Less than a month out, and I feel like I made a mistake flying into Tampa

[Fortune1211]

Now what?? I was given the suggestion to check into flight prices from PIT to Tampa because they're cheaper. Well, without doing enough research into the whole rental car cost and what it would be for 10 days I booked the flights. Now, I'm looking at the cost of a rental car and the thought of driving back and forth makes me want to scream!!

Our original plan was to leave Tampa and drive to Winter Haven to go to Legoland the next day and after drive up to Disney for the rest of the time. We have no intention of using the rental car while at Disney, instead we usually use Disney transportation.

Is there anyway I can change our reservations to flying into Orlando instead and getting a shuttle or something to Legoland? We're flying Southwest, would they let us change to Airtran since they're owned by Southwest now?

And, the whole thought of not having ME makes me sad too LOL

Help....

 

[Disneyact82]

If you are flying on Southwest you can change your ticket. You may have to pay the difference in the fare if any, Just go on Southwest web site and log into change flight. and check out the fare difference, You can rebook it right there. Southwest flies into Orlando. I do it all the time, That is why I like Southwest so much. It is the only airline I fly. Good Luck!

 

[DebbieB]

Now what?? I was given the suggestion to check into flight prices from PIT to Tampa because they're cheaper. Well, without doing enough research into the whole rental car cost and what it would be for 10 days I booked the flights. Now, I'm looking at the cost of a rental car and the thought of driving back and forth makes me want to scream!!

Our original plan was to leave Tampa and drive to Winter Haven to go to Legoland the next day and after drive up to Disney for the rest of the time. We have no intention of using the rental car while at Disney, instead we usually use Disney transportation.

Is there anyway I can change our reservations to flying into Orlando instead and getting a shuttle or something to Legoland? We're flying Southwest, would they let us change to Airtran since they're owned by Southwest now?

And, the whole thought of not having ME makes me sad too LOL

Help....

Southwest and AirTran are still operating separately, so you can't switch to AirTran. I know Southwest's prices are high from PIT. You have to look at the difference, look at the rental car price and then decide if it's worth it to change. There's no change fee but you will have to pay the difference in fare.

You could look into returning the car at WDW and then picking up another one on your last day. According to mapquest, it's 78 miles from the Tampa airport to WDW, about 1 hour 23 min. So you're looking at about an extra 45 minutes in travel time from the airport.

 

[rrcortes]

Not sure how much you are saving in airfare, and then the cost of rental car, but I agree (IMHO) with DebbieB. Check out prices to rent a car to/from Tampa with drop off at WDW. The drive from Tampa to Disney is nothing to freak out about. We've done it a few times when MDW to MCO is significantly higher.
Good Luck whatever you decide!!

 

[OKW Lover]

Not sure why you think this is a mistake. Its a perfectly do-able plan that shouldn't cause you any stress.

If the issue is having a rental car at WDW but not really using it then I'd agree with the PP's that you should just book the car for pickup at TPA and return at one of the WDW locations. You don't say which company you have rented from, but just about all of them have locations on WDW property. Of course, you do need to get back to TPA at the end of the trip to return home (don't you?) so you'll then have to do a second rental to get back. Either that or a limo service which will likely cost $$$.

 

[webcs]

a lesson to all, never make your air reservations unless
ground transport is computed.

Who are you using for a car? Florida rentals are some of
the cheapest in the world? Alamo is great. Are you
under 24 or something. I feel we are missing some
critical info.

When you made your reservations what were you
computing that made this suddenly so expensive now,
so we can tell you where you went wrong. thanks

 

[Detailor]

Now what?? I was given the suggestion to check into flight prices from PIT to Tampa because they're cheaper. Well, without doing enough research into the whole rental car cost and what it would be for 10 days I booked the flights. Now, I'm looking at the cost of a rental car and the thought of driving back and forth makes me want to scream!!

Have you looked into rental car prices for all of the TPA car rental outlets? Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty are all on airport property. Advantage, EZ Rent A Car, Payless, something called U Save Auto Rental of Florida and something called Carl's Van Rental are off site with shuttles from the airport. Also check out Mousesavers.com for car rental coupons and codes that you can use for discounted prices. Oftentimes credit card companies offer corporate IDs and coupons or, generally if you're a member, BJ's Wholesale or Costco often some pretty good deals. Of course if you're going during the Thanksgiving or Christmas/New Years or some other holiday period the lower cost rentals aren't as likely to be available.

The drive between the Tampa airport and the Disney resort area is actually pretty easy. Just follow the signs from the airport to I-275 North and then stay over on the right to pick up the beginning of I-4 (about 5 miles). The flow of traffic between Tampa and Orlando is usually at or above the 75 mph area so, if you go with the flow of traffic or slightly below, your trip will be around an hour to the Disney area, maybe just under an hour to Winter Haven/Legoland. The only caution that I'd add is that those five miles on I-275 take you above downtown Tampa and traffic crawls during the rush hours (7-9 am or so, 4-6 pm or so). But as long as you're patient and just stay in a lane you'd get through a rush hour drive okay.

Our original plan was to leave Tampa and drive to Winter Haven to go to Legoland the next day and after drive up to Disney for the rest of the time. We have no intention of using the rental car while at Disney, instead we usually use Disney transportation.

As others have mentioned, it might be worthwhile to consider holding the rental for a day or two at the beginning of your ten day vacation and turning in your car at Disney, then renting another one for the Disney to TPA return trip. Particularly if you can find a weekend deal or a one-day rental special then you may find that to be a lot more cost-effective than having a ten day rental car that sits in the parking lot for seven or eight days.

Is there anyway I can change our reservations to flying into Orlando instead and getting a shuttle or something to Legoland? We're flying Southwest, would they let us change to Airtran since they're owned by Southwest now?

As a PP mentioned, the Southwest and Air Tran reservation systems have not yet been merged. So, despite joint ownership, changes aren't transferable between the two air carriers at this time.

Dick Taylor

 

[Fortune1211]

a lesson to all, never make your air reservations unless
ground transport is computed.

Who are you using for a car? Florida rentals are some of
the cheapest in the world? Alamo is great. Are you
under 24 or something. I feel we are missing some
critical info.

When you made your reservations what were you
computing that made this suddenly so expensive now,
so we can tell you where you went wrong. thanks

Under 24?!?! I WISH! No, really what I think the issue is/was...is that the combo of wanting to rent on Thanksgiving day + 10 days + wanting a standard size car is what was making it seem expensive to me.

I was able to get my flights switched to Orlando and while it's about $250 more for the 3 of us, I feel better about the whole thing. Now we won't need a hotel the night before our flight and POP for another night is about the same price as the Lego hotel.

And now instead of being holed up in a Best Western on Thanksgiving, we'll be in Disney!!!!

Thanks all for your help and a big thanks to SW for not having any change fees!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would look at car rental rate about 2-3 weeks from your travel date. That is when you can get last minute rental rates at reduced price. Or you could always us priceline.

Join Alamo's Insider program which is free and you get 20% off plus they currently have a $35 off a weekly rental which is only good for Insider members.