Minivan for WDW/Universal/Port Canaveral?

[mom-of-twins-2002]

I'm just starting to consider renting a minivan for the 6 of us (2 adults, 4 kids) for our 9-day trip the end of September. We'd be using it to go from MCO to the Polynesian, to/from universal, from the poly to port canaveral, then from the port to MCO. I haven't done the math to see how much all those transfers would be, nor how much we'd pay to park the rental, but I'm guessing a rental would still be significantly cheaper.

I have a few questions....

1) Is it worth it to pick up the rental from the airport? I've read that it can be much cheaper to arrange to have the rental brought to the resort. However, we will not be doing the magical express (since I refuse to wait in those crazy lines with my little ones) so we'd still need to arrange transportation to the poly.

2) if we were to pick up the car from the airport, how long of lines should we expect?

3) Are certain rental companies better for minivans than others in terms of price and/or availability?

Any other tips/cautions/considerations would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Tammy

 

[mwmom]

In answer to your question about standing in line for rental, sign up for one of the rental companies member programs to go directly to the garage to get your car. It is much faster and it costs nothing. All you have to do is register on their web site.

 

[keliblue]

I'm just starting to consider renting a minivan for the 6 of us (2 adults, 4 kids) for our 9-day trip the end of September. We'd be using it to go from MCO to the Polynesian, to/from universal, from the poly to port canaveral, then from the port to MCO. I haven't done the math to see how much all those transfers would be, nor how much we'd pay to park the rental, but I'm guessing a rental would still be significantly cheaper.

I have a few questions....

1) Is it worth it to pick up the rental from the airport? I've read that it can be much cheaper to arrange to have the rental brought to the resort. However, we will not be doing the magical express (since I refuse to wait in those crazy lines with my little ones) so we'd still need to arrange transportation to the poly. the rental will be cheaper at the airport then the ccc, end of September the lines will be minimal at DME

2) if we were to pick up the car from the airport, how long of lines should we expect? Lines are hit an miss depending on the time you arrive. If you sign up with Alamo, you can use the kiosk avoiding the lines and go straight to pick out your car

3) Are certain rental companies better for minivans than others in terms of price and/or availability? are you a costco, AA member or other this can drop your rental cost a lot. Dollar is showing minvans last week of Sept for $235.89 great price. Alamo double that at the moment and on the Costco website Enterprice is at $278

Any other tips/cautions/considerations would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance! cost change daily so check often and book, rebook and cancel till you get the price you like.. over this 3 day weekend and after price should go down

Tammy

Good luck and just keep checking often prices can change several times a day the closer you get to your trip

 

[gmeh1]

I'm just starting to consider renting a minivan for the 6 of us (2 adults, 4 kids) for our 9-day trip the end of September. We'd be using it to go from MCO to the Polynesian, to/from universal, from the poly to port canaveral, then from the port to MCO. I haven't done the math to see how much all those transfers would be, nor how much we'd pay to park the rental, but I'm guessing a rental would still be significantly cheaper.

I have a few questions....

1) Is it worth it to pick up the rental from the airport? I've read that it can be much cheaper to arrange to have the rental brought to the resort. However, we will not be doing the magical express (since I refuse to wait in those crazy lines with my little ones) so we'd still need to arrange transportation to the poly.

2) if we were to pick up the car from the airport, how long of lines should we expect?

3) Are certain rental companies better for minivans than others in terms of price and/or availability?

Any other tips/cautions/considerations would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Tammy

They do not deliver vans or cars to resorts. Some companies will pick you up and bring you back to the rental station to sign the contract and pick up the vehicle.

 

[chartle]

Any other tips/cautions/considerations would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Tammy

Is a minivan going to be big enough for all those people and all the luggage?

 

[mom-of-twins-2002]

Is a minivan going to be big enough for all those people and all the luggage?

Ugh! I hadn't thought of that. I hope so! I guess we'll have to do a trial run in our minivan before we leave. We're trying to pack light to avoid checking too many bags/paying airline fees.

 

[mom-of-twins-2002]

I reserved a minivan from with Dollar for $266.80 (including taxes/fees). I checked Costco too (we're members), but at the time I looked, they were more $.

I didn't realize the price fluctuates. Good to know... I'll keep checking. Thanks!!

 

[DMRick]

Wow, that's great. What codes did you use?

I reserved a minivan from with Dollar for $266.80 (including taxes/fees). I checked Costco too (we're members), but at the time I looked, they were more $.

I didn't realize the price fluctuates. Good to know... I'll keep checking. Thanks!!

 

[chartle]

Ugh! I hadn't thought of that. I hope so! I guess we'll have to do a trial run in our minivan before we leave. We're trying to pack light to avoid checking too many bags/paying airline fees.

You can do 9 days with carry ons? I guess you do laundry.

 

[mom-of-twins-2002]

Wow, that's great. What codes did you use?

I actually didn't need a code. Once you go to dollar dot com, go thru the normal booking search entering your dates/vehicle type. Then a quote will appear. If you look towards the bottom of that quote, you'll see "city specials". Click on that & it will adjust the original quote to the orlando specials.

 

[mom-of-twins-2002]

You can do 9 days with carry ons? I guess you do laundry.

Not a chance can we do it all in carry ons, and I'm not banking on doing laundry. We are hoping to limit our checked bags to 2 large suitcases.

 

[DMRick]

I don't get offered 'city specials'. We aren't going until the end of November, so maybe there are no city specials. We wanted to pick up from the airport, also.

I actually didn't need a code. Once you go to dollar dot com, go thru the normal booking search entering your dates/vehicle type. Then a quote will appear. If you look towards the bottom of that quote, you'll see "city specials". Click on that & it will adjust the original quote to the orlando specials.