staying in disney do we need a car?

hi

we are off to disney for the first time in may 2006. soooooo excited!!!

we are staying in the animal kingdom resort in disney and have got tickets for universal and seaworld, bush gardens etc

do we need a car to get from disney to the other attractions on international drive or can we get to and from using any other means of transport (taxi, buses?)?

thank you

staying in disney do we need a car?

While you can use free WDW transportation to get to other areas within the WDW Resort, it will NOT take you off site to I-Drive, Universal, etc. THe downside for you is the Animal Kingdom LOdge is relatively remote and travel times will be longer on property.

Consider renting a car for flexibility. Transportation costs from the AK lodge (Hired taxi, etc) will add up quickly unless you want to use the LYNX public bus system that will require you to go to the WDW TTC to pick up a LYNX bus and the associated long travel times .

Good luck!

staying in disney do we need a car?

Totally agree w/ Endeavour. Compact car at Dollar rental car is about $180 total at the airport. Call Dollar (or any car rental company) DIRECTLY to get the best rates...as the internet rates may be substantially higher. Flexibility is the key. If your weren%26#39;t going to the other non-disney parks....then I%26#39;d say nix the rental...and use WDW transportation.

Dollar is good.....inside the airport....no bus to take.

Check %26#39;em out and have fun.

Thats $180 for the week!! :)

Technically you do not need a car but...it%26#39;s nice to go ';off campus'; occasionally and it%26#39;s also nice to by-pass the bus, park for FREE (perks for guests of Diz hotels) and zoom around at you leisure - between parks is a snap - but I love the monorail - and use it often :)

If you are comfortable driving... Get a car.... You will waste many hours of valuable vacation time waiting for transportation.

Unlike European countries, the USA has very poor public transportation.

Taxis are an option, but for a one way trip, you could have rented a car.

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge last month. We found the tranport system excellent (maximum wait 15 minutes) but we only stayed for 6 days and only did the disney theme parks and restaurants because we have been to Orlando many times before. If you are visiting the Disney parks and Downtown Disney I would certainly use their transportation as the buses take you almost to the park ticket booths and cut out the long treck from the car parks, especially at Magic Kingdom. We did use our car to visit the Florida and Millenia Mall. You will certainly need a car for Universal, Bush Gardens and Sea World.

I would advise a car....the days at the parks can be long and when you are doing the disney parks thats fine but after a 10+ hour day at seaworld etc I%26#39;m glad I didnt have to get on a bus with loads of other people to get back to my accomodation.Also you may find you want a day at the fab shopping malls in which case you will defo need one.(My kids preffered shopping at the Nike outlets than the parks and my youngest is only 11)

I would agree that a car is best bet when not doing Disney so plan out your time so that you only need a car for a part of yout trip (especially if you have paid for transfers from the airport to yoru resort). I have used taxis and it was expensive and I felt that I was missing out on a lot by not having a car.

Hi

We too are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in May 2006 and consider a car as a must have.

From what I can gather the Lodge is some way from other parks and facilities. If you want early starts there may be aproblem in relying upon Disney transportation as well as the time it can take to get to the other parks.

In saying this the Disney Transport is good it seems.

I consider that there will be a need to %26#39;escape%26#39; from the Disney environment and enjoy the rest of the area.

Shopping, Supmarkets (for room snacks and water and other drinks), Universal, Restaurants etc

Disney to I-Drive by Cab (They will take up to 5 people-Ideally 2 adults %26amp; 3 Kids) will be around $55 return.

Disney to Seaworld around $45 return

Disney to Univeral around $60 return.

For Busch Gardens ( don%26#39;t rule out a day out at Silverpsrings www silverspings.com) check out www.allorlandotours ( I%26#39;ve been on 6 tours with them through Gatot Tours)

Gator Tours Direct no: is 001 800 537 0917

I%26#39;ve just come back from great 12 day break, even accepting the lack of oxygen out there at the moment, and didn%26#39;t have a car-Yes I paid a bit for Cabs and shuttles-Oh but what Joy-to have someone else drive you and get you to your destinations directly without having to be concerned about whether or not you%26#39;re on the right road all the time.

I drove in 2003-hated it-this time-Sheer bliss!

blush