For those travelling solo?

[ddawg]

How do you get from the airport to your hotel? Do you go on the mears shuttle, Rent a car, hire a town car service?

 

[BostonTigger]

Unless you want to splurge and treat yourself, go Mears. It's somewhere like $25 round trip. Sure, you may have to wait while others are dropped off at their resorts if your resort isn't the first on the list....but it's cheap. The last time I took the Mears shuttle, I met a nice mother and son and we wound up getting together for lunch and a half day during the trip. So I would say take Mears, it's cheap.

 

[Rebd40]

I'm going solo in April and I'm using Tiffany Towncar which costs about $80 plus tip. It's expensive for only one person but having used them on previous trips I thought they are very reliable and convenient so I decided it's worth it. Plus you can make a grocery stop on the way to your hotel.

 

[MdmMim]

I use a towncar. I like that they're waiting for me to get me to my resort asap.

 

[nativetxn]

I use Florida Tours. Andy is just the best there.

I used Mears on one solo trip and didn't care for having to be ready for them at 4am for an 8am flight (plus they were 40 minutes late--I was perturbed because I could have slept instead of waiting on a bench outside CSR).

On the other hand, Mears is definitely easy on the budget and not an unpleasant way to travel.

Katholyn

 

[Pat_Elliott]

When traveling solo, I always rent the cheapest heap I can get my hands on. This gives me a vehicle for the week, and with just me, no car is too small to meet the task.

Warning if you go this route: I've had a car for a week for under a hundred bucks, several times. In order to make more money, the underhanded tactics used to get you to buy comprehensive insurance and upgrade cars is merciless. I highly suggest going into the depot with an attitude and telling the person smiling at you as you go to the counter that "I want the car, the whole car, and nothing but the car, I'll not buy insurance, I'll not buy a tank of gas, I'll not upgrade, and I'm not interested in your scripted scare tactics to make me do otherwise. And how is your day going?" Seems to get me out of places quicker, although I'm sure it's not a popular line.

FYI, I'm boycotting Americar. There are some things that low price doesn't justify.

Pat

 

[BostonTigger]

I have a friend who only uses Tiffiney Town Car. He loves being able to go straight to the resort without having to wait for a bus.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I prefer to use Mears. It is cheap enough. I get to the Orlando airport still in the morning, so I don't mind the stops at the other resorts, first.

 

[Terk-1]

When I go solo, I typically take Mears. It's about $25 round-trip. I never go off-property, so I use WDW transportation and don't need a rental car. If you want to spend about $80 or so, you can use Tiffany Town Car.

 

[dahirsh]

I'ved used Mears once and Tiffany once. The time I used Tiffany, my flight arrived at MCO after 11:00PM. I deceided it was worth it to me to get to my resort quicker at that time of night. Once I talked myself into the extra cost, I was happy I had, but I'm not sure which option I would go with for my next trip.

Deb

 

[mathgeek]

When I go solo I use Mears because I want the least expensive option to get me to my resort. Since I stay onsite and use Disney transportation I don't need a rental car, and the towncar is too expensive for just me. The one downside was not being able to take a side trip to see the town of Celebration. I did get to go there on my last trip with family, and it was a nice place to have a meal and just walk around the downtown area.

 

[BobBrazeal]

I always used Mears. I never could justify to myself the higher cost of other services. I always had good service from Mears. But as with every service experience do vary.

I never did it but I believe that it is possible to rent a car at Disney so if you wanted to spend most of your time on property but take a day off, you could rent a car for just that day.

For going to Celebration, I would think that a taxi wouldn't be too expensive since it is just across I-4 from one of the main entrances to the Disney property.

 

[TDC Nala]

Mears is cheap. I will usually take Mears if I'm on my own. The price can't be beaten.

However, if my plane home leaves before 12 noon I will rent a car. Mears has recently been scheduling me for pickup 4 hours prior to flight time, and then I arrive at the airport 3 hours or more prior to flight time, and even if I have to stand in line and check a bag it's another 2 hours before the plane takes off. I think there's something fundamentally wrong with getting up at 5 in the morning to catch your flight home.

I haven't considered taking a towncar. If I'm going to increase the price I'd rather rent a cheap car and drive it myself. Of course, it usually winds up sitting around the resort until I go back to the airport, but I get to run out to the Publix and the Disney outlet on I-4.

National has a rental desk at the Dolphin hotel and at the car care center near MK, but I can't figure out how you get to the car care center if you don't have a car to start with. By cab, I guess. Mears will also take you places like Universal or Sea World for the day. I took Mears to Universal in August 2001, $12 round trip from CSR.

 

[mathgeek]

From what I understand, National provides a shuttle from onsite resorts to the car care center if you request that service in advance (at least 24 hours). But it may be easier to bus from your resort to MGM and walk or boat to the Dolphin and rent a car there.