How get airport after returning car at Dolphin

[NOLAmom]

We are staying at CR until Thursday then renting a car at the Dolphin resort near Epcot for 3 days as staying with family in Orlando for a few days. If we return the car on Sunday to the Dolphin Alam0/National rental center, are there any shuttles to the airport from there? Is our best bet calling a cab from the Dolphin?

The price to return the car to the airport is 3 times our current price so I'd prefer to avoid that. It's my understanding that we can't take the Magical express back to the airport as you can only take it on your check out day.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[dinglefitzberry]

We are staying at CR until Thursday then renting a car at the Dolphin resort near Epcot for 3 days as staying with family in Orlando for a few days. If we return the car on Sunday to the Dolphin Alam0/National rental center, are there any shuttles to the airport from there? Is our best bet calling a cab from the Dolphin?

The price to return the car to the airport is 3 times our current price so I'd prefer to avoid that. It's my understanding that we can't take the Magical express back to the airport as you can only take it on your check out day.

Thanks for any suggestions

You are correct in that the Magical Express will not be an option. You can only use it on your check out date. Maybe you can try Mears or maybe a family member can take you to airport. The other option is to rent the car at the airport. Take the magical express to airport, rent your car there and return there. Just a thought.

 

[CleveRocks]

There is no free shuttle back to the airport (you're correct, you aren't eligible to use Disney's Magical Express three days after your check-out day).

So you'll have to pay for a ride from Dolphin to the airport. I'm assuming you're returning the car at Dolphin because it's cheaper than returning it at the airport. But what you need to do here is determine if the savings in car rental fee is more than the cost of the transfer from Dolphin to the airport. Because otherwise, just drive yourself to the airport and return the car there.

A taxi from Dolphin to MCO will run maybe $60 or so + tip. How much MORE will it cost you to return the car to MCO versus return the car at the Dolphin.

So let's say, and I'm just totally making up numbers here, let's say that the rental car fee will be $80 more to return it at the airport. For me, I'd spend the extra $20 and just drive myself to the airport, versus take extra time and bother to return the car, unload my bags, then wait for another ride, then unload the bags again, and so on. Just my opinion.

 

[NOLAmom]

Thanks for the information.

I totally agree with you that it's ALOT easier to just return the car at airport if the price is only minimally more after factoring in cab or Mears shuttle cost. It was 159 for 3 days at the Dolphin versus 300 plus if I returned it to MCO...so double. Those prices seem really high to me for a Thursday at noon to Sunday at 9 am so 3 days.

Our trip is January so I think I need to concentrate on finding some codes or discounts for the Dolphin or Car Care Center and see if I can get the price down to return at MCO. That just seems like the easiest thing to do. I've got 2 toddlers so driving to dolphin, dropping off car, then taking cab or hired shuttle to airport is probably too much on a travel day for them if it can be avoided.

If anyone else has thoughts let me know!

 

[NOLAmom]

$159 versus $391...crazy difference. I'm going to keep thinking or look for specials!

 

[goofy4tink]

The Mears shuttle runs about $21 per adult, $17 for kids one way.
Have you considered taking DME back to the airport on your checkout day and renting a car from MCO, then heading out to finish the rest of your vacation...returning to the same place you picked up at at MCO? Might be less money.

If that doesn't appeal to you, I would just drop off at the Dolphin and take the Mears shuttle...but be sure to book it first.

 

[NOLAmom]

Thanks for the Mears prices and suggestions. That would probably be our 1st choice right now. 1 more question for somebody- will taxi cabs take a 3 and 4 yr old without a car seat? What is the rule on taxis driving young kids without car seats..is that legal?

I did think about taking ME back but we are doing Epcot on check out day with 2 toddlers and I just don't think I want to take the time to go back on ME and then rent car to return to Bay Hill area where we are staying. My 1st choice would be to avoid that if I can.

 

[MAYNARDS99]

Especially if you have toddlers...

You should be able to use Hotwire or Priceline for about $200 for a compact car weekly rental.

Your CR stay includes parking at the resort and the parks.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

1 more question for somebody- will taxi cabs take a 3 and 4 yr old without a car seat? What is the rule on taxis driving young kids without car seats..is that legal?

NO! A taxi is not a bus and all children must be secured in a proper safety device (according to age/weight).

Taxis do often have car seats, but you would need to make sure of that if you're setting up a pick-up.

 

[tjmw2727]

Thanks for the Mears prices and suggestions. That would probably be our 1st choice right now. 1 more question for somebody- will taxi cabs take a 3 and 4 yr old without a car seat? What is the rule on taxis driving young kids without car seats..is that legal?I did think about taking ME back but we are doing Epcot on check out day with 2 toddlers and I just don't think I want to take the time to go back on ME and then rent car to return to Bay Hill area where we are staying. My 1st choice would be to avoid that if I can.

Taxi's and towncars are not exempt from florida carseat laws, but.... FL law doesn't even require a 3yo to be in a carseat. That said it probably isn't an option I would choose. Can either you or your husband take DME to the airport and rent the car while the other takes the kids to Epcot? Just a thought.

Otherwise just keep looking for codes and discounts and keep pricing out your options- mousesavers often has great codes!

Good luck -

 

[NancyIL]

I would check rates with Dollar at the Wyndham Palace at Downtown Disney with drop-off at the airport. You can take a bus to Downtown Disney from any WDW resort and walk to the Palace, or take a Downtown Disney resorts bus from a theme park to the hotel. Also check Budget at the DD Doubletree and Avis at the DD Hilton.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I do not understand why OP isn't returning this car to the airport? That's the way to do this. Pick up at Dolphin, return to airport. It won't be that much more and will save a lot of time and probably some cash.

 

[NancyIL]

I do not understand why OP isn't returning this car to the airport? That's the way to do this. Pick up at Dolphin, return to airport. It won't be that much more and will save a lot of time and probably some cash.

The OP posted that the price is $159 if returned to the Dolphin and $391 if returned to the airport.

 

[NOLAmom]

Why I am not returning simply returning the car to the airport? It is 159 to return to the dolphin versus 391.00 to return to the airport. It's over 130/day car rental for only 3 days to return to the airport. That's why I was looking into other options. I may choose to spend the money and return to airport but I was just looking around to see cheaper options.

Why not rent a car for an entire week? My husband is 6'5 and will insist on a mid size car. The mid size car rentals for a week from MCO were upper 400s to 518 for a week not 200. I will of course continue to look for codes and if it gets into the 200-300 range then I would rent for the week. We are only doing epcot and mk this trip and staying on monorail and really do not need a car while at disney. We only need a car to get to our relatives house when they are working on thursday and it would be nice to have for friday and sat since they have small cars and we have 2 kids in car seats.

I think the best answer is for me to get a discount code so I will check mousesavers as it gets closer to trip time. All the codes today were too far out for my Jan trip.

 

[n2mm]

OP, if your trip is in January, you most likely will see some better rates than you're seeing now. Rental car rates are really high, but in most cases they will drop before your trip, esp. in January. My other thought would be why not stay at one of the value resorts your last night. It might be cheaper if you can get a good rate, esp. since January is value season and often has some of the better deals. That way you can use DME the next day! Whenever we cruise we always stay on property the night we get back, mostly for the use of RAC and just having a day to chill. My last cruise my DD and SIL were added to my room reservation and didn't even stay there overnight. I did that so they could use the RAC desk to print their boarding passes and check their luggage for their evening flight home. I would rather pay an extra money to stay one additional day in Disney then to a taxi!

 

[goofy4tink]

Okay, I know this is probably going to be a ridiculous idea, but is there any way you can book a one night stay at a value resort, for that Friday night, then an adult returns the car to the Dolphin and the rest of the family remain at that resort and dad takes a bus, from DHS, back to the value resort and you then take the DME bus back to MCO???
I don't know what your exact plans are, but if you can book a one night stay, then go there to check in, do what ever it is you want to do for that day/night and next morning..you could return the car, bus back to the resort, hang at the resort for a bit before your flight home, check your bags through, from the resort and then take DME back. Might bear looking into.

 

[NancyIL]

Rather than move to a different resort just to take ME to the airport, I would check rates at companies at Downtown Disney, as I suggested earlier. One person taking the bus to DD to pick-up the rental car is a lot less hassle than everyone moving to a new resort, or one person taking ME to the airport to pick-up the rental car.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The OP posted that the price is $159 if returned to the Dolphin and $391 if returned to the airport.

OP needs to head over to mousesavers.com and start playing with codes. I have done this a lot and the price variance is generally nominal.

 

[Minnesota!]

Honestly? I would have someone - you or DH - take the ME back to MCO, get the car there, drive back to Epcot for that day. You are only looking at a couple of hours to save $$$ and headache down the road.

 

[tinka-belle]

Regarding the airport rental rate being high.........
I've noticed this all year for airport rentals around the country. Rates WILL drop, this year it's been closer to the trip dates than in the past. Bet in Nov or Dec rates for MCO rentals for Jan will drop like a rock.

I've seen this happen all year. Been able to get a much better rate close to trip dates for every single client for Florida this year except for holiday weeks when cars might be sold out for advance reservations.