How many in a mini-van?

[sami66]

We are planning a day trip and need to rent a vehicle. How many people fit into a mini-van? ( including the driver) There are 8 of us and we would prefer to rent only one van instead of 2 cars. I know that there are vans that seat up to 15....but the guys don't want it.

 

[zulaya]

Most minivans only seat 7, especially the ones you tend to find at a rental place.

You might want to check on renting 2 cars or having someone drive you to your destination and pick you up. Do a little price comparing and then decide.

 

[debden]

sami66,We always rent mini-vans for the six of us and there is still room left for at least 2 more people.
Debbie

 

[helenk]

Are you renting for the week, or just for a day trip? I know that most of the minivans seat 7 but with the luggage for that many people would make things a bit tight.

 

[helenk]

sorry double post

 

[drusba]

Minivan has two buckets in the front, then either two buckets or a two seat bench behind that and then a three seat bench in the rear and you better have small people to fit three in the last bench. Thus there are only 7 seats and 7 seat belts. For safety reasons, you should not stick an eigth, unbelted, in there.

 

[Sammy]

Just chiming in to confirm most mini-vans only seat 7. The new ones, like the Toyota now seat 8, but I doubt there will be any of those on the rental lot.

We are traveling with 8 next February, so we are in the same boat as you. Unless we rent one of the passenger vans, looks like we'll be renting two vehicles.

Sammy

 

[sgtdisney]

It depends on the minivan. As others have said, some of them do seat 8, but it is hit or miss. When we were in Orlando last year we used National and their Emerald Reserve feature which allowed us to pick the minivan from the minivan aisle. National did have a number of 8 seat GM models (Pontiac Montana and Chevrolet Venture.) We chose the 8 seat model and it had 2 buckets in the front, 3 seats in the middle and a 3 passenger bench seat (which folded flat into the floor) in the back. You may want to call whatever rental agency you are hoping to use and ask about availability. I know in the past Dollar would actually reserve (and guarantee) you an 8 passenger minivan, but you have to call them to request it, it cannot be done online. You may want to try with them first.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I prefer National, but I am also looking at L&M, they have an 8 passenger van (not a minivan). We will have 7, lots of luggage, and 5 older kids (19-18-16-14-12).

I am leaning towards renting a minivan and sticking the 3 older boys in a cab, first stop is Universal, not too far away.

 

[sami66]

Thanks everyone! We'll be renting from National (since it's on WDW property) so it's good to know that the Montana may be an option for us. Our day trip is to the beach, so we can't do too much pre-planning. We'll watch the weather reports and go from there.