Rental Car of Disney Buses

[Skibum1970]

I am starting to plan a trip and have a bit of a quandary. We typically use the Magical Express from MCO to WDW and then utilize the buses to/from the parks. However, I have been considering renting a car to a) Save transportation time to the parks and not have to wait on buses and b) to allow for a day or two at Universal. Plus, I do fight a little anxiety over being in the crowded bus (I know, I know).

I just wondered if anyone had opinions on this and/or what others have done. I can see the positives and negatives for each. Also, my lovely DW really enjoys the Magical Express which means I might have to drive myself.

 

[docdebbi]

We always rent a car. We love the freedom it provides. It's faster to almost any park and if we decide to run to a local store for something it's easy. We use to also be able to stockpile diapers and formula in it for when we got back to car, now we just stockpile snacks and COLD drinks in it for the trip back to the hotel. Much easier to transport strollers etc.
as u can tell from my avatar we have a bunch of kids so we always need a minivan. National car lets us "pick any car in the aisle" for the price of an intermediate. And we go right to our car without stopping to do any paperwork. So we always recommend them but a lot of people on this site use priceline and seem to get great deals. Just be sure to use a company with their cars at the terminal. I had to use a shuttle to get to an offsite company once and it was a hassle. IMHO.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

For me, it depends on resort. If I can park right at my unit (like at Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, or Fort Wilderness), I'll rent a car. Otherwise you don't end up saving that much time for the cost. I also never leave property regardless of whether I have a car so YMMV.

 

[PhilharMagician]

I like to have a rental car available to run to the store or going to dinner at resorts other than where I am staying. However, using a car to travel to the parks IMHO takes about the same time as a bus if not longer in many instances which is also dependent on which resort you are in. I would not pay the expense of a rental car just for transport to the parks.

 

[DManRightHere]

I really think it depends on what resort you are staying at. Kids may also make a difference of choosing a car or bus.

We can usually reach our destination via bus in 25-40 minutes. Usually once a trip we have a crazy long bus wait (last trip it was getting from AoA to DS at like 11pm) I strongly feel that is more convenient than driving a car. Plus no long walks through parking lots. I also like just parking and being done driving for a whole vacation. We also have someone on a scooter and no way to tote it around.

My best bus resort experiences.

Tie for 1st
AKL
Coronado Springs

2nd
Port Orleans.

I do NOT recommend Boardwalk.

That is the only resorts I've been to.

 

[wendysue]

We take ME to and from the resorts to airport, but rent a car from the Disney Car Care Center near the MK for a few days while we are there. If you become an Alamo Insider, you can rent cheaply and they pick you up to get the car and take you back to resort when you return the car.

 

[DarthVader]

One major reason I've always like staying in the park is to leverage their buses as opposed to parking, yet with that said, that last couple of times. I've grown tired of some of the short comings that using the bus system entails. There's no perfect system to be sure, but I hate seeing a whole crew of people getting on the bus with one person on one of those motorized scooters. Then I have to wait for another bus, even though I waited nearly 20 minutes for the one that just filled up from people who tagged along with the scooter person.

I may change gears this year and rent a car, but given the cost of my current vacation is exceedingly high I may not reserve a rental car.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

In your situation I'd rent for a couple of days IF you're going to Universal. Disney transportation in most cases is more than adequate AND it means that everyone can have alcohol with their meal (if you choose to). Drivers need a break too !!!

 

[SAV]

We always rent a car(or drive down) and love having our own transportation. I prefer to go to my own space at the end of a long day in the parks and not have to sit by sweaty strangers. I also can control the volume in my own vehicle and don't have to listen to strangers talking over other strangers. I have found the only park that it could be quicker to take a bus to instead of my own vehicle is Magic Kingdom. Also I have the freedom to go off-property to get food/supplies or for a trip to Uni.

 

[YozhikRoth]

Just came back, and with a couple of exceptions the buses worked perfectly well. The exceptions:

• We stayed at the CBR, which was packed the whole week. Coming back from the parks was a mess, especially if a double bus didn't pull up.
• One morning we waiting nearly 40 minutes for a DHS bus, several MK and Epcot buses came in the meantime.
• To get to Chef Mickey's for a 7:30 am breakfast, we just took an Uber, rather than taking a bus to the MK and a monorail to the Contemporary.
• There was no direct bus from the parks to Disney Springs.

 

[Por-Favor-Manténgase]

We take ME to and from the resorts to airport, but rent a car from the Disney Car Care Center near the MK for a few days while we are there. If you become an Alamo Insider, you can rent cheaply and they pick you up to get the car and take you back to resort when you return the car.

Agreed. With stacking discounts we rented a car for 7 days from Alamo for around $160. That was for a 4 door Nissan. We stay at Pop Century. Arrive right before check in. Call Alamo right after getting off DME. By the time I am back from Alamo it is check in time. Drop off carry on at room. Then head out for dinner at Epcot. On the last day we book a 2pm flight home. Drop off rental car at around 8am. Gives us time to leisurely pack and get a meal in before boarding DME.

Totally worth it to me unless you stay on the monorail loop. The bus lines to an from the parks at a value or large moderate are usually insane. Especially if you factor in the scooter family issue. We always have a nice leisurely drive listening to our theme park music CD.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We use the DME to pick us up from & take us to the airport but we hire a car from car rental office at the Dolphin.

 

[Skibum1970]

Thank you everyone. It is a hard decision. For those who rent, they cover the perks that I have thought of. For those that don't, they mention the exact reasons why we haven't in any trip thus far. I may do the rental at Disney World (had planned on doing that for the UNI day anyway since it was easier than a cab). I have never used Uber but that is also a good idea.

The last time that we were at Disney, we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. It seemed like bus service was kind of unreliable and it was sharing with Fort Wilderness. So, a trip to EPCOT and DAK took us close to 45 minutes (counting the wait time for the bus to arrive). One plus is that we obviously didn't have to park and walk but I was just thinking that it would be nice to have the option to giddy-up at our discretion. It will really depend on where we stay, I suppose.

 

[jaklgreen]

We have been travelling yearly(sometimes bi-yearly) to WDW for the last 20 year and have never rented a car. For us not having to drive is one of the bonuses of WDW. It is more stressful to try to navigate a new area especially one with so many other tourists not knowing where they are going. LOL That's part of the "true vacation" for us that we do not have to think or worry about anything. We get up and have a leisurely breakfast and grab the next bus to the park. We usually stay for over a week and are never in a rush to get anywhere and what a better way to ruin your vacation then getting into a car accident. I know your bus can crash but at least it would not have you driving and having to deal with the hassle of it. I can see the benefit if you plan to go off property though.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

I really think it depends on what resort you are staying at. Kids may also make a difference of choosing a car or bus.

We can usually reach our destination via bus in 25-40 minutes. Usually once a trip we have a crazy long bus wait (last trip it was getting from AoA to DS at like 11pm) I strongly feel that is more convenient than driving a car. Plus no long walks through parking lots. I also like just parking and being done driving for a whole vacation. We also have someone on a scooter and no way to tote it around.

My best bus resort experiences.

Tie for 1st
AKL
Coronado Springs

2nd
Port Orleans.

I do NOT recommend Boardwalk.

That is the only resorts I've been to.

You don't recommend Boardwalk's buses?

 

[DManRightHere]

You don't recommend Boardwalk's buses?

I do not. It may have changed but when we went I believe 4 years ago the bus was not at all timely (more like 30-45 minutes on average) and we went to 3 or 4 other resort bus stops.

 

[DManRightHere]

You don't recommend Boardwalk's buses?

I've replied once, but I'll add this too. If we did not go to MK so much, and hung out almost all the time at Epcot and HS I would have enjoyed the boardwalk much more. I did enjoy the boats to epcot and HS. That was my favorite part along with seeing the boardwalk at night. It was just horrible getting a bus anywhere.

 

[G00fyDad]

We always rent a car. We've never had a good experience using the Disney buses. As a matter of fact, if we go to Hoop Dee Doo Review we will go to MK and take a boat just so we don't have to take a bus. The level of freedom you have to come and go at your own whim is too much to ignore. We felt trapped and helpless the few times we took a bus. You have to wait for your opportunity to get to the front to load onto the bus. Then, oops, you now have to wait for the gaggle of people that are traveling with the scooter person that is being loaded onto the bus. Then when you finally get on the bus you are sitting with people that are as smelly, sticky, and sweaty as you from a long day in the parks. Also, you're lucky if you get a quiet ride back to the resort with a bunch of sleeping kids. Most likely those kids will be exhausted, cranky, sweaty, and screaming.

Rent a car.

 

[olie64]

We rent a car (we drive down from Indiana) but it just my wife and I so we just take the buses.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

I do not. It may have changed but when we went I believe 4 years ago the bus was not at all timely (more like 30-45 minutes on average) and we went to 3 or 4 other resort bus stops.

We just came back from Boardwalk in February and there were no stops before MK after getting picked up. I wonder if it depends on the season/ time of year. I'm sorry you didn't have a better experience.... We are EPCOT lovers and spend more time there than any other park, so it makes sense.