Disney resort of choice...

I can kind of relate, my current car is a Mazdaspeed 3 (the go-fast turbo model), and while it's a lot of fun, the gas mileage sucks and I really wasn't able to negotiate price since it was the very first of the new model year on the lot.

My favorite car by far cost me 3 grand. It handled better and had better gas mileage than the 3.

I am also an auto-enthusiast of sorts, Mustang and all, and I enjoy driving quite a bit. I do think, however, that if I were in Disney for a week during peak season, I would use their transportation instead of fighting traffic.

Other times I would want a car for the freedom to go other places in the area without relying on bus schedules. (Then again, my last visit to Orlando was in 1994, so I'm not sure what transportation is like there anymore.)

Jeff said:

I'm still surprised by people who want a car at WDW. Am I the only person who associates getting into a car with work and having to do stuff I would rather not do?

I associate using resort transportation to crowds, schedules, annoyances and stink - a general lack of control.

I can't imagine being at WDW without a car.

Agreed. I enjoy the freedom of driving. I have a 2011 Dodge Challenger R/T that I got two years ago because I figured it would be a chick magnet. I can't wait for that feature to be activated.

I've always loved road trips, and we purchased our newest vehicle (2012 Equinox) for the sheer purpose of loading up our two little girls and exploring in comfort. We ventured down to Dollywood together over Thanksgiving, and we're headed to Williamsburg in July (I'm sure you're all coming to the International Humor Conference, right?).

Of course, we've never Disney'd before, but the way we figured it, if we have our own car we 1) avoid paying for a rental, and 2) avoid having to worry about the public transportation. It's just one less thing to manage in my head. Plus, with a 2 and 6 year old, you never know when we may need or decide to head back to the hotel, and I just like the idea of being in control of that factor.

All that, and I personally dislike flying. Yep, the coaster-phobia guy has an irrational dislike of flying.

But in a very rational way, I'd rather save the money and cost (financial and emotional) of flying with a 2 and 6 year old.

And the Equinox is a chick magnet. My girls love it. ;)

I get the control, but you also have to deal with traffic, parking ridiculous distances to the gate, the expense of a rental and gas. Again, staying at Beach Club, I had to take a bus only once, to AK. The rest was walking, the boat and the monorail, none of which were ever crowded. Or stinky.

To each his own. :) I'll take a little traffic over dealing with airports anyday.

It must be in my genes. When my dad retired, he and my stepmother bought an RV and just....drove, literally, until she passed away last year.

I actually don't think the buses, etc. at Disney would be bad, or stinky.

Here's the thing; when I have my car there, I can choose to use it one day, and to not use it the next next.

Out of curiosity, when you say "park ridiculously far away", what are you talking? From the maps it doesn't look quite that terrible. It's no hop-skip-and-jump from the Beach Club, of course, but it looks reasonable.

sirloindude said:

I can't wait for that feature to be activated.

Yeah, I don't think the Challenger offers that as an option. Should've gotten the Camaro.

It isn't that terrible. If nothing else, the trams are frequent enough that it's not so bad. It's nothing compared to SFNE or SFDK.

"you also have to deal with traffic, parking ridiculous distances to the gate, the expense of a rental and gas."

I've almost never encountered anything that I'd call "traffic" at WDW. There are a few exceptions (Buena Vista Drive by DTD) but generally the road system there has been more than sufficient for demand anytime I've been there. That includes President's Week and peak July summer. I'm often parking up close (we get there early) but even when we don't, the tram will be along shortly. As for the "expense" of a rental: it's a couple hundred bucks for the week. In the grand scheme of things, that's almost but not quite lost in the noise.

I will often skip getting a car when I'm staying at Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk Villas thanks to proximity to Epcot and Studios. But, even then, I'll take a cab once or twice. Most recently, we had drinks at the Top of the World Lounge in Bay Lake Tower with friends on our last night, and rather than walk/monorail back over to the MK depot and take a bus to Beach Club, we grabbed a cab outside the Contemporary instead, and saved a good 15-20 minutes. Well worth the $20 or so it cost.

One of the best Disney vacations I ever had was when we used the Magical Express. Everything was handled for us, and we never once felt like we needed or wanted our own vehicle. Disney, in their clever way, arranged for us to be quite busy the entire time without even thinking about driving anywhere.

The thought of a Disney parking lot anywhere makes me break out in a cold sweat. I flashback to the time we went to EPCOT bright and early one day and neither one of us paid attention to where we parked. I swore it was Earth something. He swore it was Energy something. At quitting time we spent over an hour walking up and down rows and rows of identical rental cars peering in through the windows to see if it was our McTrash on the seat or somebody else's. And the Magic Kingdom parking lot? Can't it be seen from space or something? No thanks.

I'm a big fan of drop off service.

By traffic, I mainly meant the evening exodus. Of course, the other thing I left out was not having to worry about getting "home" when I've had beverages.

Re: Beach Club and AK: AK is a haul to everywhere. Don't let the map fool you. Unless you're staying at the lodge, it's a long ride. From that hotel, you can walk into Epcot, and take the monorail from there to MK. Studios are either a (long) walk or the boat. Love that location. I suspect Yacht Club and Boardwalk are about the same.

EDIT: What RCMAC said about Magical Express. I too feel entirely "taken care of" with that.

Even if you prefer driving you should take the Bus to the Magic Kingdom. Bus drops you off by the gate, you park and you have to take the monorail or ferry to the gate.

Regarding feeling "taken car of", we stayed at Beach Club last month, and I think Disney stepped it up a notch from our previous trips.

When we stepped off the Magical Express, there were Cast Members with tablets in hand, and instead of just the usual Welcome to Beach Club, Welcome Home, or other spiel, one of them addressed us by name, and asked how our flight from Detroit had been, while walking us to check-in counter.

I know we provided them with all the info, and the tech to implement it wasn't difficult, but it's just one of those little extras Disney will do that distinguishes them from most vacation destinations.

As for rentals, we don't usually have a car, then on some trips we will get one, even if just for a day or two.

For those that don't know, Alamo has a rental facility just south of the Magic Kingdom parking lot, and runs a shuttle bus to all the Disney properties. You can have the Magical Express get you to the hotel and take care of your bags, then arrange for Alamo to pick you up at the front door of the hotel and take you to their place.

I've also rented from the mini-rental office in one of the Downtown Disney area hotels. I don't remember if it was Avis or Enterprise, but they offered pick-up service as well.

Of course, the other thing I left out was not having to worry about getting "home" when I've had beverages.

That's a good point. We always let Disney do the driving in that case. The evening exodus, though, is a pain no matter who is doing the driving. We tend to linger in the park to let that subside a little bit.

All good points. We're certainly not taking the car just to have it there; so it may very well turn out that we let Disney do the driving for us and leave the Equinox to play at the hotel.