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Do I Need to Rent a Car at Walt Disney World

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For years when I would visit Walt Disney World, I would rent a car at the Orlando International airport and drive my family to our Disney resort. For the most part, the car would sit in the parking lot, though we would use it to drive to the grocery store or maybe Sea World. I then had several trips in a row when the car never left the parking lot. The only other real option at the time was to hire a town car service or use Mears airport transfers, but renting a car was pretty cheap, and it was nice to have the car in case of emergency.

When Disney launched the Magical Express in 2005, which offers free transportation for Walt Disney World Resort guests from MCO to Walt Disney World and back, it solved many of my problems. Free transportation to Disney that was a quick and easy process. I have only rented a car on one subsequent Disney World vacation.

But, the Magical Express is not for everyone. There are still situations where you may need to rent a car.

You should probably rent a car at Disney World if:

  • You are flying into any other airport than MCO. Some people opt to fly into Sanford airport, or even TPA in Tampa, and the Magical Express does not service those airports
  • You are planning on doing other area attractions in addition to Disney. While Universal, Sea World, Legoland and others are technically in the Orlando area, they are not very close to Disney. Getting back and forth can be expensive without a car. If you are doing maybe one day at Universal, consider a town car company for that trip, but multiple days, a rental car will be the most efficient for you. Remember to figure in the parking costs at the other parks when figuring out if a rental car works for you.
  • You are planning on visiting a far away attraction such as Cape Canaveral or one of the beaches.
  • You want the freedom from Disney transportation. Many people just want to drive their own cars to the parks, and don’t want to worry about lines for the Disney buses.

You should probably not rent a car at Disney World if:

  • You are just doing Disney World. Disney transportation is mostly efficient, and more importantly, free.
  • You want to save money.
  • You may want to go offsite for one or two days, and a town car company is cheaper than renting a car for the entire stay.

Things to remember:

  • Parking at all Walt Disney World resorts is not free. Walt Disney World now charges for parking at all of it’s resorts. Parking is current $13 at Value Resorts, $19 at Moderate Resorts and $24 at Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts per night of your stay
  • Currently, if you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort, parking at the Disney theme parks is free.
  • Most rental car locations are outside of MCO, requiring a bus ride just to get to their building to rent a car.
  • There are toll roads between MCO and Walt Disney World, as well as possibly between Walt Disney World and other attractions.
  • There is an Alamo rental car counter on Walt Disney World property, as well as rental car counters at many Downtown Disney hotels if you want to just rent a car for a day or two.

Do you rent a car while at Disney World?

 

 

Walt Disney World Park Hopper Option

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At Walt Disney World, when you purchase your park passes, all of the passes sold are “basic” park passes. Basic park passes give you access to one of the four Disney theme parks each day, but only one park per day. You can exit and re-enter that one park as many times as you like, but you are limited to just that one park. If you have a multi-day pass, then it all starts over the next morning, you pick one of the four parks and that is your park for the day.

Want a bit more flexibility? Walt Disney World sells the “park hopper” option as an add-on to your tickets. Park hopping allows you access to all four Disney theme parks each day of your ticket. You can visit one park or all four, totally up to you, there is no limit. The park hopper option runs about $69 per person, regardless of the length of your ticket.

Who should purchase the Park Hopper?

  • Frequent visiting guests who know exactly what they want to see in each park.
  • Guests staying for longer stays, as it gives them some flexibility during their days to move around
  • Guests staying for very short stays who want to try to see everything
  • Guests who like ultimate flexibility

If you are trying to save money, or are at Disney only for 3 – 4 days and want to plan one park per day, then the park hopper may not be for you. Some people also like the simplicity of just one park per day, it works for them.

Personally, I do the park hopper every trip. My family tries to be at the parks first thing, right at opening. We stay until sometime after lunch, depending on the crowds and weather. We then head back to the hotel to swim or nap for a bit. We then usually end our day in Epcot or Magic Kingdom for dinner, fireworks and a few rides. I like the flexibility it gives my family, I feel like we are able to see and do more with the hopper.

Do you purchase the park hopper option at Disney World?

 

Is the Disney World Quick-Service Dining Plan Worth It?

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With the price increase of the Disney Dining plans yesterday, now is a good time to look at the Quick-Service dining plan, and whether it is worth it or not. Walt Disney World offers three different dining plans for guests who book a Magic Your Way package that includes your Disney resort and theme park passes. You can opt for no dining plan at all as well, though most people go with one of the three plans.

The Quick-Service dining plan is the least expensive of the three plans, and includes two quick-service meals plus one snack per person per night, plus a resort refillable mug for each person. Quick-service meals are typically akin to fast food, so hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. You walk up to the counter to order your food and take it to a table to eat. A meal includes an entree, side, dessert and drink, and can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner inside or outside of the theme parks.

Currently, the cost for the quick-service dining plan is $44.13 for adults and $19.04 for children (3 – 9 years old) per night of your stay. You must purchase a plan for your entire stay, and everyone in your party must purchase the same dining plan, or no plan at all.

Let’s look at an average day for one adult and one child. That would cost $63.17, and include two quick-service meals for each person plus 2 snacks. We will leave the refillable mug out of the equation, as that only amounts to a dollar or two per night, depending on how long you stay.

Our family is going to get lunch and dinner in the parks, plus an afternoon snack. Let’s say they are in Epcot and pick these meals:

  • Lunch at Tangierine Cafe – Morocco – Adult lunch of Chicken and Lamb Shawarma Platter ($14,99), dessert ($3.99) and bottled water ($2.75). Child lunch of chicken nuggets ($8.99).  With tax, you get a lunch total of about $32.75.
  • Snack – Two Mickey Ice Cream Bars ($4.25 each). With tax, a total price of about $9.00.
  • Dinner at The Electric Umbrella – Adult dinner of French Dip Burger ($10.99), a chocolate cupcake for dessert ($4.59) and Pineapple-Coconut Slushy for a drink ($3.99). Child dinner of Macaroni and Cheese ($5.99) and a brownie for dessert ($4.19). With tax, a total price of about $31.75.

So, for the two meals and a snack I get a rough total price of about $73,00. About $10 more than what they paid for the dining plan. But is the quick-service dining plan worth it?

Quick-Service Dining Plan PROS

  • With the example above, you do save money.
  • The biggest benefit I try to explain to my clients is that with all the dining plans, everything is prepaid and budgeted, so you just show up and eat, no need to worry about the cost of meals, how much money to bring or trying to order the cheapest thing on the menu just to save money. Just enjoy, that is the idea of going to Disney World, isn’t it?

Quick-Service Dining Plan CONS

  • While you do save money with the example, it really isn’t a ton of money.
  • While the example is accurate, you may not necessarily order like that if you don’t have the dining plan. Not everyone has a dessert with lunch or dinner, so you end up ordering things that you may not normally include in your meal, negating the savings.

So, is it worth it? My suggestion to all my clients who are considering the quick-service dining plan is: If you plan on dining this way at the parks, then yes, go for it. It may not save you a ton of money, but the peace of mind has value too. If you are planning on mixing a few table service meals in there as well, then this may not be the right plan for you.