For anyone renting a car in Orlando the next 6 months

[_19disnA]

We are all offering our opinions on what the OP asked. Those participating are welcome to use any/all/none of what we are suggesting.

 

[A&A]

Anyone had any luck with Turo ?

 

[NotUrsula]

FYI on the Costco rate: that is still an unlocked leisure rate, and it's still subject to market pricing. While it probably is the best of the available leisure rates right now, travelers who have access to a company code as an employee of that company are likely to do better using that at this time, because corporate rates are customarily locked in for the duration of the company's contract with the agency, and usually are not subject to market price fluctuations.

If you work for a company that has employees who normally travel for business (even if you were never one of those employees), ask whomever handles travel accounts at work if there is a rental car code available (if you don't have a travel rep, someone in accounts payable is likely to know). Most of the time companies do not care if employees use the negotiated codes for leisure travel on their own dime.

 

[davper]

We are headed to WDW after visiting family Ft. Myers at the very end of January. I booked a car from RSW for our time in Ft. Myers and was going to drop it off at the Car Care Center once we get to WDW (don't need it while there) and for the first time (for us, not the first time we've done this scenario) there was a $200 charge to return the car specifically there....redid the reservation to drop off at MCO and the charge vanished. Right now we will just plan on taking Uber or a car service from the airport. I'll keep my eye on things and see if the charge will disappear sometime between now and then.

That $200 charge all but doubled the cost of the rental - odd, we've never been charged that before when dropping off there. Oh well -

Hi
If this is before the end of the year, you could use magical express. Just give them a flight number that is expected to arrive when you are ready to go and you can take your bags straight to the bus.

 

[davper]

FYI on the Costco rate: that is still an unlocked leisure rate, and it's still subject to market pricing. While it probably is the best of the available leisure rates right now, travelers who have access to a company code as an employee of that company are likely to do better using that at this time, because corporate rates are customarily locked in for the duration of the company's contract with the agency, and usually are not subject to market price fluctuations.

If you work for a company that has employees who normally travel for business (even if you were never one of those employees), ask whomever handles travel accounts at work if there is a rental care code available (if you don't have a travel rep, someone in accounts payable is likely to know). Most of the time companies do not care if employees use the negotiated codes for leisure travel on their own dime.

Thanks for the tip. Just reserved a minivan from Hertz at $600 lower then the best Costco price for 2 weeks starting 12/1. I will hope for better rates later through Costco.

 

[easyas123]

Hi
If this is before the end of the year, you could use magical express. Just give them a flight number that is expected to arrive when you are ready to go and you can take your bags straight to the bus.

Yeah, we have used ME a fair bit in the past, especially when flying into MCO with kids. But - well truth be told, we prefer to Uber or use a car service, so even if it is still available we'll probably go another route. Never did 'love' ME in all honesty. Plus we come into Orlando on 31 January. I did just double check my current rental price vs. a new rental and it's gone up, and Costco is about $75 more. I did call Enterprise (can't recall if I already mentioned it) about the $200 drop fee and the agent told me that they have greatly reduced the other areas cars can be returned and told me they were all but eliminating it from the area so if I was even ABLE to get a one-way rental then consider myself lucky as they were - in general -reducing the availability of that option.

 

[SWDisfan]

Just wondering if you anticipate the rental car shortage to get better? Im trying to plan a trip for either Oct Nov Dec or
Jan. I cant get get any rate lower than 550-600.

I just read where car places may not fully be restocked until 2022. 2022 really? Makes it hard to plan ahead.

Experiences? Opinions?

I only book through Alamo as I love the skip the line and go right to your rental. I Never prepay! Just pre-book. Then you can check rates daily and if they drop, just rebook. I was able to get a convertible for 6 days in Miami for $259! Now it’s $1200! As soon as you think you know your dates book it! Then alter times once flights booked. Always do this as far in advance as possible! Otherwise, there’s always Uber/Lyft. If staying on site at a Disney resort it would definitely be more cost effective to use a car service as their parking fees are crazy! Best of luck!

 

[LuvMyEAR]

My strategy has always been to book our rental vehicle at a price I can live with (even if not happily!) and check 2 - 3 times a week, taking advantage of free cancellation to rebook when rates improve. I don’t bother if the price drop is less than $20, but and quick to make a change for anything over that. We will need a mini van in late November so it was important for us to get one reserved, even at the current high prices. We have been booking through Costco for years, as they have been consistently competitive in pricing and the inclusion of an extra driver who is not in the same family or company is crucial for us.

 

[WilliamAF]

We're planning a trip for January right now and going to have to rent a minivan for it. You should be able to expect the shortage to get better. When I looked a couple of weeks ago at the price for a minivan rental versus looking this morning, it had already dropped a couple hundred dollars for the week we would need it. You may also want to look at renting either through the airport you're landing in or through the Mouse Savers and/or Undercover Tourist websites as they may have better deals.

 

[Heather07438]

My strategy has always been to book our rental vehicle at a price I can live with (even if not happily!)

Same here. We usually book premium SUV thru Sixt because they were very competitive. We’d get premium for the same price other agencies charged for lowest grade larger vehicle. Even tho we used to find $40-50/day, we accepted $70/day after seeing spring break price jumps. Glad we took $70 because now they want $140-160/day for our trip in Sept… way out of my league

 

[Blondie58]

Just wondering if you anticipate the rental car shortage to get better? Im trying to plan a trip for either Oct Nov Dec or
Jan. I cant get get any rate lower than 550-600.

I just read where car places may not fully be restocked until 2022. 2022 really? Makes it hard to plan ahead.

Experiences? Opinions?

We have booked to be sure we have transportation but plan on continueing to check prices. Will ask for an adjustment if prices come down. If no adjustment will make a new reservation and cancel the old one.

 

[emmabelle]

the rates are crazy, but there were so many cars in the Alamo section on June 5th. We were blocked in and had to wait for a spaces to open up so that the attendants parking the cars could actually park them. I've never seen the garage that full of cars.

 

[Cheburashka]

the rates are crazy, but there were so many cars in the Alamo section on June 5th. We were blocked in and had to wait for a spaces to open up so that the attendants parking the cars could actually park them. I've never seen the garage that full of cars.

Yep. They likely prioritize the MCO airport to have plenty of cars, because I've rented twice there in the past year and haven't seen any kind of shortage there. Rental lots have been filled.

 

[holyrita]

Yep. They likely prioritize the MCO airport to have plenty of cars, because I've rented twice there in the past year and haven't seen any kind of shortage there. Rental lots have been filled.

Ok so if that's the case I think they should lower their prices..

 

[Cheburashka]

Ok so if that's the case I think they should lower their prices..

And so should Disney World, and so should Disney Cruise Line, and so should the airlines, and...