To rent a car or not to rent a car

[1andrea]

We are leaving for the World in 12 days :cool1: :cool1: and I still havent decided wheather to rent a car.

We are staying at Beach Club Villas 9 nights, Hard Rock Hotel 4 nights and Villas at Wilderness Lodge 8 nights.

We have rented a car on our first trip for the final week when we were driving to Clearwater. Although I found it very convenient I refused to drive at all over there (I get my left and rights mixed up so the 'wrong' side of the road confuses me!) and DH done all of the driving. Each time we went out though I was worrying that we would go on the wrong side of the road!

This year there are a couple more things I would like to do offsite such as going to Walmart, Target, Florida Mall, Mall at Millenia, Prime Outlets and Premium Outlets, the last four we usually visit when staying at Universal for shorter Taxi fares!

We will be using magical express from the airport but am I right in thinking there is a car rental desk at the Dolphin?

Do you think it would be worth renting a car for the full 3 weeks or just for part of the trip?

And where is the cheapest place to rent a car?

Thanks

Andrea

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi Andrea,

For us a car is a must as we stay off-site. However, personally I would always rent one anyway as I like having my own transport and the convenience of having the freedom to go where I choose when I choose.

To be honest I couldn't imagine not having a car.

We rent direct from Dollar's own website.

[wayneg]

Same as Johnny, can't imagine it without a car. Even when we stayed onsite 8 years ago we had to have a car.
We visit Old Town, Celebration, friends houses, over to coast to see a shuttle launch etc etc. Soooo much easier with a car, even eating much prefer offsite dining.
For cost USrentacar have an offer on now for free upgrades, you can get a intermediate with Budget incl tank of gas for £306, £270 without gas. for 3 weeks, you pay compact price. They aslo incl additional driver free
Dollar has got expensive IMO, I am considering changing to Budget after using Dollar for 20+ visits Dollar.co.uk for same size car £362 or a crazy £450 with gas and additional driver.
If you wanted Dollar then again booking thru USrentacar is probably cheapest option, same car size £342 or £384 gold

[Minniespal]

I second what Jonny and Wayne have already said. We usually stay onsite at both Disney and Universal and for us a car is a necessity. Some much nicer taking your car with you in the morning to a park. That way you have the flexibility of leaving when you want to without relying too heavily on the transportation provided.

It's been my experience of driving in the USA that you quickly adjust to the different driving. Certainly a must if you are intending to visit all of the Mallsand perhaps Celebration/Old Town.

[1andrea]

Hmmmm your replies have certainly got me thinking.

Fot three weeks the car hire is around £300 then I will guess petrol at £30 and we will have to pay for parking for 4 nights at HRH $56.

I am just not sure that even if we travel everywhere by taxi that we will spend more than $700 dollars.

[wayneg]

Even if the cost was double for a car compared to taxis I wouldn't think about it but only you know how you would use the car. Like I say places we visit would be such a pain with taxis or buses.
If I was comparing cost then I would have to consider food , we ate 1 meal onsite at Easter, one of the cheapest places in Disney, Trails end cost $20+tip per person. Never spent so much offsite on a meal. I estimate food offsite is approx half the price of onsite plus we prefer places we eat offsite.
Its not the full $700 its going to cost as you will spend a lot on transport, the difference for me is worth the convenience of a car but also taking food cost into account we save with a car.
Many people manage perectly well with no car but its not an option for us.

[1andrea]

Even if the cost was double for a car compared to taxis I wouldn't think about it but only you know how you would use the car. Like I say places we visit would be such a pain with taxis or buses.
If I was comparing cost then I would have to consider food , we ate 1 meal onsite at Easter, one of the cheapest places in Disney, Trails end cost $20+tip per person. Never spent so much offsite on a meal. I estimate food offsite is approx half the price of onsite plus we prefer places we eat offsite.
Its not the full $700 its going to cost as you will spend a lot on transport, the difference for me is worth the convenience of a car but also taking food cost into account we save with a car.
Many people manage perectly well with no car but its not an option for us.



Good point about the food costs and the convenience.

I will think it over a little more, Possibly renting a car for part of the trip and seeing how we like it and how much we use it.

[crux]

Good point about the food costs and the convenience.

I will think it over a little more, Possibly renting a car for part of the trip and seeing how we like it and how much we use it.


If you're staying in DVC accom. then it's worth hiring a car just to get to a supermarket to get cereal, milk, water, orange juice etc for breakfast. We normally spend $30/$40 for two weeks of food/drink for breakfast, which is only $1.50 per day for 2 of us - much, much less than buying breakfast in WDW. It is also useful if you need to get to a hotel/park early or late (to avoid WDW transport queues).

We stay on-site every year for 2 weeks and always hire a car.

Ian

[irongirlof12]

we rented a car for the 1st time on our last visit and it was great. If you are unsure about driving just get get a satnav and make sure you know how to use it! driving in florida is easy as road users are so courteous compared to uk and turnings/ramps are well signposted.

make sure you go to a target and walmart as the experience of shopping there is brilliant.

[Goofyish]

We stay onsite and never hire a car. For the times we want to go offsite to a shopping mall or to Universal/Seaworld we either use a cab or prebook a Towncar (nice for when you go shopping).

To and from the airport we also use a Towncar transfer.

We certainly spent less on cabs etc. than paying for car hire/insurance for 2 weeks.

You can hire cars from the Dolphin, so if you just want to get a car for a few days that may be a convienient place to get one :)

[paulh]

were going for 3 weeks in aug and using me,hireing a car for 2 weeks in middle.were picking up from disneys car care centre(CCC) as you get free transport to it,you have to book with front desk or bell services a few hours before.If picking up from swan and dolpin you have to make your own way thee and back.With CCC you have free tansport back as well
Have done this a few times no problem
Paulh