Staying onsite at Disney - do we need a car?

[Guest]

The eternal question. We always have a hire car as there are days we want to do things off property whether it be shopping, air boat riding, visiting the Gulf Coast. Just because you are staying at Disney doesn't mean you have to be trapped in it. Yes there are buses but I'm not into standing around for twenty minutes when I can be on the go.
It's all down to personal choice.

[Posiesmum]

Originally Posted by Jaspercat10

We have always had a car as we have stayed off site, and there are 6 of us, also for self catering very handy to have for the supermarkets the kids,love going ing to the outlet shops, tj Maxs, Walmart etc.. and good to be able to come in and out of the parks when you want. The downside the parking at Disney is expensive, I think it was 20 dollars a day, so that can rack up over a holiday, upside is petrol is very cheap

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If you are onsite (as per the OP), parking is free
We have done one onsite trip with no car for 7 days (followed by offsite for 10 days with a car).

TBH I really didn't like being 'trapped' onsite without the freedom to pop out to a Walgreens or an offsite restaurant on a whim.

Sometimes using Disney transport really bit into our time as we had to wait for busses or transfer to get to our destination.
However, that's just us. We have used UBER a few times in Florida (so DH can have a drink with his meal) and been very impressed, cheap and efficient.

[langside]

Another option could be booking a car hire separately yourself for only a few days so you not paying for a car that's just sat in a parking bay most the holiday.
We did this last time - think we did 3 days fully inc with fuel for £90 with Alamo- who collect you from onsite Disney hotels abd take you to the Disney care hire centre - we worked it out as a cheaper option than taxis/ buses for a few days travelling outside the bubble

[MrsBC]

You don't need a car, but the holiday is better with one. We have always had a car, on or offsite, and can simply get in it the same as at home and nip to the shops, other parks, the beach etc - on a whim without any planning or waiting around. We also use it onsite when we're eating at night at other resorts, as it saves waiting for 2 Disney buses 'home'.

[HazelDK]

We're a couple so cannot talk for families, but we have been I think 6 times and have never driven.
I find the transport fine and once you know where to go for what it makes life easier.

Bus 50 Lynx takes you from downtown disney to I drive and beyond.
If you want the South Outlets, you change to an I Trolley at Seaworld. (outside)
If you want North Outlets, you can ask for a transfer on the 50 and get a Lynx 8 to there.
Florida Mall transfer from 50 to 111 at Seaworld Drive (outside).
Millenia is much harder if not on I Drive- you will need a day pass for this. You need the 8 to get to the top near North Outlets then stay same side as the outlets to get to M@M on the 24 (once an hour until 5pm) to Millenia.
Universal, buses arent easy. So would suggest Uber for this. Or, 50, then green i trolley next to universal.

Hope this helps.

[Tor32]

We stayed onsite for 14 days and decided to hire a car for the duration. My husband preferred to drive rather than wait for the bus on a lot of occasions. Other days if he was going to have a beer we'd take the bus. The times I found it useful was when we were eating at other resorts to save the 2 bus journey. It was a luxury definitely not an essential. You could mange without easily. The other half of the party just took the bus. We also went to Kennedy, an airboat ride and the outlets so it made sense.

[Guest]

We didn't have a car at all for 2 weeks last year and don't plan on having one this trip either.

We used Disney buses for all parks and Disney Springs but for trips out to Universal, Seaworld, shopping malls, supermarkets etc. we used Uber. Very good service in Florida and was far cheaper than car hire which we probably would have left in the car park most of the time.

As others have said, if you want the convenience of just hopping in a car whenever you feel like it, then yes it's nice to have, but not an essential.

[lam]

I have been more than 10 times now and NEVER hired a car.
I use the LYNX bus service or Mears Transportation-SHUTTLE SERVICE.
The LYNX bus used to go from WDW transportation centre via Downtown disney(disney springs) to seaworld and to Florida Mall BUT they have now changed the route.

It still goes to Seaworld from Transport/ticketing and across the road from disney springs and costs $2 per adult per journey You need to have 2 DOLLAR NOTES.The driver won't accept coins or give change.

Use this link for the timetable:ITS THE NUMBER 50 To SEAWORLD
golynx/maps-schedules...schedules.stml

If you want to go to the florida mall, a taxi is expensive and Mears DONT do a shuttle service there.
We went last year. We took the 50 to a stop just before SEAWORLD and then changed onto the 111.
Check the schedule, the bus times are usually quite accurate.

The other way is to go via Mears Transportation.
Although they do taxis and limousines and town cars, they also operate a SHARED SHUTTLE service to some of the main attractions DIRECT from your onsite hotel.

YOU MUST ASK FOR SHARED SHUTTLE when you call to book.
Mears transportation picks you up from your Disney hotel and can drop you into Universal, Seaworld or some of the other main attractions for $20 per person for a return journey.

You just book online or via the freephone booth in your hotel. You have to pre-reserve your outbound and return seats.

We normally just call a day or 2 before we intend to go.

If you want to change your return journey time, you can do so provided you give them 2 hours notice.

I dont use UBER. I'm still a bit 'wary' of it!

Hope it all works out for you.

Oh and if you want to get to the Mall at Millenia. It is a bit of a hike.
We took a shared shuttle to universal bus centre and got on a lynx bus from there (21 i think) BUT it poured with rain whilst inside the mall and i didn't want to get wet running outside, crossing car park to get to bus, so paid about $10/15 to get back to universal and got our mears shuttle back no problem!

Hope this helps
Enjoy your holiday

[Andybear]

I'm staying on site next year and can't drive so a car isn't an option for me so I'll be using Disney transportation. The only place I'm going outside Disney will be Universal/Islands of Adventure and I'll use an Uber for them.

[captbnut]

We're first timers, going in October so can't speak from experience. We're staying in AKL and had planned on no car. However, about 50% of people say AKL to Disney Springs on the bus is a potch. We plan to eat there quite a lot as on DDP. We're also doing 2 days at Universal. I reckon the cost of those Ubers, plus potential Ubers to Springs will be very similar to the cost of a car.

We're now planning on hiring a car on our 3rd day and dropping it off the day before we leave. As its not going on an airport run we're looking at the Economy cars (also I drive a 1999 Micra over here so cars don't bother me). 10 days' rental for 2 (actually 4 drivers) is about £250. Probably only need a tank of petrol and you can return it empty. We will have to pay to park at Universal though.

As I said, we've not done it before but I think, with similar costs the convenience of a car works out.