kjs1976 said:
Ok, so this may be cutting it close, but...we are leaving on 6/28 and have two mid-size SUVs reserved at
Alamo for 6 adults for $122 each. My brother was asking why we have the rental cars, like what else woul we use them for besides getting to and from the hotel, and the only think I could say was to stop at a grocery store and maybe go to City Walk one night. Later that conversation got me started thinking that maybe we don't really *need* the rental cars, maybe we could save money and use ME. But then I get nervous about how much time it will take just to use the service, and also, now that they can't send us luggage tags, would we just pick up our luggage and then find the bus? I'd actually feel better about that, if we could pick up our luggage. Or am I just crazy to give up such a good rental car deal for 7 days and just suck it up and enjoy the comfort and luxury of the rental car, seeing how it will save us time?
Uggg, maybe I'm over analyzing.
Thanks!
First of all, with alomost 1,000 posts under your belt you know that here on DISboards
there's no such thing as over analyzing WDW travel.
OK, on to your question. Your question seems to be one of time spent. You say a rental car won't help you for anything but airport transfers, so forget any other conveniences a car provides.
I doubt you'll save any significant time with 2 rental cars versus DME. With DME, you skip baggage claim and go right to the DME Welcome Center. You wait in line there, then wait in another line to get on your bus. With rental cars, you wait at baggage claim, and then wait at the rental car line, then go and get the car, etc. etc. etc.
The average DME time from flight landing to resort drop off has been reported to be 70 minutes. My result was pretty typical. Since we made stops between the gate and the DME Welcome Center, I started timing when I got into the DME line. 53 minutes from getting into line to being dropped off at CBR. Since getting to most resorts takes about 30 minutes no matter what vehicle is used, there is only 23 minutes in play here. My 23 minutes was spent waiting in the DME line, waiting in the bus queue, and then sitting on the bus waiting for it to leave.
Ask yourself this question: In your experience, do you think you could wait for and retrieve your bags from baggage claim, wait in the rental car line, take care of business at the counter, walk to the location of the car, get checked out of the lot, etc. all in 23 minutes??? In my experience, that would be fairly lucky, to accomplish that in 23 minutes or less.
As for your DME tags,
even if you don't have DME luggage tags, you will not need to retrieve your own luggage. If you do take DME, skip baggage claim, go to the DME Welcome Center, and once you're served they'll ask if your bags are tagged. After you tell them "No," they'll ask for your baggage claim ticket numbers, and also ask you to identify your bags from a photo array of every piece of luggage known to man. This will take you an extra one minute, maybe less. Then they'll tell you what bus queue to get into. Behnd the scenes, they'll notify a CM to claim your luggage for you from baggage claim and take the bags "into the back.". At that point, they will be DME-tagged and will be sent on their way with the rest of the DME luggage, on special trucks. So just because you don't have your tags doesn't mean you'll have to claim your own bags. HOWEVER, YOU WILL NEED RESERVATIONS TO USE DME.
Have fun!!!
