I just saved a bundle on my car rental!

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

We are going to WDW 3/31 - 4/9. OK, we are REALLY stressing over airfare, and when I found out it would be $449 to rent a car for that period, I flipped (my dh won't do buses - we like the freedom to go offsite, etc). I went on Budget.com and searched other rental sites besides MCO. Saw they have an office at DTD's DoubleTree hotel and they have pick up service. When I priced picking up car 3/31 in afternoon, and drop off at MCO Monday afternoon, the price was only $245!! Sooo, I called Budget, and yes, if you call 24 hours in advance, they will come to your hotel (SSR for us), pick you up, bring you to office to rent the car. The way I look at it, that's 1/2 airfare we just saved. I tried to convince dh to do buses, but he won't do it - especially if we are staying at SSR which is not close to any of the parks. So now we will be doing Magical Express from MCO to SSR, renting at DTD, and driving back to MCO.

 

[MariDisney]

Just for fun I went to the Thrifty site and put in your dates with a 1:00 pm pick up and 5:00 pm drop off. With a AAA discount a compact would be $250. I have found that using the codes with Thrifty can get pretty awesome prices. So, if you do want to get it from the airport, I think you'll be able to find something similar.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Thanks - will try it, but we will be picking up the car MUCH earlier - around 9:30-10:am since we will be taking first flight out of the day (around 6:15 am). I never have used Thrifty, are they good? Thanks for the advice.

 

[MariDisney]

Thanks - will try it, but we will be picking up the car MUCH earlier - around 9:30-10:am since we will be taking first flight out of the day (around 6:15 am). I never have used Thrifty, are they good? Thanks for the advice.

Did a 9:00 pick up and it was the same price.

We used Thrifty 2 weeks ago and were really pleased. You take a shuttle to their offsite facility...takes about 5 minutes. The process there was really fast, and I was in the car within 10 minnutes. Drop off took like 40 seconds. And they shuttle you back to the airport, which again was quick. We couldn't beat their rates...had a minivan for 8 days and it was under $200.

One other thing I liked is that as better codes came out I was able to apply them to the reservation, so I saved even more from the time I booked until the trip. I will defintely be using them again.

 

[mareed]

Just for fun I went to the Thrifty site and put in your dates with a 1:00 pm pick up and 5:00 pm drop off. With a AAA discount a compact would be $250. I have found that using the codes with Thrifty can get pretty awesome prices. So, if you do want to get it from the airport, I think you'll be able to find something similar.

Where did you find a AAA discount with Thrifty? I'm a AAA member, but all I can find online with a discount is Hertz.

 

[tmt martins]

We are using the DTD or CCC locations now for all of our trips. They are always cheaper easier to get the gas fill before turning in . The best is you can shave an entire day and get a smaller car because you are not loading luggage in.

Most of them are a short walk from the marketplace bus stop so you don't even need pick-up or drop-off.

 

[MariDisney]

Where did you find a AAA discount with Thrifty? I'm a AAA member, but all I can find online with a discount is Hertz.

You plug "AAA" into the "promo code" area or whatever it says. I have found all my codes on mousesavers.com If you haven't checked it out it's a great site that lists all sorts of ways to save. Just follow the links through "transportation" to "rental cars" to "thrifty". And, keep checking. I was able to apply a code to my ressie about 2 weeks before the trip that saved me an additional $40 or so. New codes are listed all the time.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

We are using the DTD or CCC locations now for all of our trips. They are always cheaper easier to get the gas fill before turning in . The best is you can shave an entire day and get a smaller car because you are not loading luggage in.

Most of them are a short walk from the marketplace bus stop so you don't even need pick-up or drop-off.

You know, I never thought about walking there - I wonder if it would be quicker? Too bad Magical couldn't drop us off at Doubletree - or can they?