If you re an international guest, there may be license issues that impact your ability to rent a veh

There are few things that make Walt Disney World visitors new frontier car rental in las vegas as passionate as the question of whether or not to rent a car during their vacation. Some folks claim that you absolutely MUST rent a car. Others are horrified by the thought of spending new frontier car rental in las vegas money on a rental when there is perfectly good FREE transportation at Walt Disney World. The reality is that, as with most Disney questions, the answer to Do I Need to Rent a Car? is a resounding It depends.
I was 100% in the no-rental camp for many years. During my first 20 or so family WDW vacations, we only rented a car twice, and those rentals were just because my husband was attending conferences on site and his company paid for it. I secretly laughed at folks who said that a car was necessary at Disney World. new frontier car rental in las vegas And then I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time, where I learned that having a car would have saved me hours of frustration and waiting.
Staying at a different resort, one a bit further afield, made me realize that the car rental question really has many answers depending on a number of factors. Here are some things to think about to help you decide whether renting a car at Disney World makes sense for your family s vacation.
If you re staying on Walt Disney World property, new frontier car rental in las vegas free transportation via Magical Express is included new frontier car rental in las vegas with your stay. This will get you back and forth from the airport to Disney World. Once you re on property, there is free transportation to the theme parks, resorts, Downtown Disney, and the water parks via an extensive system of monorails, new frontier car rental in las vegas boats, and buses .
This means that if you re on a super strict budget and don t want to allot any money toward in-vacation transportation, then you can certainly get around Walt Disney World without renting a car. No additional expense is required.
Depending on the timing of your visit, you may find rental car rates to be extremely high or extremely low. Using Priceline or Expedia, I ve sometimes been able to find small car rental new frontier car rental in las vegas rates at Orlando International for less than $10 per day. Even adding tolls and gas this would put a weekly rental in the $100 range, a mere blip in the cost of many Disney vacations. A reasonable price may be enough to tip the scales in favor of renting.
If you re traveling with a family of more than four or five people, then you would likely be forced to rent a larger, and thus more expensive, vehicle. For a large party, skipping the rental and using Disney transportation is even more likely to make financial sense.
The cold hard truth is that some resorts have a better transportation situation than others. If you re staying at the Grand Floridian, Polynesian or Contemporary, then you have easy monorail access new frontier car rental in las vegas (with no stroller new frontier car rental in las vegas folding ) to two of the four theme parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot). new frontier car rental in las vegas Similarly, guests of the BoardWalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan, and Dolphin resorts have easy access to Epcot and Disney s Hollywood Studios. If you re staying at one of these resorts, it will be easier and faster to use Disney s free transportation than a car to get to many locations. (But remember, Swan and Dolphin guests do not qualify for Magical Express, so that s another new frontier car rental in las vegas factor to consider.)
On the other hand, if you re staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village or the Saratoga Springs Treehouses, you re far removed from even the main part of your own hotel. Having now stayed at both those locations myself, I know that I will never stay there again without access to my own automobile. Guests new frontier car rental in las vegas staying at the outer buildings new frontier car rental in las vegas of the large moderate resorts will also want to think carefully about whether having a car makes sense for them.
If you re staying at a hotel off Disney property new frontier car rental in las vegas and are thinking of using their shuttle service to get to the parks, be sure to ask many pointed questions about the frequency of service. new frontier car rental in las vegas The hotel s answers may sway you that a car rental is the way to go.
Depending on their itinerary, guests with special needs may find that either a rental or using Disney transportation is more appealing new frontier car rental in las vegas based on their personal circumstances. Remember to consider this as you look at your options. You ll also want to take into consideration any non-obvious medical or psychological needs in your party. For example, I have one acquaintance with a moderate germ phobia. She finds that using a rental new frontier car rental in las vegas car gives her more peace of mind rather than using the public transportation at Disney new frontier car rental in las vegas World.
I very much dislike driving. This certainly played a large role in my family s early rejection of renting cars during our Disney vacations. For me, giving up the chore of driving for a week made vacation time infinitely better. If you don t mind, or even enjoy driving, then your situation will be different.
If you re planning to visit other Orlando or Florida area attractions such as Universal Studios, SeaWorld, LegoLand, new frontier car rental in las vegas the Kennedy Space Center, shopping new frontier car rental in las vegas outlets, or the beach, new frontier car rental in las vegas then you ll be much more efficient new frontier car rental in las vegas with your time if you have access to a vehicle. If you will only be going off-campus for one or two days of a lengthy Disney vacation, then you may want to investigate a partial stay rental from the Alamo or National desks at the Dolphin hotel or the Disney Car Care Center.
Disney s free Magical Express service is only available at Orlando International. If you re arriving in the region via Sanford or Tampa airport or by rail, then a rental may be the most time and money efficient way for you to travel.
Some guests have issues new frontier car rental in las vegas with carrying strollers onto a Disney bus. If you find this to be a challenge, then you may want to consider a rental car. On the other hand, you ll still need to fold the stroller to get it into the car. Guests staying on the monorail line will likely new frontier car rental in las vegas not have to fold a stroller to get to a monorail-accessible theme park.
When using Disney s free transportation system, getting from a resort to a theme park is fairly straightforward. For the most part, you take a boat, bus, or monorail directly from the resort to the park. But getting from one resort to another is often more complicated, involving one or more mid-trip transfers. For example, if you re staying at the Pop Century resort and want to get to a dinner reservation at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian using Disney transportation, you ll have take a bus from the Pop to the Magic Kingdom, new frontier car rental in las vegas and then transfer to the monorail to the Grand Floridian. Whenever there are transfers, the possibility of waiting and delays is increased, making resort to resort transportation generally inefficient with the Disney system.
If you will be dining primarily at your own hotel (or an easily accessible sister resort) or at the theme parks, then using Disney s system is generally fine. However, if you ll be doing much of your dining at distant resorts, then renting a car may be something to strongly consider.
Some guests feel that if they re only at Walt Disney World for a short time, then they want to be as time efficient as possible, making a rental more attractive. Other guests feel that a long stay means a greater need for a car due to the increased likelihood of off-property visits and dining. These are stylistic and personal priority issues you may want to consider.
new frontier car rental in las vegas The free Disney boats, buses and monorails are not configured to anchor car seats. If you feel like your young child must be restrained at all times, then you may want to consider renting a vehicle. On the other hand, if you re coming from far away and don t want to deal with the hassle of a car seat, or the expense of renting one, then using Disney s transportation may make more sense for you.
If you re an international guest, there may be license issues that impact your ability to rent a vehicle. Additionally, if you come from a country where driving new frontier car rental in las vegas takes place on the opposite side of the road from the US, then you may feel more comfortable foregoing a rental and using Disney transport.
Using Disney transportation is often quick and efficient, sometimes slow and plodding, but it is always out of your control. When you drive, you re in charge of your action; with the Disney system, someone else is running the vehicles. If you can t handle waiting or uncertainty, then a rental car may be a better option for you.
If you re traveling during the hot season in Florida (basically April through September), any car left in a parking lot will be HOT when you get into it. Not like a little warm hot, but third circle of hell I think I might die right here on the pavement hot. Seriously, I almost passed out getting into a rental in the Epcot parking new frontier car rental in las vegas lot in September just from the waves of heat radiating off the car.
Taking new frontier car rental in las vegas an occasional taxi (to a meal at another resort, for example) can make not renting a car much more palatable. However, some people, new frontier car rental in las vegas particularly some single women, are uncomfortable in a taxi alone. You may want to factor your feelings about this into your rental decision.
As you can see the decision process may be quite different, depending on a wide variety of factors. If you re in a large party with several toddlers staying at the Grand Floridian, then Disney transportation may be the way to go. If you re a single woman staying at Caribbean Beach resort, then a rental car may make more sense. But even with these fairly easy cases, there may be personal factors that influence new frontier car rental in las vegas the decision in the other direction.
Fellow travelers, are there any other things that factor into your choice about whether to rent a car during your family s Disney World vacation? Are you pro or con rental? Have you changed your mind over the years? Let us know in the comments below.
When my girlfriend and I went earlier this year, we didn t rent and were pretty happy with the decision. Granted, we re both fairly urban people who are used to public transportation and walking extensively. We spent five nights at the All-Star Movies resort, new frontier car rental in las vegas and ate most of our meals in the parks, though getting to the Boardwalk area for a breakfast and