We were thinking about staying at a value or moderate resort to save some money, but possibly renting a car. i’m leery about the buses (having to wait, multiple stops, etc.) I was also considering Uber/Lyft, but we have kids that needs car seats in our party, so…that adds a level of complexity. I have a few questions
(1) I still want to use the Magical Express (because i just LOVE the idea of not seeing my bags until i get to my room! lol), can i have a rental car dropped off at the hotel?
(2) Being i’m staying on property, do i have to pay for parking at the parks?
(3) can i park at the transportation center?
i’m open to people’s opinion’s about the buses (good or bad), moderate level resort we would stay at is POFQ, not sure about which value we would want if we want to go down that path. Also planning for the last week in august
i’m very torn because i love the convenience of the monorail…i dont know if i am willing to give that up.
You can rent from Disney itself. Dolphin has Alamo / National I think, not sure about the car centre place near MK. The latter will collect you from your resort and take you back again when you drop it off.
No charge for parking if you stay onsite.
You park at the TTC for MK, then take monorail or ferry across to MK. You could also park there and take the monorail to Epcot if you wanted to.
For our last stay at POFQ with my DS1 we rented a car! In fact, we always rent a car. I really recommend it. It was great for my son to be able to have his car seat and fall asleep in the car if needed and we parked directly outside our room. We also were able to keep the stroller in the car the whole time.
Someone in your party will need to take the magical express in order for your luggage to get to your room. But you can check your luggage on the way back to the airport without taking the magical express. Alternately, you could rent a car at the Car Care Center but I don’t think they will drop a car off for you at the hotel.
Parking is free at all parks if you are staying on property.
You will have to park at the TTC. This is the only downside that some find with renting a car. Taking the bus to the Magic Kingdom can sometimes be faster if you time it correctly since you avoid the monorail or ferry. But it sounds like you want to take the monorail!
We usually have a rental car because we visit relatives in the area while we are in Florida, but we always take the buses, monorails, and ferries to the parks. You certainly can drive, and many people do, but I would not personally rent a car just to get around the parks. We’ve never had major issues with Disney transportation. You can check the chart in the Unofficial Guide to compare Disney transportation vs personal vehicle times from your resort to see if it makes sense for you. For us it was always not a big difference and not worth the hassle.
You have one of two options
1 - Get a car once on site. There are several locations etc. Swan / Dolphin, Car Center, Doubletree near Disney Springs and sure there are others OR get it at the airport. I would prefer to get it at the airport. You will need to have either a sunpass or EXACT CHANGE for the tolls. Neither one has ever bothered me - but some people don’t like driving in new cities - so you need to figure out your comfort level. Personally - I would get the car at the airport - as it is just easier all around - and probably a bit cheaper.
2 - No - no additional cost
3 - as previously noted - if you are doing MK - the closest you can park is the TTC. You can however park wherever you want and take transportation.