Staying On-Site and Driving to the Parks

[Sadiebird]

Hi there. Just wondering what everyone's opions are regarding taking Disney bus transportation to the parks compared to driving to the parks. We're staying at All Star Music in May and we have a 1 1/2 year old with us. My DH prefers to drive and I prefer to take the Disney buses, particularly to the MK. We had one trip when we stayed off-site and drove to the MK and they held us back on the boat while all the on-site guests were let in before us and it wasn't an EMH day. I've never wanted to drive to the MK since then. But on the other side I know the wait for buses to the All Stars can sometimes be longer than if you were staying at a moderate or deluxe resort, simply because of the large number of people staying at those hotels.

Also, has anyone ever had any trouble with taking their own car and using the EMH benefit?

P.S. Cost of rental car is not an issue here. We were planning on renting a car anyway.

 

[ljl14]

We are staying at All Star Movies from 4/2-4/9!! :sohappy: We will be renting a car. In the past we've stayed at the Caribbean Beach and used the buses. We heard, however, that there are fewer buses running to the All Star Resorts. Two years ago, we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, rented a car and drove to the parks ourselves. That came in handy.

No problems with the rental and driving to the parks. Hope that helps. Have a great time.:wave:

 

[Monty]

Having a car is a god-send with a little one. If you want to zip back to the resort for a nap during the day it's a lot faster and easier with a car.

I've never heard of people being held back to let on-site guests go anywhere ahead of off-site guests :shrug:. How could they tell? Many on-site guests drive and quite a few off-site guests travel through the resorts to resort-hop.

EMH benefit is available to resort guests. Access is based on having a resort key, not how you get to the park.

 

[RiversideBunny]

We never drive to the parks.
It's easier to let someone else do the driving. Driving yourself takes you 'out of the magic'. You have to get back into the real world and become a POV driver or passenger.
Also you see the 'backside' of the parks, i.e., the parking lots, and that destroys the otherwise exciting entry into the parks.

Good luck. Have fun.

 

[palmage]

We drive everywhere.
Being so close the car is already there, so we don't have the expense or renting.
I was at the AKL for my neices wedding and there were a lot of out of towners in our group and it was a pain just to get to AK by bus.
We used the bus for a trip to DTD because we wanted to drink, it was a pain. Going from hotel to hotel is a major pain too.

I know people around here like the buses, but I avoid them like the plague.

Now monorails and boats are fantastic.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong..........

 

[Moustronaut]

As a rule, we take Disney transportation anywhere from whatever resort we are staying at. But we have driven to parks if we needed to be someplace at a certain time such as a dinner reservation or spa appointment or baseball game at WWoS. This is generally a faster way in and out of Epcot, MGM, and Animal Kingdom.

It's not a big time saver for the Magic Kingdom however. If you drive, you need to park, then maybe wait for the parking shuttle, then shuttle or walk to the TTC, then catch a monorail or ferry to the MK, then walk into the park. With Disney transportation, they drop you off very close to the MK gates. So it can be faster just to take a bus to MK.

 

[barnum42]

I've never experienced being held back at the boat to let resort guests on.

I'm guessing that maybe this was a rare occurrence, or there was another reason for being held back?

 

[Passport]

I would say take the car since you have it anyway. You can fill the trunk with whatever you might need and you can leave and comeback anytime you want to.

 

[GHOST1000]

We started out some 15 yrs ago as die hard take Disney transportation everywhere we go people, but after renting a car some years later I will never do without it. It gives you the freedom of being able to choose if you want that total 'Disney magical feeling of taking in everything they have to offer', good or bad (long waits, eating up much time that can be spent otherwise,etc). We almost always take the car ,go right in, free if your staying onsite, and especially w/ little ones you don't have to worry about waiting for the next bus, or banging someones knees w/ the stroller as you lookk for a seat, etc, when you leave the parks. And after a long day of little ones on your shoulders you can stretch out a little better in your own car. Just my input on this.:animwink:

 

[k.hunter30]

wow - I've never had a negative thought about the buses... I guess I'm so caught up in the magic that I don't realize the time it takes to get somewhere using them. I always thought it was rather speedy - and I've stayed everywhere from the All Star hotels to WL and the Poly. I guess I like being able to leave the parks at night and take a nap on the ride home...:shrug:

 

[Adventure]

We've been three times in the last two years and rented a car each time. I don't think you miss out on any of the magic. In fact when we returned to the hotel each night we were greated by the guards at the hotel gates with a "welcome home" It made us feel special.

 

[autigger]

Sadiebird: We went last September with a 1.5 year old and stayed at All-Star Movies. We had our car with us and alternated between our car and the Disney transportation.

The buses were great at the All-Stars, no problem there. However, it was sometimes more convenient to use our car.

We used the buses anytime we went to Magic Kingdom and most other theme parks, it was just a lot more convenient. Whereas, we used our car if we were going to another resort for a meal (Ohana at the Polynesian or Cinderella's Gala Feast at the Grand Floridian).

We also used our car when we went to Animal Kingdom because we had an early morning reservation at Donald's Breakfastasaurus.

 

[jim1051]

It depends where I stay. From Beach club we walk to epcot, boat to MGM and bus to MK and AK. Last year we were at OKW and drove to AK, Epcot, and MGM always bus to MK.

 

[Sadiebird]

Thanks for everyone's comments. I think we'll probably take our car to all parks except Magic Kingdom. We're early morning people, so we should have no trouble getting a nice close parking space!

 

[stalkingmickey]

I've always rented the car. You shoot back to your resort and back to the park within a hour tops if needed. I know the CBR buses take longer than most because the have at least four stops at CBR itself. With a 1.5 yr old if they get cranky you at least can get right in the car and not have to wait for the bus while your kid is cranky. If you are renting a car anyway then use ypur car. Parking if free to on-site hotel guest and we never had a problem finding parking even in the middle of the day during school vacation week.

****Hint Park at epcot and take the monorail to MK. This way you are

brought right to the MK. If you park at the MK you still have to get the monorail to the park.:drevil:

 

[KevGuy]

Yea, I'm going to Disney next month and plan on using a mix of both the rental car we will have and transportation.

 

[Matpez]

****Hint Park at epcot and take the monorail to MK. This way you are

brought right to the MK. If you park at the MK you still have to get the monorail to the park.:drevil:

Epcot Monorail only goes to the TTC. You still have to exit the station, and go back up the ramp to wait for the Express monorail to MK.

 

[pescador1f]

3 times

hated it, it does, like someone else said, "take you out of the magic", maybe with kids it is easier, i have no idea still. drove to downtown once, sucked anyway you look at it. typhoon lagoon, good no wet bus stop and wet seats on a bus. once to go hotel hopping late at night, some wouldnt let us in becuase of the hour, some just looked at the parking pass and said no problem. guess it depends on you, not much traffic.

 

[Master Yoda]

In the past I would have said take the buses everywhere however Disney transportation has been slipping a little as of late so we have been driving. Our last straw on the buses was going to MNSSHP last year in the first week of October. We were heading to MK around 4:30 and it took nearly 45 minutes for a bus to show up at the main lobby stop at PORS making our total 1 way trip to MK a little more than an hour. This theme had continued throughout the first 3 days of our 4 day trip. On day 4 we drove to the parks.

I am really hoping the bus system improvements that will be implemented this April will fix these problems but until then we will be driving to the parks.

 

[mac41099]

We've gone the past 2 years with a toddler. The first year, we had no car and took the buses everywhere, except MGM and Epcot because we stayed at the Boardwalk and walked to them.

But, I have to say that having a stroller on the bus was a BIG PAIN. Magic Kingdom was the worst due to all the people, etc.

The second year, we drove down and stayed at POP Century. We drove everywhere this time and found it to be much, much better. We got to the parks early and found up front spots every day and had no issues with transportation, etc. Especially at Magic Kingdom with ferry or monorail.

When the kids get older, then we'll probably just take bus, but with the strollers, the car is your best bet.