Advice on renting a car for 1 way.

[eeyoresmom]

We used to drive from Massachusetts to WDW but for the last 3 years or so have been flying. The fares from NE to Orlando for our April trip are really high right know so I"m exploring other options we never really minded the drive down but dreaded the drive back. Has anyone ever rented a car just to drive down to WDW? I've been searching online,but can't get this info from most car rental sites. TIA

 

[szymon]

What are the dates for your rental? Pickup/dropoff location? What is the best rate you found so far?

Szymon

 

[eeyoresmom]

Pick up somewhere around Worcester, MA and drop off at MCO. I called Thrifty and I'd have to pick up in Boston and the drop off charge was almost 500.00!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, the problem I see is, April is about when the rental agencies need to move their cars FROM Florida TO the northeast. They may offer special rates on that direction, but since you want to technically 'strand' a car down there, that Thrifty will then have to move back up here for the summer, they're going to charge for the one-way rental.
But with the numerous car rental agencies in existence, call them ALL and see what price quotes you get.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'd looked into it as a Plan B once when we were going to be there during a hurricane. I remember it being kind of pricey too. But if we did do it, to simplify, we were going to go with an agency that was available right at WDW, the Dolphin specifically. I believe it was Alamo (not sure). There are coupons in the Entertainment Book or BJ's, etc.

Usually when we've done the math on driving vs flying, flying wins out, even if fares are up, especially considering the price of gas and the use of extra vacation days, hotels, meals, etc.

Have you looked into Southwest? If you book and their fares drop, they will credit you the difference. But if you're going during school vacation week, prices probably won't drop much. We paid a lot this year to go down during Feb vacation, few discounts available, but on SWA at least it was the least expensive of any carrier, and the flights were direct.

Good luck.

 

[canwegosoon]

The car thing is hard and you might want to call local car rental agencies and even ask if they will do it(they might have a card they want out of their inventory)
Second option would be what about the train?
And there are some good fares out there for flying...when are your planning on going and please list airports within 1-2 hours of you. Did you check Newburg NY-Jet Blue will be flying outof there.

I use www.itasoftware.com so I can list a radius or search by lowest fare.
I just ran dates for the month of April(school break) you can get RT/NS for 247 out of BOS...I am sure that there are SW deals out of BDL or PVD...what are your dates?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Try Budget.
A one way, 48 hour rental FOR THE DATES I TRIED, costs
$207.30 compact
$229.06 standard
$239.94 intermediate SUV
$255.94 standard SUV
Your mileage (no pun intended) may well vary, depending on your exact dates. I pulled 4/11 - 4/13 out of the air.

Pickup location is Worcester Hotel & Conference, location code OR1 (that's the letter "O", not a zero)
Dropoff is Double Tree Hotel on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, location code M03 (that's a zero, not the letter "o").
This makes a LOT more sense than finding transportation to Logan, then finding transportation from McCoy to Disney.

 

[dsnymomof4]

We were "forced" to rent one-way in 2004 when our flight was cancelled due to hurricane. So we rented a Ford Expedition (there were 8 of us!) from Hertz and drove straight through to Phila airport. I think it cost around $200 or so. So, maybe look into renting from airport to airport - maybe it's cheaper that way. This actually sounds like a good idea for me too. We are also planning on going in April and I can get a flight home for $99/person, but on trip down over $300! So, this might be an option for us too - I know what you mean about the drive home - it's painful!

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thanks everyone! Yup, it's school vacation week. We got a great rate coming home the tuesday after this week(kids will miss 2 days of school, but we don't want them to miss any more) I'm going to try Budget,that sounds very reasonable.

 

[CarolA]

Keep in mind rates you get during a hurricane may not represent the real world. I got a deal once evacuating Savannah. Whoever we rented from dropped the "mileage and drop off fees" to get thier cars outta there! Most of the year they aren't that motivated!

 

[szymon]

Try Budget.
A one way, 48 hour rental FOR THE DATES I TRIED, costs
$207.30 compact
$229.06 standard
$239.94 intermediate SUV
$255.94 standard SUV

Take about $10 off these rates by using the AA BCD U072405.

Szymon