car or no car

[ChrisG9]

Ok, here is the situation, I would really like some advice.


Flying to Orlando with Virgin at the end of December (I am sooo excited) , staying for 3 nights at Universal and then off to Buena Vista palace at Downtown Disney for a further 7 nights. Virgin are arranging transport to the hotel in Universal but we need to make our own way onwards.

I am not sure whether to hire a car. If not we need to get a cab from Universal and then rely on the 3 busses to access the Disney parks. I have read that these are a little erratic and would welcome any advice

Thanks everso

Chris

[Keith]

You'll get loads of people saying hire a car, so I'll get my non-car version in now :lol:

We NEVER hire a car and have stayed at buena vista palace too. It's a great location and means you can walk literally across the road to the marketplace bus stop. From there you can get to any of the resorts which makes is very easy to go for meals etc.

You can get to parks either by the hotels own bus or by going to dtd and getting a disney bus to say the contemporary and then monorail or walk to mk.

The hotels own busses are "ok". They come every x minutes and they tend to be on time. They DONT tend to get full in normal times and actually seat more than the disney busses *BUT* at the end of the night at say epcot when the fireworks finish, they DO get full and they dont seem to put on extras :( so it can be a LONG wait.

I could go on talking about all the possibilities but no, you dont need the hassle of a car at all from where you're staying. We never miss having a car unless going to the mall or something but then a taxi doesn't cost much and spares us having to find places ;-)

[tajainaz]

Don't know about the UK auto rental websites, but the cost for US Alamo rental over the holidays was astronomical when I checked into it. And that was for a compact car! :eek: I had decided to take DME to the WDW resort, then rent a car at either S&D or the CCC for the last five days.

Since it appears you're close enough to DTD to get around easily, you probably don't need a rental car if you're planning to stay in the area.

[Dawn]

You'll get loads of people saying hire a car, so I'll get my non-car version in now :lol:

We always hire a car. :lol:

We like it for the freedom. We don't like to be restricted to Disney dining because there's a lot of good offsite dining out there. Also with kids sometimes you need to leave a place NOW and having to stand and wait for a bus is not going to ease the situation.

So we're car people.

But you can manage just fine without one. :shrug:

[ukwdwnut]

i would never go without renting a car, whether it be on or offsite[never stayed yet but that would not change my opinion], dont like to be tied down waiting on other transport, if i want to go somewhere at ANY given time i can

[Debbie2]

Been 4 times and never hired a car and not missed not having one. We have used taxis when we have gone shopping or to the other theme parks.

I guess you need to consider how much you will use it an then weigh up the cost of car hire v taxi/bus etc

[Andy B]

We have always hired a car whether on or offsite. However we are going next summer and are staying offsite for 11 days then 7 days onsite, we ar hiring a car for the first 11 days but are trying to do without one while we are staying onsite.

I would comment however that if we were staying the way you seem to be I would want a car.

[tweenie123]

We've been five times and never hired a car. We've stayed both on and off site and have never felt the need for one. We use Disney transport which is excellent when on site and when we leave Disney, use taxis which we find to be very reliable and excellent value. There's plenty of good public transport available such as the Lynx buses. We've also used hotel buses which although not the best serve a purpose.

[Slowhand]

As you can see from the replies so far there any many pro`s and con`s regarding the rental car issue.
Personally, I always have a rental car whether on site or not. We normally drive to a different resort each night for dinner and it can be a real pain sometimes waiting for the Disney transportation system as the buses seldom go directly from resort to resort.

[uscwest]

As you can see from the replies so far there any many pro`s and con`s regarding the rental car issue.
Personally, I always have a rental car whether on site or not. We normally drive to a different resort each night for dinner and it can be a real pain sometimes waiting for the Disney transportation system as the buses seldom go directly from resort to resort.
And as Donna and I are quite prone to the same type of eating we too almost always have a car. In fact the only time we didn't have one was the time we went down in January of 2003 for Donna's birthday and focused most of our eating around the GF where we were staying.

[OKWTink]

Well, I live here but I'll say this. I drive to WDW (when I am staying there) and park my car and never touch it again. Also, when I used to not live in this state, I'd hire a car and leave it parked in the resort parking lot! Expensive to say the least.

Unless your offsite plans make hiring a car more cost effective than taking a cab, I'd say skip it.

I dine at many of the resort restaurants and never have had a problem getting there on time. Yes, I have to allow for extra time, but that's part of the plan.

Yes, I've had to wait for WDW buses, but you'll wait for any bus. Yes, I've had to stand on a WDW bus, but ditto. :shrug:

So, as you can clearly see... it's up to you! :D

[Keith]

I dine at many of the resort restaurants and never have had a problem getting there on time. Yes, I have to allow for extra time, but that's part of the plan.


We go to a different restaurant, onsite, every evening. We usually choose a combination of bus or boat etc depending how fast we want to get there.

I admit though, we often get a taxi back but that's because, another advantage over a car, we've usually both had a little to drink ;)

[steery1]

If you can afford it - hire a car. Especially if you have kids.

Im sure I could get along just fine at home without a car but I choose to have one here. And considering that when Im at DWO I do a LOT more travelling around than at home, driving to parks, resorts, malls, restaurants etc its just obvious to hire a car imo. (Budget permitting)

Now if I was off to a beach holiday where lying by the pool all day and going to a bar/restaurant was all that was on offer then thats different. No need for a car there or maybe a day or two rental.
But DWO? You wouldn't catch me standing waiting for busses. Theres little enough time there as it is.

[Keith]

I guess it's all relative, I've seen people spend more time walking from carparks, waiting for transport to/from the carpark, waiting in queues to get out etc than I have waiting for Disney busses :whistle:

[jarretth]

I've been to Orlando both with and without car so know both sides of the argument.

As you are staying at Universal I guess you will do their parks first so no need for transport there. Also, for shopping you will be very close to Belz and not too far from either the Florida Mall or Mall at Millenia(?) so no problem there.

Down at Buena Vista Palace as Keith said, the shuttles are fine most of the time but do get busy at peak periods. I've stayed next door at the Grosvenor and we found that we would walk across to DTD and use the Disney shuttles where needed to get around the world. It's also not too far to walk up to Crossroads where there is a wide variety of restaurants if you want a change from the Mouse's food. We like the Downtown Disney hotels as we feel you get more hotel for your money but are actualy closers to DTD for nightime entertainment than at the WDW hotels.

Assuming you are not planning to stray too far from WDW then there is no need for a car. Your split stay gets rid of most of the need for the length of holiday you are planningas you will be near the main attractions.

The only thing I would say is that once you have done the main parks a couple of times then a car is more worthwhile as there is some great stuff to see in Florida. It's a shame so many visitors never see anything outside of the airport, universal, WDW triangle.

[steery1]

I suppose I have no way to compare because the two times I have been to DWO I had a rental car. :shrug:
But when visiting a mall, restaurant (Disney or otherwise), Seaworld, Universal etc it just seems much more convenient than waiting for busses. :)
The longest I ever had to wait for a tram to leave a Disney park for the car park was around 10 mins :thumbs: . Of course this was right in the middle of a thunderstorm :rolleyes:

[Slowhand]

The only thing I would say is that once you have done the main parks a couple of times then a car is more worthwhile as there is some great stuff to see in Florida. It's a shame so many visitors never see anything outside of the airport, universal, WDW triangle.
I couldn`t agree more Jarreth. :thumbs:
Florida truly is a fantastic state...and so varied. There`s something for everyone, from the Keys, the Everglades, the coasts, not to mention the other communities on the doorstep of Orlando like Mount Dora for example.

[pigsy]

No car for us either while in Orlando. We (DH, Me, DD & DS) will be going for the 4th time next August and haven't missed having a car at all. DH spends half of his life driving in the UK so when he's away he wants to let somebody else have the bother of traffic jams and map reading! We just sit and watch what's going on outside without having to worry!

Disney transport is brilliant. :thumbs: Taxis are cheap. :thumbs:

If you are splitting your holiday between two resorts there is no need to have a car (IMO) providing that you plan where you are going to go, and when, fairly carefully.

I suppose it depends what is important to you. The freedom of having a car or the ease of not having a car!! :D

[Keith]

Just on the travel around florida thing.... there really is loads to see, we use www.gatortours.com for that (no association, just used them a lot and been very happy)

They'll whisk you to the everglades with a tour guide, show you around etc... saves me messing with maps as well <G>

[Redkop]

i'll vote for a car, i love the fact the car is there and i can jump in it and go where i want, and i love driving in america...........and keith the offer is there to be your chauffer :)

[Keith]

and keith the offer is there to be your chauffer :)

yeah but you carefully avoid being there at the same time as me every year :lol:

(but you're on if we're ever there at the same time ;-)

[Redkop]

yeah but you carefully avoid being there at the same time as me every year :lol:

(but you're on if we're ever there at the same time ;-)

:lol: i though WQ had told you my driving wasnt that good

but i'll keep yopu to ut :thumbs:

[DizBot]

Before you decide if you're going to rent a car, or not, you have to decide how much time you are going to spend OFF property.

If you aren't going to be driving around Orlando, much, you don't need a car. There isn't anywhere, on Disney property, that you can't get to by using their own transportation. Also, there are very few places that don't provide a shuttle to Disney, if you are staying off property.

Now, I used to live in Orlando, and I know my way around. But, I will usually rent a car for a day. Go visit some of my old haunts, or see some old friends. Then, I stick to Disney, and no car.

[jmac]

If you've never been before and have a well-planned schedule - leave the car. However if you want to experience more than just the resort area, get a car - its invaluable and represents freedom for a relatively small price.

Our daughter decided to stay in a resort and bitterly regretted not renting a car. We were very welcome visitors - especially at dinner time as they found the resort food a bit limited and they desparately neede variety.
Hope this helps - I know its a hard decision.

[ChrisG9]

Can I offer a huge thanks to all those who have replied to my original post.

I am no closer to making a decision, yet have loads of different views to ponder over the next few weeks

Thanks again

Chris