I think we are going to just rent some mopeds at this rate

[Susan2771]

I have been looking and comparing car rental rates and it looks like we are going to have rent either a couple of mopeds or bikes We've decided to not bring a stroller for our 2 year old and I am going to have to be really careful on how we pack to make sure we don't bring to many suitcases so that we don't have to rent a large vehicle. We are still looking at between $775 to $819 CAD to rent for 5 days I guess we can travel around in the ambulance my husband is going to need when he hears this and has a heart attack at the pick up desk.
Is anyone having any luck with rates for end of May, going into June? Our problem is we are picking the vehicle up in Ft.Lauderdale and dropping off at the Orlando airport. I'm thinking maybe we should also bring our 2 car seats for our daughters since that alone is $100, but we don't have enough hands to deal with our suitcases, carryons, 2 small children, our sanity and 2 large carseats. Any advice?

 

[LSmith]

I would try Priceline for your rental. We had great success renting a minivan from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

Keep trying every company and go on Costco.com. They have great rates as well.

Also, we have found that even renting a compact car we can fit 3 large suitcases and two small (and two kids) although they kept trying to force us to upgrade.

If your paying by Visa don't pay for the extra insurance. Your credit card should cover it (check first).

Give me your dates and I'll try to search for you.

 

[Susan2771]

I would try Priceline for your rental. We had great success renting a minivan from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

Keep trying every company and go on Costco.com. They have great rates as well.

Also, we have found that even renting a compact car we can fit 3 large suitcases and two small (and two kids) although they kept trying to force us to upgrade.

If your paying by Visa don't pay for the extra insurance. Your credit card should cover it (check first).

Give me your dates and I'll try to search for you.

Thank-you for your offer of help, it's very appreciated I think our big problem is that we are renting for just 5 days instead of a week which would have been less expensive. The second big problem is the exchange rate of the Canadian Dollar. This is what is adding $150-$200 to the cost.
And there is just no way we can bring the car seats with everything else we have to bring. I will try your suggestions though now and see if it's any better. Thank-you!

 

[flyguy]

Thank-you for your offer of help, it's very appreciated I think our big problem is that we are renting for just 5 days instead of a week which would have been less expensive. The second big problem is the exchange rate of the Canadian Dollar. This is what is adding $150-$200 to the cost.
And there is just no way we can bring the car seats with everything else we have to bring. I will try your suggestions though now and see if it's any better. Thank-you!

Guessing at your dates with Alamo gets a 7 pass. mini van for approx. 360 USD-460 CAD, 2 child seats would be another 100 as you said. That was with a May 29-12:00pm pick up at FT.Laud and a May 2 drop off(6pm) at MCO.

 

[Susan2771]

Guessing at your dates with Alamo gets a 7 pass. mini van for approx. 360 USD-460 CAD, 2 child seats would be another 100 as you said. That was with a May 29-12:00pm pick up at FT.Laud and a May 2 drop off(6pm) at MCO.

Thank-you very much for checking that out for me. Our dates are actually from May 30th until June 4th. I also checked with Alamo since they had the minivan deal for $199 but when I did it, the rate comes out to $347 USD just for the minivan for the 5 days. Once you factor in all the taxes, charges and car seats, it comes out to $562.41 Do the exchange and it's $718.63 CAD. Brutal for 5 days. We are doing a short cruise before Disney, that's why we are picking up in FLL. We aren't familiar with where the closest car rental locations to the pier area in Fort Lauderdale and thought just picking up from the airport would be the easiest. I am going to see if it would be less to pick up offsite.
Thank-you again flyguy for your help. It's appreciated!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Check out the 7 day rental rates. If that is cheaper book it. There is no penalty for returning the car early.

Also, go into the 'deals' section of the rental site to see if there are any coupons or deals.

Most likely you rate is higher because of returning it to another location. We looked at renting from LAX and returning to SNA(Orange Co.) they were adding $100. We also looked at LAX returning in Vegas, that was a $250 fee.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thank-you very much for checking that out for me. Our dates are actually from May 30th until June 4th. I also checked with Alamo since they had the minivan deal for $199 but when I did it, the rate comes out to $347 USD just for the minivan for the 5 days. Once you factor in all the taxes, charges and car seats, it comes out to $562.41 Do the exchange and it's $718.63 CAD. Brutal for 5 days. We are doing a short cruise before Disney, that's why we are picking up in FLL. We aren't familiar with where the closest car rental locations to the pier area in Fort Lauderdale and thought just picking up from the airport would be the easiest. I am going to see if it would be less to pick up offsite.
Thank-you again flyguy for your help. It's appreciated!

Another thought for you....there are bus services in FL that are geared toward cruisers. See if you can get a bus from the cruise to WDW and then rent there if you still need it.

 

[jsweeks@cogeco.ca]

I used my air miles and bought $200.00 in gift cards for Alamo. They are in US funds. So this will cover a good chunk of the cost. I booked the car already and I keep watching the discount offers and will change the rental if there is a deal. So hopefully you have airmiles and can use them towards it. Good luck

 

[two*little*birds]

We got an AMAZING deal off eBay for someone who just does rentals - 100% feedback too, we only paid $8 for his services and he's from Canada. We got a 12 day rental last November for $200 (full-size). PM me and I'll send you his eBay ID - I should still have it.

 

[Susan2771]

Thank-you all for the suggestions. I would do the bus from FLL to Disney BUT, we are going to spend 1 night at my parent's apartment in Clearwater so I can do laundry. I thought by doing this, it would help cut down on the number of suitcases we bring. I am one of those packers who packs 3 outfits a day for a trip By bringing less luggage I am hoping it means we can rent a smaller vehicle.
JSWeeks I remember that thread from last month about Alamo and the Air Miles and that was what we are planning on doing. I have to decide this week if we will go with Alamo or not so I can order the gift certificates by Friday. I am going to see though if it would be less expensive to rent through Budget as a Costco member.
Wow, I guess you really can find it all on EBay. I never would have thought you can rent a car on that site. As someone who has never used Ebay, I think I would be to nervous to do that. I will check it out though to compare. Thanks for letting me know about it.

 

[rewok]

Also check alamo.ca (or alamo.com with Canada as country of residence), the rate is sometimes very different (about half-price for September right now). And there is always a Costo rate and coupon for Alamo, for the free additional driver and 10% less.

 

[braydensmom]

You're able to do laundry on site...I think that if you really want to cut down on costs you are going to have to cut the mini trip to clearwater out, it doesnt make sense to drive out of your way to wash clothes

 

[Debbs]

if you go thru sunwing.ca or just call them you get a better rate and its in Canadian dollars that is how we did it, I called them an 2 weeks dec 19 to Jan 2 is 930.00 for a minivan.

 

[Susan2771]

You're able to do laundry on site...I think that if you really want to cut down on costs you are going to have to cut the mini trip to clearwater out, it doesnt make sense to drive out of your way to wash clothes

We are using a 40% off room discount pincode that I got from Disney. Unfortuantely it is good only from May 31 until June 6th. So that's the second reason we are going to stay at my parent's apartment when we arrive from the cruise on May 30th, no room discount on that day. Clean laundry, free accomodations, and a chance for our 3 and 2 year old to get readjusted to life on land