I can answer all your questions. We stayed at Royal Pacific December 09 and are going back in April. We hired a car for a day and went to the outlets etc. Royal Pacific has a hire car desk, so it was quite easy. We also had a booking for the
MVMCP in Magic Kingdom as well that day so the car was handy. That's the only time we had the car because when we went to Seaworld, they had a free shuttle which we used going there and then got a taxi home. We used a taxi to go to Discovery Cove and when we transferred to WDW after our stay we also got a cab that was big enough to take us and our bags. The bellhops and concierge will assist here with this and they helped us greatly. We found taxis so cheap and easy to use, and they're quite good too, that we plan to use them again this time. Might even use a cab from WDW to the ship.
Transportation within the resort is so easy with the boats as well as their bus service which are both free. But walking is also very easy too.