Has anyone done this? Rent @ MCO, drop the same day @ Dolphin....

[MSC]

...... then for the trip back, rent at the Dolphin and drop later that day at MCO?

(I'm staying at the Dolphin, of course). I don't anticipate a need for a rental car while in the World. If I can rent a car for approx. $40.00 a day, that's $80.00 for the roundtrip, which is far cheaper than a car service + tip.

(A weekly rental is out if for no other reason than that damn parking fee @ the Dolphin).

Having never used a car service, I am balancing the known--the pain and suffering often involved in picking up a car in an airport w/ a 3 and 5 year old; with the unknown--whether I'll have a good or bad experience with a car service.

My questions:

1) Has anyone ever tried this cockamamie scheme, or am I the first to dream up this up? Has it worked for you? Are there any pitfalls I am missing?

2) How painful/painless is the National pick-up @ MCO?

Thanks!

 

[get_us_to_WDW]

My brother did something similar in February. He was staying with family somewhere on the gulf coast then rented a car to drive to WDW. He dropped off his family and bags at the Boardwalk, drove to the Dolphin to return the car and then walked back to the Boardwalk. He was very pleased with how that worked out.

If I wasn't going to keep the car while at WDW, I'd prefer to use a town car service.

 

[safetymom]

That would work but why return it so quickly? You are charged by the 24 hours. You could make a grocery stop, visit an offsite restaurant and return the car the next day.

Sounds like a lot of work to rent and return in a few hours.

 

[TimeforMe]

Yes, we've done something similar twice. The first time went off without a hitch, however, the second time was a nightmate because they lost our reservation (thank God I keep good records) and had no cars available to offer us so we literally had to wait for one to be cleaned, etc. We wasted about 2 hours of precious park time doing this.

 

[Tiggerfan40]

We stayed at Saratoga Springs Resort. We picked up our Alamo rental (mini van) at MCO - drove to the resort, checked in and went grocery shopping. We rented the car for 1 day, so it did not have to be returned until the following day. The next morning my husband made another grocery stop and later we drove over to the Dolphin and dropped off the van and hopped a bus to the parks. On our second to last day my husband took a Dolphin/Swan bus from Typhoon Lagoon (where we spent the day) and picked up the van and met us back at Saratoga. We dropped it off at the Alamo station at MCO the next afternoon. No problems at all - very easy and not time consuming! We figure it saved us $$ from doing a town car rental and we got to make 2 grocery stops!

 

[Dizzy4Dizney]

We've done this at the Dolphin with Alamo and the Holiday Inn for Dollar. It's more convienent for the Dolphin since we usually stay at BW or BC. It's just so nice to have the flexibility of the car even for 1 day. Especially coming home. You don't have to be rushed.

 

[thedish]

This sounds like a great deal. I just called and got a price for my first day and last day for $51.06 with my entertainment card. This way we can stop and buy our food.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[arizonacolbys]

We did this twice & actually enjoyed it much more than using a towncar. I highly recommend using the National Quickrent service at MCO - you get off the plane, grab your luggage & walk directly across the road & into the parking garage. You pick a car from your car class that you rented (Compact, etc.) & drive to the exit where you complete your quick check out. Then we drive to POP Century & check-in , unload our luggage, drive to the Dolphin & drop off the rental car. Then we just hop a bus/boat from there to whichever park we're headed to for the day.

On our return, we usually do a park that morning & then just take the Disney transportation from the parks to the Dolphin to p/u our rental. Then drive to POP, load up our luggage & off to the airport.

I have found some pretty great rates thru National by checking back every so often. Weekdays seem to be cheaper for me. Our first trip I got the rental for about $30 each way for a total of $60 roundtrip - much cheaper than the towncar service. Last time I got the incoming rental rate at $25, then we ended up hitching a ride to the airport from my parents who were in town with us.

We're trying the new Magical Express in a couple weeks, but won't hesitate to use this method of renting cars again in the future. We enjoy taking ourselves to the resort without any worries. Hope this helps!

 

[MandM-Mom]

Why would you not do ME, for free! You don't have to deal with lugging your bags and stuff around, just your Kids.

 

[TDC Nala]

I do this often, but I keep the car overnight and return it at the Dolphin the next day.

I don't want to use ME when my flight lands at 10 PM.

 

[swilphil]

Why would you not do ME, for free! You don't have to deal with lugging your bags and stuff around, just your Kids.

The original poster is staying at the Dolphin, which is not part of the Magical Express. Plus they can do a grocery stop with the rental car.