Is driving around property that bad?

kniquy

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
We have a trip coming up in November. With no Minnie vans and Uber likely costing a bit to use frequently - just how bad is it to:
1. Drive from MCO (on a friday morning) to WDW. We could avoid this if we just us on property car care, but how easy is it to get back and forth from the on property car rental place?

2. How bad is it just travel around property?


We are planning a few meals that will take us to other resorts and that we will possibly be at a park past closing and possibly after the buses stop running. I am thinking about renting a car but DH says no way does he want to worry about driving around. I can see his point but i think ubering for a family of 5 will be expensive.
 
We've chosen to stay on-site for the past few visits, but before that we stayed off site & drove in.

I always felt a sense of relief once we were actually on Disney property because there's tons of helpful signs to get you where you want to go PLUS if you DO get turned around/miss your turn off, don't panic - the signs will get you turned around &/or rerouted to where you need to go :)!
 
There is a shuttle available to and from the car care center (free).

We never rent a car. If you are at a resort for dinner or visiting and find the parks closed. We hop on the Disney Springs bus and then grab our resort bus back "home".

If you are at a park late, enjoying dinner, the restaurant manager has been going around asking if you need transportation. If this doesn't happen, or you are not staying to eat, exit the park. You will find cast members (transportation) an d they will assist you. (Disney sweeps\walks thee parks - looking for guests and closes down that section.) Disney will not leave you stranded.
 


Disney Springs closes at 10 pm currently and buses run up to two hours after. We use it as a Transportation hub!
 
We much prefer to rent a car and drive to and around property than rely on Disney transportation. Especially since one of you can drive and the other can navigate, it’s pretty straightforward.
 
Have you checked into the price of renting a car large enough for 5? With all the taxes and fees, it adds up. And will be paying for parking at the resort? You can get a lot of Lyft rides for that and no hassle with driving and parking. (I just read on another post that you can get an estimate of Uber/Lyft costs by plugging in info on their websites.). We've been to WDW over 40 times and think we know it fairly well, and I do NOT think it's always easy to follow the signs. DH gets us where we want to go with minimal difficulty most of the time because he has a good sense of direction and memory, but every now and then............
 


It is very easy to drive around property and especially now that there are a lot fewer people visiting Orlando. It is an easy drive from MCO to WDW if you take 417 over to Disney. There is a lot less traffic on this route. 417 is listed at the south exit when leaving MCO. If you take the north exit there is a lot more traffic. Driving around property is easy. There are plenty of signs to get you where you are going. 417 is a straight shot over to WDW on a nicely paved highway. You do have to pay tolls along the way. Just bring 10 $1 dollar bills there are if I remember 3 toll booths each way. Once you have done it you will wonder why you never rented a car before because it is so easy
 
In the past, I used Disney transportation mixed with taxi/ride share. This summer I rented a car and it was so easy! I found the GPS on my phone worked very well with well-timed ques for exits and the signage on property is also great. I don't see going back to the relying on others now that I've experienced the freedom of driving myself. Even just being able to run to the store was amazing.

To ease my nerves about car rentals at MCO, I did internet researched and watched some traveler videos showing what the drop-off process looks like.
 
I have always rented a car and love it. I usually get a mid size SUV or minivan I never pay more than $250 a week after shopping around for good prices. I do not have to pay for parking nightly because we are DVC. Very easy to navigate to and from airport as well as on property IMO.
 
Depends on how often you want to go places. Using any of those online taxis gets expensive if you do several trips, making renting more cost effective. Many also have a max party size so with 5 you will need to consider that. The signs at Disney seem to work best if you already know where you are going or are a regular. Our first few trips to Disney, we found the signage confusing or not organized the way we thought made the most sense. If you have any kind of GPS unit on your phone you can use that to assist with navigation. In the days of covid, having your own rental car gives you a better sense of control since you know who has been in the vehicle while you are renting it. If you want to eat less expensive meals, having a rental car makes it easier to drive off of Disney property for dinner.
 
It’s easy. Especially now with GPS on everyone’s phones. We are here now and have been driving every day. Buses are terrible. Only like 20 people on each so it takes forever. We tried the first 2 days and gave up. We got to the bus at 8:55 for HS and the bus coordinator told us it was at least 3 buses, so we drove. So much nicer too because thats one time I can take my mask off and breathe for a while.
 
Traveling around WDW property in your own car is very easy. Don't hesitate to do it.
Amen to that :thumbsup2. Come and go as you please. Everything is well marked. Plus traffic in WDW has to be much lighter than usual right now. Get your car right at the airport and you can cut down on the time lost to ME. The route to/from MCO is easy. You can also grab some provisions for your room at regular store prices.
 
I am renting a car in October... I don't usually but early closing of parks and transportation leads me to want my own wheels and not rely on Uber 2-4 times a day... it would add up.

As others said, driving is easy but study a map before you get there so you know generally how to get going in any direction. The difficult thing is if you make a wrong turn you may end up at a park or resort entrance and have to explain you made a wrong turn and want to turn around. They've seen it before, don't worry.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top