Car Rental

[Alex2kMommy]

On my last trip (which we had to cancel) I had pre-paid for shuttle service between SNA and the DLH; this was before I had joined the DIS. After reading many posts about how a rental car was cheaper than the shuttle service (for parties of 3+), we decided to get a rental car when we go in September. This will allow us to do short trips around Anaheim, to the Character Warehouse, the grocery store, and perhaps try a few restaurants away from the park.

I can't seem to find information on how to get the best deal on a rental car. Can someone point me to a web page, or do you have helpful tips? I don't know how soon I should book (Now? Closer to when we leave?) I did find a list of agencies at the airport, so will probably use one of those. Do certain agencies tend to have better deals in Anaheim? Since we're going in a slower period (late September), will the rates go down then? I heard that transportation prices are going up as fuel costs rise, would it be better to book now? Does it matter???

Thank you for any advice you can give!

 

[hlbtimes2]

I have used Alamo for my last two trips, and have gotten great rates. The first trip we had a car from Thurs night until Monday afternoon. It was $45, plus gas ($8). It was a small car- Saturn Ion. But, it got us around just fine. I got that rate by waiting until a day or two before and booking on the Alamo site under "hot deals". Then I used code D60C for $10 off the weekend rate. That was out of Long Beach airport.

For my trip a week or so ago, I used a link from the Costco.com site for Alamo. With the costco rate, plus the $10 off code, it was $30.32 for 3 days (total, not per day). I think we used $10 in gas. We reserved a compact or maybe it was an economy and were upgraded to a full size (Chevy monte carlo). That was out of Orange county airport.

My husband is there this week. He had car from Tuesday - Sunday. He also used Alamo hot deals. He had a mid size SUV for $175 for the 6 days. It was slightly higher since he had more weekdays then we had our other couple trips. Weekday rates are always more.

 

[amw]

The mousesavers.com website has info on rental cars that often has the latest codes.

I've only used National. I generally "book" a reservation on-line, and then keep checking back every few weeks to check the rates. Sometimes they'll have a deep-discount closer to the travel date, but if you're like me, I need to have my details worked out well in advance. You can simply book the lower rates, and cancel the other reservations right up to the travel date.

Usually locals have the best rates with promotions in their newspapers (travel section). It's worthwhile to get a hold of a paper shortly before you leave to check for codes.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We've booked through the costco website as well as reserving online at the different rental agencies using the entertainment book. I'd say book as soon as you can and constantly check out the rates until your trip. It's very easy to cancel a reservation if you find it cheaper elsewhere. For our trip last Oct, we had booked our car in April for 12 days (full size $250 total). My dad wanted me to book his car in July for the same trip and by then the same car was going for $430.

 

[caimakale]

I second Costco. I tried the entertainment book codes, the mousesavers codes, and many others to find the best deal for our trip. Through Costco I got a standard SUV for just a little over $30/day. I think it came to $33/day with tax & other charges. You can get the coupon codes off of the Costco website without being a Costco member. Just go to the travel section. We got our SUV from Budget.

Another suggestion. If you can find a really cheap car for a one day rental, there is a Budget location really close to DL. Just rent at the airport and return to the location next to DL. Then do the same on the day you return to the airport. This may not be beneficial to everyone, but for those staying longer than a week, it could save some $$$.

 

[seattlebusymom]

We are back from our trp and we got a car. We did San Diego too so shuttle was not an option. Even as a travel agent I found Costco to be the best value. You should reserve early and you always can change or cancel your reservation if you find something better!