Using your car , not bus

[terlane]

Last week, after two days of crowded bus riding, we decided to take our car to early entry . We parked up front since most wanted to ride the free bus . In the middle of the day, we hopped easily and much more quickly to another park and parked up front. My car was much more comfortable and cooler . We had a bus to break down and had to be rescued by another bus . It also seemed like each time we wanted to leave , that bus would just be leaving . Ride the bus one day and drive your car the next. Just remember where you park !!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Did you use your car for EE at MK? I didn't think the monorail or boat started running until later? We will also be on site with a car and wondered if this would be easier.

 

[robinb]

IIRC the monorail/boat starts right at EE time, not before. We were late for a RADP meet once because we couldn't get on the monorail until 7:30!

We drive to all parks except the MK. I detest the T&TC . My last trip was a monrail resort and so will my next, so I'll be pretty spoiled for the trip after that .

 

[DiznEeyore]

We also drive to all parks except MK. It's just easier for us -- we like having the flexibility to decide not to go "home" and to go to Downtown Disney instead, for example.

 

[terlane]

I guess you guys are right. We didn't go early to MK, so I didn't know. But I do now . Thanks ! By the way , I think it's really nice of Disney to go out of their way to make the monorail smell like the old cow barn I played in as a child . Talk about going the extra mile !

 

[DaveH]

A thought for MK EE is to walk from TTC to the Poly and take the resort monorail.

 

[wdisneyaholic]

I agree totally with this especially if you have young children. We have 3 kids 3 and under and getting everyone on the bus plus stollers, bags and soft sided coolers if just terrible. Even if we were to stay in a monorail resorts our side by side double strollers would not fit. We did the bus thing this past summer only becasue we had ressies before the MK opened and I figured that the bus would not be crowded. It was just my husband and I getting all 3 kids and all of our stuff on the bus with no one on it. I was hoping the driver might offer us a hand. No such luck. We will continue to drive until our kids are old enough to walk on the bus themselves.

 

[Ratpack]

Well, I will be the first to go against the grain. I actually enjoy the buses and boats. For me, I park the car when I get there and I don't see it again until I leave. If I were to drive to the parks, it would feel more like I was staying at a motel and driving to an amusement park, not staying in the World. When I use the buses and boats, I just have stroller folded and bags in hand so that when it arrives, I board right away and off we go. Just my $.02 worth. I like to leave everything associated with the real world behind while at Disney, including our car.

 

[jmminarik]

Like the quality of food, this topic is a matter of perspective. I ride public transit every work day. When I was a kid, we walked to school and there were no soccer moms (there was no soccer to speak of!) to cart everyone around...living in the city you don't need a ride to the field 3 blocks away. When I got in a car, it was to go *somewhere*.

As an adult, it's still the same way. Getting in the car doesn't mean going to work. It means going to meet friends, play hockey, go to the movies, even go shopping. So driving to the parks means I don't spend hours of time waiting in queues to get on a smelly diesel bus like in real life. (Ok, I ride the el, but have to walk by smelly diesel buses all the time).

We do, however, enjoy the boat rides and the monorail. But if the car is quicker....
-Joe

 

[PiazzaM]

I have an Electric Scooter and I am staying at OKW. My girlfriend is renting a car, so do you think to go to the parks it would be easier to drive. Also have a handicap tag for the car.

 

[Tara8595]

I always get a car too. I like to have the option. Some trips we use it a lot, others not as much, but it's cool to me to know it's there. I really don't like riding the busses, but sometimes it is more efficient, like getting out after Spectro on a Saturday. Unless you're at a monorail resort, it's almost always more efficient to ride a bus to MK. Otherwise, I take a car to AK and usually stay where I can walk to Epcot.

Even from the Epcot resorts I like to drive over to MGM, because it's right across the street and takes less time getting out after Fantasmic than waiting for that stupid boat. I hate riding that boat at night. And I'm always too tired to walk by then. Does anyone else drive from YC, BC or Boardwalk to MGM? I love that entrance right across from BWI because it's not very heavily publicized and often if you get there early or late, you can park right at the entrance across from the MGM bus pick-up area.

 

[tmfranlk]

PiazzaM,

I think it would depend on whether your girlfriend would be willing/comfortable lifting the ECV into the car. I am (probably) renting one in December and plan on using the buses. I don't want my mom to have to break down and load the scooter into the trunck of the car. I would rather just drive it onto the bus.

 

[PiazzaM]

So you have used the buses before with an electric scooter? Are all the buses made to have a scooter go on them? Why take the bus to MK instead of the car? Any info would be helpful! I leave in 9 days!

 

[SueM in MN]

So you have used the buses before with an electric
scooter?

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES Board, ou will find lots of people with experience riding buses with ecvs and taking ecvs apart to go in car.

Are all the buses made to have a scooter go on them?

Almost all the buses are equipped with lifts or ramps and tiedowns to accomidate scooters and wheelchairs. 2 wheelchairs or scooters can fit on one bus. My DD uses a wheelchair ad we have had mostly good experiences using the buses.

Why take the bus to MK instead of the car?

If you go to MK by bus, you are dropped off right outside of the turnstiles to get into the park. If you drive, you end up at the TTC and need to take the boat or monorail to get to the same place that the bus lets you off. Also, the ramp that goes up to the monorail station is very steep (you have to get up in the air where the monorail is) and not easy to drive a wheelchair up or down.