Is this pushing it?

[allonte]

We are going to the parks before our cruise. If we take ME to MCO, do you think it will be enough time to rent a car and drive to Port Canaveral without running to catch the boat? Or should I just arrange for transport from POP to PC?

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, it's going to take an hour to get to PC. You have to be on the ship by what....3:00ish?? So, you will have to leave WDW no later than 1. I guess you could do it, but if it were me, I would do WDW after the cruise if at all possible. Way too many chances for things to go wrong going before the cruise.
Besides, you're paying for that day on the ship....I like to board as soon as possible and start the fun.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I totally agree its not worth the chance of missing the ship..........all you need is one accident on the highway!

See the parks after and enjoy!

AKK

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We are going to the parks before our cruise. If we take ME to MCO, do you think it will be enough time to rent a car and drive to Port Canaveral without running to catch the boat? Or should I just arrange for transport from POP to PC?

I responded to you on the DCL thread. I would consider just getting DCL transportation from your resort. That way, you can't miss the boat, as it will wait for all DCL busses, and they take care of all your luggage to the ship.

Otherwise, rent a car from WDW or get a limo service. Running back to MCO with your luggage, getting a car and driving just seems like a lot of work before you get on the ship. This is supposed to be a vacation.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I wouldn't take the chance of something going wrong and then having to rush to make it to the ship in time to sail.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

with all due repect.......the the ship will wait only a limited amount of time.....if it means not making the next port ontime....they will sail, but they are responsable to get you to the next port.

All that said.......is it worth even possibly missing the ship?

AKK

 

[allonte]

I responded to you on the DCL thread. I would consider just getting DCL transportation from your resort. That way, you can't miss the boat, as it will wait for all DCL busses, and they take care of all your luggage to the ship.

Otherwise, rent a car from WDW or get a limo service. Running back to MCO with your luggage, getting a car and driving just seems like a lot of work before you get on the ship. This is supposed to be a vacation.

I'll have to look into that. I didn't know that they had transportation from the resort to DCL. And you are right, that does seem like a lot of work now that I really think about it, lol. Don't know if I want to go through all of that.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I'll have to look into that. I didn't know that they had transportation from the resort to DCL. And you are right, that does seem like a lot of work now that I really think about it, lol. Don't know if I want to go through all of that.

DCL now picks up from all WDW resorts. The cost is $35 per person each way. DCL will also transport your luggage for you from your resort so you don't have to lug it with you.

 

[allonte]

Are there any car rental places at the resorts?

 

[seashoreCM]

Only DCL transportation (and also any private carrier offering such a written guarantee) guarantees you will make your Disney cruise, although in extreme cases of delay they will take care of you in the meantime and put you on the ship at the next port of call instead of at Canaveral.

I'm not sure whether one set of DCL transportation will cover a land-sea-land vacation. If not, then order the DCL transportation for the first part of the trip (with the non-stop from resort to seaport) and you will finish up th sea portion at the airport. Reserve and use Magical Express for the second land portion.

Taking Magical Express to the airport and renting a car from there will work fine if you allow plenty of time. I don't know how long it takes to get to the port so I don't know what time to shoot for. But don;t cut it close getting off the DME bus and over to the rental lot.

 

[allonte]

Only DCL transportation (and also any private carrier offering such a written guarantee) guarantees you will make your Disney cruise, although in extreme cases of delay they will take care of you in the meantime and put you on the ship at the next port of call instead of at Canaveral.

I'm not sure whether one set of DCL transportation will cover a land-sea-land vacation. If not, then order the DCL transportation for the first part of the trip (with the non-stop from resort to seaport) and you will finish up th sea portion at the airport. Reserve and use Magical Express for the second land portion.

Taking Magical Express to the airport and renting a car from there will work fine if you allow plenty of time. I don't know how long it takes to get to the port so I don't know what time to shoot for. But don;t cut it close getting off the DME bus and over to the rental lot.

Thank you! I know that getting from MCO to PC is about 45-50 min by car. We rented 2 one way rentals on our last cruise out of PC (Carnival). I was WAY less than the cruise line transfers. We're usually up and about around 6:30am CST on our own. Getting up earlier is no problem as long as we have a wake up call. I was thinking we'd grab a quick breakfast in the room (oatmeal and fruit or something) and then head on back to the airport and rent a car from there. I've read it's about 1.5 hours on DME from the resorts to MCO. And then the 1 hour from MCO to PC. Add in some cushion time and it would be about 3 hours getting there. Now that I've typed it out, I'm not sure that the savings are worth the hassle, lol! I'll definitely rent a car for the trip back.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We rented a car for the trip back to the airport. There are several rental companies in Cape Canaveral that have free shuttles from the port to their offices. We have used both Hertz and Budget. It was very easy.

 

[allonte]

We rented a car for the trip back to the airport. There are several rental companies in Cape Canaveral that have free shuttles from the port to their offices. We have used both Hertz and Budget. It was very easy.

Yep! I think I used Budget last time we left from Port Canaveral. I'm glad we happened to have a few dollars on us because we didn't know it was a toll road going down. I'll probably use Budget this time too.

 

[seashoreCM]

A small number of resorts (I forget which) have car rental counters for just one or two rental companies each.

 

[goofy4tink]

Alamo/National is located at the Dolphin Resort, over by Epcot. Other than that, you have to go to the DTD resorts. Budget, for instance, is located in the Doubletree Guest Suites. Other companies have counters in other resorts over there.

 

[dioxide45]

There is no Alamo or National located in Cocoa Beach, so those won't work for rental cars to PC. Also when renting a car take in to account taking the time to pick it up and drop it off. At Budget we waited in line for about 30 minutes to drop off our rental in Cocoa Beach