Since we will have a rental car for most of the trip through Florida, and will need one at the end, I prefer to simply keep the rental for the 2 weeks we will spend at All Stars - even though it bothers me to have to pay for parking despite being a resort guest, $13 a night won’t break my bank. I believe it will entitle me to park at any of the 4 parks anyhow, and since that is $25 a day (and we pay only $13) we still come out about the same, right? BTW, does that $13 a day still cover us if we decide to visit another resort, or is it only the 4 parks plus DS?
I wonder if I am spoiling myself by keeping the car an extra 2 weeks just to do a bit of offsite shopping and perhaps skip the buses a day or two (BTW how good are those buses). Finally, I wonder if all the room renovations will be done by the time we go to AS Movies (end of September)? Thoughts?
Only overnight guests pay for parking at the resorts. If you are just visiting or dining, you don’t have to pay, whether you are staying onsite or offsite.
We have always had good luck with the buses, but occasionally they have been packed full or sometimes have a longer wait. When we have a car, we often drive ourselves to all the parks except MK. It can be nice to just hop in the car at the end of the night rather than waiting for a bus. If you want to go to another resort, it is usually easier to drive yourself. Also we like to have a car to make a grocery run. I say if you can swing it, keep the car the whole time.
I’m a proponent of getting a rental car for my WDW trips. I’ve had too many negative experiences with the buses. (Nothing major – waiting too long, missing a bus or completely crammed full) Plus, IMHO having a car makes park hopping and taking midday breaks so much easier. Treat yourself! After all, you’re on vacation. =)
We used to be car rental types, too, until they increased the parking to $24 at the EPCOT resorts. We can walk to two parks, and there’s Uber, so this trip we are going without a car for most of our visit.
Our first night is at the Hilton, and DH picks up DS20 at the airport the next day while the rest of the fam switches over to BWI. When he comes back, he’s going to drop the car at the Dolphin.
But we wouldn’t ditch the car if it wasn’t for Uber. That has made a huge difference to us.
Also look at the combined cost of breaking up the rental periods. We had looked into a car rental for our non Disney portion and because it was only 3 days, it quoted at the higher daily rate. Vs 8 days gave us a weekly rate + 1 daily. Cost difference though was $95 so worth the full vacation. Midday breaks were easier because we could have less time waiting on transportation. Add on we didn’t have to get on Magic Express. We could eat breakfast at the Tangled character meal, go to DS to shop, then leave for the airport on departure day.
I live in Atlanta, which is a 7-8 hour drive to WDW, so we always drive and have our car, so I’m bit biased.
I cannot imagine not having a vehicle for use, we like to take a break from ‘the bubble’ and get out in the real world every now and then. Also your own vehicle is often quicker and easier than WDW buses. After dealing massive crowds of humanity all day long, it is nice to get the relative peace and quiet of your own vehicle at the end of the day.
Thanks, actually I recall hearing you have technically 3 hours and that they do actually enforce it… but I am not certain. I wonder if it’s different though for a guest who IS a resort guest (just at a different resort) vs someone simply coming from offsite?
We always drive and have our car but in the past have only used Disney transportation. I am wanting to drive our car to a few parks this time.
What is everyone’s experience with driving to the parks, specifically lines at the booths, waiting for the tram if you are parked way in the back, etc? I’m particularly interested in AK and HS. We will be RD at AK (but not for FoP so we won’t be super early), and EMM at HS. I plan on busing to MK and we will be taking monorail to EP after 8 am Ohana breakfast but may drive back after our midday break. Thanks!
@squealer22 we stayed at Sports last year and the busses were great. The only time we really had to wait was a day where we left a little after park opening. The first bus filled up so we had to wait about 10 mins for the next.
We are staying at movies in June so I will let you know how the buses are. The rumor is that buildings 6-10 are completely renovated and they are working on buildings 3 &4 now. I would think they would have most of the rooms complete by September for your trip. We are requesting toy story section, I know it is already reno’ed so we will see how our request goes.
What does it mean to “enforce it?” (parking at the resorts). Get towed, or just pay something?
We’re going to be parking at BWI to visit Jellyrolls, then probably catch EMH at EPCOT, but it’s the night before we check into BWI. In fact, we’ll probably leave after midnight, so technically the day of our check-in. I wonder if that “counts” as being a resort guest?
Its midweek, in the evening, with pretty low crowd levels, I wonder if they’ll even care that much.