Rental car for WDW? Yes or No?

[spanannie]

We're going to be there for a week in June. We would either take a car service to the resort or rent a car. I've never been for a whole week, so I'm just wondering if it'd be nice to have the car to get anywhere outside of the parks and getting to parks off the monorail, restaurants at other resorts, etc. Just trying to figure out if it's worth it or not. Opinions?

[JTsMom]

We drive, and I love having our van there. You can totally make do without it, but we drive almost everywhere b/c we don't like having to deal with the bus. It's especially helpful if you visit other resorts.

We also use a AAA diamond parking pass, which helps immensely in most parks (not so much at the MK).

[egoldber]

For the price of a car service, you can probably almost rent a car for the week. We were not going to rent a car for our January trip and literally decided the night before to rent a car LOL!!

As Lori said, it is very nice for when you need to go to another resort. To get from one resort to another, you have to transfer at either a theme park or at Downtown Disney. It can take as little as 40 minutes, but in a worst case scenario (just missing each bus), it can take over an hour.


We also use a AAA diamond parking pass, which helps immensely in most parks (not so much at the MK).

Interesting. The only park I would have thought it was worth it would be the MK so that you don't have to rely on the parking tram. The MK is the only part where we generally ride the tram.

[spanannie]

Thanks! Any recs on where to find the best rental car deal? I've been hunting, but I haven't found anything I consider a great deal. Of course, there are 3 kids, so we have to get 3 across in the back.

[mytwosons]

We recently returned and ended up not getting a rental car because the prices were really high. I was very worried, especially since I had been reading a lot of negative press on disboards about the bus service. Long story short, we were so glad we didn't have a car. The busses were great and it was wonderful to not worry about driving. Actually, the parking lots seemed very overwhelming to me. It did take about 40 mins to get to another resort, but if we had needed to, we simply would have taken a cab.

ME worked great to and from the airport as well.

[egoldber]

Hmm. For 3 across that is going to be hard. You may need to look at minivan rentals which are definitely not as cheap. I would look at the rental car section of mousesavers.com for rental codes. Try to pick an on-site airport company (I know that Hertz is not on-site, for example). I think it tells you this on mousesavers.com as well.

I do agree with the PP that you do not need a car. We have done just the bus before and it works fine. My DH gets very impatient waiting for the bus and it is almost worth it to rent a car jsust so I don't have to hear him complain!

[spanannie]

Hmm. For 3 across that is going to be hard. You may need to look at minivan rentals which are definitely not as cheap. I would look at the rental car section of mousesavers.com for rental codes. Try to pick an on-site airport company (I know that Hertz is not on-site, for example). I think it tells you this on mousesavers.com as well.

I do agree with the PP that you do not need a car. We have done just the bus before and it works fine. My DH gets very impatient waiting for the bus and it is almost worth it to rent a car jsust so I don't have to hear him complain!

Thanks, Beth. I will check out Mousesavers. I found what appeared to be a good deal on a van from Costco, but, when I went to check out, it added almost $100 in taxes! I know that will be the case with any rental there.

I'm with your DH, though, I just don't want to wait for a bus with the 3 kids. If we don't have our own car, we will take a cab.

[Momof3Labs]

We've rented cars the last several times, but only because I got the rental cars really cheap. We don't use the car a ton but do a grocery run early in the week, and usually visit a couple of other resorts along the way. It's also nice to use to get to DTD as the busses make quite a few stops to/from DTD.

TIP: Send at least one person on Magical Express from the airport so that they will transfer your luggage for you. Otherwise, you'll need a pretty big rental to hold 5 people, stroller, and all the luggage. My kids thought that ME was a blast, and then we didn't have to worry about installing car seats at the airport with the kids standing around in the parking garage.

[JTsMom]

Interesting. The only park I would have thought it was worth it would be the MK so that you don't have to rely on the parking tram. The MK is the only part where we generally ride the tram.

We tried driving to MK for the first time a few days before we left. It was ok- I'd say it was about even with bussing it. The diamond parking was decent, but even arriving at rope drop, it was still a haul. Didn't have to do the tram, but as I watched them drive past us, I wish we had the option! You have to walk far to get to the sidewalk, then walk all the way to the boat/monorail. With the bus, you get dropped off right up front, which has to save a minimum of 20 mins I'd think- more if you have to wait for the transportation. If you come home after fireworks/parade, it's really nice not to have to wait for the bus though, then possibly have to stand with a sleeping child.

At Epcot, the diamond parking is RIGHT up front. It's a thing of beauty. I hear the bus leaves you far from the entrance there, but I've never tried it. Next time you go, watch for the diamond parking- it's amazing.

At DHS, it's so-so. No tram, but it's a little bit of a walk- not bad though.

At AK, it's right up front, but a tad off to the side.

[egoldber]

Oh we definitely prefer the bus for the MK (unless we plan on staying late). I am just always envious of the Diamond Parking when I see the sign as we pull into the MK parking lot. ;)

And the other lots are not that big IMO that we have ever felt the need to take the tram. Occasionally we do, but only if the kids insist. The love the tram.