First time on property with a car

disneytopdog

disneytopdog

Active Member
I have never had a car and driven around WDW while staying on property, I have always used Disney transportation. This trip I will have a car and will be staying at POP.

My question is, how hard is it to get around the world(park to park, resort to park, resort to resort)?

Are there published maps that show all the street, roadways, and highways? I really dont want a bunch of mapquest pages but maybe a atlas or folded map. Also a map that shows the nearest grocery, walmarts, walgreens etc....
 
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disneytopdog

disneytopdog

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks to all for there imput and info. The point of the car this time is, I will be doing UA/IOA at the begining of my trip and will be hanging onto the vehicle the rest of the week at Disney. It is a solo trip so I want to see how fast I can move around the properties and not rely on the buses at all. I have plenty of experience with the buses at the end of the night, Standing, Sweaty, Smelly, and PACKED with people. This alone is my number 1 reason to try the car thing. Number 2 would be the being able to go off property for snacks and food.
 
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slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
disneytopdog said:
Thanks to all for there imput and info. The point of the car this time is, I will be doing UA/IOA at the begining of my trip and will be hanging onto the vehicle the rest of the week at Disney. It is a solo trip so I want to see how fast I can move around the properties and not rely on the buses at all. I have plenty of experience with the buses at the end of the night, Standing, Sweaty, Smelly, and PACKED with people. This alone is my number 1 reason to try the car thing. Number 2 would be the being able to go off property for snacks and food.
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Well, I'd still suggest buses for MK, considering the extra step of transportation there is.
 
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DznyGrlSD

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Oh yeah....avoid i-4 too.....see my previous posts about the F**king tourists cutting across 6 lanes of traffic to get to their ext :brick::brick:
 
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pixiesteno

pixiesteno

Well-Known Member
Having stayed at POP and driven about the property just make sure you are in the right hand lane once you turn on to Osceola to make the turn for World Drive - there is only one sign and if you miss it then you end up at Animal Kingdom. When you check in you will be given a packet with two maps, one of the resort and one of the whole property so that should help. We find that when we drive we use our vehicle for resort-resort dining if necessary and then use the bus system to get to and from the parks as it is easier than trying to navigate the road system in the dark when we are tired; but that is just us. Enjoy your stay.
 
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DisneyRunner

DisneyRunner

Active Member
We usually use a car for eating off site, groceries and going to the outlet mall. The car comes in especially handy when going to DTD. The Disney transportation system should be a last resort to DTD! :eek: The wait for a Disney bus to come pick you up at your resort can be time consuming and then the wait to catch a bus back to your resort is terrible, too.
 
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Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Fallen Angel said:
Oh yeah....avoid i-4 too.....see my previous posts about the F**king tourists cutting across 6 lanes of traffic to get to their ext :brick::brick:
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Palm Parkway is your friend! It's a road that basically parallels I-4, and is (usually) much less congested. It starts near the Crossroads Plaza is, about two blocks north of where Hotel Plaza Blvd meets SR 535.

If you're using Google Maps for directions, you can click and drag the route over onto Palm Parkway and it'll reroute you. (It adds about 5 minutes to the trip, but in actual time savings, it's MUCH faster). Or if you have a GPS unit, tell it to avoid I-4 and it should take you up Palm Parkway.

-Rob
 
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corey154

corey154

Active Member
water parks are better to drive to in your own car. (in my opinion) you don't have to cram in with people going to epcot or dtd..then coming back wet in a bus, you can jump in your car alot quicker and be back at the resort.
 
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lbrad

lbrad

Well-Known Member
We always drive. This year we had a GPS ...it was AWESOME :sohappy:
It got us everywhere we needed to go esp. stores & restaurants
 
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D

dznygirl64

New Member
We always drive on property have since 71.If you are renting a car they (National) will give you a local map of the orlando area at WDW follow the signs very easy to get around I know all the short cuts on property and use back stage roads.Busses are for loosers:lol: just kidding bus people!:lookaroun
 
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WishIwasThere

WishIwasThere

Active Member
disneytopdog said:
I have never had a car and driven around WDW while staying on property, I have always used Disney transportation. This trip I will have a car and will be staying at POP.

My question is, how hard is it to get around the world(park to park, resort to park, resort to resort)?

Are there published maps that show all the street, roadways, and highways? I really dont want a bunch of mapquest pages but maybe a atlas or folded map. Also a map that shows the nearest grocery, walmarts, walgreens etc....
Click to expand...

Actually according to the unofficial guide, you actually save time over taking the bus. Parking on property has never been a problem, even going to other resorts for dinner. Not having to pay for parking is a bonus. Taking the tram isn't really that bad.
 
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disneytopdog

disneytopdog

Active Member
Original Poster
I know this may sound SICK & CRAZY...But after 4 years of not having a car on property and just using Disney Transportation. I actually missed the sight, smell and that shared anticipation of the parking lot tram and then hearing that Disney Music as you walk from the tram to the monorail through the TTC. It just hits me and I know I am back home at my favorite place on this planet!!!!...I am just hours from hitting the 99 day mark!!!!! FINALLY DOWN TO DOUBLE DIGITS
 
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TeriofTerror

TeriofTerror

Well-Known Member
Disney Driving

The most important thing that I've noticed about driving on WDW property is that all roads seemed to be designed to dump you into a theme park parking lot. If you are heading to a theme park you shouldn't have any problems, but if neither Point A nor Point B of a destination involves a park, don't assume that what looks like a through road on a map really is one. I suggest thinking about some of the destinations you may want to visit before you leave home and visit a site like Mapquest or Expedia to print off directions.
 
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S

shawnloughran

New Member
My question is, how hard is it to get around the world(park to park, resort to park, resort to resort)?
__________________

If you can get around Jersey with no left hand turns alright, Disneyworld should be a nice Sunday drive for you:)
 
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Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
If you're driving around WDW and are heading to a resort, make sure you know what "resort group" your destination is a part of before you hit the road. While there are smaller signs along the side of the road listing each hotel and what group they're part of, the large signs only list parks and "Resort Areas".

And make sure you're following the proper signs. For example, "Epcot" and "Epcot Resorts Area" are two different locations, and signs for those would bring you in two different directions. (While the Epcot Resorts Area is physically next to Epcot, you approach them from the south, whereas parking for Epcot itself is north of the park).

Lastly, if you're driving and you see a sign that says "To All Guest Areas", follow it. More than likely it means that the road you are on is either heading into a backstage area, or it's heading off-property. (Like if you're on Epcot Center Drive heading away from World Drive, if you stay on the road it'll eventually head off-property and put you going toward the airport. But there's a "last chance" exit marked "To All Guest Areas" that'll bring you out to Buena Vista Drive near CBR and the Bonnett Creek resort.

-Rob
 
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KingStefan

KingStefan

Well-Known Member
shawnloughran said:
My question is, how hard is it to get around the world(park to park, resort to park, resort to resort)?
__________________

If you can get around Jersey with no left hand turns alright, Disneyworld should be a nice Sunday drive for you:)
Click to expand...

Oh, that Jersey remark is so true! I was in Paterson yesterday in a section with a bunch of streets were just newly made one-way and new no-left-turns, and my GPS was SO confused.

If you meant by "park to park, resort to park, resort to resort" Disney transportation versus driving, then:

Park to park - Disney trans. is much easier, even if it is a few minutes longer. The exception is MK to other park, where Disney trans. is always shorter.

Resort to park - Early in the morning, esp. to MK, Disney trans. Late in the day, it depends, but if you time it right, Disney trans. Just don't go just after a parade or fireworks, etc., although they do put on extra busses. Mid-day is sometimes a problem. I don't know why. I suppose busses are going park to park, or it's difficult to predict the needs, but going park to resort of vice versa always seems to be backed up.

Resort to resort. Disney trans.: impossible - can take up to two hours, and may be literally impossible after dinner. If resort to resort is in your plans, drive or take a cab. Sometimes if it's not busy and you ask the driver nicely for advice, you can get a special drop-off, but don't count on it.

As far as driving goes, if you can drive in NJ or anywhere in the NY metro area (or any metro area, for that matter) you should have no problem. Rob is absolutely right in all his advice. There are a few areas where they need a few more signs, and if you're not familiar with a specific turn, you may have to cross over a few lanes to get to your exit because it comes up on you as a surprise, but in general, if you are going to a park , or if you know the "resort area" you are going to, you can get there OK.

We've made a few wrong turns on our trips, but we always manage to recover.

Edit: one last remark - people who talk about how bad the traffic is on I-4 and I-drive, etc., have never tried to get in and out of Manhattan at rush hour, or have never driven around Washington DC. Etc. Or worse, Paris.
 
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AutumnKlassic

AutumnKlassic

New Member
We were there for two weeks and had a car for the second week. Is was like night and day. We knew what park we would want to end for the day and park there some times and then just take the buses to the park we wanted to start at. Or we would just drive to the park we wanted to start at, stay there until lunch and grab it either off property or just in the car, then go to the park we wanted to spend the rest of the night at. We only used the buses once and it took soooooooooo long that we said NEVER AGAIN. Now we were at value resorts and the buses for them seemed very sparce. The other resorts never seemed to have a wait for their buses
 
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