Alamo minvan question - 7 passenger vs 8 passenger

[Parad0x]

Hello all,

I've always been using Alamo at MCO and have been quite happy with them. I've got two quick questions for those who are familiar with renting a minivan from Alamo.

1) Alamo's 'cheaper' option, the regular minivan says it seats 7. Does that mean all regular minivans you will get there have 2 seats in the front, 2 seats in the second row (captains chairs) and then the 3rd row for 3 more seats? I ask because I would want something with NO captains chairs in the second row.

2) Alamo also has a more expensive minivan option, that it says is an 8 seater and usually shows an image of a Sienna. Does one have to go with this option to be guaranteed they'll get a minivan with a bench seat second row instead of captains chairs?

Thanks to anyone who may be familiar with minivan choices with Alamo at MCO.

 

[nacho113]

The standard minivan seems to be the Chrysler Town and Country/ Dodge Caravan which has the 2 high back buckets in the center row. I haven't seen anything with the center "bench" seating in this style of vehicle in probably 8-10 years. (Basically since they started having sliding doors on both sides of the vehicle)

 

[Parad0x]

Thanks Nacho for commenting. We're going to have 5 people with luggage for a 2 week stay and will be loading up on a bunch from Walmart as well on the way to Disney from the airport. We've been getting a standard SUV for a while and everything fits, but mighty it is mighty tight. I think a minivan would have more room behind the second row in the cargo area, when the third row is folded flat. Problem becomes when you have captains chairs the 5th person has to sit in the 3rd row, taking away from cargo space back there.

So it seems keeping a standard SUV may be best for my scenario I guess. Stepping up to a fullsize SUV is ALOT more and I don't think I'd gain any cargo room having half the 3rd row folded up for the 5th person. Oh well...

 

[AliceIn]

Some of the minivans have an where you can fold up/fold down a third seat in the middle row. I believe our Honda Odyssey had that option, while our Town and Country did not. It looks like some models of the Toyota Sienna have that option as well. From the Toyota site:

"8-passenger seating with removable easy-clean fabric-trimmed 40/20/40 second-row seat, tip-up and long-slide feature and stowable center seat"

Here's a picture of how it looks in the Odyssey:

 

[Parad0x]

Thank you as well AliceIn.

I guess I should really just ask "to those who have rented a minivan from Alamo at MCO, did you see any in the isle (standard minivan) that had 3 person seating in the second row?"

Alamo is famous at Mco for having different kinds of vehicles available in a certain class isle. Maybe they have both 7 and 8 passenger minivans available in the same isle.

 

[AliceIn]

Thank you as well AliceIn.

I guess I should really just ask "to those who have rented a minivan from Alamo at MCO, did you see any in the isle (standard minivan) that had 3 person seating in the second row?"

Alamo is famous at Mco for having different kinds of vehicles available in a certain class isle. Maybe they have both 7 and 8 passenger minivans available in the same isle.

I rent Alamo frequently - typically they will have all of a specific class in the same aisle. Most likely, the more expensive minivan option would be in a different aisle. It was this way for me when I rented an SUV. I was interested in a slightly larger model (which was more expensive on the website). All the ones in the aisle were of the same size as the smaller one I rented. The ones that were larger were in an aisle that required me to upgrade.

All that said - sometimes in the larger airports, you'll get lucky and find the more expensive models mixed in because you arrived at the right time. We had this happen one year at MCO where we rented a regular car and ended up with a minivan for the same price. It's all luck. If you really NEED the larger vehicle, unfortunately, you have to reserve it up front.

 

[Parad0x]

I rent Alamo frequently - typically they will have all of a specific class in the same aisle. Most likely, the more expensive minivan option would be in a different aisle. It was this way for me when I rented an SUV. I was interested in a slightly larger model (which was more expensive on the website). All the ones in the aisle were of the same size as the smaller one I rented. The ones that were larger were in an aisle that required me to upgrade.

All that said - sometimes in the larger airports, you'll get lucky and find the more expensive models mixed in because you arrived at the right time. We had this happen one year at MCO where we rented a regular car and ended up with a minivan for the same price. It's all luck. If you really NEED the larger vehicle, unfortunately, you have to reserve it up front.

Thanks again, pretty much what I was expecting then. I had the same thing happen at MCO before, they had minvans in the fullsize isle if one wanted it. I think I'll just continue with getting a standard SUV and making due. To go up to a fullsize SUV is nearly double the price as is going with a guaranteed 8 passenger minivan.

Thanks again

 

[nacho113]

Thanks again, pretty much what I was expecting then. I had the same thing happen at MCO before, they had minvans in the fullsize isle if one wanted it. I think I'll just continue with getting a standard SUV and making due. To go up to a fullsize SUV is nearly double the price as is going with a guaranteed 8 passenger minivan.

Thanks again

We generally rent a full size car now since the kids are grown (and our minivan days are behind us). A full size car such as an Impala, Fusion, Charger etc. has seating for 5 and a large trunk which will fit all your luggage and groceries.
With Alamo you pick a vehicle from the FS aisle so you pick something that suits your needs. Quite often we have seen SUV's, CUV's and minivans on the FS aisle at MCO. This is going to be a YMMV situation at any particular time the selection varies.
For example: during our winter vacations, SUVs and minivans are frequently found on the FS aisle - less families = less demand for these vehicles. On our last vacation in July, there were NO SUVs or minivans on the FS aisle, just FS vehicles (tons of families = high demand for minivans and SUVs = low availability and higher prices).

That being said, if you want/need the SUV or minivan then you should just book it, you may have to pay a bit more but you will have what you need.

 

[zetachi]

Most standard minvans, such as the T&C I own have a split 3rd row. One side of the split is single seat, while the other is a double. So if you are five, you split down the double in back and you have a pretty big cargo space. Remember you can pretty much go floor to ceiling down to the middle row.

 

[Yellowjj]

The 8 seaters minivans at Alamo are kept under there own specialty aisle apart from the regular 7 seater minivans at most large locations. You will not see the Sienna's on any other aisle unless they have a glut-load of them or their running low on minivans. You can still get a minivan because the 3rd row is a 60/40 bench seat as Zetachi said. Have 2 people in the captains chairs in the second row and the last person on the 40 side seat in the 3rd row. Then proceed to fold down the 60 portion and voila; loads of space.

 

[monorailsilver]

I am just wondering how much luggage you are going to have. I guess I limit my family and do laundry as everyone wants to wear the same clothes over and over.

I had a van and can't wait to get rid of it. We are a family of 5 and the past 3 years I have had my mom with us so that is 6. We easily fit 4 carry on suitcases, 2 duffle bags and 2 or 3 of our carry in bags (back packs) in the back and I think my mom and maybe one or two of my kids kept their back packs by them.

There was still more room.

Last year we got an upgrade from a van, a traverse and that had no room. My kids had bags at their feet and a suitcase was between the second row seats.

Another option if you do the van is to stow and go the captains chairs.

I can tell you that my kids would much rather sit alone in the back then be touching their sibling.

I am not sure if part of your party or all is adults. I did sit in the back of the van a few times so my kids didn't have to sit next to each other and I was fine. I just sat in the 3rd row of a Tahoe or whatever it is and there was no leg room and I know the back is small when the seats are up.

 

[quagmire0]

We went in 2011 and 2013 and I grabbed a Sienna both times and am fairly certain I paid the 7-seater price. Wasn't on purpose, they were there and I took the Sienna because I was familar with it. Not sure if things have changed since then. I recall in 2013 that at one point my sister was sitting between the two kids in the second row, so it must have been an 8 seater that we got. Obviously, YMMV.

 

[hardis5]

We have done Alamo previously at MCO and did end up with an 8 seat Sienna booking a minivan and not a "standard" van but as others have said YMMV. There were a number of Chrysler minivans in the aisle and one Sienna that we took.

 

[leebee]

With 5 people, are you looking for an 8-seater minivan so you can put 2 passengers in the front row, 3 in the middle row, and then fold down the back seats to maximize cargo space for luggage and groceries? I think a regular Grand Caravan might work for you, because those 2 middle seats are also stow-and-go (or flip-and-fold or whatever you call them). You could fold down the middle seats, put the kids in the back seats, and then pack in the luggage and groceries in between the kids and the front seats. It might not be an ideal arrangement, but you should be OK.

Another option would be to put 2 kids in the middle seats, and then fold down the larger of the 60/40 split on the rear seat. That will give you the back of the minivan as well as 60% of the rear seat space for stashing luggage and groceries.

Regardless of what you choose, make sure you get the "grand" model of the minivan. Otherwise, the rear seats will be about 4" from the back hatch... almost no storage space at all.