Orlando without car hire - advice and tips please

[Guest]

Hi all and Happy New Year! Am expecting to be using the site loads before our trip in August this year. Been to Orlando three times - first was our honeymoon way back in 1991! Didn't expect to be returning again but DD is 16 this year and really wanted to go and as this will probably be last family holiday for her we decided to go for it! Have booked flights and hotel but are going to try it without car hire as found driving very stressful before! Would love to hear from anyone who has done a trip without car hire and the best way to get around etc. We are staying onsite at Universal but would like to go to Epcot - what would the best way to get there? We are staying 9 nights and would like to do some shopping as well. I have checked out the I trolley - is International Drive easily walkable from Hard Rock Hotel? We have always been in May/June before and had very wet weather - hows the weather in August - we are going the last week and into the first week in September. Sorry for so many questions at once!

Looking forward to your replies - many thanks in advance

Sharnie

[BigSkip]

Hi and welcome to the Dibb!

Hard Rock to I Drive is easily walkable, also from the transportation hub at Universal you can pick up a number 37 bus which will take you to the Florida Mall. From I Drive you can pick up a number 8 which will take you to the Outlet Malls and also to Seaworld where you can get the 50 to WDW.

[Guest]

Personally I would never do Orlando without a car, it's so easy to drive out there it's not true. For me a holiday is not about waiting for buses and the like and taking an age to get everywhere.

Someone will be along soon with some advice for you though.

[mickchick]

Hard Rock Hotel to I-Drive in August? You'd melt within 100 yards. The heat and humidity will make even the shortest walk exhausting.

[Tamz1983]

We stopped at the Wyndham at lake buena vista beginning of sept and we didnt have car hire, there was me, my partner, our 5yr old and our 5mnth old..we used the hotels shuttle service that ran to all 6 disney parks...had no issues at all and they ran every 30mins... not sure whether u would have shuttle service to the Disney parks from that way tho...we also walked down to the supermarkets (goodings) every other day, straight down hotel plaza blvd..was a 15min walk and we managed it okay, we jst took our time as it was very very hot lol

[Guest]

Hi BigSkip,

Thanks for the info! Will start taking notes! I guess if its too hot we can always get a cab to I Drive. We may even relent and hire a car for a couple of days - its just that the weather has been so bad when we have visited before that visibility was poor and it was pretty scary - big thunderstorms! I would drive but other half bad at navigating and we would end up rowing

[Tamz1983]

Is the weather really bad then may/june? We are goin very end of may til the first week in june 2015

[Big Dog]

Originally Posted by mickchick

Hard Rock Hotel to I-Drive in August? You'd melt within 100 yards. The heat and humidity will make even the shortest walk exhausting.

See more...

Hmmm, what about walking the parks, it's more than 100 yard walk to the gates from the drop off point.

I get your point about heat but it's not that bad

[Big Dog]

Originally Posted by Tamz1983

Is the weather really bad then may/june? We are goin very end of may til the first week in june 2015

See more...

No, it's as hot as August but less humidity. We did this very 2 weeks a couple of years ago and seen 1 rainstorm during the day and a couple at night but that was it.

[Tamz1983]

Originally Posted by Big Dog

No, it's as hot as August but less humidity. We did this very 2 weeks a couple of years ago and seen 1 rainstorm during the day and a couple at night but that was it.

See more...

Oh thats good then lol never seen rain like it during our 2nd week...went to epcot lovely blue skies, by lunch it was black and my god it rained lol we were huddled under a parasol haha it rained for hrs! And it was the one day we left the ponchos at the hotel haha