Help Please! Haven't rented a car in 21 years! :)

[hoffmann2828]

Quick backstory - rented from "National" on property for a few day add on jaunt to Vero for our honeymoon back in 1998. We have only flown since then and used ME (or Mears when ME didn't exist). We only stay on property. We never left the property. We enjoy our Disney Bubble. LOL

Now, we are going June 20-27, 2020 with my BFF from the last 30 years. We have rented an off-site home for this week. We are flying in from 2 different airports and flights will likely be hours apart (at least). We are thinking renting 2 cars would be more advantageous than just getting one big enough for 7. Much more flexibility.

I like the idea of renting from the Alamo CCC since it's probably cheaper than the airport and I am likely going to add 1 day at the end of the trip and use DVC points to stay. So we would drop off the car on the 27th then use Disney transportation to get back to our DVC hotel. We'd have Magical Express back to the airport then as a bonus. The way in, we would just Uber to CCC.

Does the CCC have any other advantages to renting at? We are trying to go cheap - one family is 3 people and the other is 4. I don't mind a tiny car (we pack very light, we will have a washer/dryer) and I drive a VW Bug as my daily driver. LOL That being said - if I can get a sexy luxury SUV for cheap, I would jump all over that!

I've heard people mention Costco but we don't have a membership. Is it worth BUYING a membership?

Please help. I see everyone post such awesome deals and I feel like I'm getting "rack rates" everywhere!

Thank you!

 

[Jimsig]

Car rental rates change constantly, I think even more so then airfare. They also vary depending on location. So even if you have a reservation (as long as you don't do a pay it now/no refund option) keep checking back for lower rates and if you find lower rates you can get a new reservation and cancel the other one. Also do web searches "Alamo rental coupons" "Hertz rental codes" etc. Try the different car agencies in that search. It will bring you to sites like retailmenot where they will have codes that might work to save money, get upgrades etc. You may find the airport has the best rates or the CCC may have them.

In your case you may even want to check renting from the airport and dropping at the CCC (a one way rental). Sometimes it cost's more, sometimes it does not. In your case you would need to factor in the cost of the Uber/LYFT to the CCC ove the cost of renting at MCO and dropping at the CCC to figure out what is the best rate.

As for the CCC. there is no Disney transportation to/from the CCC. However the CCC has a van that will pick you up at your resort and bring you back at the end of the rental as long as you drop off during operating hours. They do offer after hours drop off, but you would need to Uber/Lyft back to your resort. You do need to arrange pick up by calling them and the phone number is listed on the page below.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/car-rental-services/

As you are looking for two cars and may possibly have hours until your BFF arrive you might find it easier/cheaper to rent one at MCO head to your vacation rental and then head back to MCO and pick them up and drop that one at the CCC at the end and have your friend pick up and drip off the second car at the CCC. As you have quite a few variables you will have to figure out what works best and is the best price for you.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like the idea of renting from the Alamo CCC since it's probably cheaper than the airport

“Probably” is meaningless with car rentals. Mco has been cheaper on some trips and CCC has been cheaper on others.

Get a notebook and start taking notes and checking prices. Figure out a good deal today. It might not be the same deal tomorrow. So book it when you see something you can live with; just don’t prepay anything! Then keep checking. Check all the ways of renting that would make you happy. Take notes. If a better deal comes out, boom that and cancel the other. If a combination that’s different shows up that’s a better deal, same.

Stay organized, only book things that can be cancelled, and take notes.

 

[Lewisc]

Renting a second vehicle means paying to park 2 cars in the theme parks.
An additional driver, even a spouse, is extra with many agencies. The cost is frequently not applied if you rent using discounts offered to AAA members and COSTCO for example.
You want to rent with a full tank and return with a full tank. You'll always lose $$$ with all prepaid gas plans. Most of us have adequate coverage through our personal auto policies and credit card overages. Double check but most of us waive all extra overages.

WWW.autoslash.com

will get you close to the best rate.