I feel like an amateur...help me with car rental, please

[jtowntoflorida]

I swear, you'd think I'd never rented a car/gone on vacation/been to Orlando before by how hard it is for me to make a decision regarding car rental.

We're going to Orlando now (likely) June 5-10. We're doing a Disney/Universal split trip...June 5-7 at BWI, then moving to the Hard Rock on the 7th through the 10th. While I haven't booked flights yet, we'll likely be on a flight that gets us into Orlando around noon on the 5th, and leaves MCO at 1:00 on the 10th.

We're planning on renting a car to go to Universal from Disney, and then back to the airport.

Originally I was going to get a car at MCO and rent it for length of stay. But we'd essentially just be parking the car for the Disney part of our trip. We'll walk to/from DHS (going for SWW) and will take the bus to/from MK the one day we're planning on spending there. So now I'm thinking that we'll just pick up a car at Disney on the 7th when we need it and save a couple of days of rental fees. I assume we'll go with Alamo.

So, my questions:

1. Is the pricing different at Disney vs. MCO?
2. If I pick up a car at Disney, can I return it to MCO? Do you know if Alamo charges a fee for this?
3. What location should I pick the car up at Disney? Originally I thought I'd go to the desk at the Dolphin the early afternoon of the 7th, when we're ready to head to Universal (I'm only counting on a half day at MK and leaving the park right after lunch). I'd take a bus from MK to the Dolphin instead of to BWI, pick up the car, drive to BWI, and then grab our luggage from Bell Services. But then I was thinking maybe it was better to call the Car Care Center and ask to be picked up at TTC instead. Which sounds like the better idea to you?

 

[bumbershoot]

1. Is the pricing different at Disney vs. MCO?
2. If I pick up a car at Disney, can I return it to MCO? Do you know if Alamo charges a fee for this?
3. What location should I pick the car up at Disney? Originally I thought I'd go to the desk at the Dolphin the early afternoon of the 7th, when we're ready to head to Universal (I'm only counting on a half day at MK and leaving the park right after lunch). I'd take a bus from MK to the Dolphin instead of to BWI, pick up the car, drive to BWI, and then grab our luggage from Bell Services. But then I was thinking maybe it was better to call the Car Care Center and ask to be picked up at TTC instead. Which sounds like the better idea to you?

The pricing CAN be different at MCO vs elsewhere. Sometimes it's more. Sometimes it's less. Sometimes the base rate is more/less but the taxes and fees change it.

Of course, but you have to arrange it. So go onto Alamo and MAKE that booking. Picking up at, say, Car Care Center, and dropping at MCO. It's been said that FL law doesn't allow for one-way fees, but sometimes it costs more simply because maybe they don't need that car there at that time, so they are going to financially encourage you to not do it. But it can be different for any booking.

When I have looked at S&D vs CCC, they have been the same price. (no guarantees it will be the same for you) I found the ease of the shuttle to CCC to be worth a lot. So I would go with that.

 

[mikehn]

yes, you sound like a real amateur, but Im sure you're a vet. I agree with bumbershoot

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Thanks, bumbershoot. I just needed someone to tell me what to do or point out any flaws in my thinking!

I am apparently very spoiled by our corporate rate...I went to Alamo's website and got sticker shock ($120+/day for a compact or midsize? Do people really pay that?). Luckily, National is one of my company's preferred vendors with negotiated rates, so I signed up for Emerald Aisle and then reserved a car with them with my company discount for $36/day with a pickup at the CCC and dropoff at MCO.