So I’m looking to do a one day mad dash in July, on the ground for 24hrs from 9pm to 9pm.
I have a car rented for $72, which seems cheaper than $40-$50 each way for Uber/lyft, but doesn’t take logistics into account.
With an Uber I just get in and go, not much thought into it. With a rental I have to deal with the counter, tolls, parking, gas and the counter again.
The biggest logistical hurdle is retrieving the vehicle when I depart the parks - I plan on sleeping at Pop, doing HS, EP and then leaving for MCO from MK. I’d prefer not to backtrack to Pop for the car.
Is there a free and easy way to park the car at MK the night I arrive? I imagine the busses will run until roughly 10pm on a Friday night, so I could bus to Pop.
I’ve talked myself into Uber at this point, but would love to hear thoughts.
Some have wondered “Can I park overnight in one of the theme park lots or at the Disney Transportation Center?” The answer is no. We spoke with someone in Walt Disney World Security and they confirmed that your car will be towed if left overnight in a theme park lot and some visitors have been unfortunate enough to experience this for themselves. That being said, it never hurts to call Guest Servies at (407) 939-5277 and ask.
I would take Mears connect 1 way to Pop on arrival and Uber the other ways. Probably even $, but way more convenient. Parking the car and walking to the entrance and back is more time consuming than Uber dropping you off near the gate.
I definitely think skipping the rental is wise. We had one out of necessity for the length of trip & itinerary we had, but if I were staying only in the bubble & for a compact amount of time, I would use options like Mears mentioned above and/or the Uber/Lyft.
With the change to a 2 hr cancellation (vs. 24 hour cancellation) didn’t they eliminate the ability to bump & run? I’m not on this, bc I’ve never used it, before or after the change, but I thought I read something about it no longer being possible to modify a reservation same day. If that’s the case though then that’s even more reason to forgo a rental.
Why not go from Epcot back to Pop, then drive to TTC for MK. Your car will be there when you are done. You shouldn’t have to pay to park at the TTC of you are staying on property.
The TTC is free (all park parking is) if you are staying on-site .
Edited to say, I see Ryan printed this out.
I did a 9am to 6pm trip the next day and I was so happy I had the rental. When I left in the morning, my bags were in the trunk of the rental and I could do what I wanted and then head to the airport. No bell services, no returning to resort, no carrying my bags to a park.
Uber won’t cost you $50 each way. Maybe 40, but definitely not $50
Mears and Sunshine Flyer are affordable but will eat precious time, especially on the return trip when they will want to pick you up at least 3 hours before your flight. Mears picked up DD last weekend at 5:30 for a 9pm flight. It sucked up almost 2 hours of her time that she would have had in parks if she were rental-eligible.
As others have pointed out, parking is free at your resort and parks on day of check-in and check-out. No cost to you there.
My DH and DD took our rental car to HS for EE one morning last year, arrived at HS as the second car in, and were the second people in line at the taps. I can double check the timing on that but IIRC they arrived at 6:30am.
Get the rental, drive yourself everywhere, save time on the buses and spend about the same or a little less than Uber/Lyft. Be extra smart and sign up to go right to the car and skip the counter and you won’t lose any time there either.
Thank you all! I was on the page Ryan posted, but stopped reading at the prices.
The idea of going from Epcot back to pop, then driving to TTC doesn’t sound appealing - I’m trying yo thread a needle and need (want) all the time inside that taps as I can get.
That being said, I’ll likely be done with HS well before 2pm, so could move the car between those hops. Would it be better at that point to park at Epcot or TTC?
I’d probably park at TTC, then take the Epcot monorail to Epcot. That way, when you are done at MK, you can just take the monorail/ferry to TTC and get in your car without having yet another monorail ride over to Epcot.
Going from HS to Epcot to MK, leaving from MK to MCO. Just looking for the quickest and easiest way to get around without wasting time going backwards if I can help it.
Current best option seems to be skyliner to/from HS, drive to TTC, monorail to EP, monorail to MK, monorail to TTC and drive into the sunset. Or just pay the Uber.
I won’t have anything outside of my park bag to carry, so no worries there.
Another vote for the rental is that I can get a free $50 gift card for budget, bringing the rental price to about $20 plus gas and tolls.
Meh. It’s going to cost you time to monorail from MK back to EP to get the car, just as it will take you time to monorail or ferry to TTC and then tram to your car.
For quickest and easiest, I’d skip renting a car and just use Uber/Lyft to get to POP. The next day, SL POP to HS, SL HS to CBR to EP, monorail EP to TTC to MK, then walk to CR and have Uber/Lyft pick you up there for the ride to MCO.
My bag will have a pair of knickers and socks, a few snacks, power bank and water bottle. I’m packing ultra light lol.
What if I have lunch at Steakhouse 71 and leave the car parked there? Monorail to EP and then walk out of MK to the car.
I can move my room reservation to all stars and save ~$50. If I’m going to drive and not use skyliner, no need to splurge on Pop. If I use the gift card, I can essentially get the rental for free vs my current price.
I don’t think Budget has the ability to go straight to car, but I can look.
on this, bc I’ve never used it, before or after the change, but I thought I read something about it no longer being possible to modify a reservation same day. If that’s the case though then that’s even more reason to forgo a rental.