explain car pick up to me at MCO please

[fizz13]

I'm afraid i am going to be bombarding the board today with car questions, sorry guys.

I have never hired a car in the US before and am getting myself worried, purely as it is the unknown. so could someone talk me through exactly what happens?

what i mean by that is I am planning to print off the rental agreement online before i go and I am supposed to just go straight to the car. so what happens? do you literally go and pick whatever car you want in your category? do they all have the keys in them? do you just drive off?? HELP ME!!!

just talk me through the process in baby steps please, i know its going to be something easy and painless but when you dont know it can induce panic attacks

 

[T16GEM]

Who have you booked with?
We usually use Alamo and take our rental aggreement with us, DH goes to the car hire desk and then they usually just send him up to pick a car, you go over the road to the car park at MCO to collect your car.
This year DH was told to just go straight up to the parking lot and then we picked our car straight away, honestly it's really straight forward.

The only thing I would say is that it's probably a good idea to have a basic knowledge of where you need to head to once you come out of the carpark, as it's a concrete multistorey our sat nav has never picked up a signal in there and we find ourselves not knowing where we are heading when we come out of the lot. Just the first direction and road number would be a help!

 

[fizz13]

thanks for that gem, yes it is Alamo. when you picked out your car were the keys there? does someone come over to the car to check it out the garage? I am after the really teeny tiny details, sorry to be such a pain lol

 

[Mad Mark]

The cars are in size sections, so for instance there is an "Intermediate" section. All the cars have the keys in them and you simply take one and drive to the exit on that floor where the Alamo staff check all the details and then send you on your way

 

[fizz13]

thank you Mark, just what I was after one less thing to worry myself over now lol

 

[wayneg]

Never heard of printing agreement off online and going straight to the car, thats sounds good.

 

[jtlover]

Never heard of printing agreement off online and going straight to the car, thats sounds good.

It is brilliant Wayne did it the other week. Out of the airport really quick doing it this way.

Just make sure you have your papers, debit or credit card and driving license to hand at the exit so that you can get out quick. It is a really fab service

 

[MorningGlory]

Hi Claire, I don't know if you have came across this before, but the first time we went over it really helped me to visualise exactly what would be happening, signs I had to look for etc, as you drive out of the airport car park and head for the SR528 and I4. It has pictures and clear instructions on exactly what you will face.

Hope it helps

http://www.kissimmee-us192.com/british/mco_2_kissimmee1.html

 

[fizz13]

Hi Claire, I don't know if you have came across this before, but the first time we went over it really helped me to visualise exactly what would be happening, signs I had to look for etc, as you drive out of the airport car park and head for the SR528 and I4. It has pictures and clear instructions on exactly what you will face.

Hope it helps

http://www.kissimmee-us192.com/british/mco_2_kissimmee1.html

Paul you are now my superstar!! thank you for posting this link, awesome

Wayne, the printing off at home is what Virgin are offering now, was reading up on the details in the flydrive section of their website, so it can be printed at home or done at the V-Lounge at Gatwick or at virgin kiosks by the Alamo desk at MCO (according to their website of course)

 

[T16GEM]

Claire - you will be fine with Alamo they are really good, always very helpful we have found.

One thing I would say is that when you pick your car, don't just go for the one that you like the look of, get in them and have a sniff to make sure it's not been smoked in (unless you are a smoker of course), and turn on the ignition to check the mileage etc, we always try to go for a lower mileage one.

 

[MorningGlory]

Paul you are now my superstar!! thank you for posting this link, awesome

No worries Claire, glad it helped!

I know only too well how much it helped me the first time I drove out of the airport. I almost felt like I had done it before

 

[wickesy]

I know only too well how much it helped me the first time I drove out of the airport. I almost felt like I had done it before

Google Street View is good for that as well. I spent a couple of weeks 'driving' around Orlando before our last trip.