1st timer ME, weird situation question

[firecracker]

ok...we've got a weird situation, so bear with me please!

We are going to OKW for a GREAT price in July, but have to fly into MCO on July 6 (great Ding!) and can't get into OKW until the 8th. So, since there are no good resort codes that time of year and I can Priceline a hotel for cheap in Orlando, we'll probably rent a cheap car for a couple of days and stay off property.

Now, can my husband return the car to MCO on Sunday morning 7/8 (after dropping us off at OKW), and hop on a Magical Express bus to OKW? We will all (4 of us and luggage) will be using DME to return to MCO on Friday 7/13.

If he can't hop on an ME bus, can you give me a recommendation for cheap transport for him to OKW?

I've looked into National and Alamo's onsite locations, but there's a charge for dropping off at a different location and they are TONS more expensive than other rental companies.

Thanks for any advice!

Carmen (firecracker)

 

[clkelley]

Yes he can, just make a reservation for DME using a flight number that arrives about the time hubby will drop off car. Then after the car is dropped off, he just walks to the DME Welcome Center and boards the next available bus for OKW.

 

[paults]

if you rent from Alamo or national you can drop the car off at the car care center or the Dolphin ( no need to go all the way back to the airport) the use Disney trans to go back to OKW.

Also I think Dollar is over at the DTD resorts for a drop off and you can walk to DTD and take the bus to OKW.

 

[agnes!]

National no longer has a counter at the Magic Kingdom Car Care Center, it is *ONLY* an Alamo location now.

It is my understanding that there is NO drop-off charge within the state of Florida, picking up from a rental car company's location & then dropping off at another location, we've done that often, picking up at MKCC(when it had National) & then dropping off at MCO.

Take a look at DTD locations, I think several have desks at some of those resorts.

agnes!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

It is my understanding that there is NO drop-off charge within the state of Florida, picking up from a rental car company's location & then dropping off at another location, we've done that often, picking up at MKCC(when it had National) & then dropping off at MCO.

Florida has traditionally not had drop charges for one-way rentals, but that doesn't mean that it isn't sometimes a much better deal to pick up and drop off at Orlando International (MCO). Some good promotional rates and some negotiated corporate rates only apply when the car is picked up and dropped off at the same location.

I rented a minivan at MCO for 5 nights (to visit family prior to a 5-nigt WDW stay). I would have had to pay around $300 more if I reserved a one-way rental from MCO to a Hertz location near WDW, and I still would have had to rely on a Hertz shuttle to take me to our resort. So I dropped my family and our luggage at the resort; they checked in; I drove to MCO where I returned the car at Hertz, took the Hertz shuttle to the terminal, and took Magical Express to the resort. We all took Magical Express back to the airport when our vacation was over.

 

[clkelley]

Sometimes it's a good deal to do a one-way and sometimes it is not.

Several years ago some friends of ours flew to Orlando to go to Discovery Cove and SeaWorld, then were going to meet us when we arrived at WDW a few days later. They rented a car for the first part of their trip. I suggested looking into a rental for less days and returning it at one of the WDW locations. It turned out to be less expensive for them to keep the car the entire trip.

It worked out good for us too because they dropped their daughter off at the airport about the time we arrived so we got a ride from the airport. We were able to spend the first night at the same cheap offsite hotel they were staying in, then we all transferred to All-Stars the next morning.

Then we all rode the rental to the airport.