Do Commando Families Drive or Take Disney Transportation?

[gatorlisa]

We drive down, so have a car. We tend to do long weekend trips, so trying to maximize park time. Rope drop to close with the only break time being the time it takes to hop parks. We almost always use the buses. So much easier than driving ourselves. Maybe we've been lucky, but we have never had excessive wait times for buses. The only time we drive ourselves is if we want to go somewhere off property immediately after park closing and can't afford the time to get back to the resort to get the car (usually trying to make it to the outlets before they close).

 

[danielocha30]

we do both, Disney transportation have some flaws, but overall works well, we take the car onlu when we schedule another stop like hotel/park/mall/ hotel, we prefer Disney transportation so all adults can enjoy a drink or two during Fantasmic or while at EPCOT

 

[Praying Colonel]

Do commando families drive or take Disney transportation?

Yes.

As you can see from this thread, there's a broad spectrum of answers. When we were hard-core commandos, we did both, often during the same vacation.

 

[crazylady]

We do both. I would suggest pricing rental cars out. Our last trip we needed a one way rental and we're planning to pick it up on property (swan, I think). However, when I priced it out, picking up the car at MCO and keeping it the when 5 days at Disney was only about $40 more than the initial rental we needed. Totally worth it in my mind to not have to ME and to have a choice on to drive or not.

 

[yorkieteacher]

We live 8 hours from Disney (ONLY 8 hours, lol!) so we have driven each of the 8 times (ONLY 8!) we have been. We will be driving again this Fall. When the kids were in strollers, the buses were a hassle, but we always have taken Disney transportation except when dining at other resorts. But we get to the bus stop when they begin running! Leaving at closing is worse-we linger after the closing shows and look in the shops for about 45 minutes to an hour and that makes it easier. But it is ridiculously complicated to try to dine at other resorts not on the monorail without a car. Hop a bus to a park, find the bus stop for the resort you are visiting , take that bus to the resort, then reverse after dining. Doable but complicated and time consuming.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I live nearby (obviously) but when I plan to park hop all day, I leave my car at the last place I'll end up at in the evening, which is usually MK. I hate the parking trams more than I hate the bus system.

When I do an on-property staycation once a year (some family from back home comes to stay so I join them), my car stays parked at my resort all week.

 

[Cuchman]

We are a "commando" family - but use 100% Disney transportation. The only real challenge is the rope drop bus - knowing when the first bus will be - but it isn't that big a deal. Also, occasionally we have to wait for a second bus around park closing because of the exit crowds. This year, we plan to use the new-ish Disney express transportation for park-to-park travel. I have high hopes this will save us a lot of time and walking.

 

[jsmla]

When the kids were lite and we camped at Ft Wilderness we drove to all of the parks except for MK. It was just easier, we always had extra stuff to haul around (stroller, snacks, change of clothes, etc.) and liked skipping the lines at the end of the night. At Fort Wilderness our truck was right outside the door.

Now that they're grown we use Disney transport 95% of the time.

 

[MrsDuck]

We drive from South Florida so we always have our car. Wouldn't change it for the world. We only take resort transportation if we are going to MK.

 

[Klayfish]

No right answer here, all in what you prefer.

We use our own car. We stay offsite, so we kind of have to anyway. But you couldn't pay me to ride WDW buses. No way. I wouldn't begrudge anyone who does, but not something I'd do.

 

[shellyj]

We drive into town but we leave the van parked as much as possible. We have had great experiences with Disney buses and use them for everything except visiting another resort. Our preferred resort is AKL, but we've had good luck everywhere we've stayed.

 

[amberpi]

Will you grab a drink anywhere? If so, even if it's just one or 2, I wouldn't risk it. Also, I think it's a wash in terms of time, having to deal with parking and then getting to the front of the park. It also probably depends on which hotel you're staying in.

 

[gillep]

We used to do only commando days and we exclusively used Disney transportation and didn't have any issues. That said, we are pretty used public transportation and all of the issues that come with shared transportation, such as waits and crowding, we have observed that some people just cannot handle it at all, so having their own transportation is better for them. We have rented a car a couple times and don't really think that it is any faster than the buses on average.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Vacation does NOT include looking at someone else's tail lights!!!! Let Disney/Mears do the driving.

 

[Klayfish]

Vacation does NOT include looking at someone else's tail lights!!!! Let Disney/Mears do the driving.

I think you indirectly bring up a great point. A lot of someone's view on this probably is directly related to how they feel about driving in general. A lot of people would view driving as a chore, and therefore would want to use WDW buses. I absolutely LOVE to drive (my hobby is racing cars), so for me it's a pleasure.

 

[soniam]

We usually rent, even though we stay on property. However, we usually do both Universal and WDW. At WDW, we even drive to the Magic Kingdom. We also do rope drop. I know everyone says it's faster to take WDW transportation, but we haven't found that to be true. It's usually a wash at the worst. However, I would rather wait in my car than outside in a line for a bus. You do have to wait to get to the TTC, but the ferries and monorails are usually not too bad. We usually just walk to the car from the TTC and don't bother waiting for the tram. Burning extra calories let's me eat more

 

[soniam]

I think you indirectly bring up a great point. A lot of someone's view on this probably is directly related to how they feel about driving in general. A lot of people would view driving as a chore, and therefore would want to use WDW buses. I absolutely LOVE to drive (my hobby is racing cars), so for me it's a pleasure.

Us too We love driving and enjoy cars and racing. One of our favorite parts of foreign trips is getting to drive there, especially if it's on the wrong side of the road or has liberal traffic laws Seriously though, what do you race? DH does SCCA.

 

[Micca]

A true commando seeks total control, therefore a car is a must.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I think you indirectly bring up a great point. A lot of someone's view on this probably is directly related to how they feel about driving in general. A lot of people would view driving as a chore, and therefore would want to use WDW buses. I absolutely LOVE to drive (my hobby is racing cars), so for me it's a pleasure.

My DH Loooooooooves to drive too! That's why he wouldn't want to drive!

His brow got all wrinkled yesterday when he was trying to describe having to wait for 4000 people to exit the parking lot at WDW. The way DH drives, he'd pop the clutch, fly through the gears and spin the car nearly 360 as he whipped out of the lot, mechanical parts screaming all the way LOL...

Oh wait. So it would be a lot like Test Track without the FP+ *giggle*

 

[srwarden1928]

I tour commando. I always drive to WDW. I always drive to the parks. The funny thing is the one park many drivers use buses for is my favorite park to drive to. When I first went to MK, so many years ago, your admission ticket to MK included the ride on the monorail or boat. We always took the monorail. For me, it just wouldn't be a trip to MK without that monorail ride at the start of the day.