$113 for a mini-van from Nat'l EA in California

[MaryAnnDVC]

Just got back from a week in California; spent two days at Disneyland/DCA.

I have to admit - I was never really sure about all this talk about the Emerald Aisle...that you reserve an intermediate car, and then choose any car on the aisle...just seemed too easy and too much of a good thing.

When we go to Florida, there are five of us...me, DH, 3 kids, so we automatically rent a mini-van. DH didn't go to California with us, so I didn't care as much about the size of the car...less people, less luggage. So I gave the EA a shot.

Rented an intermediate car online...got an estimate of $116. Got to LAX, and sure enough, chose a minivan...there were at least 3 to choose from...and the price ended up being $113 for the week! I kept waiting for someone to tell me "you can't do that!!", right until the time that I returned it at the end of the week.

We're still leary about trying this in Orlando, with the five of us, for 10 days, with more luggage, and doing more running around, but it sure worked great for us in California.

 

[Chuck S]

For MCO, I think I would book a mini-van if that is what you really need. I used EA the end of May (right after Memorial Day) and all the EA had were Lumina Sedans (which was fine for us). It's just that MCO probably has a bigger call for mini-vans being it is more of a 'Family-Sized" destination than LAX.

You could 'get lucky'...but for me, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I was really surprised that LAX was so much cheaper to rent a car this year. Previously, it has always been more expensive than MCO...but I got a rate of $105.50 for 8 days - full sized EA in September.

 

[BethC]

Wow, what a great deal!

I agree that it may not be wise to plan on this happening in Orlando. Glad to hear it worked out for you in California, though!

 

[pbhunt]

California does seem to be more expensive than Florida, doesn't it? We get dirt cheap rates when we rent in Nevada, Las Vegas & Reno. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rates were so low @ MCO, FL. Business trips within California, fuh-get-about-it!!, there aren't too many inexpensive 2-3 day rates within the state. Alamo seems to have the cheapest here, for many locations.

 

[DonnaDavid]

What great luck! Our EA car from the LAX location is in the driveway now. We've rented here twice now - always a great selection but we've never gotten a minivan.