car rental advice needed

[mastermind307]

My daughter and I will be going to Disney May 29-June 5 2018. My sister recently moved to Ft. Myers and hate to be so close and not visit them. I've added them to our reservation in case they are able to come up to Disney, but in case they can't I'd like to drive down to see them. I have come up with 3 different ways that it might work.

1. DD and I fly into Ft. Myers the on Saturday May 26 and visit my sister until Tuesday May 29 and then I rent a car and drive to Disney. Now I could either rent from Alamo or National and return the car to the Dolphin since we're staying at BW, it would be convenient. Or return it to the airport and use ME to get to the BW.

2. DD and I fly into Orlando on Tuesday May 29 and take ME to BW and on June 5 and go to the Dolphin and rent a car to drive down to Ft. Myers. We'd return the car in Ft. Myers, then we could fly home from Ft. Myers.

3. DD and I fly into Orlando on May 29 and take ME to BW and on June 5 we take ME back to the airport and rent a car to drive down to Ft. Myers. Then we could fly out of Ft. Myers or drive back up and fly out of Orlando.

Which one makes the most sense? Or is there an option I haven't thought of?

 

[Jarmo]

Any major price differences between the options? It might cost more to fly into/out of a smaller airport, and rental car prices can be quite a bit more on site than at the airport

 

[writerguyfl]

I don't think any of your options are all that different. Choosing one over another will likely come down to cost. As Jarmo notes, a smaller market like Fort Myers many cost more with flights or car rentals.

I don't own a car. Whenever I visit Orlando (from Fort Lauderdale), I do a one-way car rental in each direction. In my experience Alamo usually has very competitive rates. There are times, however, when competitors are cheaper.

Although not quite as convenient as dropping off/picking up at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, there are several other companies that have locations at the various Disney Springs Hotels. My backup to Alamo is Avis at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista. They are located across the street from the Marketplace section of Disney Springs.

A longer walk will get you to Dollar (Wyndham Lake Buena Vista), Enterprise (B Resort and Spa), or Budget (DoubleTree Suites Lake Buena Vista). [Note: I've never rented from any of those locations.]

Whether using any of those other companies will come down to cost. Taking a trip to Disney Springs (via the bus system) and walking over to Avis or another hotel wouldn't be difficult.

 

[mastermind307]

Any major price differences between the options? It might cost more to fly into/out of a smaller airport, and rental car prices can be quite a bit more on site than at the airport

I currently have flying in MCO booked and found airfare flying into FSW for the same price. I've priced out the different car rental options and they are all similar, two are the same price and the other is about $35 more. I'm looking for the most convenient way to go about doing it.

I don't think any of your options are all that different. Choosing one over another will likely come down to cost. As Jarmo notes, a smaller market like Fort Myers many cost more with flights or car rentals.

I don't own a car. Whenever I visit Orlando (from Fort Lauderdale), I do a one-way car rental in each direction. In my experience Alamo usually has very competitive rates. There are times, however, when competitors are cheaper.

Although not quite as convenient as dropping off/picking up at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, there are several other companies that have locations at the various Disney Springs Hotels. My backup to Alamo is Avis at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista. They are located across the street from the Marketplace section of Disney Springs.

A longer walk will get you to Dollar (Wyndham Lake Buena Vista), Enterprise (B Resort and Spa), or Budget (DoubleTree Suites Lake Buena Vista). [Note: I've never rented from any of those locations.]

Whether using any of those other companies will come down to cost. Taking a trip to Disney Springs (via the bus system) and walking over to Avis or another hotel wouldn't be difficult.

I hadn't thought about the rental car companies around the Disney Springs area. I was thinking of the Dolphin because I could walk or take the boat over and without too much trouble and time wasted.

 

[writerguyfl]

I hadn't thought about the rental car companies around the Disney Springs area. I was thinking of the Dolphin because I could walk or take the boat over and without too much trouble and time wasted.

Convenience is important. I only mentioned it in case you were seeing high prices with Alamo/National. Depending on where I'm staying, I sometimes drop off my Alamo rental at the Dolphin. It's super easy. You just drive up and tell the Valet that your returning a car. They give you a receipt for the key and your done in 2-3 minutes. (You can stop by the desk if you want a receipt.)

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Convenience is important. I only mentioned it in case you were seeing high prices with Alamo/National. Depending on where I'm staying, I sometimes drop off my Alamo rental at the Dolphin. It's super easy. You just drive up and tell the Valet that your returning a car. They give you a receipt for the key and your done in 2-3 minutes. (You can stop by the desk if you want a receipt.)

Or just have the receipt sent to your email. I usually get the emailed receipt before I've walked all the way back to the BoardWalk.

 

[mastermind307]

Convenience is important. I only mentioned it in case you were seeing high prices with Alamo/National. Depending on where I'm staying, I sometimes drop off my Alamo rental at the Dolphin. It's super easy. You just drive up and tell the Valet that your returning a car. They give you a receipt for the key and your done in 2-3 minutes. (You can stop by the desk if you want a receipt.)

I checked prices for Avis and Budget and they're cheaper than Alamo. Both of these have places in Cape Coral so renting a car from one of them would be very convenient while I'm at my sister's house, however, not so convenient when returning at Disney. Alamo would be convenient when returning at Disney, but to rent one in Cape Coral, I'd have to go to the Ft. Myers airport, which is about 30 minutes away from my sister's house.

How much trouble is it to return a car to the Disney Springs area? I figure we'd have to stop at the BW, check in and drop off our bags and then drive to the hotel to drop the car off. Then walk to Disney Springs and catch a bus back to the BW. Would it be easier to just return the car to MCO and then catch ME to the BW?

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I checked prices for Avis and Budget and they're cheaper than Alamo. Both of these have places in Cape Coral so renting a car from one of them would be very convenient while I'm at my sister's house, however, not so convenient when returning at Disney. Alamo would be convenient when returning at Disney, but to rent one in Cape Coral, I'd have to go to the Ft. Myers airport, which is about 30 minutes away from my sister's house.

How much trouble is it to return a car to the Disney Springs area? I figure we'd have to stop at the BW, check in and drop off our bags and then drive to the hotel to drop the car off. Then walk to Disney Springs and catch a bus back to the BW. Would it be easier to just return the car to MCO and then catch ME to the BW?

Either will work, but the Hotel Blvd. drop off followed by the walk from the hotel to DS and the wait for the resort bus to get back to the BW will be quicker than the drive to MCO to drop off the car followed by the wait for the ME bus and the drive back to DW. I'd guess at least 60 minutes longer to go to MCO. Compare the rates for Cape Coral to the hotel drop off vs. Cape Coral to MCO and decide if the potential savings going to MCO is worth valuable vacation time.

 

[mastermind307]

It's basically the same price to drop off at the Hilton VS MCO. I don't like driving around places I'm not familiar so looking for the easiest way.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

It's basically the same price to drop off at the Hilton VS MCO. I don't like driving around places I'm not familiar so looking for the easiest way.

I would go for the Hilton Orlando at Lake Buena Vista. It's an easy drive from the BW; take Buena Vista Drive to Hotel Plaza Blvd. The hotel is the first one on the right side of Hotel Plaza Blvd. right after Buena Vista Drive goes off to the left. Check Google Maps for Hilton Orlando at Lake Buena Vista to get an idea about the lay of the land.

Then it's a short walk to Disney Springs to board a bus back to the BW. The walkway is easy to follow and you should be able to see DS from the Hilton since it's just across the street.

ETA: Looking at the satellite view on Google Maps, I see that the "new" pedestrian bridges across Hotel Plaza Blvd. and Buena Vista Drive are accessed right outside the Hilton grounds, making the walk even easier to manage because you cross above the road traffic.