I cant believe I have to ask this....

[vellamint]

but does MCO have those luggage carts you rent from a rack? Ive NEVER needed them before even though we have been a ton of times. This trip Mom is coming and will be in a (airport) wheelchair and I just dont think my husband and I can manage to roll 4-5 bags through the airport to the rental car.

Thanks.

 

[sam_gordon]

but does MCO have those luggage carts you rent from a rack? Ive NEVER needed them before even though we have been a ton of times. This trip Mom is coming and will be in a (airport) wheelchair and I just dont think my husband and I can manage to roll 4-5 bags through the airport to the rental car.

Thanks.

I think they do. But what you might be able to do is get the bags, then one of you & Mom 'sit' with the bags at the curb. The other one goes to get the rental, (basically just across the street in the parking garage for the big names) then swings around the airport to the 'Arrivals' for the appropriate side and pick up Mom, the bags, and whoever stays with her.

Just a suggestion.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

They do have them and they are stacked up right there near the baggage carousels. I think they are $5.

 

[vellamint]

I think they do. But what you might be able to do is get the bags, then one of you & Mom 'sit' with the bags at the curb. The other one goes to get the rental, (basically just across the street in the parking garage for the big names) then swings around the airport to the 'Arrivals' for the appropriate side and pick up Mom, the bags, and whoever stays with her.

Just a suggestion.

I thought of this...but the car is in my name and since we will need both of us to drive during the trip he has to be there also in order to give them his license......plus I could see us easily circling the airport over and over.

Thanks for the info about the luggage carriers....I think thats the way we need to go.....

Is there an area in the rental car area to return the carts....?

 

[rdevine10]

We have rented the carts a few times (although its been a few years) - when we had 2 small kids and strollers, etc we were dealing with. There was a place to return the carts in the garage, Im sure its still there!

 

[vellamint]

I am so undecided.

So now I just made a second car rental for pick up the day after our arrival at the Wyndam near DTD...returning it to the same place the day of our departure. A 3 day Mid-suv for a few dollars less than our 4 day Minivan rental.

This way we can use the Magical Express the way I wanted to...not deal with the luggage....or driving to/from the airport....plus I KNOW Disney will go out of their way to help going and coming with Mom. Ive been a nervous wreck thinking about this airport/wheelchair/car rental/tolls thing all week.

Now I just have to decide which rental is really best for us so I can cancel the other.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

It's much more convenient to rent at the airport and return to the airport. You can use priceline and get super cheap deals on rentals. I have used priceline several times. We got a full sized car for $16 a day.

I don't do the bid your own price thing because you have to pre-pay doing it that way but I just click to check rates under the car rental tab and choose the company I want to use and book it. No deposit required and you pay for the car when you return it, not before you ever get it.

 

[vellamint]

It's much more convenient to rent at the airport and return to the airport. You can use priceline and get super cheap deals on rentals. I have used priceline several times. We got a full sized car for $16 a day.

I don't do the bid your own price thing because you have to pre-pay doing it that way but I just click to check rates under the car rental tab and choose the company I want to use and book it. No deposit required and you pay for the car when you return it, not before you ever get it.

Thanks for this suggestion..I just checked.. but for my dates and the size car I need it is triple the cost!!!

 

[gmeh1]

I thought of this...but the car is in my name and since we will need both of us to drive during the trip he has to be there also in order to give them his license......plus I could see us easily circling the airport over and over.

Thanks for the info about the luggage carriers....I think thats the way we need to go.....

Is there an area in the rental car area to return the carts....?

Yes, to get your .25 cent refund, you need to cross over from the garage to the terminal area.

 

[gmeh1]

We have rented the carts a few times (although its been a few years) - when we had 2 small kids and strollers, etc we were dealing with. There was a place to return the carts in the garage, Im sure its still there!

No, not within the last couple of years. They now have people who go around collecting them.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am so undecided.

So now I just made a second car rental for pick up the day after our arrival at the Wyndam near DTD...returning it to the same place the day of our departure. A 3 day Mid-suv for a few dollars less than our 4 day Minivan rental.

This way we can use the Magical Express the way I wanted to...not deal with the luggage....or driving to/from the airport....plus I KNOW Disney will go out of their way to help going and coming with Mom. Ive been a nervous wreck thinking about this airport/wheelchair/car rental/tolls thing all week.

Now I just have to decide which rental is really best for us so I can cancel the other.

You could also ask a porter to help you with your bags. They have HUGE carts, and I assume they'll follow you over to the rental car area.

Tolls are so very much not a big deal as long as you have a driver and a navigator. Seriously, they are simple.

To me the only difficult part here is the wheelchair, but isn't that more for your mom to really worry about since she's the one in it? What are her thoughts?

I wouldn't want to have to wait for a Magical Express bus to come along that can take the wheelchair, or have a disabled (in some way) mom having to climb the stairs. I'd much rather have a vehicle of my own.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I wouldn't want to have to wait for a Magical Express bus to come along that can take the wheelchair

Easy remedied by advising Magical Express in advance that a wheelchair-accessible bus will be needed - along with updating them to any flight number or date changes.

 

[JessM]

I would still rent the car at the airport. When you get to baggage claim there are a ton of porters waiting with large baggage carts. I would just pay them 10 bucks and have them take everything over to the garage for you. That way you just need to deal with your Mom and not the luggage. We have used them when traveling with young kids or my grandparents and its worth the few extra dollars to have them help you out and start your trip on a high note!

 

[vellamint]

We dont need the wheelchair accessible Magical Express Bus as Moms difficulty is more with stamina...she CAN WALK....the stairs on the bus will take her a few minutes but I think she can manage that.

I dont need to get my .25 refund...my concern was time/distance/Mom. I was not aware there were people going around collecting them and Im not one to just leave my shopping cart in a parking lot...I bring it back where it belongs.

Im happy to hear there are porters available....I only used that service once a very long time ago and have forgotten that. This may be our solution.

In addition to solving the luggage issue...Magical Express just starts the trip off on such a nice note for us. No aggravation, no confusion getting out of the airport, no "is there a toll and is it manned", plus it will drop us off right in front of the hotel. No gassing up a rental at the last minute before we return the car.... I dont know...I sound like a Magical Express commercial dont I.

The toll roads between airport and Disney.....are they manned/can you have exact change if they are not manned? I get confused because I keep reading that some toll roads are no longer manned and you need a sunpass or need to rent a sunpass from the rental car agency...?

I still have a few days to cancel one of the rentals....

 

[gmeh1]

We dont need the wheelchair accessible Magical Express Bus as Moms difficulty is more with stamina...she CAN WALK....the stairs on the bus will take her a few minutes but I think she can manage that.

I dont need to get my .25 refund...my concern was time/distance/Mom. I was not aware there were people going around collecting them and Im not one to just leave my shopping cart in a parking lot...I bring it back where it belongs.

Im happy to hear there are porters available....I only used that service once a very long time ago and have forgotten that. This may be our solution.

In addition to solving the luggage issue...Magical Express just starts the trip off on such a nice note for us. No aggravation, no confusion getting out of the airport, no "is there a toll and is it manned", plus it will drop us off right in front of the hotel. No gassing up a rental at the last minute before we return the car.... I dont know...I sound like a Magical Express commercial dont I.

The toll roads between airport and Disney.....are they manned/can you have exact change if they are not manned? I get confused because I keep reading that some toll roads are no longer manned and you need a sunpass or need to rent a sunpass from the rental car agency...?

I still have a few days to cancel one of the rentals....

Vellamint, I think you took my comment about the cart the wrong way. I am sorry if you did. I was commenting more on the fact that after paying 5.00 to rent a cart for a few minutes and getting a .25 refund was absurd. I personally think that the whole cart deal is a total rip off. I would much rather pay a porter, a live human being trying to earn a living, than pay someone that makes a HUGE amount of money daily for ripping people off. As to your comment about returning shopping carts, I do also, or leave them in one of those "collection" areas in the parking lot. BUT, in this case, those carts are left and many people appreciate them being left as they use them to take their luggage back into the airport. Or.....some employee of one of the rental companies make a little extra money. Sort of a "pay it forward" type of thing. Again, I do apologize.
The toll roads in the Orlando area are manned, with the exception of exit 7 on the 417. That one is exact change. The sun pass program for renters is covered pretty well here. https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar
You make a great case for using ME. I have used it once and really liked it.

 

[bumbershoot]

The toll roads in the Orlando area are manned, with the exception of exit 7 on the 417. That one is exact change.

And the exact change one is just that, change; doesn't require a pass.


That's why I consider the tolls in the Orlando area to be so easy, because they don't require the pass. Yes the rental car companies keep scaring us, but remember that they don't know exactly where we are driving to. If they say we don't need one then we get a whim to drive to Miami, well we'll run into a road that requires a pass.

We have always had one driver and one navigator, and the navigator tells the driver when to get over (and sometimes to what exact lane), gets the money out and hands it to the driver. Super-easy. I'm training my son to do the looking-out for me, because in January it'll just be the two of us for a bit.


Setting things up in advance is great. And of course should be done. But I think we all know that setting things up in advance doesn't mean it'll be done. Doesn't mean there won't be a wait. Doesn't mean the plane won't be late and the bus meant to pick them up won't go off on their schedule, leaving the OP's mom without a bus that meets her needs. That's what I was getting at there. I always cause problems when I don't use all my words.

 

[vellamint]

Vellamint, I think you took my comment about the cart the wrong way. I am sorry if you did. I was commenting more on the fact that after paying 5.00 to rent a cart for a few minutes and getting a .25 refund was absurd. I personally think that the whole cart deal is a total rip off. I would much rather pay a porter, a live human being trying to earn a living, than pay someone that makes a HUGE amount of money daily for ripping people off. As to your comment about returning shopping carts, I do also, or leave them in one of those "collection" areas in the parking lot. BUT, in this case, those carts are left and many people appreciate them being left as they use them to take their luggage back into the airport. Or.....some employee of one of the rental companies make a little extra money. Sort of a "pay it forward" type of thing. Again, I do apologize.
The toll roads in the Orlando area are manned, with the exception of exit 7 on the 417. That one is exact change. The sun pass program for renters is covered pretty well here. https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar
You make a great case for using ME. I have used it once and really liked it.

Thank you for your response.... And paying it forward by leaving the cart there is a great idea!