Car hire or not?

[m1ckeymouse]

Hi Everyone

We are trying to decide if we should hire a car for our next trip. The Quidco discount is pretty good right now and we were considering hiring a car for one week of our two week break. DH has driven in the US before, so no problems there and although we always talk about it, we have never hired a car for our disney trips. We are staying at POR, with the QS dining plan, so no real need for offsite meals.

Pros
Easy trip to Florida Mall and Cheesecake factory (the only time we are likely to go off disney property)
Easier to drop off bags at Virgin check-in DTD
We will be travelling with DS7 and would use the car on days we intend to stay in the parks late (EMH, Fantasmic etc)

Cons
Unlikely to bother with a mall trip, so no cheesecake factory
Waiting for the bus after late nights (not sure what they are like at POR)
Getting a cab to DTD for bag drop (not the end of the world and likely cheaper than car hire)

We would likely get the Gold cover with sat nav as it seems cheaper to do that than get the sat nav seperately. Also we would collect and drop from the Dolphin or TTC. Any tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Suzanne

 

[scoobydooby]

I have stayed at POR without a car and it was fine. That said, I prefer a car, specifically to eat at Disney hotels in the evenings because to use Disney buses to get to those from any other hotel is a long winded pain. We also tend to use the car for the water parks and animal kingdom. However. If I wasn't eating at other hotels on site I would spring a few taxis instead and save some cash.

 

[wayneg]

Its something only you can decide. Personally I want a car even if it just sits there doing nothing. I want to be able to get to a supermarket, Liquor store, hospital in an emergency etc.
We do so much away from Disney though so a car gets well used. Buy at the right time and car rentals cost from around £80/wk incl, Sat nav I own, would never rent, I paid £35 for a TomTom from Walmart with all US maps. My next rental (April) I paid £234 after cashback for a 7 seater SUV for 2 weeks.

Others manage perfectly well without a car, thats not our kind of holiday.

 

[m1ckeymouse]

Hi, thanks for your replies, we have just checked a taxi for Florida Mall and it is so expensive, Alamo want £103 after cashback for 1 week, that is without sat nav and booster seat, so we will have to take those into account. But if you then added a taxi to DTD for Virgin check in, the car almost pays for itself in 2 trips!

 

[Kath2003]

Hi, thanks for your replies, we have just checked a taxi for Florida Mall and it is so expensive, Alamo want £103 after cashback for 1 week, that is without sat nav and booster seat, so we will have to take those into account. But if you then added a taxi to DTD for Virgin check in, the car almost pays for itself in 2 trips!

You can get a bus to the mall for $2 each way. Take the Lynx 50 from the TTC or DTD, ask for a free transfer when you get on. Get off at Sea World and catch the 111 bus from the same stop with the same ticket to Florida Mall. Reverse on the way back. It'll take about an hour, but it's cheap. Annoyingly, there used to be a direct bus from Disney until a few months back. You could always get a cab to Sea World or from Sea World to the mall. There's a cab area at Sea World and usually cabs at the mall.

 

[wayneg]

If you do go with car rental don't just book now, wait for a deal if you are not going for 8 months.

 

[m1ckeymouse]

Hi Wayne

I thought £103 wasn't bad, do you think we can get much better, especially as we want to stay with the Dolphin or TTC?

 

[wayneg]

Hi Wayne

I thought £103 wasn't bad, do you think we can get much better, especially as we want to stay with the Dolphin or TTC?

What dates did you search, what size car. Just going to bed now, 4am start so will check prices tomorrow.

 

[Claire Bear]

That's annoying about the bus to the mall, I have been researching pass threads to answer the million questions I have and that was one I had found the answer for and written myself instructions!

 

[m1ckeymouse]

Thanks Wayne, you are wonderful

I searched sat 2th to sat 9th Nov to collect from Dolphin about midday, but time isn't so important as long as it doesn't go back before 10am on the 9th. Just went for the cheapest they offered, only needs to fit 2 adults and an 8yo. Cases will be jammed in for the short trip to DTD or we will do 2 trips. The quote didn't include fuel or sat nav.

Thanks so much, sleep well.

Hi Claire Bear, I know, I had the same thing written down grrrrrr.

 

[luke]

Hi, thanks for your replies, we have just checked a taxi for Florida Mall and it is so expensive,

If you want a trip to the Cheesecake Factory I'd suggest going to Mall at Millennia rather than the Florida Mall

 

[amacspad]

That's annoying about the bus to the mall, I have been researching pass threads to answer the million questions I have and that was one I had found the answer for and written myself instructions!

I was informed that bus 111 went from downtown disney direct to the Florida mall, sorry for sounding thick but is this no longer the case then as we are not hiring a car when we go in Aptil!

Debs xx

 

[bee86]

I was informed that bus 111 went from downtown disney direct to the Florida mall, sorry for sounding thick but is this no longer the case then as we are not hiring a car when we go in Aptil!

Debs xx

Awww hope this is no longer the case! I read you had to transfer buses to the mall at millenea but not the Florida mall.....? Confused!

 

[m1ckeymouse]

Hi to those of you checking for the lynx bus, just had a look at the website, found by typing lynx bus 111 into google, top result was a pdf of schedule and map, assuming this is up to date it looks like the bus goes from DTD westside to Florida Mall in about 40 mins.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong

Thanks
S

 

[Kath2003]

Hi to those of you checking for the lynx bus, just had a look at the website, found by typing lynx bus 111 into google, top result was a pdf of schedule and map, assuming this is up to date it looks like the bus goes from DTD westside to Florida Mall in about 40 mins.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong

Thanks
S

Now only goes from Orlando International Airport to Sea World, via the mall.

http://www.golynx.com/core/fileparse.php/97363/urlt/0055392-link-111.pdf

(Link found by going to the Lynx website, selecting Maps and Schedules - so it's the current one. Sorry )

 

[queendisney]

that 111 was a good route..shall miss it

this is the reason why its stopped

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...-disney-world-disney-spokesman-bryan-malenius

oh well..the number 50 and a transfer won't make much difference as long as its timed right

 

[wayneg]

Thanks Wayne, you are wonderful

I searched sat 2th to sat 9th Nov to collect from Dolphin about midday, but time isn't so important as long as it doesn't go back before 10am on the 9th. Just went for the cheapest they offered, only needs to fit 2 adults and an 8yo. Cases will be jammed in for the short trip to DTD or we will do 2 trips. The quote didn't include fuel or sat nav.

I often find best price thru this link http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/othe...e/734198-holidayautos-discount-worldwide.html

It explains how to get 15% off plus Quidco (currently 11%)
Unfortunatley your dates are not available yet, they only go upto Oct so I checked a random week (5th-12th Oct) to get an idea of cost.
Cheapest car thru the link costs £101.15 less 11% = £90.03

If you had booked about 3-4 weeks ago they had an offer with £20.13 off this years bookings with a deal like this + 15% + 11% Quidco you would have paid £72.11

Their offers come and go often, you have to watch to book at the right time. They supply Alamo cars either from Dolphin or Disney Car Care Centre.

ETA: forgot to mention adding "Max" is usually worth it on a 7 day rental, on the quote above it would add on £24.96 (less 11% Quidco) this would give you a tank of gas and additional drivers.

 

[buffer]

I just checked for 31 August - 7 September using the vflyer link. For a Dodge caravan with Max its 224.25. Is this a good deal Wayne or might it go cheaper still???

 

[wayneg]

I just checked for 31 August - 7 September using the vflyer link. For a Dodge caravan with Max its 224.25. Is this a good deal Wayne or might it go cheaper still???

If you go via Quidco you get 11% cashback making it £199.58.
Last year I paid £25/nt for 7 seater with Max, your quote works out at £28/nt. I would check every day for a code/discount. Using a code might mean less Cashback but I would rather have discount upfront than rely on Quidco paying out.
I usually book car rental 1-2 months before travelling unless I see a cheap deal.

 

[steve Parker]

This is just something you can decide. Personally, I want a car, if it just sits doing nothing. I want to be able to go to a supermarket, liquor store, hospital, emergency, etc.