BIG party.. how many vehicles?? Who has best price?

[annabelle]

A group of 11 of us are going to WDW this June (2 grandparents, 4 parents and 5 kids - 9,7,5,4, 19 mo). We'll be staying off site 4 miles away at a timeshare.

We can't seem to make up our minds about what size vehicle(s) we'll need. Some of us want to get a 15 passenger van just to keep everyone together, not have to play "follow the leader" in traffic and spend less on parking.

Others want to get 2 vehicles so that way part of the family could leave the parks early if need be (grandpa's got bad health + we've got young children).
I have a feeling we'll go this route but not sure which would be best suitable for my immediate family which includes myself, DH and our 3 kids (9,4,19 mo).

The 9 yo is still in a booster (he's very small) so we'll need something to accomodate 3 car seats. Should we get a FULL sized car - like an Impala or Pontiac Aztek? Or spend more $$ and get a minivan (which is what we're used to)? I know we could squeeze into a full sized car... I'd love to save that money and use it on other parts of our vacation (like the overpriced park food).

I've read that some of you have gotten awesome deals on mini-vans. Which company was that through? I checked out the mousesavers link to all the different discount codes and my head was spinning w/all the possibilities. (I guess you plug in as many combinations of codes until you get the lowest price??) OR should we just get a full-sized car? OR even have everyone stick together and do the school bus (15 pass van)?

HELP!! Which sized car should we get? Which company is the easiest to deal with and has the cheapest rates?

Thanks so much...

Annabelle

 

[Gillian]

That's a tough one! It's really nice to have 2 vehicles for a group like yours.

I don't see that you will fit into 2 cars. Even with a full size, you may not be able to fit 3 carseats. And if your family of 5 is in one car, that leaves 4 adults and 2 kids (with 1 or 2? carseats) in the other. I can't see that they would all fit in a car.

So you'd need at least one minivan + a car to hold everyone.

What does a 15 passenger van cost?

 

[annabelle]

That's what I was thinking... if we had 2 forms of transportation, it would beone full sized car for our family of 5 and a minivan for everyone else (of 6).

The lowest quote I could find for a 15 passenger is $565 (inc. taxes). We would split that 3 ways so around $188 for each party.

I got a quote from Alamo for a Pontiac Aztek (which qualifies as a full sized car) for around $175 (before coupons). I'm not having too much luck on minivan quotes. The lowest is around $300. So as far as I can tell, going full size for our family would save us between $100-$150.

 

[Gillian]

It's kind of a game trying to find the best rates! It's just not a really fun game. I still usually have the best luck with National. They usually have a web rate for minivans if you can't get anything better. Right now it is $235/week plus taxes but only through feb 15th.

I've travelled with family and a little time apart makes a world of difference. If you find a good minivan deal (it may just be too soon), having 2 would be ideal. That way the grandparents could go with either family, depending on their needs.

We are thinking of renting a van for our drive to florida, instead of taking our car. My parents will be meeting us there (all staying onsite) and they want to be able to all go out to dinner together, etc. We'll save at least $700 by driving our car and they haven't offered to help us pay for it yet!

 

[princesspumpkin]

I had the same dilemma. I'm renting 2 minivans and found Southwest's website to have cheap minivan rates (6 days for $162 with Budget and discount code).