Rent a van or use all disney transportation...?

[MammaT]

I am planning our first trip to disney starting November 8th. We are flying to Orlando and I can't decide if we should rent a van or use all buses. There is a lot to take into consideration....we are going with a 2 year old, 5 year old, an impatient mama, daddy, and 4 grandparents. We staying at old key west and I'm not sure how good/efficient buses run from our resort. I do not want to have to wait long for buses or take forever to get to places. We want to get groceries while there, one way or another. We wAnt to go out a few nights for adults only. We have 2 breakfasts planned at Mk castle and ohana. Thoughts on renting a vAn vs using disney buses/ transportation????? Thanks!!

 

[MaryJaneP]

We always rent. 2 Adults, 3 kids. We rented a van when we went with one kid's 10yo basketball team for AAU nationals at ESPN Milkhouse. It was July and very hot. We used van ourselves when not transporting the teams. You spend additional $ to rent, obviously. But, having a way to haul groceries, eat off site, and travel on our timeframe, made it worthwhile to us. We have ridden Disney Transport to waterpark and DTD since parking at either is a concern. You wait some to get tram to/from park/parking lots at the start and end of each park day, there is some additional walking to trams/car/van, it takes some time for AC to kick in, and you do the driving rather than have someone else drive for you, so you do have to have some driving/sign reading/map reading skills. We prefer to rent.

 

[DManRightHere]

I am planning our first trip to disney starting November 8th. We are flying to Orlando and I can't decide if we should rent a van or use all buses. There is a lot to take into consideration....we are going with a 2 year old, 5 year old, an impatient mama, daddy, and 4 grandparents. We staying at old key west and I'm not sure how good/efficient buses run from our resort. I do not want to have to wait long for buses or take forever to get to places. We want to get groceries while there, one way or another. We wAnt to go out a few nights for adults only. We have 2 breakfasts planned at Mk castle and ohana. Thoughts on renting a vAn vs using disney buses/ transportation????? Thanks!!

November 8th, I'd take the bus. It may seem like a long 20 minute wait for a bus, but it's better than trucking over and taking a long walk through the parking lot.

The bus is there if any grandparents (or parents) want to head in early. Not to mention you don't have to worry about directions/gas/extra vehicle rentals.

Adult nights. What's better than already having your designated driver? (Bus)

As for groceries, get them delivered.

On our trip this past may, we honestly never waited more than 15 minites for a bus.

I really enjoy the peace of mind of parking my car for our whole vacation.

 

[gooftroop5]

We drive (and stay at OKW) so we always have a vehicle. We use a mix of Disney transportation and our own transportation. For AK, EPCOT, and HS you can park in the adjacent parking lot. Yes, you have to walk a bit sometimes, but we find driving saves us time. MK is another story. You are suppose to park at the T&TC and then you have to take Disney transportation. Once we had a ressie at Chef Mickey's so we parked at the CR and walked to MK after breakfast. However, I felt so guilty doing that (really I did!!).

Personally I like driving.

 

[docdebbi]

we always rent a mini van. we find it far more convenient with the kids to get dropped off at the lobby, pack em in strollers and just go to the room. they always seem to fall asleep and it's a much shorter walk from the car than the bus stop with sleeping kids. it is also significantly quicker most of the time.

that said however, renting a van is crazy expensive in orlando. tried before and the cost was prohibitive, unless you find a 9 passenger minivan, this is going to be expensive. even with that size minivan, fitting 8 folks- and car seats are bigger than people- and all your luggage, strollers, etc would be incredibly tight. i've done it with seven and it was UGLY!!!

if money is no object, go for the van, if not, consider 2 minivans. believe it or not, in my experience 2 minivans are cheaper than one van.
we rent from national. we joined their club, whatever it's called- it's free- we pay for a mid-size and get to choose any car in the aisle. and orlando always has lots of minivans. you may be able to afford 2 mid-sizes much easier than a real van

good luck

 

[pug]

You can just rent a car on site just for a day or two to get food if you what But other wise I would just use the buss but if the van is not more then $150-250 then I would get the van and take in account who you rent from too. Is it a bad place like fox or Payless or is it good like budget? Think about it and I hope this helps!

 

[RandomPrincess]

If you rent you will have to haul car seats on the plane or rent them - another consideration. We always drive ourselves.

 

[pug]

Or ship them ahead of time

 

[LAKid53]

We drive (and stay at OKW) so we always have a vehicle. We use a mix of Disney transportation and our own transportation. For AK, EPCOT, and HS you can park in the adjacent parking lot. Yes, you have to walk a bit sometimes, but we find driving saves us time. MK is another story. You are suppose to park at the T&TC and then you have to take Disney transportation. Once we had a ressie at Chef Mickey's so we parked at the CR and walked to MK after breakfast. However, I felt so guilty doing that (really I did!!).

Personally I like driving.

Don't feel guilty - CR knows that people with early ressies do that all the time. As long as security let you on to the hotel property, it's okay - you were staying on property, right?

 

[LAKid53]

I am planning our first trip to disney starting November 8th. We are flying to Orlando and I can't decide if we should rent a van or use all buses. There is a lot to take into consideration....we are going with a 2 year old, 5 year old, an impatient mama, daddy, and 4 grandparents. We staying at old key west and I'm not sure how good/efficient buses run from our resort. I do not want to have to wait long for buses or take forever to get to places. We want to get groceries while there, one way or another. We wAnt to go out a few nights for adults only. We have 2 breakfasts planned at Mk castle and ohana. Thoughts on renting a vAn vs using disney buses/ transportation????? Thanks!!

OKW is a large resort and depending on your building, you may have a walk to the nearest stop. Plus, the buses seem to randomly wander around the resort and can take up to 30 minutes to get to a park. If driving to MK and using the T&TC won't be a problem for anyone in your group, I would drive.

You can order groceries and have them delivered, but that may be only for DVC members. And don't buy - unless you are desperate - any food in the gift shop. The prices are outrageous. An individual bottle of OJ that would cost under $2 at the grocery store is nearly $4 in the resort.

I tried uploading the grocery list for OKW for you, but wdwmagic doesn't like either PDF or Word files....

 

[RMichael21]

We always rent a van. Especially after a long plane ride, it's nice to be able to stretch out you legs a little bit more then you would on the bus. And, you'll have your baggage right away and won't have to wait for your bags when you arrive. And, the best part, the van driver can make stops at a grocery store! I don't think a bus can do that!

 

[Ariel Savage]

If a member of your party is impatient, definitely rent. Yeah, you may have to walk through a parking lot, but it's on your own terms and you're not stuck waiting for a bus or in line with other tired, cranky patrons. I feel much more in control of my trip since I started renting a car.

 

[loriloughs]

I am planning our first trip to disney starting November 8th. We are flying to Orlando and I can't decide if we should rent a van or use all buses. There is a lot to take into consideration....we are going with a 2 year old, 5 year old, an impatient mama, daddy, and 4 grandparents. We staying at old key west and I'm not sure how good/efficient buses run from our resort. I do not want to have to wait long for buses or take forever to get to places. We want to get groceries while there, one way or another. We wAnt to go out a few nights for adults only. We have 2 breakfasts planned at Mk castle and ohana. Thoughts on renting a vAn vs using disney buses/ transportation????? Thanks!!

 

[loriloughs]

We have been to Disney over 20 times. Tried using Disney transportation once and gave in and rented a car. If you have the money definitely rent. You won't regret it.

 

[cbettua]

I drive to disney from Miami, and I never go back in my vehicle until we leave. I solely use transportation. It's just so convenient. I have a 3 and 4 year old. Plus, my kids seem to think the buses is a ride in itself. They love disney transportation!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Why rent. Get the whole Disney feel. Plus you can use that money on souvenirs. I don't think we've ever had a problem waiting to long for a bus. The only issue is going from hotel to hotel. That takes a long time so plan ahead. Don't rent...just MHO!

 

[righttrack]

The strollers can be a pain on the transportation but renting the van detracts from the magic, IMO. Using the Disney transportation is part of it. Kids love it.

 

[LWB]

We drove to Orlando on our last trip, so we had our car available but it stayed parked at the resort the entire trip! It is just much easier to use Disney transportation because you don't have to worry about directions, parking, etc. There were a few mornings that we had ADRs before parking opening and we actually grabbed a taxi for those so we didn't have to be at the bus stop so early to be sure we didn't miss the bus.

 

[LAKid53]

We drove to Orlando on our last trip, so we had our car available but it stayed parked at the resort the entire trip! It is just much easier to use Disney transportation because you don't have to worry about directions, parking, etc. There were a few mornings that we had ADRs before parking opening and we actually grabbed a taxi for those so we didn't have to be at the bus stop so early to be sure we didn't miss the bus.

Directions, the bane of my existence. Cannot tell you the number of times when leaving my home away from home I've mistakenly turned onto World Way rather than Western Way and ended up explaining to the amused attendant at the entry to MK that I really meant to leave WDW. But I'm sure I'm not the first nor the last to do that. Also gives my daughter a good laugh at her directionally challenged mother.

 

[Mawg]

I have never been able to find a good price when renting a van in Orlando for a week. $350 - $400 is way too much for me. We use the busses. I would even use a Taxi a couple of times, still cheaper than renting and they can drop you off without having to navigate parking lots. We order groceries from https://www.gardengrocer.com and have them delivered to our room. They've been great in the past.