Originally Posted By Adiosboy I hate waiting for buses or really any type of transportation. Would I be better off driving my car to the various theme parks within WDW? I plan to stay at a value resort and all that walking and waiting has me concerned. Is parking included with multiple days passes? Thanks for any insight you Disney experts can give me.
Originally Posted By Labuda If you hate waiting for transport that much, I'd suggest you drive. And, staying onsite means you get free parking at the parks. Oh, but be warned - when you go to the MK, you'll have to wait for a boat or monorail to get you to the park after you've parked in the lot and are possibly waiting for a tram if you don't end up int he parking area closest to the TTC. OR, you can just take the resort bus when going to the MK. Then once you're there, it's jsut a short walk to the entrance of the park. OR, you could pay $7 to valet park at the Contemporary, have a bite to eat or shop there so you're 100% "legal" and then a quick 10-minute walk gets you to the park.
Originally Posted By mickey_ring Waiting for an All-Star or Pop Century bus at the end of a WDW park day may take a long time since you'll have a thousand neighbors or so. My wife and I stayed at the Pop Century for a long weekend a while back. We rented an itty-bitty 4 door car that was perfect for buzzing from one park to another.
Originally Posted By Labuda I never had a long wait for a Pop bus at the end of day when I stayed there - we had buses arriving roughly one right after the other when we were leaving the MK at closing. Yeah, we had to wait for 3 buses to fill before we got on, but that wasn't much time at all IMO. Then again, I've only stayed at Pop in slow seasons - April after Easter, and early-mid September. I've no experience with other times of year and value resorts.
Originally Posted By avromark Adiosboy - another thing to factor in is are you going with young kids? Or is there an autistic member in your group? If there is you may be better off with a car. It sounds like you're driving to WDW anyways and will have a car, so you can always gauge how busy the buses are when you're there.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I stayed at Pop in mid-May and didn't experience a long wait for buses at any time. After the fireworks the buses came one right after the other, so I was back to the resort in less than an hour.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Always rent a car. Do you really want to be at the Mouse's mercy 24 hours a day? (I know. I probably shouldn't have said that around here, but the advice is great.)
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I don't rent a car because when I'm at WDW I don't rush anywhere. The only time I pay attention to a clock while there is when I have reservations for a meal somewhere. For me, driving is part of the rat race of regular life. Riding the resort/park buses at WDW is part of my vacation. No offense to anyone else who doesn't do the bus thing (Spirit and TDLFAN!), but the buses work for me.
Originally Posted By Labuda TDLFAN actually uses the Disney transport sometimes. I know he did it on May 5 last year when he was a bit late to a meet I hosted, as he had a long wait at one of the other parks for a bus back to the MK.
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic1 I agree with Nikki. We never rent a car when we go to WDW. We take it nice and slow and time only comes into play when we are going to dinner. But you have to do what you feel is best for you and your family. If you don't want to be tied to the WDW transportation, than rent a car.
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 We use the Disney buses, take it easy and don't be in such a hurry. That is my opinon. I haven't had to wait more than 10 minuts for a bus, and that ok for me. But if you can't wait, then yes take a car.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I do use Disney transport quite a bit. Unlike my bud, TDLFAN, I enjoy the monorails (even if they do need a cleaning say once a year). And I love the boats. Nothing better than taking a boat from FW or the WL as the fireworks go off over Cindy's Castle. I even don't mind the buses every once in a while. But I would never want to be stranded anywhere without transport and sometime you just need to get away from the Disney magic. Most places where buses are involved you can easily beat with a car and not have to stand up with 175 sweaty, smelly, coughing tourists who are guaranteed to have a screaming child or three.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Because I always stay Off-site I always get a car but even if I stayed on-site I would have one because I love to wander. I need to check out the area I am in. I always take a day or two to make day trips even if it is just to ride around and see Florida. I will go to the Atlantic side one day and then to the Gulf side another. Or I'll take an extra day or so and go to the Keys. It is a full days ride to the keys but well worth it on a nice day. Generally I just am unable to let myself be stranded. I must have a way to escape if I need too. Florida rentals are, comparatively, pretty cheap so it is well worth the extra cost for the peace of mind.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey <<But I would never want to be stranded anywhere without transport and sometime you just need to get away from the Disney magic.>> GASP! HERETIC!
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I never had a long wait for a Pop bus at the end of day when I stayed there - we had buses arriving roughly one right after the other when we were leaving the MK at closing. Yeah, we had to wait for 3 buses to fill before we got on, but that wasn't much time at all IMO.<< Exactly our experience as well when we stayed at the Pop Century. At one point they had two busses loading at the same time.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I like the convience of letting Disney do the driving. I always use Disney transportation and have never had a major propblem. Usually while on vacation I'm not annoyed if I have to wait 10 to 15 minutes for a bus. They are very convientently located next to the entrances of each park.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think life experience dictates your experiences of WDW. At the mo, if I am in London and have two meetings at different locations, I have to allow 1 hour to 90 mins travel time. When I go to my office in Birmingham, I have to allow 2 hours each way. Therefore, I find disney commutes to be quite quick. In fact, at DLP, the time to drive to the parking lots, get parked, unload the car and walk to the gates takes about the same time as taking the resort buses. Therefore, when we are going to WDW in 133 days, we will take their transport. The only concern I have, at DLP, it can be quite common to have to wait for 2 or 3 buses during the peak periods, and that can be a 30 min to 1 hr wait. Does WDW ever get that monstrously busy?
Originally Posted By MinnieSummer At the value resorts it does get that busy. I've seen AS busses loading two at a time and still have lines that snake all the way out into the walkway. I can't remember ever seeing lines that long for the mod's or delux resorts even at Christmas/New Years. And yes I always use WDW transportation except on our last day when we've already loaded the car and are ready to leave later in the day. But then we don't do MK as transport, as mentioned, to the park from parking lot is not good.
Originally Posted By Labuda One thing to keep in midn, though, dave - you & your family are going at a traditionally slow time of the year. Plus, staying at AKL, so I don't think you'll run into major issues at ALL.
