Looking for opinions about rental car. Is it worth a little extra expense?

[debbs0723]

We are a family of 4 going on the 4 night cruise on jan 17th then going to the WDW parks right afterwards. Due to the way our trip is booked we are needing transportation from the airport to the ship then from the ship to the pop. My original plan was to rent a one way from airport and drop it off at rental around port and that was around $43. The day we leave we are hoping to get to DHS as early as possible so I thought we would just do the car service back.

I then started looking into the sales for weekly rentals and got a midsize for $201 (inc tax and fees) for the entire 9 days we are there. Doing the math I figured with port charges for those four days it was only going to cost us $75 extra to just get the car for the entire 9 days. Yes I know I can stay at a hotel the night before and have them keep my car there for free but in reality those hotels are just more expensive and I was going to priceline something.

Okay sorry so long winded. For those of you who have experienced disney using their transportation and your own would you be able to justify some extra expense for having your own car? Just an FYI last year we did all disney transportation. No real complaints and I would do it again in a heartbeat if it wasn't for all the cruise transportation.

Any and all opinions appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Debbie

 

[DonnaL]

We find a car rental for our family to be well worth the few hundred dollars it costs. My husband feels why spend close to an hour for bus transportation to get somewhere that literally takes 10 minutes, sometimes less, by car. That said, depending where we stay on a particular trip we do utilize boat and monorail transport quite a bit. However, we like to resort hop, sometimes for dinner and sometimes not, in the evening and it really isn't convenient to use the buses for that.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

The convenience of having a car to provide transportation anywhere we need to go immediately is worth every single cent we pay for it.

 

[pskelly]

We have used a rental car the last three times now, it is just so much more convenient for our family then the bus system.

 

[debbs0723]

Thanks everybody. I guess not having done the rental before and having no real complaints about the bus system I really just didn't know the difference. I guess i will after this trip.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are a family of 4 going on the 4 night cruise on jan 17th then going to the WDW parks right afterwards. Due to the way our trip is booked we are needing transportation from the airport to the ship then from the ship to the pop. My original plan was to rent a one way from airport and drop it off at rental around port and that was around $43. The day we leave we are hoping to get to DHS as early as possible so I thought we would just do the car service back.

I then started looking into the sales for weekly rentals and got a midsize for $201 (inc tax and fees) for the entire 9 days we are there. Doing the math I figured with port charges for those four days it was only going to cost us $75 extra to just get the car for the entire 9 days. Yes I know I can stay at a hotel the night before and have them keep my car there for free but in reality those hotels are just more expensive and I was going to priceline something.

Okay sorry so long winded. For those of you who have experienced disney using their transportation and your own would you be able to justify some extra expense for having your own car? Just an FYI last year we did all disney transportation. No real complaints and I would do it again in a heartbeat if it wasn't for all the cruise transportation.

Any and all opinions appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Debbie

Are you flying in the same day as your cruise? I would not recommend that at all. There are just so many things that can cause delays, not necessarily snow/ice but even just Tstorms can foul things up or even just luggage delays, you then would be going to the ship and hoping your luggage will get delivered there. Been there; done that and never again. For the cost of a mere $50, you can Hotwire a room near the airport the night before. If you ask this questions on the cruise boards, I would guess 99% would agree with me. We got the Hyatt right inside MCO for only $54 last month. If you're taking DCL transfers, you just leave your luggage right in your hotel room and it magically appears in your stateroom on the ship.

Also, again jmho, cruising is different than visiting WDW as in more luggage. While I love having a rental car in WDW, I dread it for dropping off at the port and trekking on the shuttle to Cape Canaveral office. We tried that in early Nov for the 1st time after using DCL transfers and limos in the past and found the whole thing very inconvenient; schlepping our luggage on and off the shuttle then cramming into the trunk etc. The best part about the DCL bus is that they seamlessly handle all your luggage which is soooo nice.

Ours was a 7 nt cruise so between formal wear, beach stuff, pirate night gear, Phillies stuff (world series was on the big screen on our cruise) we never had so much stuff on a trip before, 4 checked bags and 3 carry ons. whew. Next time it's DCL transfers all the way!!! I admit, I'm a wimp though. Many on the cruise boards say renting cars were easy.

btw, will you be able to fit all your luggage into a midsize? We are also a family of 4 and crammed the full size trunk to the max.

I've never gone to WDW post cruise, have only gone back to MCO so I can't say if DCL buses are that much more convenient and worth the cost.

I guess it depends on what you want to pay. In general, the more convenient method usually costs more. The cheapest method is usually most inconvenient.

I would post this on the cruise boards too. There are lots of Disers there who've tried every method of transportation to the port and can give their experience too.