Should I Rent a Car ?

[drdisney]

Planning a Trip in October and was don't know if I want to rent a car or use a shuttle. I'm going to be at WDW all week but I have heard problems about the buses at WDW. Is it true of all the problems of the buses. If so maybe I will rent a car. I'm staying at Port Orleans and most of the time Ill go from there to the resorts.Does anybody know how long by bus it takes to get from the hotel to the resort ? Also how about from Port Orleans to Fort Wilderness ( Planning to see a show there )Thanks for your help


Also are the Toll Free #'s free at the hotels or do they charge for them

 

[Jacket93]

They will charge you a local call for toll free numbers the best bet for tollfree numbers is to use a pay phone.
I use to take the shuttle from the airport to the hotel till one year we almost missed our flight because the shuttle was 1/2 hour late to pick us up then it had to stop at other hotels to pick up more passengers and to top it all off our airline was the last stop of the shuttle.
We made it to the gate with 5 minutes to spare.
We now rent a car and we pay a little more than the shuttle but we are incontrol of when we have to get back to the airport. Plus if we want to go and check out other locations we have the car to do that. (ex if you want to go to Fort Wilderness you would have to take a Bus from Port Orleans to Downtown Disney Then a Bus from Downtown Disney to Fort Wilderness there is other ways but you would have to take two buses. buses do not go from hotel to hotel.)
Check the Rent a car web sites you can get some good deals on a rental for a week.

 

[hellokitty]

we always get a great rate w/
www.nationalcar.com

 

[GenePA]

My theory for renting a car is pretty simple. If you feel you are going to be visiting different resorts for dinner (or to sight see), Downtown Disney, or maybe even the Boardwalk at night....I'd say a car is needed. If you are strictly planning to eat at the parks or your own resort, then a car is not needed.

Personally, I find the WDW transportation to be fine and have always used a combination of car (we usually drive to WDW) and WDW transportation to get around. We love to visit the various resorts and eat all over. If we didn't have a car, the WDW transportation would be long because of having to get a transfer....either at TTC, the theme parks, or Downtown Disney. To take WDW transportation back and forth to the parks is good and very convenient. It's when you want to go to other places within WDW where you can tack on time to transportation. Also, don't forget to use the monorail and the boats they have.....they are an amusement ride in themselves!

At this point in our WDW visits, a car is necessary for us. You can get great rental car rates and the extra freedom a car gives you is nice!

 

[sweetheart2576]

We didn't rent a car.The bus transportation from PO was fine. No problems at all.We ate at Fort wilderness three times last stay and really did not have a problem. Just went to the TTC and got the bus to pioneer hall. From the airport we took Tiffany Town Car. They were waiting there with a sign with out name on it. They were waiting at the front of the resort to pick us up on time also. I would recommend them for service to and from the airport. I believe round trip was around $80-85 and there is a printable coupon on their site for $5 off.

 

[legalsea]

I just returned from WDW, and, for the first time, had a rental car. I'm glad I did! We still used Disney transportion from our hotel (WL) to the theme parks (since if you drive yourself you have to park quite a distance from the gate), but we were glad in the evening to be able to drive ourselves around (to Disney Quest, or whatever). It was not crowded during out stay; I have no idea how bad it would be to drive around during peak season.

I recommend Avis for one simple reason: you pick up your car at the airport terminal (and, I think, Discount too). I usually rent Hertz but found out that they, along with most other rental car companies, are pretty far from the terminal, hence you must take the shuttle bus.

 

[MulanMom]

I'm not going to repeat the excellent advice you've already received. what I will add is that I thought I heard somewhere, within the last year or so, that there was a bus that ran between the Port Orleans resorts and Ft. W specifically to get people to and from the HDDR show. Maybe that is a question you can present to guest services via email or call the resort's front desk directly.

Although we now always rent a car, we've done many trips relying solely on Disney transportation. They've been fine. At those times, we didn't want the hassle or stress of dealing with driving ourselves. The best mode of transport from the airport on these trips was a towncar service, of which there are several to choose from. They are reliable and very affordable.

Another thing to consider is taxis are available on-property and can get you from point a to point b very affordably if you are going to locations within WDW.

Sharon

 

[Rpsemont]

We Stayed at DXL our first year and the busses were horrible. Since then we have always rented a car. That being said, there was a bus early afternoon directly to HDD (we went to MK after, so I don't know about a return bus). IMO by the time you pay for shuttle or town car, allow for once or twice you may want to take a cab (e.g. nightime resort to resort transports) you're at the same dollars as renting a car - and having the car gives you great flexibility. We've used priceline for cars and gotten some great deals. But be sure to check out www.Biddingfortravel.com before using priceline

 

[MKingdom]

Jacket93, the same thing happened to us. We will never again wait an hour or so at the airport just to board a shuttle to WDW. We will never again almost miss a homebound flight (despite calling ahead to make arrangements) because all of the shuttles that stopped just happened to be full. Our bad experiences were with Mears.

We rented a car with Avis this last trip...very easy since you pick up the car right at the airport, not off-site. Found getting around much faster and easier...enjoyed the freedom of going wherever we wanted whenever we wanted (not according to bus schedules). Even the trip to and from the airport was a breeze!

As far as getting around the resorts, IMHO, WDW's bus service just isn't what it used to be. (And I used to be a big advocate of WDW buses.)

P.S. If you use a Mears shuttle to get back to the airport and they're making you late for your flight, ask any Mears driver to call a cab for you. Many of the area cabs are owned by the same company and the ride won't cost you anything extra...they'll accept your shuttle voucher.