Pros & Cons: Driving to the Parks Versus Rideshare
If you are staying off site for your Disney World vacation you are faced with one very important choice: driving yourself to the parks versus rideshare.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each option!
Photo: orlandoattractions.com
Pros of Driving Yourself to the Parks:
There are a lot of positives of driving yourself. First and foremost, you can come and go as you please. You won’t feel trapped or stuck at the parks, and you have the comfort and ease of your own vehicle.
Driving to the parks from any off site resort in and around the Orlando area is easier than you may think! Don’t let fear make the transportation choice for you.
Photo: touring plans.com
In fact, the highway system in the Disney bubble is perhaps the easiest system to navigate and accommodate thousands of vehicles that you will ever drive.
Thanks to a new addition to the My Disney Experience App, you won’t have to worry anymore about losing your car in that massive parking lot, or even have to remember what lot you parked in.
Photo: My Disney Experience App
With a quick click of the button when you park your car you can save that geographic location to pull up later when your day is done.
Phone dead? Don’t worry. Parking lot Cast Members are incredibly organized in how they work the lots.
Photo: Disney
If you know roughly what time you arrived the Cast Members will be able to tell you what lot you parked in and once you get to that point you can find your vehicle with the ever-trusty alarm button.
Cons of Driving Yourself to the Parks:
After a long day at the parks walking 10 miles or more do you really want to walk 2 more miles into the parking lot?
Photo: D23
You can have a great day but that last bit in the less than magical parking lot can really be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
A lot of people drive themselves to the park because they think they are saving money. We have news: Parking anywhere in Walt Disney World IS NOT FREE. Preferred parking is around $40 and general parking is around $25.
Photo: nbc.com
Preferred parking can definitely be worth it if you show up to the parks in the late afternoon since the early lots would be full. That would be a long walk! Cross your fingers for the trams to be running, otherwise.
When is preferred parking not worth it? If you rope drop there is no need to pay the additional fee for the preferred parking because if you’re among the early crowd your general parking spots will be just beyond the expensive ones!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have a dining reservation at a Disney resort, then you can park for free. That is the only time you do not need to pay for parking.
Pros of Rideshare:
Whether you’re choosing Uber or Lyft, the benefits are the same. You can just tap an app on your phone at the end of the day and have a driver just pull up to the curb and pick you up.
It feels great ending your day and watching that massive crowd walk down to the parking lots and you’re sitting pretty at the rideshare bench.
(BigStock Photo)
NEWSFLASH: It costs the SAME to take a rideshare as it does to pay for parking! No joke.
It costs about $25 to park, and it costs between $13-15 for a ride to the park in the morning to rope drop, and between $10-13 for a ride home to an offsite hotel in both the Disney Springs and Animal Kingdom (Kissimmee) areas.
Photo: Uber
Cons of Rideshare:
The biggest con of all rideshares on family vacations is if you have a large party or small children that require car seats. Rideshare companies offer XL vehicle options to accommodate larger parties, but boy, you will pay for it. That $10-15 ride will escalate to close to $30!
Some XL vehicles may offer car seat options, as well. If you have more than 2 children that require car seats, forget it. Rideshare services just are not really an option. Once again, you will be charged an additional premium for car seat access.
Photo: skillastics.com
Final Take:
All things considered, taking a rideshare to the parks just makes more sense if you are a party of 3 or less. The cost is the same as driving yourself and then you get to enjoy the convenience, not to mention a cocktail or two!
If your party has any small children or more than 3 people just drive yourself. It’s really not as bad as you think it will be. Having traveled through some large cities and tourist destinations, we feel confident in saying that the Disney bubble is the easiest highway system to travel!
Photo: Disney
Most importantly, make the decision that is best for your vacation, not anyone else’s. What is perfect for one family may not be the case for yours.
Feature Image: Travel & Leisure
