i hope i can pull this off!!!!!!!!

[warpdarkmatter]

I think I might of screwed up.I have a 12:00 pick up time for my rental car with national at the swan and dolphin and at 1:30 i have a ressi at the coral reef for lunch. do you think i can make it work?what would your stratergy be?I know i could change my car pick up time but i'm affraid i'll loose my rate and the price is $70 more now than it was when i booked according to the web site

 

[frannn]

I'm not sure if you are going at a busy time, or if you will just be arriving when you pick up your car. Never having rented onsite, I don't know how fast it will be. But, our experiences have varied at Orlando airport. We have had everything from being the only people on line at Alamo/National and driving away with our car within about 20 minutes (counting the time to pick out the car), to waiting on a long, slow line. If you can't get a later ADR, I would just arrive a bit earlier to pick up your car (not so long that it adds a day to your rental bill), be quick about choosing your car and drive straight to Epcot. You can skip the tram if you get a decent spot, and run straight to gate entrance like lunatics, like we do! And, if you are very lucky, even if you arrive a few minutes late, they may still accomodate you. Good luck & have a great trip!

 

[SB in KY]

If you are picking up at the Dolphin you should be fine. Just show up at 10:30, get the car (should not be more than 15 to 20 minutes tops) and be on your way. Coral Reef is very close to the Epcot entrance so you should have time to spare. No one will even notice if you show up 30 or even 60 minutes early. They start the rental at the time they print your contract so it would just mean if you got the car at 10:30 or 10:45 that the car would have to be back at that time on the return day.

 

[Hannathy]

Get to the Dolphin a bit early so you can judge the line and be at the counter at 11:45 to noon It shouldn't take you more than 20 minutes to pick up the car and it won't take you a full hour to drive to EPCOT and park. Coral Reef is close to the entrance so I don't see you having any problem being there by 1:30. I wouldn't pick it up 2 hours early because it can mess up your offer and will change your drop off time. I would just call and see how early you can pick it up and call it noon, or be in line like I said to pick up right at noon.

 

[warpdarkmatter]

thanks for the replies i just canceled national. i looked on hotwire and found out how bad a porking national was giving me i just got a mid size instead of a compact for 11 days(whole trip) instead of 7 days for a few bucks less .national was charging me $30 bucks a day compared to $17 with dollar. now i have to cancel my magical express

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

thanks for the replies i just canceled national. i looked on hotwire and found out how bad a porking national was giving me i just got a mid size instead of a compact for 11 days(whole trip) instead of 7 days for a few bucks less .national was charging me $30 bucks a day compared to $17 with dollar. now i have to cancel my magical express

Sorry to laugh but I just love that phrase!

If you're using Dollar try entering KISS2 under Promo Code. It gives a great discount! Good luck!

 

[carolina_yankee]

If you don't need a car for the full time and want to take advantage of Magical Express, sometimes Alamo has much better rates than national. Using Mousesaver codes, we're actually getting an 8 day National rental from the Car Care Center more cheaply than a 5 day Dollar rental with the Kiss2 code.
There's a discount, plus $30 off the weekly rate involved.

We're picking up Care Care and returning to Dolphin (switching resorts midway through rental).

Just wanted to add: I don't see how you could possibly miss your lunch reservation with that schedule. The drive from Dolphin to the Epcot lot should be all of 5 minutes.

Dirk

 

[robinb]

You have other options.

(1) You can change your pick up time to be closer to 3:00 PM as it's obvious that you really don't need the car at NOON. Just be aware that the Dolphin's counter closes at around 4:00 PM. You can wander over to the Dolphin after lunch for your pick-up.

(2)You can also delay actually picking up your car from the valet until AFTER lunch if you wish. Once you sign the paperwork/etc you get a slip which you give to the valet and they bring your rental car around. There is no reason you need to give that slip to the valet right away. If you feel you are running out of time you can pocket the slip go have lunch and come back to get your car later.