dollar minivan?

[pokeysmom]

what type of minivan did you get? was it a smaller one (caravan) or a larger one (grand caravan)? if you got the larger one did they charge you more? I have a minivan reserved thru dollar using kiss3 code but I am worried that luggage wont fit.

 

[dbail2]

Last year they had Grand Caravans...

 

[DVC-Don]

Last time we rented a minivan from Dollar is was one of the shorter Caravans.

 

[ksc37]

In February we got a Grand Caravan. They gave us the free upgrade because they were out of full size cars. It was great because we ended up driving around 4 adults and two kids in carseats & two strollers.

 

[dbail2]

I would call them and ask. Two years ago they had both sizes and charged for the upgrade to the Grand size . I wrote a letter when we returned home and got the differance credited back to me. Then last year they went back to all grand size but I do not know about this year. I wonder when DVC-Don went and got the small one. I am going to try and find out myself. We need the grand because we are a family of 5 with luggage for 2 weeks with 3 DDs.

 

[disneymom3]

I have rented minivans twice from Dollar, but not since 2002. Both times we got a Chriysler Town and Country. Liked it so much, we bought one! No upgrade charge and we used a code, too.

 

[PatMcDuck]

2 years ago we were hit with the extended minivan charge from both Budget and Dollar. I am not sure what they are doing now. I will call Dollar tomorrow, I will try and call the Orlando location, not the 800 number, to make sure I get accurate info.

 

[pokeysmom]

thank you for the replies! Pat McDuck please let us know what you find out after your call. I cant believe that minivan rates are still so high, we leave in less than a month and I would be really upset if we had to pay for extended minivan.

 

[dbail2]

I called Dollar yesterday and they were very vague. She told me they do charge for the extended mini van. Then she said you get what they have in the lot. So I guess I will find out when we get there. Hope it is the same as last year and they only have the extended mini van.....

 

[zurgswife]

Over christmas we rented from dollar and got the regular minivan...

We Fit

2 adults
4 kids (12-6)
4ft christmas tree
stroller
7- 2.5ft med size duffles
2 large 3ft duffles
dd's large backpack
a camera that fit in a briefcase size bag
1 laptop and bag
video camera bag
misc carryon's at least 6

We landed in St. Pete and drove from there to WDW and it wasn't a tight squeeze at all....

I own a grand caravan and was surprised at how much we were able to fit...

 

[PatMcDuck]

Sorry, I did not make the call, as I got an email from Budget that gave me a $199/week minivan rental. They ALSO used to charge for the extended, so I will call them when I get the chance. But they DO allow the spouse to drive free, with their Fastbreak program. Dollar does NOT, even with their program (Fastlane?) So at least I avoid one charge for sure.

The budget code is only good after Aug 15th.

 

[KarenP99]

Disregard - answered in another post!

 

[dbail2]

Is the Ford Winstar the van you get from Budget?

 

[KarenP99]

Yes, it is.

 

[dbail2]

Does the Ford Winstar have an extended version?

 

[PatMcDuck]

All Windstars are extended.

 

[hulabird]

I think it said like 9 pieces of luggage for the Windstar and 7 passengers. We changed from Dollar because my sister used them last time we went and the Caravan they had was way too small. On the caravan when you rent it it says that the luggage is 23.7 cubic feet, how that translates into pieces of luggage is beyond me. My sister said they had to cram it all in. Anyway, we switched to Budget because we saved $36.00 over Dollar.

 

[pixiechick]

I just rented a minivan from Dollar last week. It was a Caravan-regular size. We were offered a Grand Caravan for an additional $10 a day, supposedly a "special offer" because the upgrade is normally $15/day. We didn't bother with the larger one. Our group was 4 adults and 1 child (8), 2 large suitcases, 2 medium size suitcases, and 4 carry on bags (backpack size). Plus, we stopped at the store and pick up water and snacks. It was tight cramming it all in, but we managed.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I feel this $10 for an extended minivan to be outrageous. Offer both sizes on the website, some of us NEED the larger one, period. This can add ALOT , and can be quite unexpected, the first time you are asked to pay it.

One reason to avoid Dollar, along with the extra charge for spouse, EVEN with their FastBreak program.

 

[OKW Lover]

Dollar has both types. If they start giving you the "would you like to upgrade to a bigger van?" line at check-in, politely say no. What you'll probably find is that you'll get the bigger van anyway -- at the original price.