2 days vs. 1 week car rental....

[moopdog]

I am considering my family going to Discovery Cove and Seaworld while on our trip in Feb. That will mean having to rent a car for two days...which I just priced out at around $50 per day. But now I'm seeing threads on here where people are getting a car for a whole week for $150 or so. Can someone point me in the right direction?? We'll be staying at AKL, so having a car for the whole time probably wouldn't be a terrible thing, right?

Thanks.

 

[EK4636]

Hi


We just got back from AKL and had a rental car with us. We got our rental car for a great price...about $140 for 8 days from Avis. We lucked out because we checked their website about 5 days before we left and the price dropped significantly (from over $300 to $140 - with drop off in a different city!).

That said, we found that the car is not necessary especially for AKL (we also did a split stay at BC). AKL has a dedicated bus from the parks so the most stops you'll have is 2 (Kidani then Jambo). Crowded bus at the beginning of the day and at park closing can't be help but when we took an easy morning and left around 10am, it was empty. Having a car was, however, useful for downtown Disney and visiting other resorts for dining. Parking is relatively close to the resort at least for Jambo.

 

[moopdog]

Thanks for the info...Makes me feel better if it turns out we can't get a car. I would be okay with just using a car service if we decide to go to Discovery Cove for a day, but wouldn't you know - a day at DC includes free admission to Seaworld. I can't pass up anything free, so that means there's 2 days we'll need transportation for and all of a sudden....the one day at DC starts doing this: "cha ching cha ching cha ching!!!".

 

[EK4636]

No problem. We loved DC, sadly we didn't make it out there this time as the weather is unpredictable in December. To be honest with you, the entire time we were at AKL we used the car only once to go to La Nouba at DTD. It was comforting to know that we had a car available if we need it, but after being at the parks for 10-12 hours a day,we just crashed when we get to the resort and didn't want to go anywhere.

Our math was simple. We were going to get a towncar from from MCO to AKL, BC to MCO, rental from MCO to my parents place on the gulf coast, then taxi for everything else. And that would have cost us $200 without the taxi rides.

 

[greenclan67]

Thanks for the info...Makes me feel better if it turns out we can't get a car. I would be okay with just using a car service if we decide to go to Discovery Cove for a day, but wouldn't you know - a day at DC includes free admission to Seaworld. I can't pass up anything free, so that means there's 2 days we'll need transportation for and all of a sudden....the one day at DC starts doing this: "cha ching cha ching cha ching!!!".

You also get admission to Aquatica waterpark with your DC. So you could do the waterpark and SW!

 

[seashoreCM]

I am considering my family going to Discovery Cove and Seaworld while on our trip in Feb. That will mean having to rent a car for two days...which I just priced out at around $50 per day. But now I'm seeing threads on here where people are getting a car for a whole week for $150 or so. Can someone point me in the right direction?? We'll be staying at AKL, so having a car for the whole time probably wouldn't be a terrible thing, right?

Thanks.

If renting a car for the whole week costs less than renting it for two days then by (almost) all most means rent it for a whole week.

(almost)
1. You have to keep the car for a minimum length of time, generally at least 5 days. If you return it too early your rate is refigured on the spot to a higher daily rate, possibly losing any discounts you may have snagged.
2. Take into account possible inconvenience in terms of what dates and times you have available to go return it. Go over the time limit (say an hour or two beyond 7 days) and there could be a penalty.

 

[bumbershoot]

Check out mousesavers.com for lots of codes and coupons for various rental car places. Check, check, and recheck as your trip gets closer, because many of them start dropping their base rates as the trip gets closer.

For me, for instance, with a February trip, the coupon codes I see right now are for rentals that end just before I need them. In another couple weeks, the new coupon codes will start coming out (or, rather, National will start extending the expiration dates of the same coupon codes), and I'll continue to check and recheck.

I would far rather have a car than not have a car. Although it wasn't the family's *worst* experience with the buses, leaving AKL to get to Epcot one morning was about the second worst, with multiple buses for the other three parks coming and going, with NO buses for Epcot for a long, long time. It was not much fun at all. Every time I thought "forget it, I'm getting the car" I would see another bus or two pulling in, I would stay in line, and then it wasn't for Epcot. Then I'd start the thoughts all over again.

I don't think you could pay me to take another bus from there.

And the one night we used the bus to get back to Jambo, even just from Kidani, it was miserable.


We also like going shopping for groceries and, as of our last trip, kitschy souvenirs from places like Gift World. (I got the most fun Florida magnet last time) And we enjoy eating at Sweet Tomatoes at least twice in a trip (we take long trips), which doesn't *require* a car, but since we don't want to take a bus to DTD then cross the street and walk towards the back of the parking lot, a car is *nice* for that.

 

[njmom47]

I just returned from a trip to Florida (not WDW), a 5 day rental, picked up in FLL, dropped off in Southwest Regional, for $22 a day, with one free day.
Total cost: $108, booked about 10 days out from our trip, with our previous booking at $245. I used an AARP code. Maybe $22 a day is doable if you can find that price.