Difference between disney buses and driving

I'm in the minority too because I would 100% take the bus over driving any day. When we get to Disney we don't get in our car again unless it's to make a grocery run. It might be a different story when staying at the value resorts (I've seen those ridiculous lines at the end of the day), but staying at a DVC resort the buses are the way to go. :thumbsup:

Jumping in with the minority here too. We always have our car, because we drive to WDW. But, a large part of the appeal to stay on site is that those keys get put away and we don't have to think about driving, directions, parking, etc. until we are on our way home again.

We always drive to WDW (just 5 hours from home) and so we always have a car there. We find we use the car sometimes (real early breakfast ADR's in a park, etc.) but we find that riding the bus is usually just more convenient. If every minute of your day is critical to you at WDW, you can probably shave a few minutes of extra time out of driving, but I think hopping on the bus is just more convenient for us, especially going to from MK. There, the bus stop is so much closer to the gate than the parking lot. But is also depends on which resort you are staying at. The wait for value resorts buses at park closing can be long. We stayed at POFQ this past Christmas week though, and never had to wait more than 5 minutes to catch a bus when leaving the park. It takes mush longer than that to get from the MK gate all the way out to the parking lot. But if you have little kids and strollers, etc. it may be convenient for you to drive.

Pros: As others have said, if you drive your car (with the possible exception of MK) it is much faster than taking the Bus.

Cons: Getting from the TTC to MK can be fustrating slow at certain times of day, or in certain weather. On my last trip we had a horribly long wait for the monorail because it was foggy and the ferries could not operate in heavy fog. I was told that for safety reasons they do not operate when they can not see the dock on the other side of the lake.

Main Street Jim;2448871 wrote: This.

It's only gotta be during high-volume periods like Christmas/New Year's week and 4th of July weekend.

This was never a "regular" thing...

I have seen it twice. The first time the monorail was temporarily closed (the train broke at the TTC station, it is the only time I have seen the tow vehicle in person), the second time the ferries were not operating because of fog.

From 03-12, we always used Disney transportation. It had its ups and downs, but as you mentioned carrying the child on the bus can get pretty intense especially on the long trips. Our last two trips down we rented a car and drove down, so we had a vehicle the entire time. It was nice to leave the Disney bubble to do some grocery shopping. As others have mentioned folding strollers for the bus/trams is a real pain. My wife and daughter would usually take the trams and I would just keep my son in the stroller and walk to the parks/car to prevent multiple foldings. I have no complaints about the bus system, and I have waited through crowded nights and mornings, but it's a perk that comes with your package. With that being said, until my kids are 8-10 range, I will probably keep driving to and from the parks. It's just easier at the end of the night. Even to MK. Why would you want to skip the monorail/ferry anyways? It just adds to the experience.

Speedy1998;2448958 wrote: Cons: Getting from the TTC to MK can be fustrating slow at certain times of day, or in certain weather. On my last trip we had a horribly long wait for the monorail because it was foggy and the ferries could not operate in heavy fog. I was told that for safety reasons they do not operate when they can not see the dock on the other side of the lake.

Well, like I said, you can always take the *Resort* side monorail, and get off at TTC (second stop), or, walk over - 5 minutes, *maybe* - to the Contemporary, catch the 'Rail, and get off at the next stop (TTC)...

Main Street Jim;2449378 wrote: Well, like I said, you can always take the *Resort* side monorail, and get off at TTC (second stop), or, walk over - 5 minutes, *maybe* - to the Contemporary, catch the 'Rail, and get off at the next stop (TTC)...

Except that poster is trying to travel to MK, not away. ;)

magicofdisney;2449382 wrote: Except that poster is trying to travel to MK, not away. ;)

I was thinking at the end of the day/night.

Original post:

cfoshe;2448399 wrote: At the end of the night is it faster to wait on the bus with everyone leaving or waiting on the tram to go to find your car? Last one, what is the furthest they drop you from your car in the parking lot?

In the mornings, it's not *that* big a deal, if you arrive early enough. We liked to take the ferry over first thing in the morning, and then monorail back.

If you do get into the TTC parking early enough, you won't even have to take the tram - you should be parking close enough (old "Minnie" section - not sure what it is now...LOL) to walk to the Monorail/Ferry. If you get there later, you will need the trams....then Monorail/Ferry...

To answer the second question about "furthest from your car" - well, the trams use the center lanes of the parking areas, so, if you're parked at the end of one of the rows...hard to say *exactly* how far it is...trams stop in each and every parking area at least once...load/unload two areas at a time (one on each side of the tram)...

VWL Mom;2448872 wrote: I'm surprised at how many people drive, I just never realized. We primarily rely on Disney transportation with an occasional cab thrown in the mix and don't usually have an issue.

I definitely agree with this statement. If things are really bad, we just grab a cab. Our first trip, we rented a car and it sat unused for almost the entire week. Big waste in my opinion.

Our trips prior to 2014 - we rented a car and drove everywhere. We would spend a day or two offsite (Universal, Discovery Cove etc.) and having a rental car was so convenient. Trips to a grocery store or Target were a really nice bonus. Last Sept we again spent a few days offsite, but those days were before we checked in at CSR. Once we hit WDW something just clicked in my head. I didn't' want to drive any more. I threw the rental keys on the dresser and they stayed there until it was time to go home. Something about being away from home and letting someone else worry about directions and traffic just seemed like the way to go. So this coming Sept. we are using the Magical Express for the first time and letting the all knowing bus drivers cart us around.:mickey::thumbsup:

Add my family to the "bus" contingency. I love having no worries about driving around - plus we only have to take 2 buses from the Boardwalk- we walk to Epcot & boat to the Studios from the Swan/Dolphin.

One night back from the MK our very full bus broke down & we were stuck 2 mins from the Boardwalk for over 40 mins - but that clearly was an exception.

We take a cab to the Contemporary on California Grill night.

I've done both. It really depends on the circumstance.

Buses are convenient, particularly at AK and HS, where they drop you much closer to the front than you can park.

We typically would take the bus I'd we were planning inspectors ding the entire day at the park. However, if we planned on taking a mid day break at the resort, we would drive. If you plan on taking a 3-4 hour break your resort, you could easily waste as much as 90 minutes round trip getting to the resort and back to the park. There have been times when it has take as much as 1 hour just to get back to the resort.

With FP+, we now find ourselves going to the parks each day, but only staying for 4-5 hours. Because of this, we now drive to all the parks, except for MK.

yankeesfan123;2448446 wrote: We drive to every park except MK. I've found it faster to just take a bus to the main gate usually. Depending on the time of day, the monorail or ferry line can be quite long from the MK parking lot.

This!! :number1:

We drive a ways so we tend to bus once arrived.
The exceptions are target for snacks and the water parks, 'cause I get cold on the bus.
50 days to go:cloud9: