MCO to WDW to Cruise

[***tink386]

We have a family of 6 (DH, Me, DS, DD & my parents) flying into MCO Easter week and will be renting a car for the WDW portion of the trip. We would actually like to pick up the car at MCO and not drop it off until we get to the port to go on our cruise. Has any one done this? What car companies rent at the airport and have a return center near the port? Any help someone might have would be great! :thewave:

 

[ppiew]

I believe AVIS has an office near the port and also offers pickup and return shuttle service from its office to the port. At least they did 2 years ago. Check on their website.

 

[cepmom]

Budget has a location in MCO and near the port. I believe they offer a free shuttle from their Cape Canvaeral location to the port. Check out this site for more information on car rental agencies near the port.

http://www.dcltribute.com/carhire/

Hope that helps.

 

[music777.com]

My DW and I are doing the same thing. We are using Budget. We are going in December so if you want I will let you know how the process is.

JJ

 

[ljm]

You should also calculate the difference between renting a car, returning at the port + transfers back (or a second rental back to the airport) vs. renting a car for the whole time and parking it at the port. Depending on which cruise you are on, it may be cheaper to keep the same car and just return it to MCO after the cruise. This is what we did, and got the car on Hotwire (you could also do Priceline). It was MUCH cheaper to keep it and pay for parking than to rent 2 cars or 1 car + transfers. Just a thought...

 

[15minfromOGDL]

Hello All! Newbie here! I've checked,using the Budget website and the discount codes and coupons on Mousesavers.com, and for the Magic cruisers it definitely is cheaper to turn your car in at the port and re-rent for 1 day for the trip back to MCO.

My question to all the DCL sages out there is I have a DS2, if I get the oneway DCL transfer back to MCO, what is his fare and can I pre-book this one way transfer for my family? Thanks.

 

[***tink386]

Thanks for all your help. Do you think I should book now or wait a little bit longer until its closer to the cruise? I went on the Budget web site and for Saturday to Saturday for a minivan, with taxes and fees the total cost was $400. We will be splitting the price with my parents and I don't think we could get transfers for all six of us for MCO to WDW to cruise for any less than that. What do you think?.

 

[pershing]

Did you do a search for discount codes on the web? Or go to mousesavers dot com and look under transportation for discount codes there?

I know I got a great discount from Shaw's, our New England Grocery Store chain that blew every other code away.

I would definately book a reservation with Budget now, 'cause you can always cancel and re-book if rates go down with no penalty. You don't want to be kicking yourself if rates go up later and you waited.

I can't emphasize those discount codes though. You could end up saving hundreds. I know I did.

If you are considering the priceline way- go to biddingfor travel dot com and read up on their facts to bid for rental cars on priceline. It's so helpful!

Good luck!

 

[il-gander]

We did exactly this with Budget a few weeks ago. We arrived on a Thursday night, picked up our car from Budget at MCO and drove it to WDW. We kept it there until Saturday morning, when we drove to Port Canaveral. DH dropped us off at the port and then went to return the car to the Budget office (about 5-10 minutes from the port). They had a shuttle to bring him back. Do allow an hour or so for that process, he said the line was awful and it is a small office (1 person working the counter).

When we disembarked the following Saturday, it was very smooth and easy. We got off the ship with our luggage, went across the road to the tent thing they have set up and ended up getting to put our luggage straight into the Budget van that was there waiting. It took us to the office and we got another car there that we returned to MCO the same day. Pretty easy, all around.

I would also definitely check Mousesavers for discounts - your estimates sound high to me. Just for comparison's sake, I used Mousesaver's discounts and reserved about 4-6 weeks ahead - we had an SUV for 2 days for $98 something with unlimited mileage. On the way back we had an SUV for 1 day with 150 miles free for $56 something.

Our shuttle driver on the way back did say that rental cars were pretty scarce in Florida right now, as many of them had left the state during the hurricanes and that residents that had damage to their own cars were driving them. I was very glad I had booked before all of those hit. Maybe that (and the time of year) has something to do with the prices you're seeing?

Carla

 

[***tink386]

Thanks for all the responses. I went to mousesavers and used a code and got the price down to $375.00 with taxes and fees for 7 days, so I booked it and will keep looking for more discounts!