Rental Car vs Magical Express & Touring Parks - Cost vs Time - What's Better?

BarbossasWench

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 13, 2010
What do you find better to use - rent a car and spend the extra money or Magical Express (it might take more time to get places)?

Planning a vacation for end of September and at a toss up for what is better?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Always did magical express until last year when staying @ Bonnet Creek. Rental car was needed.
Found we LOVED the having a car. Cost vs convenience for us is worth it. Now, that being said, if it was
a just a long weekend and staying on site, magical express would be a valid option.
Just returned from AKL for 5 days so having a rental was great, those buses are not always known for being timely from that resort.
 
I much prefer having the freedom of a rental car....never going back.

The time saved adds up quickly, WDW is extremely easy to drive around.
 
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For me not driving is what makes it a vacation as I drive all the time in real life. IME Magical express is about 90 minutes from landing to check in and sometimes quicker, we LOVE the luggage delivery feature as well. On the return we don't always need the full 3 hours but for the cost savings we can relax at the gate :)

On property we have always had good if not great bus service, sure there are occasional long waits but on average I would rather wait an extra 5 minutes here and there than drive an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar place. Getting from resort to resort is a bit complicated but now with the options of lift and uber and even the new Minnie Vans I just budget for that and its still cheaper than a rental.
 
Both my husband and I LOVE a week off from driving. Occasionally we wait a bit longer than we like, but generally it's fine.
Also, both times we have gone in September and it has been HOT and seeing people walking on the enormous blacktop lot out to their car looks awful.
 
What do you find better to use - rent a car and spend the extra money or Magical Express (it might take more time to get places)?

Planning a vacation for end of September and at a toss up for what is better?

Thanks in advance for any help!
The buses at Disney are efficient. My vote is for Magical Express. Relax and let Disney do the driving.
 


Thank you, all! :flower1::disrocks:

Tmjw2727 - Great point about using Lyft & Uber to get around occasionally.


I sure wish they hadn't stopped the park to park inner service . The cost seemed totally worth it. I was planning my itinerary around it for park hopping.
 
Rental car gives you so much freedom and is faster than the buses. Hubby drove the rental car back to SSR from Epcot while i took the bus. He wait 40 minutes for me to arrive. SO that proved to us that the rental is worth every penny.
 
Rental car gives you so much freedom and is faster than the buses. Hubby drove the rental car back to SSR from Epcot while i took the bus. He wait 40 minutes for me to arrive. SO that proved to us that the rental is worth every penny.

Definitely agree. Once we started renting a car, we never went back to Disney transportation. The reduction in stress level, and the time saved, were both wonderful! For us, taking Disney transportation is so much more stressful than driving (worrying whether we will just miss the bus and have to wait for another 20 minutes; worrying about whether we will get a seat, etc.) Enjoy your trip!
 
What do you find better to use - rent a car and spend the extra money or Magical Express (it might take more time to get places)?

Planning a vacation for end of September and at a toss up for what is better?

Thanks in advance for any help!
For us, it really depends on where we stay. We usually stay at BWV (DVC). Since the transportation to Epcot and HS via boat or walkway works for us, we don't really need a car. We take the buses to MK and AK and use Lyft or Uber if we want to get to/from dining at one of the more remote hotels, like WL or AKL. Sometimes, we move to SSR or AKL for a part of a visit. Then a car is really useful to get to all the parks.
 
I had always been a rental car person because we didn't want to wait around for buses etc. On my last trip we did DME because my DH drives all day everyday and didn't want to drive on vacation if it could be avoided. We'll never go back to renting a car. DME was a fun experience and I loved not having to get the luggage, schlep it through the airport to the rental car area, load up and then unload once we got to the hotel. IMO, just not having to deal with that was worth the wait ( which was only about 10 minutes to get on and then another 10 to leave at most ).

I agree with a pp, if you have a spot that you want to get to quickly you are do the Minnie Van. In September, I expect ( and hope since we'll be there next September ) that the waits for the buses at the resorts won't be too long. ( Keeping my fingers crossed there - maybe someone else can post about their experience there )
 
If I'm at an Epcot resort I use DME and Disney transportation. Any other resort, I like a car.
 
We are big fans of renting a car. Our first trip was a bit of a combo and I just don't have the patience to wait at the end of the day for a bus. Plus we like to have a midday break and usually park hop so it saves us a chunk of time. We will use it to go to Disney Springs this time though so we can have a few adult beverages and not worry about who is going to drive.
 
always took ME from airport then rented car. Faster and easier then buses/ You get the calmness of the car no long wait at the bus lines, particularly at park close, no screaming crying kids, and it is a lot faster especially if you plan and get out before park close. As another poster pointed about difference in time, my wife tried the bus from AK (well before park close) and I drove to SSR I got to room almost 1 hour before she did. Another time my son and family wanted to try the bus at SSR, got to stop 1 hr before rope drop, had to wait for a couple of buses due to crowd; finally made it to MK 1/2 hr after rope drop.
 
Thank you, all! :flower1::disrocks:

Tmjw2727 - Great point about using Lyft & Uber to get around occasionally.


I sure wish they hadn't stopped the park to park inner service . The cost seemed totally worth it. I was planning my itinerary around it for park hopping.
Yeah, I loved that service as well....so nice to skip security at your second (or third or fourth) park! Oh well.

I've started renting a car since my dd now lives in Clermont. Sometimes I rent right at MCO, sometimes at the Dolphin. But, I still tend to use Disney transportation. I'm seldom in a rush anymore, so I tend to avoid the busier times...park opening, closing.
But it is nice to have a car if you need to get off-site or you have several resort ADRs. It's nice to just hop in the car and drive to dinner vs taking a bus to a park and then transferring to the resort bus. And getting to DS is sooooo much faster if you drive!
 

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