Can you get a rental car AT your resort?

[IloveWINNIEthePOOH]

Reason being, we really want to to stay onsite for Christmas!! After staying onsite last summer, we are hooked! The thing is, we also want to visit Sea World, Islands of Adventure and Kennedy Space Center (Grandpa LOVES to keep busy!) along with the Disney parks! We really really want to use Magical Express to and from the airport & resort, and would like to get a rental car (for offsite attractions and going to other grandparents' house for Christmas) for a couple days.
Can I get a rental at the resort? Or leave it there, and have the company pick it up?
TIA for the help!!!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Not AT each individual resort, but - you can rent from Alamo or National at the Car Care Center, they have a free shuttle. You can rent from Alamo or National at the Dolphin, you'd need to take Disney transportation to MGM and walk or a bus to any park then another bus to the Dolphin; you can rent from Enterprise (They"'ll pick you up"); you can contact any other car rental company and see what arrangements they have for getting you to the car.
You will have to return the car yourself at the end of the rental. You can't simply leave a rental car in a resort parking lot when you're done with it. You're responsible FOR the vehicle until you have returned it to the rental location and it has been checked in by a rental company staffer.

 

[beefpile]

Thanks for asking the question! I want to know too. I'll be in WDW Oct 9-15 for my Disney Honeymoon. I think some agencies have a rental center on the property, but does anyone know if you can drop a car at the Miami Cruise ship terminal (Carnival)? Thanks!

 

[dkort]

You may just want to get the car at MCO. For pick up and return to MCO we have found it to be a lot cheaper than actually renting outside of the airport for some odd reason even with all of the airport taxes.

Hope this helps.

 

[dkort]

You also indicated that you're interested in ME. Friends have told me that the ME service is pretty slow in getting your bags to your room. I called the number and Disney told me to allow three hours from the time you are picked up at MCO until the time you get your bags. You also have to sit on the bus while it goes from hotel to hotel is what our friends told us. They said never again.

I would also think that your bags are so much more likely to get lost in this massive transfer procedure. I believe, from what I was told, that from the time you check in your bags at your hometown until the time you are actually in your room, you never see your bags again. What if one of your bags went through security and the lock was not replaced correctly? I've gotten bags on the carousel that look like they were drove over by a large semi! I've even had bags that had the zipper partially open even though when I left, the zipper was completely closed.

Just having gone through this a couple of weeks ago, the car rental offices are literally one floor down from baggage claim at MCO. While awaiting our luggage, we went downstairs and took care of all the car details. When we went back upstairs our luggage was on the carousel. You then take the elevator downstairs, go out through the doors and cross over to another building. Alamo and National are on the first floor of that building and Budget, Hertz and I believe one more company are on the second floor.

We went up to the second floor, quickly got our keys from a desk and got our things loaded in the car. We drove out and then down the building. We did not have to present our papers or anything. We just simply got on the freeway and off we went. I believe in about 40 minutes, we were at the valet at check in. I believe the entire process took us no longer than about one hour total. In addition, we were able to stop for things along the way that we forgot.

Being from Southern California, we are car maniacs. It is just so easy for us at Disney to be able to get our car and go, especially when we're on vacation!

 

[JudyT]

Reason being, we really want to to stay onsite for Christmas!! After staying onsite last summer, we are hooked! The thing is, we also want to visit Sea World, Islands of Adventure and Kennedy Space Center (Grandpa LOVES to keep busy!) along with the Disney parks! We really really want to use Magical Express to and from the airport & resort, and would like to get a rental car (for offsite attractions and going to other grandparents' house for Christmas) for a couple days.
Can I get a rental at the resort? Or leave it there, and have the company pick it up?
TIA for the help!!!!!

You can arrange for both pick up and drop off at the Disney Dolphin with Alamo. Just returned and because we did the Discovery Cove, Universal, Sea World, part of the trip first, we stayed off site and picked up the car at the airport, but once on Disney property and no longer wanting to pay for the car, we dropped it off at the Dolphin. It was completely hassle free! I do know that you are able to pick one up there, too. You might be able to get away with renting it just for the days you need it and save some $$. Check out their website but go to Mousesavers first and look for coupons. We saved a bunch by prepaying and using a $25 discount coupon in combination!

Additional Comment:

We got a great deal without a lot of surcharges - $118.86 (all taxes and fees included) for 8 full days for a mid size SUV. I kept checking the rates and "rebooking" as they went down with Alamo - it was no problem. Maybe we just lucked out but we didn't experience any steep drop off fees or surcharges. My suggestion would be to just keep checking for discount codes and coupons and consider prepaying - it saved us and we were still able to get a rate adjustment when it went down. I checked today and the difference from the initial booking and final price was credited back to my account already!

 

[kaytieeldr]

You also indicated that you're interested in ME. Friends have told me that the ME service is pretty slow in getting your bags to your room. I called the number and Disney told me to allow three hours from the time you are picked up at MCO until the time you get your bags. You also have to sit on the bus while it goes from hotel to hotel is what our friends told us. They said never again.
I would also think that your bags are so much more likely to get lost in this massive transfer procedure.

True, your bags are not instantly in your room when you arrive there (although if your room's not ready when you check in, your luggage wouldn't be in your room either). Anybody interested in using any service, Disney-provided or otherwise, should know all the conditions of said service. Magical Express makes no secret of the fact that your luggage may take up to several hours to reach your room once you land. Figure it this way - unlike people, your luggage can't make its own way anywhere. It is pulled by Bags, Inc (the experienced subcontractor handling this part of the DME service) before any bags are placed on the carousel. It then needs to be sorted by resort, placed in bins, placed on trucks and transported to the resort. Your bags are scanned at least five times during this process, AND the trucks are GPS-tracked - so assuming the AIRLINE didn't lose your luggage*, DME knows where it is at all times.
As for sitting on the bus while it goes from hotel to hotel: No bus stops at more than four resorts on any given drop-off. Yes, if you're staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, chances are you'll have to stop at a couple of other resorts first, whereas if you're staying at Pop Century you'll most likely be the first ones off the bus. It's based ENTIRELY on distance from the airport, and just as with everything else in life, not everyone can be first.
Disney states that DME takes between 60 and 90 minutes from when you check in at the counter until you get to your resort. Many posters here figure it took them about 70 minutes. Some of us have gone from plane to resort in under an hour.

Alamo and National are on the first floor of that building and Budget, Hertz and I believe one more company are on the second floor.

Um, only if Hertz closed its offsite facility and moved into the airport with no notice. Car rental agencies with counters in the airport and cars in the airport garage are Alamo, National, Budget, Dollar, Avis and L & M

 

[La2kw]

Reason being, we really want to to stay onsite for Christmas!! After staying onsite last summer, we are hooked! The thing is, we also want to visit Sea World, Islands of Adventure and Kennedy Space Center (Grandpa LOVES to keep busy!) along with the Disney parks! We really really want to use Magical Express to and from the airport & resort, and would like to get a rental car (for offsite attractions and going to other grandparents' house for Christmas) for a couple days.
Can I get a rental at the resort? Or leave it there, and have the company pick it up?
TIA for the help!!!!!

Alamo/National have locations at the Car Care Center and the Dolphin, as previously mentioned. They also have a location at the Buena Vista Palace across from Downtown Disney Marketplace. Be aware that these locations charge a steep "recovery" fee of about $30- in addition to all the other ridiculous charges that are typical for Florida. I think the cheapest fees are actually at the Car Care Center, but this location is also the least convenient, IMO. There is an Avis location at the Hilton, also across from Downtown Disney Marketplace, and a Budget location at the Downtown Disney Doubletree Guest Suites. The Grosvenor has a location for Dollar. Check around for your best deal and be sure to check both Alamo and National. They are the same cars and at the same location, but rates can vary between each brand.

 

[La2kw]

Being from Southern California, we are car maniacs. It is just so easy for us at Disney to be able to get our car and go, especially when we're on vacation!

I'm also from Southern California, and yes I do love my car. However, vacationing at WDW allows me NOT to drive, which is part of the "vacation" for me. Disney has a pretty good system, including ME that I look forward to utilizing every time I go there. I do end up renting a car for a day or two to do some grocery shopping and a few offsite meals and attractions (including Universal), but most of the time we rely on Disney transport.