alamo mini van at mco?

[luv2vacation]

We rented a minivan last year (mco) and got the 8 pass. mini van. Was this lucky or do people see alot of the 8 pass. mini vans on the lot? We are renting two and hoping that one of them will be a 8 pass mini van. Thanks

 

[luv2vacation]

bump!!

 

[mill4023]

I just made a reservation through Alamo for an 8 passenger minivan. It was a different choice from the standard minivan.
This is what my confirmation email says:
Vehicle Type: Minivan - 8 Passenger/Automatic/Air - Chevrolet Astro Or Similar

When I made the reservation, the car selection screen only showed the standard 7 passenger minivan. There was a dropdown box at the bottom where it said "Select from additional cars". I had to pick the 8 passenger minivan from that list. It was a bit more expensive, so I'd love to know if it's possible to reserve a 7 passenger and be able to get an 8 passenger on arrival.

EDIT: I had first just put in some random dates and the 8 passenger came up more expensive. I double checked and it was actually the same rate for the 7 passenger or 8 passenger for my dates in March. The only difference is that it wouldn't let me use a $25 coupon from costco on the 8 passenger.

 

[mill4023]

Anyone know?

Are the 7 passenger minivans in a separate area from the 8 passenger?
I'd be a little upset if I end up paying more for an 8 passenger and find out when I get there that people who reserved standard minivans can take the 8 passenger vans.

 

[mill4023]

bumping

 

[jencav5]

I found this info on www.mousesavers.com:

Emerald Aisle and Emerald Reserve

Emerald Club members have two options when reserving a car: Emerald Aisle Service and Emerald Reserve Service.

With Emerald Aisle Service, you reserve an Intermediate (midsize) car. When you arrive at the rental lot, you go straight out and choose any available car from the "Emerald Aisle." All of the Emerald Aisle cars will be at least Intermediate size. You may also find full size and specialty cars, which you can take at no extra charge. The Emerald Aisle option is only available to Emerald Club members who reserve an Intermediate car.

Emerald Reserve Service works a little like Emerald Aisle, except that you can choose any car type when reserving, and you get the exact car type you reserved. For instance, if you reserve a minivan, you just go straight out to the minivan aisle and choose the minivan you want.

Emerald Aisle/Emerald Reserve service is available at all of the major airports serving Walt Disney World and Disneyland, except Long Beach.


Maybe this is how you could get an 8 passenger when booking a 7 passenger. Not sure if all mini-vans are in the "mini-van" aisle.

I'm also trying to get a mini-van rental. What kind of rates are you guys getting?

 

[mill4023]

You are talking about National, and from what I can see, National doesn't have any 8-passenger minivans. Alamo is the only company I have found that has 8-passenger minivans.

My rate right now for 14 nights in March/April is $648 using the Costco or Entertainment Book contract ID's. I'm hoping to get it lower once we get closer to the dates, but all of the good deals I've seen so far are only good for the next couple months.

 

[jencav5]

You are talking about National, and from what I can see, National doesn't have any 8-passenger minivans. Alamo is the only company I have found that has 8-passenger minivans.

My rate right now for 14 nights in March/April is $648 using the Costco or Entertainment Book contract ID's. I'm hoping to get it lower once we get closer to the dates, but all of the good deals I've seen so far are only good for the next couple months.

Sorry! I've been looking at so many rental companies and threads that I must have got confused when I posted this! I do see from the website that Alamo has the 8 passenger mini-vans.

Thanks for your rate info. My dates are much closer and the rates do seem lower than that-ranging from 239-299/week (10/29-11/5), so maybe it is better the closer you get. I have seen posts, though, where people are getting really good prices! I haven't been able to figure out the right coupon configuration for anything better, though!

 

[KerriMc]

When you pick up your van at the airport, you choose from the same aisle for both National and Alamo vans. When we were there two years ago, we rented with Alamo and had a Grand Caravan (7 passenger). We also used a grand caravan (7 again) this past year, but rented through National. We picked from the same aisle. While there this year picking our van, we originally were going to pick a Pontiac Montana SV6, which has three seats in the middle. So I would think that would be an 8 passenger van right? There was another van, the Venture I think, that also had that middle seat in the middle row. I didn't want that with the kids, so we didnt' pick it. This year we will ... because now they fight beside each other !!! It doesnt' leave much room for luggage though!

Kerri

 

[mill4023]

I've checked the fleet information on all the major rental companies and the only minivan I've found that shows seating for 8 is the Chevy Astro at Alamo. All the other companies only show seating for 7 for their minivans.