To Rent a Car or not to Rent a Car

DeeCee735

"How Do You Know of the Key?"
Joined
Mar 1, 2001
My husband is wondering if we need to keep the car rental we reserved so I started thinking of what/where we'd want to use it for.

Of course to get to and from the airport without waiting for the bus or for the bus to stop at other resorts.
We are going to Saratoga Springs, does the bus stop at other resorts first?

We want to use it to go to Animal Kingdom on day of arrival. But now I'm thinking since it's day of arrival and we'll be hurrying to get into the park to make our fast passes and get a decent amount of time in the park for that day, wouldn't a Lyft car ride be best? I'm afraid the parking lot will be so backed up we'll be parking too far away for comfort and convenience.

We may want to use it to get to parts of Disney Springs more easily, we'll have a 13 month old with us. Is there a charge to park at the Springs and does it make sense to drive over there when we're staying at Saratoga Springs?

We'll use it to get to our Chef Mickeys reservation without having to leave our room 60-90 minutes prior to reservation. Parking at Contemporary shouldn't be a problem, right?

We'll also use it to go over to the Boardwalk for our dinner reservations. Can we park for free with a dinner receipt? If I recall, we used to be able to get free parking with a receipt.

Same thing for our breakfast at Yacht/Beach club. Will parking at that resort require a receipt for free parking?

And of course for our trip over to AKV to shop in my favorite on site store and see the animals and maybe grab lunch at Sanaa or a drink in the lounge.

I'm thinking the car will work, please let me know if there are any senario's above where the car isn't the best option.

TIA!

Dee
 
My husband always insisted on having a rental car for our WDW vacations. I'd always start out trying to talk him out of it telling him Disney Transportation is fine while we're there and the Magical Express to and from the airport will do. But, no, he must have a rental car. And, I will admit it, he's right. I like getting off the plane and going straight to the rental car. We would usually stop at a Walmart or Target on the way because we would usually have a 1 BR. I especially like having a car for ADR's. We've never had a problem parking at a hotel or park for any of our ADR's and found it quicker and less stressful than using the buses. We never paid for parking. Unless it's valet, and we never use valet. We got married at WDW, before we were DVC owners. On the day of our wedding rehearsal, we left 90 minutes ahead of time so we'd be the first ones there...NOT! We were the LAST ones there. Walked in with the minister, family, friends all wondering what happened to us. That's why I especially like having the car for ADR's.
 
I like having a rental car, because we go to the store, we go to Yard House, we go to Sweet Tomatoes, we go to Universal, we go all over the place.

I do drive to PARKS, even MK.

But to resorts and DS...it's tricky.

We are going to Saratoga Springs, does the bus stop at other resorts first?

It can. You won't know the other stops until you're sent to your line, and you won't know the stop schedule until you're moving.

We may want to use it to get to parts of Disney Springs more easily, we'll have a 13 month old with us. Is there a charge to park at the Springs and does it make sense to drive over there when we're staying at Saratoga Springs?

I don't think that driving would be the best option from SSR.

Parking at Contemporary shouldn't be a problem, right?

It CAN be. The lot can fill up.

We'll also use it to go over to the Boardwalk for our dinner reservations.

That can also be problematic.

If I recall, we used to be able to get free parking with a receipt.

If you have Tables in Wonderland then you get free VALET parking with your receipt (from the last 3 hours, showing that you used the TIW card). They don't have any way to charge for normal parking at resorts, so if you can park in the normal lot, that's free. But if you have TIW and follow the rules, then you get valet parking for nothing but a tip.
 
Thanks for your input. We'll rent the car and we will take it to the resorts we have reservations at. We will see how that goes...
 


I like having a rental car, because we go to the store, we go to Yard House, we go to Sweet Tomatoes, we go to Universal, we go all over the place. I do drive to PARKS, even MK.

We use the car for many of the same reasons...Sweet Tomatoes, US/IOA, grocery shopping, and transport to all the parks including MK. Even though rentals having been increasing quite a bit the past few years I couldn't do WDW without a car.
 
We’ve rented a car for most of our WDW trips so far and it’s been very convenient. We book ADRs at various resorts and have never had any issues with parking or the lots being full, but we also don’t tend to go during really busy times. Costco typically has great rental rates from MCO and if you’re a member of some of the rental companies’ loyalty programs you might be able to skip the long check-in lines. From SSR to DS, the boat is very convenient and you can also walk over fairly easily depending on where your room is located.
 


We used to rent a car...but with the advent of UBER we no longer do....we probably needed to use an uber 3 or 4 times...and it cost me a total of $60 with tips
 
I used to always rent a car but with Uber I don't find it's worth it anymore. An Uber anywhere within property is only around $10, so I can get 8-12 rides for the same price as renting a car (depending on time of year).

I usually take the bus to the park, then either Uber or bus home depending on how tired I am. Not having to hassle with parking and taking the trams is nice. Also use Uber to travel to resorts for ADRs and sometimes to DS.
 
Also, SSR is a huge resort. Depending on where your room is, you might still have a long walk to Disney Springs. DH and I stayed at SSR, drove to a different section of SSR and then walked to DS from there! On the way back, after shopping and walking back, I was very glad to get to ride back to our room!
 
The problem with Uber is that they might not have a car seat, and the OP will have a 13 month old. With a rental car you can either install the car seat you brought on the plane or rent a car seat. Or, you can utilize the Minnie Vans which are now $25 flat rate one way since they come stocked with car seats. We're going to try this out on our next trip since we're staying at the Poly and VGF - first time we won't be renting a car in a long time, and we also have a toddler so Uber doesn't work for us. We figure we'll give Disney transportation a go this time and use the Minnie Vans a handful of times, and it should still be less overall than a car rental would be. If we were staying at SSR though, I think we would still rent a car.
 
We don't mind Magical Express. I did the math a few months ago comparing the cost of renting a car with the markup from a grocery delivery such as Garden Grocer plus the cost of Uber/Lyft (MinnieVans are more expensive) for special ADRs or Disney Springs. Given how quickly ride-share cars arrive and how little they cost for door-to-door service on command, car rental just didn't make sense for us. Of course, we're not transporting a lot of heavy luggage and we don't need car seats, and I can understand those things making a difference for another family.
 
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Having a dinner ADR has gotten us into parking, for instance at Contemporary and Poly and Yacht/Beach Club.
 
MEARS vans are so much cheaper and better then Minnie Vans. Will never do a car again and won’t pay $25 when I can pay $15
 
MEARS Taxi >Minnie Vans. Seat 7 and under $20 within the park. Minnie Vans disappoint with waits and costs. Leave the driving to MEARS!
 
For us we do not rent a car unless we are going off property or driving to Vero or Tampa for family or if we stay at SSR. But I think the OP's circumstances are actually worth the rental car. With a small child and the need of a car seat then it is worth it. Disney transportation is usually good enough for us along with Uber to the other hotels we really don't find it worth the cost.
 
My husband is wondering if we need to keep the car rental we reserved so I started thinking of what/where we'd want to use it for.

Of course to get to and from the airport without waiting for the bus or for the bus to stop at other resorts.
We are going to Saratoga Springs, does the bus stop at other resorts first?

We want to use it to go to Animal Kingdom on day of arrival. But now I'm thinking since it's day of arrival and we'll be hurrying to get into the park to make our fast passes and get a decent amount of time in the park for that day, wouldn't a Lyft car ride be best? I'm afraid the parking lot will be so backed up we'll be parking too far away for comfort and convenience.

We may want to use it to get to parts of Disney Springs more easily, we'll have a 13 month old with us. Is there a charge to park at the Springs and does it make sense to drive over there when we're staying at Saratoga Springs?

We'll use it to get to our Chef Mickeys reservation without having to leave our room 60-90 minutes prior to reservation. Parking at Contemporary shouldn't be a problem, right?

We'll also use it to go over to the Boardwalk for our dinner reservations. Can we park for free with a dinner receipt? If I recall, we used to be able to get free parking with a receipt.

Same thing for our breakfast at Yacht/Beach club. Will parking at that resort require a receipt for free parking?

And of course for our trip over to AKV to shop in my favorite on site store and see the animals and maybe grab lunch at Sanaa or a drink in the lounge.

I'm thinking the car will work, please let me know if there are any senario's above where the car isn't the best option.

TIA!

Dee

I’m a type A person. Normally, a car is a need, not a want. I have struggled the last 6 months finding what i consider to be decent rates for rentals, despite plugging away daily.

This trip wound up taking ME to our resort, booking @ Alamo Car Care Center, return to MCO for half the best price I had seen. Had shuttle pickup arranged day prior. Miracle of miracles, Spirit arrived early enough that i was able to call from bus on way to resort to switch an hour earlier.

Brand new Nissan Sentra, they didn’t charge me extra for the early pick up either even though over the 24 hour cutoff for 8 days.

Did find I wound up ubering twice when having adult beverages @ top of world & DTD.

FYI, re car seat, love the bumblebum, so compact can fit in carryon.
 
Always, always, always rent a car! Time is money at Disney World. When you figure out how much time is wasted waiting and using the Disney busses, I bet you'd be shocked how much precious vacation time you are wasting. Just my .02
 

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