MainSt1993
New Member
My friends and I are planning a trip to WDW soon, and I'm torn on renting a car or taking ME and using resort transportation. We're either going to stay at the Poly or AKL. What are the pluses/minuses?
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Magical Express vs. rental car
- Thread starter MainSt1993
- Start date
Pluto_is_my_fav
New Member
I couldn't agree more. If I'm paying thousands of dollars just to be at WDW, then I don't want to spend time in line that I don't have to spend.
We were down earlier this month for a week and rented a car for $250 from Avis. They are right in MCO, so no need to take a shuttle bus. We stayed at Poly, and although we did not use the car to get to Epcot or MK, we used it almost every night to get to Downtown Disney, Boardwalk, or the resorts. The tram system is not so bad (just don't sit up front since it is VERY noisy) and I think Disney handles the crowds well. They have the system so detailed, if you forget where you park, so long as you remember the time you got there, they can pretty much narrow your location to a few rows. Also, I know this may sound incredibly lame, but I actually enjoy driving throughout the World, especially with the Disney roadsigns.
We've always rented so I don't know about the bus system. For what its worth, I do note that when we went earlier this month (December 3), walking to the Avis counter, we saw a line to get on the ME bus that stretched from the magical express desk to the end of the baggage terminal. In what was a pretty funny moment, we both just looked at each other at the same time and said "thank god we're not on that line."
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CheersBoston
New Member
Just one more thing to add to my previous post, as far as getting lost, you pretty much have to put in a solid effort to do so. Everything is so clearly marked that it's incredibly easy to navigate. If you do get lost, you'll just drive around in a circle until you see a sign for what you're looking for.
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Anthony95
New Member
i plan on renting a car when i go again. but after i arrive to the hotel.
i posted this in another thread. here is a thread link to give you more info towards the bottom about my food and vehicular experience with buses and the option for a car
lol
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=128929
another thing i didn't realize would be a problem for me personally: i work in san francisco, and so i'm used to hustle and bustle like anyone who is used to working in a metro city... constantly moving and moving fast. the MUNI buses here are crazy drivers... SO... i get to disney world and the busses are straight CHILLIN:snore: ... like... taking their time! lol... and i was so frazzled by this (it didn't help that the day before i had just quit a dysfunctional chaotic job so i was still frazzled by that too!). :hammer:
so it took some serious adjusting for me because i am used to GO GO GO GO GO...walking fast ... fast buses... fast food service... and to be slowed down like that was rough. my group was split in two (long story) so everyone in the other group couldn't understand how i was able to take my group through every area of each park in one day!!!!!!!!!! :lol: (the only thing i missed was most of AK and i blame that on their early hour closure (in aug, 6p?) and both groups being combined on that one day.
)
so if you are use to the 'commuter'/city fast pace (sp?) life... be prepared to be slowed down by the happy chug chug of the WDW bus transpo. :zipit:
the flip side is that the buses are an excellent way to see all of the disney properties without having to be distracted by the need to drive your car! so i would venture to say to rent a car for the difficult parts of your trip (like everyone says going from AKL or AK to any where else on the property... we stayed at AKL and every bus ride seem to take FOREVER lol ) and using the buses and monorail to site see the grounds!:sohappy:
i posted this in another thread. here is a thread link to give you more info towards the bottom about my food and vehicular experience with buses and the option for a car
lol
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=128929
another thing i didn't realize would be a problem for me personally: i work in san francisco, and so i'm used to hustle and bustle like anyone who is used to working in a metro city... constantly moving and moving fast. the MUNI buses here are crazy drivers... SO... i get to disney world and the busses are straight CHILLIN:snore: ... like... taking their time! lol... and i was so frazzled by this (it didn't help that the day before i had just quit a dysfunctional chaotic job so i was still frazzled by that too!). :hammer:
so it took some serious adjusting for me because i am used to GO GO GO GO GO...walking fast ... fast buses... fast food service... and to be slowed down like that was rough. my group was split in two (long story) so everyone in the other group couldn't understand how i was able to take my group through every area of each park in one day!!!!!!!!!! :lol: (the only thing i missed was most of AK and i blame that on their early hour closure (in aug, 6p?) and both groups being combined on that one day.
)so if you are use to the 'commuter'/city fast pace (sp?) life... be prepared to be slowed down by the happy chug chug of the WDW bus transpo. :zipit:
the flip side is that the buses are an excellent way to see all of the disney properties without having to be distracted by the need to drive your car! so i would venture to say to rent a car for the difficult parts of your trip (like everyone says going from AKL or AK to any where else on the property... we stayed at AKL and every bus ride seem to take FOREVER lol ) and using the buses and monorail to site see the grounds!:sohappy:
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Zummi Gummi
Pioneering the Universe Within!
I've had cars before, and not had cars before. I think it ultimately comes down to cost. It's possible to get around without a car, but it's SO convenient and much easier to have one.
I was most thankful for a car when:
-Park closing. It was so nice to be able to bypass the mob of people waiting for buses. I can remember when I was little my parents were always terrified of losing me in that mob. Even at Magic Kingdom, when you have to take the tram to the cars, I still found it much faster than waiting for that bus.
-Going to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island. I've waited over an hour for that illusive bus to appear.
-Visiting other resorts. As others mentioned, a REAL pain without a car. Depending on where you stay, you usually have to go to a theme park and get on the other resort's bus there.
-Wanting to park hop. It took me maybe 15 minutes by car to get from the Magic Kingdom to MGM. On the Disney buses, you had to way out to this bus depot parking lot (which looked very "un-Disney") and wait for the Studios bus. That trip took almost an hour.
As I said earlier, it's possible to get around without a car, but if you can swing it, I think it's easier to have one.
I was most thankful for a car when:
-Park closing. It was so nice to be able to bypass the mob of people waiting for buses. I can remember when I was little my parents were always terrified of losing me in that mob. Even at Magic Kingdom, when you have to take the tram to the cars, I still found it much faster than waiting for that bus.
-Going to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island. I've waited over an hour for that illusive bus to appear.
-Visiting other resorts. As others mentioned, a REAL pain without a car. Depending on where you stay, you usually have to go to a theme park and get on the other resort's bus there.
-Wanting to park hop. It took me maybe 15 minutes by car to get from the Magic Kingdom to MGM. On the Disney buses, you had to way out to this bus depot parking lot (which looked very "un-Disney") and wait for the Studios bus. That trip took almost an hour.
As I said earlier, it's possible to get around without a car, but if you can swing it, I think it's easier to have one.
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Dme
I am going down in February and using the Magical Express for the first time. How long do you have to wait at MCO for the bus to leave to take you to your resort? I know it says you have to also leave your resort 3 hours prior to your flight, where is the last stop? Maybe it would be best to just go there to catch the bus. It would give you a little extra time.
I am going down in February and using the Magical Express for the first time. How long do you have to wait at MCO for the bus to leave to take you to your resort? I know it says you have to also leave your resort 3 hours prior to your flight, where is the last stop? Maybe it would be best to just go there to catch the bus. It would give you a little extra time.
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Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
It all just depends on the day. You might walk straight from your plane to the bus and be at your resort in less than an hour. OR... You might stand around for quite some time for any number of reasons. There's no rhyme or reason to it. By and large though, it seems like they get you out of MCO pretty quick, with some exceptions.
As for the pickup situation... THAT'S what I didn't like. We had to be ready for the bus like 5 1/2 hours before our flight time. They'll tell you what stops they have to make on your route before heading back to the airport... Then you know what the last hotel is. But I'm willing to bet it'd be pretty tough to make that work. They have lists of people they're expecting at each stop, and I don't know what happens if you wanted to change that. Maybe you'd be fine, I don't know. Plus, your bags wouldn't be at the hotel you'd be trying to board at. To me, it has nightmare written all over it.
My suggestion is that if you're using the DME, just resign yourself to the fact that most of the last day you're going to be using for travelling, not in the parks, and deal with it. Which is the exact reason we rent a car. I'm much happier hitting SM, Splash, Pirates and HM one last time before driving to the airport than sitting on a bus. :lol: :wave:
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