Has anyone rented a car while onsite?

[fireman17]

We're confirmed for two weeks in June 2010 at SSR and are going to visit Sea World and Kennedy Space center as well.
We are going to rent a van while we are at SSR and are wondering if Enterprise will bring a van to use or do we have to go and get one from them?
If anyone has done this before could you let us know how it worked out for you.

 

[RobDoc]

There are two WDW rental locations you can check. One is at the MK auto-center and the other is located in the Dolphin. The MK center has a pick-up service to/from any WDW resort and you can easily get to the Dolphin using WDW transportation. We've used the Dolphin center a number of times. They have Alamo and National rentals.

Enjoy!

 

[pditullio]

We're confirmed for two weeks in June 2010 at SSR and are going to visit Sea World and Kennedy Space center as well.
We are going to rent a van while we are at SSR and are wondering if Enterprise will bring a van to use or do we have to go and get one from them?
If anyone has done this before could you let us know how it worked out for you.

We always get a car for our length of stay, so we get it while we're still at the airport, but my parents use the Magical Express and then get a car for only the middle chunk of their stay.

They use Enterprise, which does comes right to the resort at no charge. They've always been very pleased.

 

[eliza61]

We rented a car from the enterprise at the auto center a couple of times, when we've stayed at Ft. Wilderness. Now we pick up at the airport but it was very easy to rent at the auto center.

 

[pditullio]

Another thing I meant to point out is that if you don't need the car for the whole length of your stay, you can save a ton of $ by picking the car up somewhere other than the airport, because then the rental co. doesn't need to charge you the airport fees.

In other words, take Magical Express to and from, and just have Enterprise bring you the car for some period of time in the middle of your stay.

 

[fkj2]

I kept shopping for rental car prices this past January because I needed to travel off site daily. I ended up going through Priceline after checking recent successful bids on biddingfortravel.com.

I ended up with significant savings over on-site rentals or directly from the airport.

 

[mouserus]

I rented from Alamo at the airport and returned a few days later to the Swan/Dolphin, it was very easy to return. We then took the boat over to Epcot for the evening. No hassle or anything.

 

[chrismass]

You can always check mousesavers - I find that they always have the best discount codes.

 

[GGOOFY1]

I have always used Alamo. they are located in the WDW Dolphin. We have picked up a van at the airport and dropped off at the Dolphin or picked up at the Dolphin just to use for a couple of days and return it there. With ME we have not needed a car for return to the airport. As pp mentioned there are discount codes on mousesavers. You can use a combination of different codes to get the best deal.

 

[5forDiz]

Some Downtown Disney (on-property) hotels located on Hotel Plaza Blvd. have onsite car rental agencies as well and they are an easy walk to/from SSR but iirc some of these agencies will shuttle you as well :

Hilton which I'd say is probably closest to SSR has Avis,
Buena Vista Palace (probably equally close to SSR) has Alamo/National, DoubleTree Guest Suites has Budget and Regal Sun - Dollar.

I agree with posters here who suggest reviewing car rental info on mousesavers (worth the read because $ saved can be substantial) and in addition to what was mentioned about priceline we've rented minivan through hotwire and got an amazing rate ( imo I preferred hotwire over priceline because it is more straightforward and you can determine exactly what vehicle ).

Good luck

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

We rented from Buena Vista Palace in Downtown Disney for part of our last trip. We were staying at SSR (Congress Park) and were able to walk to Buena Vista Palace to pick up the car. When we returned the car, we had moved from SSR to AK. We drove the car back, walked to Downtown Disney, then took a bus from there. It was very convenient and I would definitely do it again!

 

[Disney Spaz]

We rented twice this past June/July due to our car breaking down. Our first car was returned to the MK Car Care center then our pick up for our return car was at the Dolphin. Both were through Alamo. What we found was the Dolphin was much easier to deal with. While there is a shuttle from the Car care center we found the wait for the shuttle to be lengthy. In addtition there was no wait at the Dolphin Counter, the staff member we worked with was wonderful and valet drove the car right to us so we could wait in the shade for the car. The valet also turned the A/C on so when we got into the car it was cool compared to the 104 F temprature the car was reading as the outside temprature.

 

[pomlover]

We rented twice this past June/July due to our car breaking down. Our first car was returned to the MK Car Care center then our pick up for our return car was at the Dolphin. Both were through Alamo. What we found was the Dolphin was much easier to deal with. While there is a shuttle from the Car care center we found the wait for the shuttle to be lengthy. In addtition there was no wait at the Dolphin Counter, the staff member we worked with was wonderful and valet drove the car right to us so we could wait in the shade for the car. The valet also turned the A/C on so when we got into the car it was cool compared to the 104 F temprature the car was reading as the outside temprature.

THanks for the info!

 

[Anal Annie]

We haven't before but are going to Vero Beach for the first time after our days at BCV so I rented one just for that portion of our trip.

The rates this year have been crazy high. I have been following threads on the Transportation board. I used a Costco code for National Car Rental to be picked up at the Disney Car Care Center which is on property. They have Alamo and National there and they offer a shuttle that you can arrange to pick you up at your resort to take you over there. I plan to schedule the shuttle pick-up ahead of time...we are returning the car to MCO. I specificlly wanted something onsite that would pick us up because of having to transfer all the luggage & our Owners Locker.

I suggest watching the transportation board prior to reserving to watch for codes & deals for when you are going. You MAY pick up a code that will help you get a better rate!

 

[LimoFam5]

Enterprise will pick you up to rent the car and then drop you back off at your resort once you are done. Just give then SSR zip code when you call and they will let you know what location you will be renting from and if they can pick you up. It is very easy