Magical Express and rental car question

[deacondarlin]

My mom and I are headed down January 28- February 3, 2007 from Asheville, NC. We've contemplated both flying and renting a car (My husband and I flew September 2005, and by the time we drove to Charlotte, had a layover in Atlanta, and finally made it to MCO, it took around 9 hours, and driving only take 10!). My question is, could we utilize Magical Express if we just dropped the car off at the airport? We like Avis, and I've only found one Avis dealer near DW, at the Hilton. I'm not sure how we'd get to our hotel if we dropped off there. We don't want the car for the whole week, just for the drive down, to save wear and tear on ours. Any ideas?

 

[shellybaxter]

I'm not positive but I believe you have to have airline information to book magical express. We hadn't booked our airfare yet when we made our hotel ressies and the CM said we couldn't book ME without our flight info. You could call and ask.

 

[clonetothebone]

Drop your car at the airport and just use the regular Mears Shuttle, hire a towncar, or take a cab. Other option would be to drop at the Hilton and catch a cab.

Beware of a one way rental though. I imagine the drop off charge is going to make it pretty darn expensive.

 

[deacondarlin]

That time of year isn't the best for rentals, either, come to think of it. My husband and I visited his family in Melbourne Beach in early April of this year and got a one way rate of only $32.00 for an SUV....the Avis people told us they were trying to get all the cars back north from the snowbirds.....rates for Jan are looking to be around $150.

 

[goofy4tink]

You could drive all the way to your resort, checkin, and then drive to the car return at the Hilton (at DTD I'm assuming) and then walk over to the West Side bus area and take a bus back to your resort, or just take a cab back to the resort.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

My question is, could we utilize Magical Express if we just dropped the car off at the airport?

Yes.

I recently called Magical Express at 866-599-0951 because we're going to return a rental car at MCO (after spending a few days in Southern Florida) on the day that we check in at WDW. The woman at Magical Express explained that we are entitled to use Magical Express, and that she would simply make a Magical Express reservation without flight information.

Magical Express provides complimentary transportation from Orlando International to your WDW resort on your check-in date. It doesn't matter if you arrive at the airport by air, by car, by taxi cab, by hotel shuttle, by rental car shuttle, or by taking the elevator and escalators from a room at the MCO Hyatt.

Don't use the yellow luggage tags. After you return your car, check in at the Magical Express Welcome Center.

As goofy4tink suggested, you won't have to deal with your luggage at the airport if you drive by your resort first. That's what I'm planning to do. In fact, I'm planning to drop my wife and kids at the resort too.

If you prefer not to drive by your resort first, the Magical Express motorcoach has a luggage hold. The driver will store and retrieve your luggage (in which case a tip is customary).

In either case, you won't get the free "magical" luggage delivery to your room. However, if you want luggage assistance, a bellman can help you at the resort (in which case a tip is customary).

You do not need airline information to book Disney's Magical Express. When this subject has come up previously, some posts have suggested giving fake flight information to Disney. However, there's really no reason to lie to Disney. Just call Magical Express at 866-599-0951 to discuss it with them.

In my case, I'm returning at the airport because I'm getting a much, much better rate. However, look into returning your car near WDW instead of at the airport and taking Magical Express. Many "local" car rental offices have shuttles to take you to your final destination, such as your WDW resort. For example, Hertz has a Kissimmee-Disney World location near WDW, with complimentary shuttle service to WDW resorts. Call the Avis 800 number and see what options Avis offers. You may find a more convenient option than returning at the airport.

 

[OKW Lover]

My mom and I are headed down January 28- February 3, 2007 from Asheville, NC. We've contemplated both flying and renting a car (My husband and I flew September 2005, and by the time we drove to Charlotte, had a layover in Atlanta, and finally made it to MCO, it took around 9 hours, and driving only take 10!). My question is, could we utilize Magical Express if we just dropped the car off at the airport? We like Avis, and I've only found one Avis dealer near DW, at the Hilton. I'm not sure how we'd get to our hotel if we dropped off there. We don't want the car for the whole week, just for the drive down, to save wear and tear on ours. Any ideas?

We've used the Hilton drop-off point often. They have a courtesy car that will return you to your Disney Hotel (or other nearby off-property hotel). If you didn't want to do that, you could just walk across the street to Downtown Disney and catch your resort bus there.

Also, there isn't any extra charge for picking up at the airport and dropping the car at the Hilton. So, save yourself some driving and drop the car off at the Hilton.

 

[deacondarlin]

Wow, thanks for all the great info!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Also, there isn't any extra charge for picking up at the airport and dropping the car at the Hilton. So, save yourself some driving and drop the car off at the Hilton.

Ordinarily, that's true. But the OP is picking up the car in North Carolina and driving it to Orlando. In that case, there may well be a large drop-off/one-way charge - and the rental agency needs to be informed up front that the car will be driven out of state, to a state not bordering the one in which the car was rented (sometimes that makes a difference).

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I would recommend getting a price quote for returning the rental car at the airport and for returning it at a location close to WDW with shuttle service. The price might be the same, or it might be different.

I realize that the OP is using Avis. I'm using Hertz. I'm picking up the car at MCO. I could return the car at MCO or at the Hertz Kissimmee-Disney World location. If I return the car at MCO, I would pay a low weekly rate with unlimited free mileage. If I return the car in Kissimmee, I would pay the same low weekly rate and no one-way drop charge, but I would pay a hefty rate per mile — and considering that I might drive close to a thousand miles (to, from, and around Southern Florida), it would really add up! So I'm returning the car at MCO and using Magical Express to get to the second part of our vacation — Walt Disney World.