First and Last Night Hotel and Transportation

[JamieOak]

DH and I are going for a belated Honeymoon and we are first-timers. I'm at the point of reserving the town car and I just wanted to go over this plan again with some more knowledgeable people. Over the course of planning I added a day to the start of the trip and a day to the end and filled in those extra nights with the Fairfield Inn at MCO and was able to cover it with reward points. While we are splurging a good bit on this trip...with the RPR being $350/night and the BWV even more than that, I couldn't justify the extra costs to add nights at those places for the convenience.

Here's the current scenario I have planned:

• Fly in to MCO @ 8pm on 11/24
• Take free shuttle to Fairfield Inn @ airport and stay with reward points (15k points)
• Hire car service to take us to Royal Pacific Resort super early on 11/25, check in, drop off luggage, get express passes and head to the park for early admission. Stay at RPR until 11/27.
• Car service again will take us from RPR to BWV at WDW, with grocery stop on 11/27. Stay at BWV until 12/4.
• On 12/4 enjoy the parks until late evening. Car service again takes us back to the Fairfield Inn @ MCO late on 12/4. Stay on reward points again (15k points).
• Flight out of MCO on 12/5 departs at 11:55am, so we don't have to rush in the morning. We can eat the included breakfast and get the free airport shuttle from the Fairfield Inn at reasonable times.

I did look at rental cars, but the rates I was getting were $350+ for our trip. That didn't account for parking fees and gas. The car service is $160+tip.

Any thoughts? Would it be any more convenient to stay at hotels closer to the parks instead of at the airport? I'm not sure how I would get from those hotels to the park resorts with our luggage though.

 

[mjhtvchick]

Its sounds like a good plan to me!! You will have an awesome honeymoon! Have fun!

 

[writerguyfl]

The only other option that came to mind would be to do a one-way car rental from the airport to the Royal Pacific Resort. Hertz has a location at that hotel. Unfortunately, their cheapest rate is $177 including taxes for your arrival date. You could look at other companies that might have local offices close to Universal. But, that's probably more hassle than it's worth.

There are really no overlapping car rental locations for both Universal and Walt Disney World. Thus, the car service is probably the best way to make that move.

For the return, you could do a one-way rental back to the airport. For 12/4/16, Alamo has cars starting at $62 including taxes. You could pick up a car in the morning/afternoon at the Car Care Center or Dolphin hotel and return it to the airport that night or the following morning. I'm not sure if the $160 quote is each trip or total. If it's for each trip, renting a car for that last leg could save you $80-90 (after paying for gas).

 

[JamieOak]

The only other option that came to mind would be to do a one-way car rental from the airport to the Royal Pacific Resort. Hertz has a location at that hotel. Unfortunately, their cheapest rate is $177 including taxes for your arrival date. You could look at other companies that might have local offices close to Universal. But, that's probably more hassle than it's worth.

There are really no overlapping car rental locations for both Universal and Walt Disney World. Thus, the car service is probably the best way to make that move.

For the return, you could do a one-way rental back to the airport. For 12/4/16, Alamo has cars starting at $62 including taxes. You could pick up a car in the morning/afternoon at the Car Care Center or Dolphin hotel and return it to the airport that night or the following morning. I'm not sure if the $160 quote is each trip or total. If it's for each trip, renting a car for that last leg could save you $80-90 (after paying for gas).

Thanks for that info! The only one way car rental situation I considered was renting it from the airport and dropping it off at the Dolphin when we arrived at WDW. That still seems pretty steep. Then we could probably get the ME to take us to MCO our last night, and pick up the free airport shuttle to hotel for that night. Again, a little more hassle. The $160 quote is the total for all 3 trips. Seems like a good deal. Includes tax and tolls, but tipping is extra. It's from Tony Hinds, who is recommended on the transportation board.

 

[writerguyfl]

At $160 for all three trips, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

 

[JamieOak]

At $160 for all three trips, I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Thanks! I wanted to check here to make sure I want missing another possibility.