For those that drive to WDW..

cbeeindisney

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
We always drive to WDW from NJ, however we have never parked at the parks for the day. Our car stays at the resort for the duration of our stay, unless we are going to another resort for a meal- it's much easier to drive. I figured since we are having to pay now to park at the resorts, maybe we'd make the most of our car and park at the Disney parks too, considering it's free.

For those that drive to WDW, do you consistently use DIsney transportation, do you drive to the parks or do you use both? Curious to know what the pros are of parking of at the parks instead of Disney transport.

Thanks in advance!
 
We have always driven to Disney World. In the past, we have done Disney transportation. In December, Christmas week, we opted to drive to the park and really liked it. We have 3 kids, one who uses a stroller. We did not use the trams at Hollywood Studios because each time we were there it was raining and we did not want t deal with folding up the stroller,taking off the cover etc. It was easy enough to walk to the entrance from our parking spots. For our future trip, we will continue to drive to the parks, but will also use Disney transportation when it makes sense for our plans (depending on the resort we stay at, such as skyliner/monorail use).
 
When we have a car with us, we drive ourselves to and from the park. It is consistently faster in and out and never have to worry about having a seat.
 


We park our car at our resort when we get there, unload our luggage, then never get back in it 'til it's time to go back home - use WDW transportation the whole time. It's the biggest perk other than 60 day FP for us to staying on property :).
 
When we go, our car stays at the hotel and we just rely on Disney Transportation. It's nice just to relax and not worry about traffic and parking.

This is us as well. We've only driven to WDW twice in the past 20 years, both times we didn't use our car once during the trip. We like not having to drive - and with Uber & the fact that most afternoons or evenings we enjoy having cocktails, well there is no need for us to have a car. Of course, we aren't schlepping little kids or strollers or anything along those lines either.

I firmly believe this is one of those 'to each their own' situations, and no right or wrong. Only what's right for your particular family situation.
 


We've done a mix of both, driving to the parks and using the bus. Like mentioned before, the most difficult park to drive to is MK because of the way it is structured with the transportation center. When the kids were really young and prone to melting down I found having a car on site to be beneficial rather than waiting for a bus, which could add to the meltdown. Sometimes all it took was the walk back to the car and some AC with the thought of leaving the park that calmed them down and other times we needed it to get back to the resort quickly. I think it all depends on what you think is more convenient for your family.
 
I only use Disney buses on solo on-site trips, and I have had some bad experiences at park close waiting an hour for a bus. Not really a fan of Disney transportation. Usually I stay offsite and am very happy driving to the parks, even MK.
 
We do a combination. We never drive to MK, too much time and effort. We like to rope drop and get there early and Disney transportation usually doesn’t get us there early enough. We go back to the resort in the afternoon but if we decide to return later in the evening we always use Disney transportation.
 
We drove last time and only used the car when we were going to a dinner reservation and cutting it close on time. We like to park hop so having to get back to the park we were at in the morning would be annoying.
 
I mix it up- if I’m planning an evening at a park or a dinner, I enjoy a cocktail so I’ll plan Disney transportation. But just as often, I’ll drive (except to MK). In early December, I drove to AK for EMH at 7 AM, and was happy with that decision even though there was a little more walking since I easily beat the bus and when it was time when I wanted to leave, I went right to my car. But yet this month, at 6:15 AM, I rode the bus to HS to avoid driving in the barely daylight morning and also avoid the marathon.
 
We always drive to WDW from NJ, however we have never parked at the parks for the day. Our car stays at the resort for the duration of our stay, unless we are going to another resort for a meal- it's much easier to drive. I figured since we are having to pay now to park at the resorts, maybe we'd make the most of our car and park at the Disney parks too, considering it's free.

For those that drive to WDW, do you consistently use DIsney transportation, do you drive to the parks or do you use both? Curious to know what the pros are of parking of at the parks instead of Disney transport.

Thanks in advance!

I do a bit of everything. Sometimes we take the car to the parks and to meals at other resorts. Sometimes we taxi/uber around. Sometimes we use Disney transportation.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of driving to the parks. It is not always as simple as a quick drive, then a quick walk into the park. If you are not close to the park you have to wait for a shuttle to get you. Sometimes you have to wait a few shuttles before you can get on one. So that takes time. And then the same thing heading back to your car.
 
We have always driven down (live in Georgia) and always park our car and not get in it again until we leave or if we are doing a split stay to move it. We even use Uber if we have a late night dinner ADR (we like refreshing adult beverages with a meal). The only exception is two different trips during a split stay, on move day, we were up very early just because so drove to AK and parked for rope drop then drove to the 2nd hotel. Normally, even if we are up early we go ahead and go to hotel #2 and park the car, store our luggage and head to a park.
 
We generally use Disney transportation. This next trip we will use our car to get to HS early to get to grab a boarding group reservation. My husband also drives to speedway to grab beer for the fridge and also drives the kids to play mini golf.
 
We use both. For MK, we always take the bus so we can avoid the TTC. It's much faster that way. We usually take the bus to epcot and Disney Springs (because you know we're going to be partaking in all those delicious libations). 8-)
We usually drive to HS and AK because it's a quick walk into the parks.

Oh, I should mention that we like to take mid-day breaks and catch something to eat at Disney Springs. It's always way faster to drive from the park to Disney Springs (vs taking the bus and having to transfer to a resort first). The convenience of having your own car can't be beat IMO.
 
We drive down from NYC. This year will be our 5th drive down.

When we drive down we use the car at WDW. Disney transportation (bus) is a nice amenity, but it is not fast. Compared to driving in the NYC area, driving at Disney (for me) is relaxing and stress free. There is no traffic and getting from resorts to parks takes about 10 minutes compared to the bus, which is a longer overall ride. We have taken the bus twice to Magic Kingdom, and I didn't find a huge time savings bypassing the TTC since you have to account for time spent waiting for the bus to and from the park. Bus service can also be unpredictable. I know that if we want to be at the park by X time, we need to leave the resort by Y time to get there. There's no guessing or needing to pad for irregularities in the transportation schedule or bus availability.

We generally stay at OKW or AKV and are DVC members, so we don't pay for parking. When we stay at OKW we occasionally take the boat to Downtown Disney.
 
We park our car at our resort when we get there, unload our luggage, then never get back in it 'til it's time to go back home - use WDW transportation the whole time. It's the biggest perk other than 60 day FP for us to staying on property :).
Same same. We used to drive into the parks and I'd be so tired at the end of a long day, while everyone got to snooze on the way back to the room, I'm trying to stay alert to drive and fight whatever traffic. It's much nicer to board that bus and turn off my mind. Even nap a little on the way back to the resort.
 

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