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.

 

[utrythinkinof1]

Frankly, sometimes, yes. Driving down the road with a cell phone glued to your ear is dangerous, and against the law in many states. They think whatever they have to yak about is more important than their own safety, or more importantly the safety of those who's lives they endanger. There is no excuse not to use an ear piece or a headset, and anyone who doesn't use one while they are driving down the road is doing something extremely dangerous and usually doesn't even acknowledge it (if they MUST use the phone, it's still a distraction in any case). I'd be willing to be very, very few of these calls are essential. Yet when I drive down the road some days the amount of people yakking on them without a headset outnumbers people not talking on them at all.

Pretty much the same thing when someone whips out a phone in a restaurant. McDonalds, fine. But any place with wait staff and non-plastic utensils is just arrogant and rude. Especially when they talk that extra-loud "I'M ON A CELL PHONE" voice, when no one around needs to hear about the milk you need to pick up on the way home, or what he-said that she-said that her brother heard from...

Cell phones are a great convenience, but they aren't an excuse for no manners, hence my comment about how these already selfish people I see every day driving a huge SUV, no passengers, hurling down the road one hand on the cell holding it up, trying to make a turn...those are the people, that, yes, tend to be arrogant people who live inside their world bubble. Sadly most will never even get why they get the dirty looks as they do this, because they are "different", or "special", or believe themselves to be invulnerable to having metal and glass crushed all around their bodies because they barely keep 1/2 a hand on the wheel.

It's just not worth it for "honey bring home some beer", or "ohmygod, you won't guess what so-and-so said at work today..." calls that don't need to be made the very second you are trying to navigate a rotary or some other traffic issue.

*end reply rant* lol

AEfx

Like what you said AEfx, what annoys me most is when people talk SUPER loud on their cells phones as if saying, "pleeeeeeeeeeeease look at me talking on my cool new RAZR phone!!" And they talk and talk and talk forever! They sometimes even start talking about their personal life (this has happened to me numerous times!)! I mean come on people! I don't want to hear about your personal life even if you want me to for some strange reason!

There, I think it's all out now.

 

[k snapp x16]

My family usually drives down to WDW from MD but only use our car to get to other resorts and maybe DD. The DTS times dont look right to me at all. When we take the bus or boat it usually only takes a few minutes for it to get to the resort and way less than an hour to get to our destination.



:king:

 

[gjpjtj]

Many trips we have exclusively used Disney transport, however this past trip we brought our car, and found it to be more convenient. Park closing is much less troublesome, even at MK having to take the Ferry/Monorail and a tram, was way better than squeezing into an overcowded bus, or the 30 min wait for the busses to show.

 

[MickeyTigg]

If my Disney Transportation, you mean the buses...the only time we've had a problem with the buses was from the Polynesian. The Poly shares buses (depending on the park destination) with the Grand Floridian and either the Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge...so if the bus is shared with the WL, the bus may be full when it gets to the Poly.

We normally stay at Old Key West and never really had a problem with the buses.

 

[FUNDAD]

Using both strategies...both DTS and rental car...

Well, we booked a rental car for our stay at WDW.....only $292.61 for a mini-van....(what a price!)...It was booked through guest services of Disney, and is with Alamo.....So we are very happy....Pickup is shuttled near our resort....VERY CONVENIENT!....

Our strategy will likely be to use DTS as our main form of transportation ......But use the rental car for the trips outside Disney property and DTD/Cirque....You see, for us, for $292 we can let it sit in the park as insurance....Since this is our first time to WDW, we'll see if we use it or not, and then we'll know for our next trip!

Thanks again for all the posts you guys...they were all so helpful, and really help us not "loose the magic"....DTS is certainly important!...And we really appreciate all your help! Way to go!

Daryl & Connie
& kids.....
Getting very excited now!

 

[slappy magoo]

Last three times I went, my fiancee and I either had a rental car at our disposal, or we drove to WDW using one of our own cars.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said elventy-seven times already, but both options have pros and cons, and it really depends on your wants and needs and preferences...

We used a car about half of the time. It was great to go when we wanted to go, and leave when we wanted to leave. It was easier to get to other resorts for dinner reservations. If you're going off-site, you can get a cab, but you're still relying, to a degree, on their schedule, not yours. You can listen to the music you want on the radio. Best of all, and no offense to you fine folks out there in WDW Magic land, but at the end of a long hot day, dealing with other people on the way back to our resort was kept to a minimum. No hygenically-challenged families sweating all over my clothes on a cramped bus (nor I on theirs). No screaming babies, or fighting siblings. No having to get up to give someone my seat (I may SOUND like a jerk, but I'll be the first to give a senior citizen or pregnant lady my seat on the bus if the pickins are slim). Some people are slobs, and if time is tight, the bus driver might not get a chance to clean up after dropping off one load of people before picking up the next (dear God, I hope that's relish from some kid's hot dog...). If you have dinner reservations, and didn't have time to go back to your hotel and clean up, you can have a change of clothes handy and spruce up a bit in a bathroom at the hotel where you're eating (not an ideal situation, but still, an option). Do you have a kid who is being exceptionally fussy? You can be "Those Parents" on the bus, OR you can whisk Miss or Mister Cranky Pants away in your rental car, thus making you an unknown hero to dozens of other guests who really couldn't care less if Junior dropped his ice cream cone on the ground and now it's too late to get him another one.

On the flip side, you might have to park farther away than you'd like, and at the end of the day, still deal with those same people on a tram, albiet for less time than a bus ride back to the hotel. And if you wind up using DTS a lot, you might grumble about the cost of a car you're not using. And hey, for all I know, you're a people person and like to talk to strangers (at least being at WDW offers you plenty of conversation-starters).

Personally, I'd always opt to have a car if I can at all afford it. The 100-200 dollars in exchange for the peace of mind of knowing I can use it if I want it is worth more to me than a couple of souveniers.

 

[Senderella]

I drive a Jeep Cherokee, and I am waiting til I pay it off to trade it in on something with better fuel economy, but with a 9 month old and a 3 yr old I'm not buying a fishbowl on wheels just because it gets 40 mpg, as there is a safety factor involved too. I would rather not drive a car that crumbles like a coke can if someone would hit it at 30 mph. These are thing to consider as well. We also have a Honda Accord which gets decent gas mileage and has done well in vehicle crash tests. I hardly consider driving a Jeep Cherokee a status symbol,(a hummer maybe) and I've had it since 2001, long before gas prices became so high.

Exactly..well said.


Not all suv drivers are in it for the "status symbol". Have those of you so anti suv ever stopped to think some people might have a reason for having a large vehicle? I for one have an Explorer right now and I'm looking into getting the new Totoya Cruiser because the "exploder" is about to do just that. I have a very large dog (saint bernard) and I need to be able to fit him in the car securely while I'm still able to see safely. Kind of impossible in a small clown car. Trust me, I used to have a great dane and a corsica.. lol not fun. The difference is, I don't drive needlessly. If I don't have somewhere to be, I don't go for the sake of going. Dh has an F150.. but he's also a woodworker and a hunting guide so he needs to be able to carry large things in the bed. Not everyone is in it for the "status" ya know.

 

[Nemo14]

Well, we booked a rental car for our stay at WDW.....only $292.61 for a mini-van....(what a price!)...It was booked through guest services of Disney, and is with Alamo (even Mousesavers.com couldn't compete with that....)...So we are very happy....Pickup is shuttled, and is at the Transport center near the parking lot of MK and our resort....VERY CONVENIENT!....

Our strategy will likely be to use DTS as our main form of transportation (ie. for our trips from our Poly resort to MK, EPCOT, the Floridian (SPA), and to Hoop Dee Doo), and then when we move to the AK Lodge, use DTS for the AK and Blizzard Beach.....But we might use the rental car for the trips outside Disney property, and DTD/Cirque....(but if we find DTS handles all these locations well, we might not use the car at all)....You see, for us, for $292 we can let it sit in the park as insurance....Since this is our first time to WDW, we'll see if we use it or not, and then we'll know for our next trip!

Thanks again for all the posts you guys...they were all so helpful, and really help us not "loose the magic"....DTS is certainly important!...And we really appreciate all your help! Way to go!

Daryl & Connie
& kids.....
Getting very excited now!

Sounds like a great plan - have a magical trip, and don't forget to post a trip report when you come back!

 

[spectromom]

We always drive to disney, but always use the buses to get to the parks. We never have a problem with the buses taking to long to get to the parks. We mainly use are car to drive to other resorts or to the grocery store. If you only plan on going to the parks then I wouldn’t rent a car, but if you want to go to other resorts or the grocery store you might want to…..

 

[LoriMistress]

I think it all depends what time of year you go. I went in November and the longest we had to wait was a half hour (and that happened only once, and that was on a Saturday evening at MK.) Other then that we only waited for about 10-15 minutes.