Best way to get to International Drive outside of Disneyworld
 

Hello, I will be in Disneyworld in June and heard that International Drive and Universal Drive is a great place to walk around and sightsee and do some shopping. We are staying in a Disney resort and was wondering once you get out of Disneyworld, how far are all the attractions on International Drive, is it all within walking distance or should we jump on the city bus as we do not have a car. We wanted to check out the Florida mall and the outlet malls. Thanks

You have completely the wrong idea about international drive. Nothing is within walking distance, especially the outlet malls. Everything is a destination, and there are simply not city buses you can jump on to get there from Walt Disney World. You could certainly take an excursion to visit one or the other (either Universal CityWalk or perhaps one of the outlet malls), but these excursions aren't like $3 per person. It would be cheaper to rent a car for the day, and that's quite doable. There's a car rental outlet right in WDW.

Perhaps you heard that Universal CityWalk is a nice place to walk around. And that's true, and it doesn't require park admission. There is even a movie theater, though it doesn't really gave anything that Downtiwn Disney has, including a bowling alley and movie theater.

Universal CityWalk will require a $10 (after hours) parking fee. No shopping, just drinking/eating/movies.
Your hotel might have a shuttle to the outlet at the end of Int. Drive. http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet...ions.asp?id=17

isn't there a free shuttle from Disney World to the International Drive Marketplace? from there you can catch the city bus anywhere.

The entire International Dr runs for about 5 miles. There are city buses that go from Premium outlets at the south end to Prime outlets near the north end.
There are also I-Drive trolleys that travel the route and go to all the tourist spots.
You would have to change buses at some point to get to Universal city walk. Very confusing but doable.

I would not want to do the I-Drive without a car. If you are successful at shopping the outlets, it's always nice to stow the shopping bags in the trunk of a car and not have to schlep them around as you hop on and off the trolley or bus. There is more to I-Drive than just shopping outlets.

Florida Mall is a bit of a distance from I-Drive, and is a very nice mall, worth the time and drive to get there, IMO. There is also The Mall at Millenia, which is a bit north of the place where I-Drive ends.

The Mall of Millenia is the mall to go shopping at when in Orlando. Great shopping in that area with Ikea and many outdoor strip malls. Also nicer dining. The area around Winter Park is the best for parking and walking. Best places to eat and different shops. Don't do I-Drive after dark. The outlets are the outlets. Not anything that great. You get better deals at Marshalls or TJ Maxx or sales at Nordstrom.

What about Downtown Disney? disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney