2009's What have you've seen on the Emerald Aisle?

[mkymouse4ever]

 

[Disney_Freak56]

After so many years of great upgrades on the Emerald Aisle (and we all got spoiled by it) I see by all these posts that it is the rare occurance now.

My guess is that we used to get those SUV;s and minivans as there were just so many in stock in Orlando as the family demographic makes up their biggest marketshare.

I also think that with ME, the car rentals have taken a large hit, and have by now adjusted their inventory, so less minivans and Suv's to overflow into the Emerald Aisle.

Over the years, my expereince with Emerald Aisle in other cities throughout the country was never as good as MCO was. Basically you got to chose and if you ever got a full size, that was a big upgrade. I say that MCO has also started to run its MCO operation like that also. Maybe it could be a new station manager - who knows.

I know we are now booking on price and will lose our executive level this year as we feel that we will not be able to get lucky with a big upgrade on the aisle. We didn;t mind paying a bit more for a 75% chance of a bigger SUV or Minivan. I would say from reading the posts, that this chance went down to about 10%. As I said before, National spoiled us for years but it made us loyal.

So - did priceline for our upcoming trip. We will miss the convenience, but save so much on the larger car/van that we need.

Would you mind sharing what car classification you ended up with at Priceline and for how much? Also which rental company took your bid?

Thanks!

 

[mkymouse4ever]

 

[pamjb]

Booked a full-size thru National Executive Aisle for $143 for 6/14 thru 6/22. Arrived at MCO at 10 pm on 6/14. Saw lots of Chargers and one lone Sienna minivan. Score!!!! My oldest wanted me to take a Charger. Nope, sorry! The minivan came in mighty handy.

 

[n2mm]

Booked a full-size thru National Executive Aisle for $143 for 6/14 thru 6/22. Arrived at MCO at 10 pm on 6/14. Saw lots of Chargers and one lone Sienna minivan. Score!!!! My oldest wanted me to take a Charger. Nope, sorry! The minivan came in mighty handy.

You were lucky. I've rented from national twice this year -- both times Executive aisle -- and both times nothing more than full size cars. We choose from Side A in January and Side B in May. What side did you select from. Anyone who has been spoiled by Emerald Aisle better make sure a intermediate/for Emerald Aisle, or full size/for Executive Aisle will work for them, because the pickings have been pretty standard for those aisle. Both sides A and B. We leave in 3 weeks and again are booked Executive aisle, but since it's the 2 of us for this trip, we look for something fun and different. The last two trips we ended up with a Ford Taurus -- loaded and it was nice (esp since we are Ford Folks).

 

[pamjb]

It was side A. I reserved a mid-size and would of been fine with that. There were 5 of us and our friends drove down, so we would of have a second car available if we needed it. I was a little surprised to see the mini van. It was still wet from being washed. I didn't really see anything but that and the Chargers (all red!).

 

[tmli]

We arrived at 11:30pm on the 7th of May and there were NO CARS!!!! We are executive and there were none in either aisle. AFter about an hour they let us take something from the mid size SUV aisle.

 

[n2mm]

We arrived at 11:30pm on the 7th of May and there were NO CARS!!!! We are executive and there were none in either aisle. AFter about an hour they let us take something from the mid size SUV aisle.

Yes, I've heard of this happening before to the late arrivers. It happened to my BFF too when she got in late one night.

 

[dirtnap101]

We arrived at 11:30pm on the 7th of May and there were NO CARS!!!! We are executive and there were none in either aisle. AFter about an hour they let us take something from the mid size SUV aisle.

So you are Executive level but they made you wait an hour before they let you take an SUV? Wow, I would have been pretty annoyed at that wait and at that time of night!

 

[Soccerpooh]

Got in at 5pm Monday 6/22 and there was lots to choose from on side A. We got a minivan- there were 2 to choose from. Also saw a convertiable, 2 PT cruisers, a small SUV, a pickup truck, and lots of midsize and several full size. A really good selection! Between the last minute specials and the $35 off coupon they had on their website, we got a minivan for $165 for 7 days! The van was a town and country, no frills- pretty basic. But we were grateful for the room. This was our first experience with Emerald Aisle, and it was a breeze. Would have never known about it and the free membership link at Mousesavers without this board- THANKS!

 

[NUHuskies#1]

Tuesday Morning June 23- 10:30AM

Executive Aisle Terminal B- Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country- 2 Toyota Siennas, Dodge Chargers. We chose a Dodge Caravan and were thrilled for the extra room. $165 for the entire week!

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

Soccerpooh and NUHuskies#1 -

Was your $165 a week a base rate or all taxes/fees in?

 

[Soccerpooh]

$165 TOTAL- including all fees and taxes!! I was pretty darn impressed with myself, considering the lowest I found anywhere else was $225 for a midsize. I think the key was waiting for the last minute specials they always run.

 

[mousey]

Did you use a coupon or code or both to get the $165?

 

[Soccerpooh]

I used the last minute special code (for a midsize) and a coupon for $35 off a weekly rental (which expired 6/30/09- sorry!), which I booked through our emerald club account. It came to $165 total. It was risky because a midsize would have been tight for the ride to and from the airport, but fine for getting to and from the park. We pressed our luck hoping to find something bigger on the Emerald Aisle and it worked out- I know we may not always we so lucky.
In case anyone is interested, there is a $20 off weekly rental coupon available now on the National website.

 

[CarolA]

Checked both Side A and B Monday, July 6 at 11 AM or so. Nothing but mid sizes on the EA, there were some Charger and Ford full sizes on Executive. No mini vans, no SUVs, etc..

Scanned B on my return today (7/10 at 9 AM) once again only midsizes or a few full. No minivans, SUVs etc....

 

[n2mm]

Checked both Side A and B Monday, July 6 at 11 AM or so. Nothing but mid sizes on the EA, there were some Charger and Ford full sizes on Executive. No mini vans, no SUVs, etc..

Scanned B on my return today (7/10 at 9 AM) once again only midsizes or a few full. No minivans, SUVs etc....

Thanks...we leave in a week and am always curious of what we might find. Of course I have to say, we are only 8 days away and again (my third trip this year) the rates never dropped. I've just not had very good luck with good rates this year. In the past they use to drop as we got within a week or 2 of our trips but nothing. (It never dropped before our Jan or May trips either). Oh well. We are Exec Aisle members and got a full size Ford Taurus in January and May and were very happy with it. I hope we can rent it again.

 

[theterms]

We land next Friday at about 7:30 pm.... wondering what the choices will be like on a Friday night?

I keep checking for a better rate than my $283 for our 9 days, but I think this is still pretty good.

 

[Disney_Freak56]

I have a "regular" Emerald Aisle membership. Is there some way I can get an "upgrade" to the Executive Emerald Aisle membership for free?

 

[n2mm]

I have a "regular" Emerald Aisle membership. Is there some way I can get an "upgrade" to the Executive Emerald Aisle membership for free?

We rent more than 40 days a year so that is how we maintain our Executive status. (If you don't rent 40 days a year, they drop you back down to regular status). I know a couple of years ago Continental airlines offered their members a one year upgrade, but many non-eligible folks signed up and the promotion got shut down. Of course I was one of the many folks who complained to National about non-eligible folks signing up and they told me they were investigating and shut the code down. One year I only rented 39 days and lost my status and was not happy. I counted incorrectly and had I known I would've just rented a car for a day to keep the status. Now I'm more diligent about my rental days. We like the Executive status because we can choose from either aisle, plus our free days accummulate faster as you only need 6 credits for one free day.