Car rental with evening drop off

[berryinDC]

I'm staying at AKL and I'd like to rent a car for less than a day, so we can drive up to visit family on a Sunday. Ideally, that would mean getting picked up at the resort in the morning to get the car, and dropping it off around 8pm. The next day is our last day of vacation so that's why I'm hoping to drop off the car the evening before, rather than wait until the next day.

The car rental care center closes too early for this plan. Should I take the bus to DTD and rent from one of the hotels? Is there another option that will do a resort pick up/drop off? I've never rented a car at disney so I'm at a loss.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You could rent from the Dolphin (same options as at the CCC) and return/check in the car to the Valet.

 

[berryinDC]

You could rent from the Dolphin (same options as at the CCC) and return/check in the car to the Valet.

Thanks for the idea! Do you think it would be easier/faster to get back to AKL from the dolphin than from downtown Disney?

 

[berryinDC]

Anyone? Is it faster to go from dolphin to AKL or DTD to AKL in the evening?

 

[SteveMouse]

There's no direct Disney transportation from the dolphin to AKL. You would need to walk/boat over to DHS. There is bus service from DTD to AKL. You would need to get to DTD from whatever hotel location you'd rented the car from (I believe the Hilton is closest- Hertz rentals).

 

[berryinDC]

Thanks for all your help. So, I've done some more research and am reporting back in case it helps someone else in the future.

I think I'm going to rent from the dolphin, mostly because my wife's never been and I think she'll like the hotel.

Buena vista Palace hotel appears to have the closest location to the DTD marketplace bus stop (across the street). Alamo has a rental desk there open til 5:45pm with after hours drop off.

Hilton is also very close, across the street to the east. There's a Avis rental counter there.

 

[grimley1968]

As to the question of which is faster to get to AKL in the evening, I have to say Dolphin hands down. DHS will probably still be open in the early evening. Like a PP said, just walk or boat to DHS in that scenario and then bus to AKL. If DHS is closed, EPCOT will probably still be open. It's a longer trip, but you could bus to EPCOT then bus to AKL.

Either of those options is quicker than having to bus to DtD. Bus service is notoriously slow (both the waits and the trips) to DtD, and you'd have to then transfer there to a bus to AKL.

We rented from Dolphin before and it was probably the nicest car rental experience I've ever had.