HELP! Rent a car at MCO, Dolphin, Car Center, take DME, or other?

[disneydenisel]

Help! We are arriving on November 19 at 8:45 PM into MCO. I currently have a Budget car reserved, but was now wondering whether we should take a car service or DME to the resort, and then rent a car while we are there? We are staying at the BCV, so I'm assuming that the Dolphin would be the best place to pick up a car if we choose to do so onsite?

My concerns are that we get to the resort as soon as possible with our luggage. I have two special needs children (autistic), and one has anxiety disorder, so already this trip is going to freak her out once I tell her that we are going. So I need to try to make the transition from airplane to resort as smooth and carefree (is that possible?) as possible. Does this mean that DME is out because there might be a long delay in getting our luggage? We're coming from the West Coast, so my kids will be famished and wanting to eat and have their clothes changed, etc. We'll need to stop at the grocery store and get some supplies, but I know that some car services will do this also.

Price is also a concern, since this could get pretty expensive if we use a car service to avoid the car rental at the airport, but then rent a car onsite so that we can get around. How difficult is it to rent a car at MCO and get your luggage and family? At other airports, we might have the family wait at the Baggage Claim while one of us gets the car and drives around to pick them up. Is this possible at MCO? Would we be better off taking DME to/from the BCV to save $$ and not have to hassle with our bags at all?

Any help would be appreciated. We planned this trip about 11 months ago, but only now am I starting to panic about everything . We still haven't even purchased tickets yet. There are 4 families (13 people) altogether, although just four of us are staying at BCV. Our first time, can you tell?

 

[pumpkinboy]

Well, you raise a number of different concerns here. But given your price concerns, and your need for a seamless transition between plane and resort, here would be my prescription:
Take DME from the airport, settle in, change clothes (out of your carry-ons), then get a car over at the Dolphin.

DME has been really easy from our experience (and we took it for three round trips, but that's a different story). In each of our experiences with DME, we have waited less than 10 mins and been at our resort pretty quickly (under an hour), sometimes with a stop or two before we got there. Yes, it may be a while between when you arrive and check in, and when your bags arrive; that's why you bring a change of clothes in the carry-on; we flew in at about 6:30 PM and our luggage arrived around 8:00 PM.

You can get some groceries at the Marketplace at the Beach Club that night, certainly enough to tide you over (pretty decent selection of necessities). You can leave the other parent in the room with the kiddos and you can head down and gather food - or better yet, fill out the grocery order form and have BCV deliver it to your room upon arrival (or get a grocery service like wegoshop to do it).

As for the car, you will need to wait for the desk to open up over at the Dolphin the next morning. It's just a hop, skip and a jump over there from BCV, and they make it really easy for you. Plus, you save the 12 hours between when you land and when you pick up the car, possibly reducing the total rental cost. I am not sure you are going to need a rental car on site, as Disney transportation does a pretty good job of getting you between resorts and parks (resort to resort is more problematic, however, and off-site is near impossible).

So that's my recommendation for the fastest, cheapest and most seamless way to get it done. Others may disagree. And just remember that free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

 

[robinb]

You say that you want to rent a car to do some grocery shopping. Do you have other plans for the car? Would you be using it to get to the parks? Vistit other Orlando attactions? Off-site restaurants? Do you really need a car?

If you're going to rent a car anyway, then do it at MCO. You can leave one adult and the kids to pick up luggage while the other adult goes to pick up the car. It's quite easy at MCO.

If you're only thinking a about a car for groceries, then you may want to hire a limo service that will do a grocery stop.

 

[disneydenisel]

Thank you for your free and helpful advice. I feel better about trying to figure it all out with your help. We would use the car for a grocery run or two, and possibly for transportation between the parks. I'm not sure how happy everyone is with the Disney transportation, so I thought it would make sense to have a car, just in case. But maybe renting one onsite will be better, because then we could decide if we needed it after trying to use the buses first.

Is using DME on the departure a smart thing to do? We wouldn't have to see our luggage once it left the resort, until we got to our home airport. Is this convenient? What time would we need to be on the bus for a 11:34 AM flight out of MCO? And what time would our luggage need to be available for them to pick up?

We *might* be leaning toward a limo service to the resort, prestock service at BCV, and DME back to the airport. Does that sound like it might work?

 

[3kidz4dis]

You say that you want to rent a car to do some grocery shopping. Do you have other plans for the car? Would you be using it to get to the parks? Vistit other Orlando attactions? Off-site restaurants? Do you really need a car?

If you're going to rent a car anyway, then do it at MCO. You can leave one adult and the kids to pick up luggage while the other adult goes to pick up the car. It's quite easy at MCO.

If you're only thinking a about a car for groceries, then you may want to hire a limo service that will do a grocery stop.

Do you know if instead of renting a limo to buy groceries instead of taking ME, if it is cheaper to have one of the grocery stores that delivers for a fee?

 

[maine_jennifer]

I'm assuming you are inquiring as to transportation for just your family and not all 13 people, right?

My opinion is if you are just going from the airport to the hotel that night, use a car service. www.sunraytransportation.com is my personal choice. A very stress-free, worry-free way to travel. Here is a link to my review http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=938027


This is how I see it . . .

After getting off the plane you'll make your way to the main terminal and meet your driver at the bottom of the escalator. One adult could stand off to the side with the children, while the other went with the driver to pick out your luggage. Then you could all make your way to the vehicle, have a quiet, safe ride to the hotel, and make a grocery stop if necessary. Then when you arrive one adult, the children, and luggage can wait in the sitting area while the other checks in. After check in everyone and all the luggage can go settle into your room. Another plus is that since you've never been before, you wouldn't have to worry about directions or getting lost on the way. Then, the next morning, everyone could head over to the Dolphin for breakfast and pick up the car, if you think you'll need it.

Not that there is anything wrong with ME or getting a rental car. However, no one except you can make this decision and no one except you will know how your children will react. Personally, I would think that a quiet ride with a car service, with just your family, might be a bit better after a plane ride than sharing a ride or trying to figure out how to get everyone and all your luggage into a rental car and then trying to figure out how to get to your hotel in the dark.

Just my $.02.

 

[beattyfamily]

You'd have to be ready for the ME bus by 8:30a (3 hours before your flight)!!! That is why I'm not a fan of ME. If you use a rental car, you can head out of WDW by 9:30a.

I would rent a car. It's so convenient and IMHO, seemless.

Good luck deciding.

 

[robinb]

Do you know if instead of renting a limo to buy groceries instead of taking ME, if it is cheaper to have one of the grocery stores that delivers for a fee?

Thanks for reminding me . I always rent a car, so the ins and outs of other transportation to/from the airport are not always on the tips of my fingers.

If the OP doesn't think they will use the car for other than grocery runs, then it will be significantly cheaper to take DME and have groceries delivered to the resort. People really seem to like www.wegoshop.com. Not only will they deliver groceries, but they will also deliver beer and wine too. I think the delivery fee is about $10-$15 per $100 ordered (plus tip, if you want) and they will shop for whatever is on your list.

 

[janette]

I think a car service is the easiest way to go from the airport. They are waiting for you and you can do a grocery stop. The disadvantage for you may be the grocery stop, the kids and you might not be up for it after the trip.

I've also rented a car from the airport and returned it to the Swan/Dolphin. It cost about the same as a car service but you have the car for a day or a few days if you like. Use national or alamo to get this.

We are going the same time as you are and I was able to reserve a rent car at the Swan/Dolphin for Saturday. I plan to use ME but wanted a car to do grocery and outlet shopping runs.

We like Disney transportation, the only time it seems a car is a little easier is when we go from resort to resort. Between finding our way around and parking just less hassle to use the busses.

 

[disneydenisel]

Wow, I can't believe we leave in less than two days. I am so NOT ready!

Believe it or not, I am still struggling with this silly transportation dilemma. I think I've narrowed it down between taking our bags with us on DME or taking a car service limo to the resort. We'll probably end up renting a car at the Dolphin to do grocery runs and drive between parks. In either case, we've decided to take DME back to the airport since we'd probably only be leaving 30 minutes or so earlier, and we wouldn't have to worry about stopping to fill up gas.

I think DME will be fine (and save us some $$) if we can bring our luggage on board. I know it negates part of the service, but I can't see any happiness in getting my luggage, at worst case, 6 hours later. We arrive into MCO at 8:47, so we would really be wanting our things before midnight.

I don't know why this decision is tough for me. Too many choices. Believe it or not, I have about 4 reservations floating around out there...a car at MCO, a car at the Dolphin, a car at MCO returning to the Dolphin, my DME ressies. I keep waffling between convenience and cost and the only thing I haven't booked yet is a car service because I don't know which one to choose. Again, too many choices!

Thanks again for the advice, I really appreciate it!

 

[manning]

You have three choices. Rent at the airport. Rent at Dolphin (Alamo) Rent from Hertz located just outside main gate (they will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel.

Assuming all rates are the same you do not want to rent at the airport. If you do you will be charged a 9.5 percent airport tax. You will not be charged this tax at the other two locations. You will be charged a state sales tax of 6.5 percent at all locations.

 

[disneydenisel]

Talk about getting down to the wire. I finally decided last night to use DME and bring our own luggage to the coach and then to use DME on the way to the airport. This morning, my DH told me that he was really stressed out about the whole trip, so right then I decided to book the limo so that when we arrive, it will be as stress-free as possible. We'll have our bags, our grocery stop if the kids let us, and we'll be at the resort quicker than DME. We'll rent a car at the Dolphin, return it there, and take DME to MCO.

THANKS everyone! This is fun but stressful. It doesn't help that my DS3 threw up at preschool today... argh!