Help, Dropping of Rental at Airport

[JACKNAG]

Hi Everyone,

Don't know if a walk through it exists but I have a Dollar car rental from Orlando Airport.
We are leaving Friday, I am a little intimidated.
when should we leave Port Orleans with Plenty of Time?
We have a 12:20pm flight

We have 4 big bags and 3 carry on's.
Is the Dollar drop off clearly marked when I take the Airport exit?
Is it in a parking garage like the pick up?
Do they have suit case carts to rent , Is the drop off the close to air line bag check in?
Is there a gas Station easy near the airport,Its a 4 cylinder but if I fill up at Disney I think it will drop too much
Any help would be appreciated?

Thanks
Jack

 

[sam_gordon]

I would leave no later than 10, probably closer to 9:45. When you get to the airport, first follow the signs for 'Rental Car Return'. Then you look for Dollar.

I can't help you with your other questions.

 

[migel]

I'm assuming you're heading to MCO airport and not Sanford. From Port Orleans it's less than a half hour, but you will no doubt hit a bit of a slowdown as soon as you hit the I4 (unless you opt for the 417 Toll route). I like to leave extra time, so I would normally be on the road by 10:15. Confirm which terminal your flight is (A or B), one you get to the airport there are signs directing you to either terminal (most popular, Southwest, ect., are terminal A). The rental car return lane is marked, I believe the extreme left lane. Once you near the parking garage, there are two directions depending on your rental company. Once you get in, find the Dollar section and pull in and park behind the last parked car. Employees will come to you to check the car and give you a receipt. I believe they have carts in the general area, I've seen them but not used them. From there, it is not far (elevator up) to ticketing.
With a 4 cylinder, you may be okay gassing up at Port Orleans. We have a place slightly farther out, and if I have a smaller car, I've never had to pay for a top up. Good luck!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Hi Everyone,

Don't know if a walk through it exists but I have a Dollar car rental from Orlando Airport.
We are leaving Friday, I am a little intimidated.
when should we leave Port Orleans with Plenty of Time?
We have a 12:20pm flight

We have 4 big bags and 3 carry on's.
Is the Dollar drop off clearly marked when I take the Airport exit?
Is it in a parking garage like the pick up?
Do they have suit case carts to rent , Is the drop off the close to air line bag check in?
Is there a gas Station easy near the airport,Its a 4 cylinder but if I fill up at Disney I think it will drop too much
Any help would be appreciated?

Thanks
Jack

If going to MCO then I would leave at 9:45. This gives you time to stop for gas and also allows time for minor traffic. If you want to get breakfast at the airport then leave a little earlier....maybe 9. Use the 417 toll route. the tolls, one way, are only $2.25 and there is generally little to no traffic even during rush hour.

The car rental return is well marked and is the far left lane when entering terminal A...can't say about the B side as I always fly SW. From there go slow and follow the signs.

I don't recall seeing luggage carts at the rental return(I was there last week) but they must have some....lots of people would need them. The walk from there into the terminal is a little bit long. You have to take an elevator down one floor then you have to walk(there is a moving sidewalk) across what would be the 4 lane roadway but you are indoors walking under it. From there you go up two floors either elevator or escalator. On that level you are at check in/security.

There are gas stations near the airport but the price is high. I know I've seen someone post on here about what exit has the regular priced gas. When I get my final fill up I do it near SeaWorld. I wouldn't even try to direct you to the station I go to. It's easy to find but I know that area well. It is actually directly across the street from the JW Marriott Grand Lakes. You could look it up if you want.

Just a little tidbit for you. Last week when I was returning to MCO we had a 10:05am flight, we left POP at 7:30am. Stopped for gas and returned the car at 8:09am(that's the time on my receipt). From there we went into the terminal and picked up food from the food court which only took a few minutes, there was no line. I'm not sure what time we got to the security line(we only had carry on and already had boarding passes) but we waited in the security line for more than 20 minutes.....it was probably a good 35 minutes. We got to our gate at 9:10 and boarding started at exactly 9:35. So the moral of that little story is to give yourself lots of time. I think the security alert level has increased because of recent events.

 

[kj2mom]

We based our time on the Magical Express timing (yes, I know they allow for multiple resort stops but I used it as a guideline) and left 3 hours before our flight. I filled the tank at what was then a Hess in Downtown Disney thinking I would fill it up as cheap as possible then just top it off closer to the airport. I found a 7-11 the exit before the airport and it did not even take a gallon to fill it but I wanted to have the slip that says I was within 10 miles just in case. For us, the return was definitely way far over to the left. I had to cross multiple lanes of traffic but luckily timed it when no one was coming (I will admit I had a bit of a very brief panic when I realized I needed to get that far over but had no problem). The return was clearly marked and yes it is in a garage similar to pick up. We didn't need or use a cart (everyone took their own) so I am sorry I can't help with that. The whole rental process made me nervous because it was our first time but we had no problems at all, everything was super simple and went smoothly!

 

[ibob52]

Do they have suit case carts to rent

IIRC ... I found a cart rental station in the garage ... but it was a little bit secluded.

I suggest asking one of the many *rental car attendants*

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm assuming you're heading to MCO airport and not Sanford. From Port Orleans it's less than a half hour, but you will no doubt hit a bit of a slowdown as soon as you hit the I4 (unless you opt for the 417 Toll route). I like to leave extra time, so I would normally be on the road by 10:15.

So you're willing to try getting through security with just an hour before flight time? You're brave.

10:15 Leave
30 minute trip
10:45 Arrive at MCO.
15 minutes to return rental, walk into concourse, up to 3rd floor, etc.
11:00 Arrive at security

 

[migel]

So you're willing to try getting through security with just an hour before flight time? You're brave.

10:15 Leave
30 minute trip
10:45 Arrive at MCO.
15 minutes to return rental, walk into concourse, up to 3rd floor, etc.
11:00 Arrive at security

Since 2013 we've flown MCO to Buffalo at least 3 times per year, we've never had an issue, unless you count the time our flight was cancelled. That's a different story. Having said that, my last trip was October, I am guessing security has tightened somewhat in the past several weeks.

 

[JACKNAG]

Thanks every one, took 417, It was easy but stressful being the first time doing this.
Left Port Orleans 7:00am
Went to the Cracker barrel by celebration on 192, 5400 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34746
Easy , great breakfast.
Plugged in Dollar car rental address 9201 Airport Blvd, Orlando, FL 32827
After last toll there was exit for Airport, at the end Airport exit ramp left to go to Airport or take a right for Gas fill up, go approximately 1.5 on right.
Get out of station and head back to Airport.
Follow signs and GPS terminal A \ B car rental drop off ,

Disney had problems printing Jet blue boarding pass, Loaded Jet blue App on android phone. App kept crashing until I turned on GPS in phone.



Thanks every one for your input.

Jack

 

[bumbershoot]

Since 2013 we've flown MCO to Buffalo at least 3 times per year, we've never had an issue, unless you count the time our flight was cancelled. That's a different story. Having said that, my last trip was October, I am guessing security has tightened somewhat in the past several weeks.

Lucky. We've been in awful lineups at MCO and we don't go at busier times.

 

[bumbershoot]

For us, the return was definitely way far over to the left. I had to cross multiple lanes of traffic but luckily timed it when no one was coming (I will admit I had a bit of a very brief panic when I realized I needed to get that far over but had no problem).

I thought I included this in an edit earlier. Hmm.

Not that you were being dangerous, but for others, IF you find yourself in a position where you see that your return place is *over there* and it's not safe, just remember that MCO is in a big circle. You can always just go back around and this time position yourself so you're ready for where you need to be.

We once panicked and ended up in the taxi/etc entrance area. OOPS. They let us out, no issues (there's an arm down but there was an intercom to press and explain and they raised the arm to exit), but still, if I had realized we could have just gone around and figured out where to turn correctly, it would have been better.