Car rental question -- National's Emerald Aisle

[Rumi]

Hi! New here and I hope it's OK to post this question on this board. We are 6 people flying to Orlando and need to rent a car, which turned out to be more expensive than I expected. We actually need either a minivan or two cars to fit everyone. (On most sites, two cars are cheaper than one minivan and might even be better because some members of the family will get tired and want to go to the hotel earlier than others. The downside is double parking fees.)

I reserved a car from National hoping that I might find a minivan on the Emerald Aisle. Anyone know the chance of that at MCO around Christmas time? Would it work to also reserve a second car in case there is no minivan and cancel when we get there if we do find one?

 

[AgentMama]

I don't think your chances are high, especially picking up at MCO where a ton of families are traveling in and out of, but I guess you could get lucky. I have booked more than one vehicle before when I'm not sure what I want, there isn't an issue with doing that. Good luck with your trip!

 

[happily single]

I’ve always had luck getting a minivan on the Emerald Aisle. However, Christmas is a super busy time so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were none

 

[Rumi]

Ok, thank you both. I reserved a second car just in case.

 

[_19disnA]

At peak rental periods like Christmas, I would be sure to rent the type of vehicle suitable for your needs, since they may be sold out of other vehicles. You can do a calculation to determine if renting 2 cars and paying the added disney parking is more/less then the higher charge of 1 SUV/parking.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I’ve always had luck getting a minivan on the Emerald Aisle. However, Christmas is a super busy time so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were none

Right the time of year is the issue. I use National Emerald Aisle each time I fly to Orlando for work and Im usually frustrated that there are almost entirely Minivans and 3rd row SUVs there!

Usually its FULL OF MINIVANS. I have no idea if National reallocates the mini vans for the holidays, but I bet either a 3rd row suv or mini van will be there.

 

[Rumi]

I like the sound of the aisle being full of minivans.

It would be more economical to have one vehicle, but flexibility is a factor too. I hope we find a minivan there, but if we don't, we'd rather have two cars than pay $700 for a minivan since we have people who won't last the whole day at the parks and we're staying off-site.

 

[Rumi]

It was a busy day and there were no minivans, and they said there wouldn't be any, except for people who had reserved one. Then there were three in the aisle after I got the second car, sigh.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Bummer. Sorry to hear that. At least you guaranteed yourself the room you needed that way.