DME/Resort trans or Rental?

[disneydad78]

I was sent a email today saying I can get a car for $12 a day. plus fees comes to $172 for 8 days.
We arrive on Dec 14th and leave on Dec 21st. We are staying at POR. Little info for u guys. We have dinner reservations one day at Chief Mickeys and another at AKL/boma. How hard is it to get trans from these locations back to POR. We want to go look at FortW, GF diff christmas displays. Im thinking the "disney" trans will be hard to do since we want to bounce around alittle.
On the day we arrive , we have DME already in line, but we need to get to check-in at POR quickly since we have a ADR at CRT in the castle at 2:30pm , our plane lands at 10:50am , pray for no delays.I know sometimes DME goes to other resorts before yours. Since we are staying at POR if we rented a car , parking at parks is free. What do you guys think?

Question #2 while the heck does the rental car taxes and fees are almost the same as the $12 day price, man. over $70 in taxes and fees. Thanks guys for your thought and imput.

DisneyDad78

 

[Junebugwv]

The extra fees for rental cars really add up, but there are some good deals.
We always rent a car, but not always from the airport. If we arrive in the evening, we take ME to the resort and get a rental car the next day at the Car Care Center or one of the DTD agencies- they send a shuttle to the resort to pick us up.

If your flight is on time, it should take 1.5 to 2 hours to get to POR, about 15 minutes to check-in (will you already have park tickets?), 30-45 minutes to get to MK and about 15 minutes to enter and walk to CRT.

Most of the other activities you have planned are doable by taking a bus to MK and the resort monorail or launch to GF, the launch to FW with a short walk to the internal bus, and the resort monorail to CR. Boma would require a bus to a park and then a bus to AKL.

Picking up the rental car can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on lines. Using the kiosk saves time. The drive to POR is about 35 mins. I assume you would still have to check in to POR (about 15 minutes) so you could get your parking pass. It is about a 10 minute drive to TTC and then you need about 20 minutes to take the monorail or ferry to the MK entrance.

 

[SoccerDad]

We've stayed onsite 3 times and have used our own transportation (either our own vehicle or a rental car) each time. My wife gets carsick easily so for us it's a better option than riding a bus, particularly in the mornings.

We really enjoy the freedom of having the car to cruise to the parks, DtD, or venture to some of the offsite restaurants. It just feels like we have more control of our schedule when it comes to making our ADRs.

It seems like there are some cases where using Disney transportation may be faster/easier than using your rental car, such as getting from POR to MK (because I believe the bus drops you off much closer than you can get with your car?). I've never tried the bus in that case myself, so I can't say for certain.

Your price seems great, though I agree the fees are amazing. They seem to be much lower at rental locations that aren't at the airport, if that is an option for you.

 

[Brian Noble]

I usually have a car, but every once in a while go without. For the most part, the only place I'd be willing to skip the car is one of the EP-area resorts, and even then I feel a little bit trapped after several days.

If you weren't planning resort meals, I'd give you a qualified "skip the car". But, for those resort meals, I would *really* either want a car, or I would take a cab.

Unsolicited advice: think hard about that CRT reservation. I don't think <3hrs is enough time, and if *anything* goes even a little bit wrong, you will miss it. CRT is prepaid, use-it-or-lose-it, and that's a big penalty to pay if your flight is delayed.

 

[lvdis]

I was sent a email today saying I can get a car for $12 a day. plus fees comes to $172 for 8 days.

DisneyDad78

You are getting a great rate! Is it a code you can share? I need to rent a car in January and haven't been able to find a very good rate. I will need to use Hertz though because we are flying into Lakeland-Linder airport and they only have Hertz or U-Save. Thanks!

 

[Alesia]

Brian Noble stole the words from my mouth (or is it fingers?) I would cancel the CRT reservation. The chances of you making it on time are fairly slim and it would be a shame to spend all that money on a meal you don't even get to eat.

 

[Lewisc]

I agree with the PP. Cancel CRT. It's one of the few restaurants with a penalty if you don't show. Good chance they won't be able to accommodate you if you're 30-60 minutes late.

Best shot would be if you use DME for luggage only, read the "sticky" to understand the pros and cons, rent a car and be prepared to drive directly to the MK. You might not have time to check in at your resort. That won't work if your park passes are park of your package or if you have dining. You might have to pay to park at the MK, you won't have your parking pass.

Plane lands on time you'll probably have time to check in at your resort then drive to the MK.

I'd change or cancel the reservation. A weather related plane delay is always an issue during the winter.

 

[disneydad78]

You are getting a great rate! Is it a code you can share? I need to rent a car in January and haven't been able to find a very good rate. I will need to use Hertz though because we are flying into Lakeland-Linder airport and they only have Hertz or U-Save. Thanks!

Sry no code, I booked my airfare threw priceline and they sent me a email detailing the rates. Thanks everyone for your help. I went ahead and booked the rental Full-Size car 8 days $172.