Driving vs. Bus

[AshleyB53]

For the first time we will have a car. We're doing a one day visit during our trip to Daytona. Starting the day at AK ending at MK. I've always used Disney transportation. Should I drive this time? Will it be faster to get from one park to the next mid day? And what about traffic leaving MK at the end of the night in late June?
Since we're only visiting one day, I want to make the most of my time. I know a bus from AK to MK would require switching to the monorail at the ticket center.

Basically I know nothing about driving in Disney. I planned on just using buses, but after reading some comments on here about the convenience of having your own car.... I'm not sure what's best!

 

[sxeensweet]

We love our own car and never use the busses. We don't have to wait for a bus or to be on be bus for say an hour etc. Getting around is pretty easy and you get to park free if you are staying on property, or if you have an annual pass you can too. For us it saves alot of time to drive and don't have to be on a crowded bus with all our belongings! Lol

 

[sxeensweet]

Oh forgot for Magic Kingdom even if you drive you have to park at the Ticket Center and take the monorail there. So that would be no different. All the other parks you can park directly there but not for Magic Kingdom.

 

[zurgandfriend]

The last time I rented a car I think I used it once to get from our resort to AKL for dinner, otherwise I just use Disney transportation, however we stay on the monorail so that makes thing a bit easier.

 

[deanaandrich]

Driving your own car will be a lot faster than the bus system. You'll have to pay to park, but only once. If you are leaving the parks at closing time, traffic will be bad no matter where you are.

 

[sxeensweet]

Driving your own car will be a lot faster than the bus system. You'll have to pay to park, but only once. If you are leaving the parks at closing time, traffic will be bad no matter where you are.

Just a reminder if you stay on property as they are they do not have to pay to park anywhere. We always stay on property and have our own car and as long as you have the sheet on your dash showing your staying on property you just drive on through. You get those when you check in. Another perk to staying on property.

 

[RedDad]

Are you staying a night in Orlando, or just driving back to Daytona when you're done? If you're driving over that morning, and not checking into a hotel in Orlando, then just drive straight to AK. If you get there early enough, you should be able to park fairly close to the entrance and avoid the tram.

Taking the bus from AK to MK wouldn't really save you any time, as you still go through the TTC, so I'd just drive there as well. You can always leave a little early from MK if you're worried about getting out that night. A little hint that we've used when trying to exit the park with everyone else in the World after Wishes: if the line for the monorail is really long, try the resort monorail. It's line is *usually* much shorter and it also stops at the TTC.

We left DHS around 9pm last week at the very end of our trip and drove up to Daytona for the night. It was very easy - took about 1hr and 15 mins.

 

[ThinkTink721]

We are driving this year & we plan to drive to the parks instead of taking the buses!