National Emerald Reserve and car seat installation

[metivier]

I have no experience renting a car/minivan with National at MCO, and have no experience with Emerald Reserve. But thanks to Disboards (and MouseSavers) I got a pretty good rate ($211.31) for a minivan for our 12/5-11 stay.

My question is how to handle the minivan pick-up. For folks that have experience with Emerald Reserve at MCO, am I better off:

A) having my husband go get the minivan and drive it back around to me with the luggage, the two car seats that have to be installed, and our two small children (ages 3 yrs and almost 1 yr) in a double stroller, or

B) going out "encampment style" to the Emerald Reserve section and retrieving the minivan, to install the car seats there, get the luggage stowed, etc.?

Thanks in advance!
Karen

 

[CarolMN]

If it were me, I'd go with DH to pick out the minivan. It will be easier to install the car seats while the van is still in the garage than at the busy passenger pick up lanes. Plus if you haven't been to MCO for awhile, it may take awhile to figure out where to wait/meet and for your DH to figure out how to get there. With two of you (and a luggage cart if necessary), you should be able to get to the garage relatively easily. It's not all that far.

If you decide to wait with the kids and luggage, I'd at least give your DH the car seats to install while the van is still in the garage.

Best wishes -

 

[Ms. Belle]

I would take the carseats, DH and kids and pick out the minivan. By the time you do that, the luggage should be coming out. I would then have one of you go back and retrieve the luggage while one waits at the minivan with the kids. I think that would be easier. National's Emerald Reserve isn't that far from the baggage claim area; you could even ask a skycap to help if you have alot of luggage.

 

[CarolA]

I would wait on the luggage and if needed get a skycap. Haul all of it over to National and take your time getting organized. There won't be any need to worry about "where is our luggage" and you can just slowly get everything done.

It really does not take that long to get luggage in Orlando and your luggage could easily be going round and round while you deal with car seats. At some point it gets pulled and taken to the airlines office. Then you have to go there and get the luggage which can involve standing in line.

 

[metivier]

Thanks for all the advice!

CarolMN, my husband has never installed car seats before so I can't leave that job to him.

Plus we are checking one car seat for my 3 year-old, so one car seat will be carried on/off the plane and the other will (hopefully!) be with our luggage at baggage claim. Ms. Belle, your suggestion sounded great and I actually thought about gate-checking the car seat so I'd have both of them when we left the plane. But the thought of managing both car seats and a gate-checked double stroller PLUS the 2 children was starting to give me a headache.

CarolA, I think we'll do the skycap thing and have some help with our luggage out to the minivan. I hadn't thought about the luggage going round and round and round then "POOF" -- but you raise a great point.

Thanks again for all the great feedback!
Karen

 

[beattyfamily]

We have 2 DDs and have had two car seats and a double stroller and luggage and we always all go to the rental car together and load up the car and set up the carseats in the garage.

We all go and get the luggage and get a luggage cart. Load up the luggage cart and Dh pushes that and I push the kids.

Then we take our time loading up the car!