? about adding xtra day in FL to visit job, with cost info

[frannn]

First off, thanks to you guys for being so patient with my endless banter and many (sometimes redundant) questions. Now to my latest dillema: This trip will include DH, DD1 (will be 23 months trip time), DD10(will be 11), and I. I spoke to the school (the principal) & they said 9/10-9/20 is a great time for us to go in relation to their schedule (they weren't encouraging it per say, but it is the best time to take non holiday days off). So, we may add 9/9 to our vacation (we have school's blessing) and fly into West Palm (to visit my workplace) instead of Orlando, then drive to Orlando that night or the following day. Here is the heart of the problem and the monetary pros & cons. If we fly 9/9 to West Palm to visit work, we will need to pay additional 25. change fee for the one plane ticket we've already purchased, 50. for a hotel room if we spend the night in Boca (or about 86 if we drive to WDW that night), and about 125. more in rental car costs (for some reason, it costs a lot more to rent a car in West Palm than Orlando. I would be returning the car in Orlando, but even if I was still returning in West Palm, the cost would be that much higher). So, we're looking at spending at least an additional 200. just to take the extra day to visit work and then have to drive 3 hours to WDW. DH says he doesn't mind, and it would be nice to visit the people I work with. Maybe the car costs will go down closer to the trip, but even with the best code I could find now, a full size car from National is over 400 from West Palm. The day we would be visiting would be a work day, so coworkers wouldn't be able to spend all day with us-maybe we could have lunch/dinner together. Please answer this twofold questions: 1) Would you spend the extra $ and driving time to visit coworkers & boss, and 2) If we did this, would you spend the night in Boca for 50, then drive and get to WDW between 1pm and 3pm, or drive to WDW on 9/9 after visiting Boca (travel day), get to WDW late at night, and spend whatever discounted rate we can get at AS Movies, then start the day early at the parks?
I would love to hear a ton of replies and opinions, so I can keep my Maylox sealed in the cabinet! Thanks!!!

 

[mad4themouse]

My thoughts: Don't keep the West Palm rental car for your entire trip.

I plugged in your dates at the National website (9/9-9/20, West Palm --> MCO, compact-size car) and got $377.86 using the Emerald Club Contract ID # (You can get a free membership by checking Mousesavers) and the Entertainment Book Free 2-car Upgrade coupon, which puts you in a standards-size car.

Instead, rent the car from National in West Palm and return it to the Car Care Center in WDW the next morning, keeping it 24 hours or less. Cost from National for 9/9-9/10 (intermediate size) would be $39.63 using the Emerald Club Contract ID #.

Make a separate ressie for the Car Care Center ---> MCO for 9/10 -9/20. Using the Emerald Club Contract ID# and the Entertainment Book coupon for a free 2-car class upgrade from compact to an standard, I get $241.41.

Total for doing it my way:$281.04
Total difference: $96.82

That go a long way towards paying for that extra hotel night.

You might want to even consider skipping the car rental in WDW and getting a towncar to take you back to MCO for only $55.00 plus tip. That would save you $222.30, which may make up for the cost of eating meals onsite.
edited to reflect charges from West Palm Airport instead of Boca Raton Rental Site

 

[frannn]

With the 4 of us, the luggage, and the stroller, we will be tight in anything other than a full sized vehicle (3 of us are girls=lots of luggage).

 

[frannn]

With the 4 of us, the luggage, and the stroller, we will be tight in anything other than a full sized vehicle (3 of us are girls=lots of luggage). Also wanted to mention that we were thinking of joining the Emerald Club so we could choose from the Emerald Isle- according to National reps, if you rent a mid size, you now can only choose a mid size.

 

[mad4themouse]

frannn,
The theory still applies. Use the Free Two-Car Class Upgrade coupons from the Entertainment Book. When making the ressie online, put an intermediate into the "car type" box and the coupon code into the "coupon ID" box. The website will automatically upgrade you to a fullsize car at intermediate prices when you get your quote.

The idea is not to take that pricey rental from West Palm for any longer than you have to. Use the car for one day and return it in Orlando. Then begin a new, lower-priced rental in Orlando for the remainder of your vacation.

Try pricing it out yourself and see what kind of numbers you can come up with.

 

[Straitlover]

Just wanted to say if you wanted to drive a little closer than Boca that night, last October I stayed in a Sleep Inn in Fort Pierce. According to Mapquest, it's about 65 miles from WP to Ft Pierce. The rate for 9/9 on their website is 53.99 plus tax (That was close to what I paid, too). I was very happy w/ it. It was not fancy, but it was clean, had comfortable beds, was not right on the Hwy so it was relatively quiet, had interior doors, and had a pretty decent free breakfast. It's right between I95 and the toll road. I checked on the tolls, and it was going to be rather expensive to go all the way to Orlando. We ended up taking a US road because we actually left from Okeechobee towards Orlando rather than the hotel. I just figured you might want a first hand account on a hotel.

I also agree w/ mad4themouse about splitting up the rental car. You should be able to save big bucks.