Arriving very late - worried about National car availability

[Mom+4]

We will be getting to MCO at 11:30 p.m. on a Sunday night. I am VERY worried that there will be no cars available. I have an EA reservation for a full size, and understand that I will probably have to go to the Full Size aisle instead of EA, but will there really be much to choose from? Can anyone who has arrived really late reassure me that I won't be left with a tiny car. We are a family of 5, and really need the space of a Full Size. TIA.

 

[CarolMN]

I don't think you will have a problem. Seems to me that a lot more people return cars on Sundays than check them out. Also, you have the size you need reserved, so you are entitled to one of the full size cars on the full size aisle. We almost always ended up choosing from the full size aisle rather than from the Emerald Aisle because there was usually a much larger selection to choose from.

FWIW, try not to worry about it - it's not something you can control. There will be a National agent there to help you if you do run into a problem, but again, I think that is very unlikely.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[hercamore]

In January, we flew in really late (l2:30 a.m.) and found a large selection of cars in the Natl. lot.

DS picked out the Dodge Intrepid. Big car and would seat your family comfortably. The trunk is huge.

herc.

 

[CarolA]

I arrived that late on my last trip and had an excellent selection on the EA (I was doing midsize so that worked for me). However, all the lanes looked pretty full. I would not worry.

 

[sgtdisney]

If you have a confirmation for a full size car you are guaranteed to have a full size car.. If they don't have a fullsize car available they will need to give you a larger car. Do not let them put you into a smaller car. Orlando is a big airport and has lots of turnover so you will probably be fine. Sometimes it doesn't depend on the time of day, but the traffic. My father just came back from Vegas and had a premium car reserved at National and they only had one available and this was around 1PM..

 

[stacy6552]

you should be worried. National is consistantly understaffed, slow and down right rude. So I wouldnt put it past them at all not to have your car waiting for you.

 

[RoutemanDan]

Originally posted by stacy6552
you should be worried. National is consistantly understaffed, slow and down right rude. So I wouldnt put it past them at all not to have your car waiting for you.

Funny,I have NEVER had a problem with National and I use them 2 or 3 times a year. I wouldn't worry Mom+4

 

[sncbird]

quote:
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Originally posted by stacy6552
you should be worried. National is consistantly understaffed, slow and down right rude. So I wouldnt put it past them at all not to have your car waiting for you.
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I guess stacy6552 had a bad experience. We arrived Thanksgiving night at 10:30pm and they had a ton of vans for us to pick from. Don't worry and have a great trip!!

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by stacy6552
you should be worried. National is consistantly understaffed, slow and down right rude. So I wouldnt put it past them at all not to have your car waiting for you.

I have used them more times than I can remember and have never had a problem with them...

 

[DaisyDebbie]

I have used National all over the country and have never had a problem either.

 

[Mom+4]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I'll stick to my guns, and make sure they give me a full size, if I can figure out what is considered a full size. LOL. Thanks again.

 

[CarolA]

I have used National more times than I can count both in Orlando and elsewhere. (They were the official rental car company of my last employer!) I have NEVER had a problem getting a car that I reserved and normally encounted very nice people (althought with EA I have to admit the most contact you have with National is at return.) The Orlando location has actually been one of the best to deal with.

Keep in mind that Orlando has the HIGHEST number of rental cars anywhere in the country!

 

[inkkognito]

We've never used National (although we've used their sister company Alamo twice via Priceline with no problem). However, we did have this happen with Avis (another Priceline ressie), and they gave us a free upgrade. Hopefully National will be just as good.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

We had a similar situation a few winters back. We were delayed because of a snow storm in PA (we lived in the Northeast at that time) and had reserved a full size car. We arrived 5 hours late (around midnight) and they had no full size cars available so we were given a Lincoln - no kidding! When I made our reservations, I put in our flight number so they knew why we were delayed. We couldn't believe it. We asked if there was an extra charge and they said no because they didn't have what we booked so enjoy. We had a marvelous two weeks tooling around in a black Lincoln with all the perks. Maybe you'll get lucky too.