Car Rental One Way Trip

[likesdisney]

Will be renting a car this late/Oct early November probably from Alamo at the Dolphin for a one way trip to get our cruise on Royal Caribbean. Will be a Sunday. Thinking of getting up early skipping breakfast and getting at car rental as soon as it opens (8am?) and heading out to Cape Canaveral. Has anyone rented a car from here? How crowded is it usually on a Sunday morning.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

In my experience, the Alamo/National car rental desk at the Dolphin is seldom busy at all. I have never had more than a 5 minute wait for attention and more generally been waited on immediately upon arrival. This for 15 or more rentals at that location over the last 10 years.

 

[nacho113]

Will be renting a car this late/Oct early November probably from Alamo at the Dolphin for a one way trip to get our cruise on Royal Caribbean. Will be a Sunday. Thinking of getting up early skipping breakfast and getting at car rental as soon as it opens (8am?) and heading out to Cape Canaveral. Has anyone rented a car from here? How crowded is it usually on a Sunday morning.

Rather than running around in the morning, why not pick up the rental the evening before.
Typically the rental cost is the same for a 1 or 2 hour rental as for the whole 24 hour period.
Try pricing it out with an afternoon/evening pickup the day before, you'll probably find the cost is the same and you'll save the headaches in the morning

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Rather than running around in the morning, why not pick up the rental the evening before.
Typically the rental cost is the same for a 1 or 2 hour rental as for the whole 24 hour period.
Try pricing it out with an afternoon/evening pickup the day before, you'll probably find the cost is the same and you'll save the headaches in the morning

I agree with this suggestion, and we have followed that pattern a number of times. We then take advantage of having the car the evening before our departure to visit a restaurant that might be a bit of a transportation hassle to get to from the Boardwalk uning Disney transportation, like Jiko or Artist Point.

 

[jmkst58]

Sorry to jump onto this thread. has anyone ever had a problem renting or returning a car to the national or alamo at the dolphin if you are not staying in the swan or the dolphin hotel ( a different resort)?

 

[FCDub]

Sorry to jump onto this thread. has anyone ever had a problem renting or returning a car to the national or alamo at the dolphin if you are not staying in the swan or the dolphin hotel ( a different resort)?

No, this is not an issue. Anyone can rent and return a car there.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sorry to jump onto this thread. has anyone ever had a problem renting or returning a car to the national or alamo at the dolphin if you are not staying in the swan or the dolphin hotel ( a different resort)?

Of course not. Can't recall which one we returned to but we just pulled up in the lobby entry area (Porte cochere?) and let them know we had a car to return. Easy peasy.

Only issue is getting there or away, but that's just planning, not a *problem*.

 

[jmkst58]

Thank you much

 

[richmo]

Totally agree with what nacho mentioned...pick up the car the previous day. It won't cost any more.

A couple other things you may want to price out: How are you getting back to the airport after the cruise? If renting another car, look into keeping the car parked at the port and it'll be there when you return from the cruise. Of course, also add in parking at the port. This sounds expensive, and likely is, but its worth a look. Another option, that we used, was to get the car at MCO, use it at Disney, then drive to and leave it at the port during the cruise, then return it to MCO when you go home. This actually worked out less expensive for us one time, even with port parking added in. The longer period kicked us into a weekly priced rental, for which we also had codes and coupons. I think its pretty rare this works, but its worth checking.

Also: a nice thing about keeping the car at the port is you can leave stuff in the car that you don't need on the cruise (i.e., Disney souvenirs, laundry, etc.)

 

[stinkpickle]

Totally agree with what nacho mentioned...pick up the car the previous day. It won't cost any more.

A couple other things you may want to price out: How are you getting back to the airport after the cruise? If renting another car, look into keeping the car parked at the port and it'll be there when you return from the cruise. Of course, also add in parking at the port. This sounds expensive, and likely is, but its worth a look. Another option, that we used, was to get the car at MCO, use it at Disney, then drive to and leave it at the port during the cruise, then return it to MCO when you go home. This actually worked out less expensive for us one time, even with port parking added in. The longer period kicked us into a weekly priced rental, for which we also had codes and coupons. I think its pretty rare this works, but its worth checking.

Also: a nice thing about keeping the car at the port is you can leave stuff in the car that you don't need on the cruise (i.e., Disney souvenirs, laundry, etc.)

I agree. And it's a LOT easier to get out of the port if you don't have to wait for a bus or shuttle.