Dollar Express Question

[WDW4us2006]

Did not want to hijack a previous thread, but wanted some information. I am a Dollar Express member. We are arriving late to MCO and won't pick up the car until 11:00 pm. I have rented through Dollar before but not as a member, so my question is, can we go right to the garage to get the car??? Dollar has the WORST lines......

 

[kj2mom]

We had an 8pm arrival (not sure if the time matters but I don't think so), I had registered for Dollar Express because I wanted to skip the counter. This was my first time renting and I was afraid of the upsell at the counter (and potential lines). We arrived, got our bags and walked out to the garage. When we arrived at Dollar we found our name on the screen and it said see attendant. We went to the little booth, she handed me a packet and said to select any car in our category (then whispered, if you don't see something you like you can choose from the next category). We found one in our category that was perfect for us, loaded it up and headed for the exit. After a minute or two of showing license/documentation away we went. It was exactly what I wanted and worked perfectly for us!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Just a heads up. If your flight is suppose to land at 11 p.m. I would also book a reservation with a pick up time of 12:30 a.m. If your flight is late getting in and it will take some time for your luggage to get to the baggage claim your car reservation will expire at midnight. So it's a good idea to book another reservation for just after midnight just to be safe and not have to pay a walk up rate if you have to book another reservation a the counter

 

[Teacup53]

We had an 8pm arrival (not sure if the time matters but I don't think so), I had registered for Dollar Express because I wanted to skip the counter. This was my first time renting and I was afraid of the upsell at the counter (and potential lines). We arrived, got our bags and walked out to the garage. When we arrived at Dollar we found our name on the screen and it said see attendant. We went to the little booth, she handed me a packet and said to select any car in our category (then whispered, if you don't see something you like you can choose from the next category). We found one in our category that was perfect for us, loaded it up and headed for the exit. After a minute or two of showing license/documentation away we went. It was exactly what I wanted and worked perfectly for us!

Really kj2mom? You got to choose, that would be awesome. We usually rent from dollar (through express) typically they tell us which car to choose but we are renting again in January 2016 and it would awesome to have a choice. Thanks!!

 

[WDW4us2006]

Just a heads up. If your flight is suppose to land at 11 p.m. I would also book a reservation with a pick up time of 12:30 a.m. If your flight is late getting in and it will take some time for your luggage to get to the baggage claim your car reservation will expire at midnight. So it's a good idea to book another reservation for just after midnight just to be safe and not have to pay a walk up rate if you have to book another reservation a the counter

I had no idea this could even happen. Really? So if I do this, I should just cancel it before picking up my car if it's before 12:00? My flight lands at 10:30 pm.

 

[kj2mom]

Really kj2mom? You got to choose, that would be awesome. We usually rent from dollar (through express) typically they tell us which car to choose but we are renting again in January 2016 and it would awesome to have a choice. Thanks!!

Yes, I was a bit nervous when I didn't see a spot number next to our name, it said see attendant (which is kind of what I was hoping to avoid), but it didn't even take a minute. She handed me a packet of info and told me to choose whichever I wanted. Note sure if it matters but we picked up on July 3rd (which I would think is a fairly busy time which would make it less common that they told us to choose but who knows????).

I made my reservation through carrentalsavers.com and I remember the first reservation I made (can't remember the company but thinking maybe Thrifty?) the window for arriving was an hour. In other words, my reservation was only held for an hour after my reserved pick up time. This made me nervous so it was something I paid attention to when I made new reservations as the price decreased. I ended up with Dollar and I think the window was 6 hours. I don't remember any disclaimer about crossing into the next day though.

 

[Teacup53]

Thanks so much [QUOTE="kj2mom[/QUOTE]. We are headed down in Jan and I booked in Sept with a pretty good rate through Dollar (have been express member for a few years and love the straight to the garage route). I can't believe how much the rates are now - almost double for a Full-Size rental.

 

[peacefrogdog]

Just a heads up. If your flight is suppose to land at 11 p.m. I would also book a reservation with a pick up time of 12:30 a.m. If your flight is late getting in and it will take some time for your luggage to get to the baggage claim your car reservation will expire at midnight. So it's a good idea to book another reservation for just after midnight just to be safe and not have to pay a walk up rate if you have to book another reservation a the counter

I had no idea this could even happen. Really? So if I do this, I should just cancel it before picking up my car if it's before 12:00? My flight lands at 10:30 pm.

Also interested in hearing more about this this as our flight arrives at 11:30 pm. If flight is delayed, doesn't the rental company know that (because they ask us to enter flight information)

 

[nacho113]

When you make your reservation, you can enter your flight info as part of the reservation. The rental company will hold the vehicle if they have this info and your flight is delayed. You shouldn't need a second reservation.