never had a problem with the Disney Busses.. well except for maybe with the huge crowds at the end of the night.. but there are ways around that. I've learned never to leaver after the fireworks.. the stores stay open way after closing so we just hang on main street and get some goodies to eat and hang there. Last time watching cartoons at the shop on the corner lol.. by the time we left the bus lines were empty

 

[disneycouple]

i agree bring a car. the buses are good for the parks but hard to get to other resorts. which may not be a prob for you just depends on your plans

 

[BRER STITCH]

If you have money to burn, go ahead and rent a car.
It will be sitting in the parking lot all day.

Disney transportation serves thousands of people everyday with few complaints. It is both worry-free and cost-free! :sohappy:

Even if those times you quoted were correct (and they're not) will 30 minutes a day really be that noticeable when it is likely before the park opens and after the park closes? :veryconfu

Save your money and enjoy the best perk of staying on Disney property. The only time I'd suggest driving is if you are staying far off property.

Put that rental car money towards a nice dinner for you and the family!

:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Victoria]

Go with Disney transit! I have NEVER once been in WDW and wished I had a car. The times that you posted are very unrealistic. They dont include schlepping to and from your car everynight, not to mention waiting to get into the parking lot and actually finding a parking spot. I also think that the layout of WDW is confusing and would add too much stress to my vacation. If you have to go between resorts taxis are cheap enough to be do-able.

Save the money, buy your kids a toy, and have a few drinks with your wife! :wave:

 

[Mia319]

DEFINATELY use the Disney transportation! we drive to WDW from chicago... once we get to our hotel we park our car, and don't see it again until the day we leave! we have never had a problem with any of the disney transportation... its way more hassle-free than using your own car. that way you don't have to worry about getting lost, finding parking, etc. as for the times, we read that in the guide as well, but we have never been on a bus as long as those times list... the only difficult thing about using the bus system is trying to get from one hotel to another... you have to do some creative planning, like go to downtown disney, then hop on another bus to the hotel you want to get to. but besides that, i think the disney transportation is fine, plus, it adds to the ambience of the trip!

 

[Reno]

Gotta go with the majority on this one...Went in October and again this May, NEVER had those wait times...........We took a taxi back to POP from downtown once and it was like 5 minutes shorter....I would never drive myself around while in Disney...just ain't worth it..

 

[Miss Bell]

I'll echo those who have already said it--not driving is one of the joys of being on a disney vacation. I 've never had a major problem with the buses.

 

[PlaneJane]

Being a DVC member we always bring a car to go to Publix for groceries (we have a kitchen ). Also seeing as Old Key West, our home resort, always has the worst wait times for the bus, we use the car alot. We always use the boat to get to Downtown Disney though. Parking is also free for us too

BUT LISTEN TO THIS: ALL NEWBIES (first-timers) should use Disney Transit period...

 

[Cheryl]

Did you mention when you were going to be at WDW? If you did, my pardon. We are from Chicago and fly down to Florida for our trips. Typically, for our trip during July (when they're very busy), we've found that it's actually better to rent a car. We've had some problems with wanting to get to places to catch shows or whatever and having to wait for another bus b/c they were full to capacity by the time they reached our stop. (We typically stay at OKW.) When we go down in early December, it's usually just for an extended weekend and it's hardly busy at all so we just use the bus transportation system or try to stay at a resort on the monorail (like the Poly or the Contemporary).

I do have to comment that if you are going to be at Disney for longer than a few days and want to stock up on some water, beverages, snacks, sun lotion, etc., it does add up on Disney property so it would be better to have a car to go to Goodings or WalMart or wherever so you can save some money.

The car prices are pretty expensive. Luckily we booked our car for this trip back in April b/c I looked today at prices for cars (always comparison shop) and prices went up by 1/2 of what we're paying. We may use the bus transportation on some occasions (when DH is napping and my son and I go to the parks and then meet up afterwards) but more than likely this trip we'll be driving. BTW, since you're staying on property, parking is free at the parks. Being that you're staying at the Poly too, you are right next to the ticket and transportation center so you are only a short distance from MK and Epcot.

Hope this helps!:wave:

 

[Musiker110]

I am a frequent visitor of Disney World, my last visit being May 8-15 and I find that having a car is always easier than taking DTS.

Lets face it, when most people plan a Disney Vacation, one of the things that is a must see are the excellent shows and firework displays. Unfortunately, most of the really cool events take place right as the park is about to close (Wishes, Illuminations, Fantasmic! etc) which leaves multiple thousands of people trying to get on the same bus as you. Before we started getting a car every time, I've had to wait almost 2 hours after Fantasmic! This last time, we went around all of the people waiting in the extremely long lines and walked right into our car, parked in the first section.

Having a car also gives you easier access to the less advertised areas in Disney, such as the 4 mini golf courses (which are awesome) and the McDonalds. This last time was my 14th visit and we stayed for 8 days. Mini golf was an awesome alternative to the parks and, although McDonalds is no gourmet restaurant, it gives you a different food option (the nutritional info at McDonalds is just about identical to Disney's food...). Traveling to the all the Disney Resorts is also something to do and having a car makes it much easier.
Strollers, souvenirs and other items can also be stored in the car when you no longer need them, which can be a lot easier than going back to the hotel simply to get rid of some extra baggage.

Some may say that getting stuck in the back of the parking lot is horrible but there are really ways around it. Try to get to the park an hour before opening. It will ensure you a spot close to the front so that you can walk to and from the car without taking the trams. If you can't make it then, go about 2 hours after the park opens. Whenever we were in this situation, we would just drive to the front of the parking lot regardless of the section that the attendants were filling. We would just point as if we were going to the front, and they would just wave us by, EVERY TIME. There’s always an empty spot in the front 2 hours after the park opens.

These are my personal opinions and it is possible that they may not work for you, however the past 3 times I have been having a car was definitely the way to go. I hope this is of some assistance.

 

[PamelaNiebergal]

First, hello to my fellow Canadian :wave:. I would definately stick with DTS. The 2 hour wait for a bus after Fantasmic has to be an exageration. We always go at busy times and the longest wait we've ever experienced (over 2 and 3 week periods and including closing times of all 4 parks) was at MK at closing time. The POP line was backed up way past the other lines for other resorts. I thought we would be there all night but sure enough, with 3 buses loading at a time the line was quickly dissipated. The total wait was less than 25 min. DTS is fantastic. Use the money you'll save from a car rental for souvenirs - trust me you're going to need it.