5 adults, 1 2year old...what vehicle??

[eeyoreali]

Hello! I'm planning a trip for my parents, my mother in law, my husband, my daughter & myself. We'll need to rent a vehicle while there, but I'm trying to decide if we should get 2 separate or 1 large van. We'll have 5 regular check in size suitcases & 5 carry ons. We'll also have my daughter's stroller & carseat.

Maybe one mini van & smaller car? That way we would only have to take 1 vehicle to the parks. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[twinsplusone]

I was going to say a minivan and then I saw the amount of luggage. A minivan can hold a lot but I don't know if they can hold your group's luggage. Did you look at a rental car site? They'll tell you what a vehicle can hold. It would be great if you could get away with one car if you will always be traveling together.

 

[mollybeasley]

I'm shopping for a car (or cars) right now too. We wanted a minivan, but the rates are very high. I guess they're very popular in Orlando due to the large number of family travelers. I'm searching for the week Dec 13-20. It's a low demand week so the rates are very low. They will be much higher at other times.

A minivan usually holds 7 people and 7 bags, and the weekly rental rates I saw (without discounts) were $550 and higher. That's about 684+ with taxes. (There were a few companies with much lower rates, but I never heard of them so I skipped over them. If you can get recs from other people they might be worth checking.)

A fullsize car holds 5 people and about 5 bags. Most of the rates are around 120 - 150 (around 175-220 with taxes.)

Cost wise you'd be better off with two regular cars, even with the added parking costs (unless you can cram everyone into one car for the trips to the parks).

 

[Luv4Disney]

In May we're going to have 4 adults and 1 infant. We're going to get either a minivan or a full size SUV. We always use Priceline.

 

[n2mm]

If you're staying onsite, would it be possible to use DME with a few of your party members and have the luggage go with them?

When we are a party of 6, it's always tough. A crossover or SUV that has a 3rd seat works, but not if there's luggage invovled. The minivan could work, but you would have to put the middle row seat down and pile some luggage on until you unload. Alot of your decision depends if you're onsite or offsite. If you're onsite, then you can at least use RAC/DME for the return home so luggage isn't an issue.

 

[Tara]

If you're staying onsite, would it be possible to use DME with a few of your party members and have the luggage go with them?

I think this is a great suggestion!

 

[eeyoreali]

Unfortunately we're looking at staying offsite. We want 3 separate bedrooms & it's too expensive to stay onsite for that. I think the only way I can make staying on site the cheapest is to stay at the All Stars or Pop & get 3 separate rooms. UGH!!