Driving to parks vs Disney transportation

[SunBum 0]

Making our first trip in a week. I'm wondering about getting around once we're there. We have friends who are regulars and they often fly in and never get or need a car. We'll have our tow vehicle to use but wonder if it's advised?

So what are your thoughts about driving to and from the theme parks or water parks or Disney springs, etc. vs just relying on Disney transportation?

Thanks in advance!

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

We use Disney transportation almost exclusively for the parks. I prefer to just relax and let them do the driving and get dropped off closer to the front gate. We also will occasionally park hop and I don't want to backtrack to pick up the truck. Sometimes we drive to DS and sometimes we bus. I don't have a preference really. Just depends if we have other stops to make.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

It all depends on your personality and tolerance for "time".

We love parking our truck and not getting back in it until our trip is over.

We use a golf cart and ECV to get around the Fort, and take the buses/boats to the parks and Disney Springs.

We usually time our meals at other resorts to make an easy transfer back to a park, so therefore easy back to the resort.

There are others that hate waiting for a bus and therefore drive everywhere except Magic Kingdom.

Try the transportation, if you find it's too crowded or slow for your tastes, then drive.

[WrigleysWagon 32]

If time isn't an issue we always use Disney transport.   After driving 15 hours at 8-10 mpg it's kind of nice to let someone else so the driving.  I agree with Carol, once I unhook the truck I don't have plans on getting back in until it's time to leave. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get where you are going though. The biggest downside is waiting for a bus, to take you to wait for a ride....

[keith_h 420]

While there are exceptions we just about always use Disney Transport to the parks and Disney Springs. It can take a bit longer but with all of the different characters that visit WDW it can be quite entertaining in its own right.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Magic Kingdom we use the boat. But every where else we take the truck it's faster and easier with a stroller. We may not be using a stroller much longer so I may think about the bus again.

[kadancer 82]

We use Disney transportation for everything except the water parks.  It's quicker to drive and I don't have to get on an air conditioned bus while I am still wet...

[BigTom 76]

I always use Disney transportation, the traffic is terrible around WDW and I am on vacation and in no real hurry anyway.

[SunBum 0]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

28 minutes ago, SunBum said:

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!

We use Disney transportation or uber where ever we go.   I'm on vacation and I'm not in a hurry. And I personally don't drive after I have 2 adult beverages.  If I have a glass of wine or a beer with a meal I'll drive. But one drink is my limit.   

If you take Disney transportation plan on each leg taking you an hour.  

For example...

1.  if your going from the fort to Epcot plan on it taking you an hour. 

 

2.  Epcot to magic kingdom one hour  

 

it probably won't take that long but if plan on it taking an hour and it takes 30 minutes great  and if it takes you an hour so what  that's what you planned it would take you     

 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

21 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

It all depends on your personality and tolerance for "time".

We love parking our truck and not getting back in it until our trip is over.

This exactly.  We've had pretty good luck with Disney transportation (with a few hiccups from time to time) and personally I'd rather let them do the driving and just sit back, relax and take it all in. When we are occasionally on a time constraint, we'll drive.  The one exception is if we resort hop - then we always drive because getting resort to resort (unless it's MK or EP resorts) isn't as easy as resort to park.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'll pile on and agree that Disney transportation is the way to go.  My exceptions are if I am trying to get to a park for rope drop (other than MK) and the water parks.  The rope drop exception is because it seems like buses take longer between cycles in the early morning, and it drives me nuts sitting there waiting for the bus as time slips away.  The "helpful" video monitor they added at the Outpost bus stop isn't such a big help either, as I've seen them inexplicably add time to it while I'm standing there waiting.

The water park exception is because Disney screws around with the water park transportation too much.  I'm not even sure how they do it now, but it used to be that Blizzard Beach would share with AK, and Typhoon Lagoon would share with Downtown Disney- so neither of those were direct.  Also, once at the waterpark, if there's a storm and everyone is trying to leave at the same time, the bus situation gets messy.  The water park parking lots typically aren't busy, and it's easy enough to park and not worry about a bus.

TCD

 

[Travisma 1,317]

A lot of the bus issues could be eliminated if they had a CM at each bus area communicating with a central dispatch and get buses reassigned or filling in when needed.

We stood at EPCOT for over 45 minutes waiting for the WL/Fort bus when we were trying to meet up with our daughters for lunch at Geyser Point.

Numerous buses came and went at all the other stops, some with only 2 guests, some with none.

[Memphis 105]

We used to drive everywhere except to MK.  We had PAPs and would often hop from park to park.  I kept a cooler in the back with drinks and stuff to make lunch.  We would also have our water park stuff in case we wanted to hit a water park after an afternoon thunderstorm. (they really clear out after a late storm)  

While the signage on the roads will always get you to your destination it's not always the most direct route. Being your first time I would recommend using Disney's transportation system. I think it has gotten better over the years and it gives you some down time for planing your next move.  Also not sure they still do but they used to make large tow vehicles go to the very end of a row in the parking lots making for a long walk to and from the tram.  

[ependydad...Doug 176]

We're pretty split on driving vs. using Disney transportation. Except for Magic Kingdom, for that we always take the boat.

If we do NOT have a golf cart, we'll drive way more than using Disney's transportation. I despise waiting for an internal Fort bus to go wait for a bus. I know people say these are quick, but I seem to have crappy luck with them. At the parks, we often just walk instead of using the trams- with a stroller and multiple bags (yes, we're those people), it's just too much of a hassle; plus we have split up before and it was quicker to just walk.

Sometimes I claim I'll drive the truck to the bus depot (like we do for golf carts), but we never park. We always just keep driving. Good intentions and all. :D

If we have a golf cart, we'll drive that up to the bus depot and then will take Disney transportation more than we'll drive.

As for traffic, I've never found it to be bad (but then again- I spent 10 years in the Baltimore/DC region). Except for park closing- that can back up traffic in the parking lots. Same thing happened to us once at Disney Springs... not sure what the mass release of people was from, but we sat in stop + go for a bit.

The signage can be a little confusing but a couple of trips around and it gets easier to figure out. Google Maps is your friend.

[mmfancipher 31]

We drive unless we're going to MK, like most here.  If we are going anywhere else we drive.  We haven't had much luck with the buses except for one instance.  We were at Downtown Disney, as it was called then, and had to get to the MK for a dinner reservation in an hour.  We had waited for the bus at DTD for about 10 minutes.  The bus pulls up and we get on it and the bus driver asked us where we were going and we told her we were heading to the Fort and then the MK for dinner reservations.  The bus driver gives us a look like "You poor dears.  Good luck with that."  We took off in a few minutes, got to the Fort depot and immediately the internal bus that we needed shows up, got off at our camp site, changed clothes, the bus to the marina immediately shows up, get on the dock and the MK boat pulls up, get on the boat and get to the MK 5 minutes before our reservation was due.  I think maybe we used up all of our bus luck on that one trip.

[Travisma 1,317]

I think using Disney Transportation versus your own boils down to time.

If you are on a schedule, you are probably better off driving your own vehicle.

But, remember you will be hiking or riding in from further out in parking lots than where the bus drops you off.

If you are totally on vacation and following Island time where there are no set schedules, then go for Disney transportation.

Get up close and personal with tons of other tired, sweaty, smelly and cranky Disneyites.

A couple of fiends have said in other threads that when they are getting ready to leave on spot and are not in a hurry to go anywhere, they just take the first bus that comes along and go with the flow.

[Duane 152]

Like most folks here, we drive everywhere with the exception of MK...  In the past we have not had very good results with the buses because Claudine is susceptible to motion sickness riding the buses.  She is especially more sensitive to it when she has to ride sideways in the seats forward of the rear exit of the bus, plus when you have a driver who really likes to jam on the brakes and jerks everyone, that really magnifies the issue.  Now if she is doing the driving, she seems to be fine, go figure...

[mmfancipher 31]

That's what happens to my wife.  If she is the passenger she'll get car sick, but if she is driving she is fine.

 

[ependydad...Doug 176]

23 hours ago, Duane said:

Now if she is doing the driving, she seems to be fine, go figure...

That's some serious Disney magic... they let her drive the bus?!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

28 minutes ago, ependydad...Doug said:

That's some serious Disney magic... they let her drive the bus?!

Good one.

TCD

[TN22.....Brady 22]

On 5/22/2017 at 10:17 AM, Travisma said:

A lot of the bus issues could be eliminated if they had a CM at each bus area communicating with a central dispatch and get buses reassigned or filling in when needed.

We stood at EPCOT for over 45 minutes waiting for the WL/Fort bus when we were trying to meet up with our daughters for lunch at Geyser Point.

Numerous buses came and went at all the other stops, some with only 2 guests, some with none.

During our last trip, they had exactly this at Disney Springs. We watched all resort terminals get a bus, and there was CM standing by directing pedestrian traffic, if they had questions about bus terminal locations. She came over and asked how long we had been there, and got on the radio and a bus that was signed as WL change to The Fort and pulled in to pick us and 10 others up. I will mention this was the second WL bus in as little as 5 minutes, and there was no one at the WL stop.

[Travisma 1,317]

15 minutes ago, TN22.....Brady said:

During our last trip, they had exactly this at Disney Springs. We watched all resort terminals get a bus, and there was CM standing by directing pedestrian traffic, if they had questions about bus terminal locations. She came over and asked how long we had been there, and got on the radio and a bus that was signed as WL change to The Fort and pulled in to pick us and 10 others up. I will mention this was the second WL bus in as little as 5 minutes, and there was no one at the WL stop.

They could also run smaller van type buses when it's not busy and if they don't need to accommodate a wheelchair or ECV.

Mid days a lot of the full size buses just have a handful of riders on them.

 

[disneylitch......Debbie 61]

We use Disney Transportation.  Our theory is that we are at Disney to relax and not fight the traffic.  As far as inside The Fort, we either take the buses, walk, or ride our bikes.