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Post by cpnkirk on May 27, 2024 5:39:28 GMT -5
We decided to try a car service after Magical Express ended. We love it! I think it's $85 for a towncar or $120 for an SUV (which is what we normally do). It's a luxury experience, for sure. They meet you at baggage claim, and the car is parked one level down and right outside the door. They do stop at publix for us to get some drinks & snacks for the room.
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Post by johnb on May 27, 2024 10:12:29 GMT -5
For short trips, like a weekend/long weekend, I like having a rental car because it saves the time we'd wait for the rideshare at MCO, the WDW buses, and we can leave for MCO directly from a park on departure day.
For longer trips, I'm not as time saving conscious and I like not paying the cost of a rental car, so it's Uber/Lyft.
I usually compare the cost of a trip long rental vs. rideshare and then decide which choice is better.
For Uber/Lyft, I look for gift card deals and accumulate credit as a way to "prepay" if we decide to go with Uber/Lyft.
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Post by Brian5581 on May 27, 2024 11:16:05 GMT -5
Now I drive of course, but when staying on property I greatly prefer Uber/Lyft (almost always take the time to compare, sometimes can be worthwhile) or Disney transportation. Definitely a plus not having to worry about an extra drink or two…
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Post by johnb on May 27, 2024 11:33:17 GMT -5
Now I drive of course, but when staying on property I greatly prefer Uber/Lyft (almost always take the time to compare, sometimes can be worthwhile) or Disney transportation. Definitely a plus not having to worry about an extra drink or two…This is exactly why, when we do rent a car, we Uber/Lyft to/from dinners. |
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Post by brp on May 27, 2024 11:40:59 GMT -5
Now I drive of course, but when staying on property I greatly prefer Uber/Lyft (almost always take the time to compare, sometimes can be worthwhile) or Disney transportation. Definitely a plus not having to worry about an extra drink or two…This is exactly why, when we do rent a car, we Uber/Lyft to/from dinners. Our dinners are always walkable or bussable (yes, it's a word...I just made it up). So, even if we have a car we don't have to worry. DS is really easier on the bus.
Cheers.
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Post by Adelard of Bath on May 27, 2024 12:18:59 GMT -5
Our dinners are always walkable or bussable (yes, it's a word...I just made it up). So, even if we have a car we don't have to worry. DS is really easier on the bus. Googled it and people have used it before you, so you don't get credit for it...sorry. It is not in Merriam Webster dictionary, however. Agree with you on Springs being way easier in the bus. And MK of course. We actually take the bus everywhere on property even though we have a car. It's part of the fun for me. Yeah sometimes when you are waiting half an hour for a bus to come at 12:45am and it's standing room only, my wife wishes we brought the car but then when you think about how long it will take to get the car, it can become one of those "six of one" kind of scenarios. We started getting a rental car when DME went away. Didn't want the added expensive but now we love it. We actually started flying into Tampa because of the smaller airport, then we grab the car and it's our own schedule for when we want to stop and eat and/or get groceries. Then car gets parked outside our room at OKW and sits there for two weeks. Actually, it's been fantastic to have, when one or both of us say, "We need more this or that" This year, while staying at OKW, we got in the car and drove around to all the quiet pools and then picked the one that had the least people. So yes, I drove to the pool... |
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Post by Goofy's Pal on May 27, 2024 13:23:02 GMT -5
I still miss ME and the luggage services.
We rent from Alamo at MCO again since ME ended. We used to rent a car for a day or two from the Disney Car Care Center. Alamo/National and they will pick up at your resort and drop you off wherever you want. We did rent once at the Wyndam near DS from Dollar - I would not recommend them. They would not honor the contracted rate on our confirmation and we had to file with the Better Business Bureau to get a refund. After that we just stick with Alamo or National - never had an issue with them at either MCO or the Car Care Center.
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Post by happyhaunt on May 27, 2024 19:24:24 GMT -5
I voted Uber but use Lyft equally as much. I always compare prices and go with the cheaper option. Always check because it varies. Rideshares work best for us since we use Disney transportation once on property and you can always get a ride to/from MCO in minutes (longest we’ve waited is 7 minutes for it to arrive at the Poly). I thought I’d miss Magical Express, but I don’t.
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Post by brp on May 27, 2024 19:27:24 GMT -5
I voted Uber but use Lyft equally as much. I always compare prices and go with the cheaper option. Always check because it varies. Rideshares work best for us since we use Disney transportation once on property and you can always get a ride to/from MCO in minutes (longest we’ve waited is 7 minutes for it to arrive at the Poly). I thought I’d miss Magical Express, but I don’t. Our recent trip from VGF to MCO was about 15 minutes wait simply because I used a "Wait and Save" option since we were not in a hurry. Shorter waits were available, to be sure.
Cheers.
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Post by helenabear on May 27, 2024 21:44:00 GMT -5
I voted Uber but use Lyft equally as much. I always compare prices and go with the cheaper option. Always check because it varies. Rideshares work best for us since we use Disney transportation once on property and you can always get a ride to/from MCO in minutes (longest we’ve waited is 7 minutes for it to arrive at the Poly). I thought I’d miss Magical Express, but I don’t. We had an awful experience with MDE 16 years ago. Our kid was 5 months old. Line for MDE was, no joke, well over an hour. Last stop on the bus. Took 3.5+ hours to get to our hotel. AC in the area was crap. My husband was pissed. Vowed never to use that crappy free service again. We never did. We definitely don't miss it. With carry on only we don't even miss the luggage service. I know we had bad luck. My previous experience was about an hour so I know it varies but if cheap husband says no, who am I to argue. We do math to see which might be best for us in the end. Rental won out with price and ease. |
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Post by tomandrobin on May 28, 2024 8:21:57 GMT -5
We use three different options to get from MCO to WDW, depending on our needs. We use a private service for 2-4 people or Uber. When we have a larger group, like this past trip we use larger private service, that seats up to 12 people. This past weekend's trip, there were 7 of us (3 adults, 4 kids), so we opted for the larger private service. There is lots of room to spread out and the van holds a ton of luggage. If using UBER, we would have needed two vehicles and you just don't what you get as your car.
We don't rent cars. Tried it twice over the years and it always turned to be a pain in the ass and we never leave Disney property. Plus we are the weirdos that prefer using Disney transportation.
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Post by brp on May 28, 2024 8:25:57 GMT -5
We don't rent cars. Tried it twice over the years and it always turned to be a pain in the ass and we never leave Disney property. Plus we are the weirdos that prefer using Disney transportation.
I would have agreed with the weirdo part until our last trip. Disney transport was nothing short of amazing. Buses within a few minutes (AK and DS twice). Monorails were plentiful. And even the skyliner seemed to have an egg coming by every few seconds 
We really enjoyed Disney transportation on this trip. Other trips have been more mixed. But definitely glad we did not have a car to deal with on return.
Cheers.
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Post by happyhaunt on May 28, 2024 10:16:02 GMT -5
I voted Uber but use Lyft equally as much. I always compare prices and go with the cheaper option. Always check because it varies. Rideshares work best for us since we use Disney transportation once on property and you can always get a ride to/from MCO in minutes (longest we’ve waited is 7 minutes for it to arrive at the Poly). I thought I’d miss Magical Express, but I don’t. We had an awful experience with MDE 16 years ago. Our kid was 5 months old. Line for MDE was, no joke, well over an hour. Last stop on the bus. Took 3.5+ hours to get to our hotel. AC in the area was crap. My husband was pissed. Vowed never to use that crappy free service again. We never did. We definitely don't miss it. With carry on only we don't even miss the luggage service. I know we had bad luck. My previous experience was about an hour so I know it varies but if cheap husband says no, who am I to argue. We do math to see which might be best for us in the end. Rental won out with price and ease. That experience is a nightmare but sadly, not shocking. DME often had long waits to board and/or leave MCO and inevitably, we were always the last stop. I could see how this it took that long but that is egregious and I also would have been pissed. I think because it was free, included luggage service, and was “magical” (Disney theming and Disney cartoons) we always used it. Longest experience for us was probably 2 hours during Christmas week. I am the cheap one in my marriage but think it’s well worth it to spend the money to get a comfortable, direct ride from MCO to our resort. Even if we check luggage, it’s already on the carousel by the time we get down to baggage claim. Grab it, walk out the door, and we are on our way. No waiting in line to check into DME, to wait in line to board, to wait for the bus to fill, to wait to arrive at our resort. And to wait for our luggage to arrive at our room. If renting worked for us and was more affordable, then I would be up for that too. |
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Post by Brian5581 on Jun 1, 2024 15:25:13 GMT -5
I voted Uber but use Lyft equally as much. I always compare prices and go with the cheaper option. Always check because it varies. Rideshares work best for us since we use Disney transportation once on property and you can always get a ride to/from MCO in minutes (longest we’ve waited is 7 minutes for it to arrive at the Poly). I thought I’d miss Magical Express, but I don’t. Our recent trip from VGF to MCO was about 15 minutes wait simply because I used a "Wait and Save" option since we were not in a hurry. Shorter waits were available, to be sure.
Cheers.
I’ve come to dislike that “wait and save” option, ha. Exactly how much is my time worth today… Combined with the inherent cheapness of our people, of course. |
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Post by brp on Jun 5, 2024 8:16:45 GMT -5
Our recent trip from VGF to MCO was about 15 minutes wait simply because I used a "Wait and Save" option since we were not in a hurry. Shorter waits were available, to be sure.
Cheers.
I’ve come to dislike that “wait and save” option, ha. Exactly how much is my time worth today… Combined with the inherent cheapness of our people, of course. Oy! If I can save a few shekels, why not!
Cheers.
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