Car at SSR

[CarolynFH]

Okay I gotta ask, why don’t you drive to the Magic Kingdom?

Because you have to park at the TTC and then take the monorail or ferry around/across Seven Seas Lagoon before you reach the entrance to MK. The resort bus will drive around the lagoon and drop you off at the MK entrance plaza.

 

[akk]

Okay I gotta ask, why don’t you drive to the Magic Kingdom?

You have to go park your car. First you have to slow down through the gates and show them you have a pass to park. You have to take the tram to the Monorail at the transportation center. Then you have to take the Monorail to Magic Kingdom. To get back you have to take the Monorail to the transportation center. You have to remember where the hell you parked your car. Then take the right Tram to your car. Get into your car which is now 110 degrees in the sun. You have to hope the car keys didn't fall out of your pocket on Space Mountain. And then you have to drive back to the resort. I would just rather get on the bus. I forgot to mention that while you were at the park your wife and one kid want to go back to the pool because it is too hot but your other kid wants to stay at the park.

 

[CarolynFH]

You have to go park your car. First you have to slow down through the gates and show them you have a pass to park. You have to take the tram to the Monorail at the transportation center. Then you have to take the Monorail to Magic Kingdom. To get back you have to take the Monorail to the transportation center. You have to remember where the hell you parked your car. Then take the right Tram to your car. Get into your car which is now 110 degrees in the sun. You have to hope the car keys didn't fall out of your pocket on Space Mountain. And then you have to drive back to the resort. I would just rather get on the bus. I forgot to mention that while you were at the park your wife and one kid want to go back to the pool because it is too hot but your other kid wants to stay at the park.

Don’t forget - no trams in the parking lot now! So once you get off the monorail and figure out where you parked your car, you get to walk to it in the blazing sun (or pouring rain)!

 

[dsnydaddy]

You have to go park your car. First you have to slow down through the gates and show them you have a pass to park. You have to take the tram to the Monorail at the transportation center. Then you have to take the Monorail to Magic Kingdom. To get back you have to take the Monorail to the transportation center. You have to remember where the hell you parked your car. Then take the right Tram to your car. Get into your car which is now 110 degrees in the sun. You have to hope the car keys didn't fall out of your pocket on Space Mountain. And then you have to drive back to the resort. I would just rather get on the bus. I forgot to mention that while you were at the park your wife and one kid want to go back to the pool because it is too hot but your other kid wants to stay at the park.

Point well taken!

 

[Stargazer65]

You have to go park your car. First you have to slow down through the gates and show them you have a pass to park. You have to take the tram to the Monorail at the transportation center. Then you have to take the Monorail to Magic Kingdom. To get back you have to take the Monorail to the transportation center. You have to remember where the hell you parked your car. Then take the right Tram to your car. Get into your car which is now 110 degrees in the sun. You have to hope the car keys didn't fall out of your pocket on Space Mountain. And then you have to drive back to the resort. I would just rather get on the bus. I forgot to mention that while you were at the park your wife and one kid want to go back to the pool because it is too hot but your other kid wants to stay at the park.

I had to laugh because this reads like a true experience!

 

[ColonialMouse]

Okay I gotta ask, why don’t you drive to the Magic Kingdom?

Honestly the lots at the other parks are typically closer to the park entrance than the TTC lots are to the TTC. So just getting to the TTC is a pain. We hardly ever take the trams (when there are trams).

Bruce

 

[tjkraz]

We have driven many, many times and overall, I think the greater sense of control is an illusion.

Transport time via bus or car is essentially the same. What that leaves you with is wait time at the bus stop vs the amount of time it takes you to drive through the vehicle entry, park and make your way to the park entrance. Assuming Disney bus wait times are within the 15-20 minute standard, I doubt you'd get there any faster driving. And you're adding another 1/4 to 1/3 mile of walking to the beginning and end of your day.

Driving is a hedge against the outliers--those times when waits are longer than 20 minutes. How often that happens is open to interpretation. We recently stayed at SSR for a few days and exclusively used buses. The only time we waited more than 20 minutes was (ironically) coming back from Magic Kingdom where it doesn't make sense to drive. We had one other wait of about 20 minutes and others surprisingly were only 5-10 minutes maximum.

As others have said, driving also gives you flexibility that buses don't. You can drive straight from a theme park to Disney Springs or resort-to-resort, trips that are difficult with Disney transportation.

I priced rental cars during our visit and the lowest rates were $60-80 per day. At that price, I'd personally go with an Uber for urgent needs and pocket the savings.

 

[Brian Noble]

Transport time via bus or car is essentially the same. What that leaves you with is wait time at the bus stop vs the amount of time it takes you to drive through the vehicle entry, park and make your way to the park entrance. Assuming Disney bus wait times are within the 15-20 minute standard, I doubt you'd get there any faster driving.

Having timed it, door-to-turnstile time to "not the Magic Kingdom" is marginally faster most of the time by car. It is certainly more predictable. To MK, driving is a little longer, but like the others it is also more predictable. Sometimes knowing when you will get there is more important than taking the quickest possible method.

But it's certainly not a necessity, and I've done it both ways.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

I think I know the answer to this, but want to be sure. We're doing two non park days at Saratoga, then checking into BLT on our MK day. We can park at BLT that morning, even if we're not checked into our room right?

 

[LadybugsMum]

I think I know the answer to this, but want to be sure. We're doing two non park days at Saratoga, then checking into BLT on our MK day. We can park at BLT that morning, even if we're not checked into our room right?

Yes since you have a reservation for that night. We did that in Jan when we switched from AK Kidani to BLT. I do suggest that you officially check out from SSR before switching as you may get your BLT room assignment faster. We checked out of AKL at 7:15am and I had the room text from BLT by 7:30am.

 

[Meglen]

Standing around for 15-20 min unable to walk around waiting for a bus vs walking to the car. The car will always win. The pain after a long day with my heels which is from standing still far outweighs the lost time using TTC.

 

[puffkin]

Standing around for 15-20 min unable to walk around waiting for a bus vs walking to the car. The car will always win. The pain after a long day with my heels which is from standing still far outweighs the lost time using TTC.

Agreed. You cannot put a value on guaranteeing yourself a seat in your car after a long day in the park.