Car Hire and Things

[madmouse]

Dear All,
Sorry,keep thinking of questions to ask -We will be coming over to OKW in Nov and I would like to know if car hire is cheaper to organise thru the U.S .
It is quite expensive to hire a car from this end so I wondered if anyone knew of a good company over there that we could phone and book it before we leave,as I understand that the DVC charge a lot in insurance costs if you book thru them.
Also I was looking on this site at the room reports for old key west,and some of the reports seem quite critical on the rooms,are they really bad? When we were being shown around key west by the disney guide my husband asked the question about wether the rooms would be maintained properly,and of course they assured us they would,If we arrive and the room is not up to standard,would they move us or at least put things right?
I know i am probably panicking but I would hate to arrive and be in a dirty room or something,
Anyway thats all from me,just cant wait to get there, :D ;) :rolleyes:

[Caskbill]

Madmouse,
I love the way the British use words such as car hire. It sounds so nice. Unfortunately over here we just rent cars. It sounds so impersonnal, doesn't it?

Anyway, have you tried the internet sites of the major car rental companies? I'd go there first: Avis.com, Alamo.com, Hertz.com, National.com. You can probably make a reservation on-line. At any case, you'll get a good idea of what costs are. Look around a lot as rates in Florida can vary quite a bit.

As to the room at OKW, I wouldn't worry. You may get one of the brand new units which would be nice. But even the older units will be clean. And if by chance you should find some small thing, Disney will fix it pronto. Have a great holiday (oops, I mean vacation (grin))

Caskbill

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with National. We always get good rates there.

Don't worry about OKW. WE have been staying there for nearly 5 years, and have never had anything major wrong. If anything is missing or not working, just call the front desk, and it will be fixed before you know it! :) We have only had very minor problems with missing items etc. The reports here can sometimes be quite nitpicky. ;)

Disneydiane

[Ed T]

Hello

You can also try Dollar, Hertz and Budget since these are at the airport. you will not have to take a shuttle to get your car, it is right at the airport. If you go on the internet for Dollar you can type in promotional codes like globe, kiss, a1a, and fvg, and these will give you some better rates.

good luck and have a nice holiday

Ed

[BobH]

We have has good prices from National Car Rental if you are flying to Orlando. I have noticed that car rental prices seem to change from airport to airport. For example I have always received a good price from National in Orlando, but their price at other airports was not as competitive. For example Budget Car Rental at Orlando was much higher than National, but when I travelled to Chicago National was much higher than Budget. Perhaps it has something to do with a certain car company doing more business at a particular airport. I would not recommend Alamo from Orlando.
You must take a shuttle bus and travel a good distance from the airport to get your car.
I usually check what car rental companies are located right in the airport and then look for the best price among them. This web site will give you access to the web sites of most airports:
http://www.landings.com. Good Luck

[Jimbo]

We usually just let Member Services make our car reservation for us. They get us a pretty good price, usually at National. I don't know if there's extra insurance and such for overseas visitors.

The room reports are a pet peeve of mine. We've stayed at OKW seven times, and have had spotless accomodations every time. I also have to say, though, that I've never filled out a room report when I returned. Usually, I've forgotten my room number by the time I get home anyway. So I guess that makes me part of the problem.

I suppose if I did have a bad room I'd probably be more likely to fill out a report. So these things are likely to skew in the direction of the negative anyway. I've said it before, but IMHO this is a "feature" of this site that does more harm than good.

[dvc_john]

Actually, Hertz is off-site at Orlando airport. But it is close-in, and they always have a shuttle waiting.

Alamo may have cheaper rates sometimes, but you pay for it in lack of convenience. They are far off-site, and the last time I used them the shuttles were infrequent and crowded.

I usually get good rates at National. They have Magic Kingdom Club (Disney Club) discounts, and the Emerald Aisle discount is even better.

You can also check places like Expedia.com and Travelocity.com for rates of all car rental agencies.

While Florida car rental rates are usually very reasonable compared to other places, there are a lot of taxes to add to the rate. Count on about $2.50 a day, plus about 14% of the total.

[madmouse]

Cheers Guys,
Feel a lot better now,I will look into all the possibilities and hopefully get a good deal!!!!
Can not wait till November,just so excited!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Mickey_UK]

don't worry about okw i have been 15 times since joining dvc in 1994 and I just love the place,as for car hire,I tried MS for nov 2000 and they quoted over £400 per week !!! for a 7 seat van with national,I have always found it cheaper to book in UK the last 3 visits I booked with the destination group,all inclusive including all taxes and extra driver 7 seat van cost me £465 FOR 2WEEKS (page 237 ITV teletext)I have booked okw for nov (to play golf but don't tell DW yet lol).I will book my car hire about 1 month before.have fun