Need help figuring out car rental (resort-port-airport)

[LaLaDisney]

Hi wonderful DIS family! We are leaving soon for our trip to WDW!! At the last minute we changed our transportation plans. We are staying onsite and then taking a Disney Cruise. After the cruise we have a late flight home. We were planning to take Disney transportation all the way, but now are going to rent a car.

From your experiences, should we do one way rentals from resort to port and port to airport? Or should we do multiple day rentals, park it at the port (pay parking) and return it to the airport?

I was also having trouble finding places besides the Car Care Center in WDW to rent from. Where are the other rental places? Thanks so much everyone!

 

[goofy4tink]

I am assuming you are taking DME to the resort first, then looking to rent to get to port? If so...you can rent from Alamo/National at the Dolphin. Or, there are many rental companies with counters in various DTD resorts. For instance, Budget is located at the Doubletree.
I would run figures both ways.....driving to port, returning at port and then rerenting to get to the airport. Then, see how much it is to keep the car the entire time, plus parking. I usually just keep the car and pay to park. I hate having to take the time to shuttle to the ship after returning the car, then shuttling back to rerent the car. But, that's just me. Also....there was one time it was actually cheaper for me to keep the car, and pay to park it, then to rent one way twice.

 

[LaLaDisney]

Yes, you are right. We are going to take DME from MCO to our resort. Then on our cruise day we were going to rent the car. I'll price it out like you said.

How easy is it to park at the port? How much is it for a 3 day cruise?

 

[skelooch]

There is a large garage next to the Disney terminal, it's operated by the Port of Canaveral, rate is $15/day so figure $60 for your 3 day cruise. I just did a 4 day cruise a few weeks ago and parking was $75.

 

[goofy4tink]

Yes, you are right. We are going to take DME from MCO to our resort. Then on our cruise day we were going to rent the car. I'll price it out like you said.

How easy is it to park at the port? How much is it for a 3 day cruise?

Ridiculously easy to park at port...especially with the new garage. In April, we were able to get a spot right on the ground level, just as you entered the garage. So, we got off the ship, went to the street, crossed at the crosswalk, walked to our car in under a minute, got in and drove away. Ever so much nicer than waiting for a shuttle, riding back to the car rental office, then renting, packing up, and driving back (usually right past the ship again).
Only you can decide if it's worth it to park and pay for those days when the car isn't in use. For us, in April, it was worth the addtl $50...I think that's what the total addtl cost was when you added in parking costs. not so bad for the convenience.

 

[LaLaDisney]

Right now it is looking to be cheaper to keep the rental for the few days, park at the port and return it to the airport. It is making me feel better that it seems like a pretty smooth process.

Is there a section on the boards where someone can tell me the route from Orlando to the port? Are there any tolls along the way? Everyone has been so helpful. Thanks!

 

[DVC California]

It may seem wasteful to leave a rental car there but the cost is very competitive to DCL bus tranpsortation and the roundtrip weekly rental CAN be cheaper than 2 one-ways, even with parking.

You can also save a few bucks by using DME roundtrip back to MCO, then picking up your car at the airport on cruise day. MCO rates may be lower (or higher if peak season) but you can rent for a shorter period.

Weekly rentals usually offer the best value, so if you want to kill a couple hours, take DME back to airport a few days early to pick up car mid stay.

I don't think tolls were more than $5 bucks each way and the drive is about 45-60 mins. All highway, lots of signs, follow the DCL buses if in doubt, there will be plenty on the road.

When you get to the port, drop off luggage first curbside, then park in parking garage. Very, very convenient. We did the one-way rentals in the past and prefer parking at the port.

ETA - We like renting at MCO because we are National Executive class and the selection at the aiport is usually better. I don't think there was a convenient National rental near the port. Only Avis, Dollar, Budget, maybe Hertz now.