Need Rental Car Drop Off Advice

[Little E]

Hi Disfriends!

I never rent cars when I go to WDW...I live in the midwest and we always fly to MCO and then Uber to our resort. Plans are a little different for my trip in mid March. I'm helping my folks who are staying in another part of Florida, and then driving to WDW after I leave my folks. I will be picking up my rental car where my parents are staying and then driving the 3 hours to WDW. I am staying at Pop and meeting my friend at MK. My research says that there is a "Care Care Center" at WDW where I can drop my rental car. The WDW website lists the address as: 1000 Car Care Drive, Orlando, FL 32830. Is this a legit thing? And, how easy it to drop a car off there and then head to MK (or any of the parks for that matter)? Any drop off advice folks have for me would be awesome. Thank you so much!

 

[leebee]

Yes, the Car Care Center IS a legit thing, but I believe there are only a couple of car rental agencies there (Alamo I know for sure). You can drop the car there and they'll take you to anyplace on Disney property that you ask, but I don't know the hours. There is also a gas station right there so you can top off the tank.

 

[HeiHei2018]

I believe there are also car rental desks at the swan or dolphin. You can enter lake buena vista on a car rental site, and it will give you various options near Disney.

 

[Ross Kratter]

When you drop a car off at the Car Care Center, which has Alamo, Enterprise, and National, they will shuttle you anywhere on Disney property, including the parks, for free.

 

[Little E]

@Ross Kratter This is great! Do I need to set the shuttle up before I arrive, or can they just shuttle me after I turn my car in?

 

[gottalovepluto]

@Ross Kratter This is great! Do I need to set the shuttle up before I arrive, or can they just shuttle me after I turn my car in?

They’ll do it after you turn in your car, no advance reservation required. You may share with another party so it isn’t necessarily fast but we usually ended up as our own party. (Keep in mind if you want to go to MK they’ll just drop you at TTC.)

 

[jimmymc]

Car Care Center is legit, there are a few agencies there where you can pick up or drop off rentals. They have shuttles to all the resorts and parks.

 

[Little E]

OP here...I'm now toying with dropping my rental car at the Dophin. Can anyone give me any info on that experience? My friend will now be able to pick me up, so I won't need the shuttle from the Car Care Center. We'll both need to check in to Pop and drop our bags so we can get to the parks asap. I'm thinking Dophin might be an easier drop off for this? Any input or experiences with Dolphin rental car stuff would be awesome.

 

[EACarlson]

OP here...I'm now toying with dropping my rental car at the Dophin. Can anyone give me any info on that experience? My friend will now be able to pick me up, so I won't need the shuttle from the Car Care Center. We'll both need to check in to Pop and drop our bags so we can get to the parks asap. I'm thinking Dophin might be an easier drop off for this? Any input or experiences with Dolphin rental car stuff would be awesome.

I guess it depends on which park to MK I think this is a no brainer. I would go to Pop, check in, drop the car at the CCC and have the shuttle take me to the park. If you drop at Dolphin, you're going to drive further, then wait until the next bus from Dolphin to MK.

 

[sam_gordon]

I guess it depends on which park to MK I think this is a no brainer. I would go to Pop, check in, drop the car at the CCC and have the shuttle take me to the park. If you drop at Dolphin, you're going to drive further, then wait until the next bus from Dolphin to MK.

Does Dolphin take you to the bus drop off for MK or just to TTC? And, where does the CCC shuttle drop you?

 

[gottalovepluto]

OP here...I'm now toying with dropping my rental car at the Dophin. Can anyone give me any info on that experience? My friend will now be able to pick me up, so I won't need the shuttle from the Car Care Center. We'll both need to check in to Pop and drop our bags so we can get to the parks asap. I'm thinking Dophin might be an easier drop off for this? Any input or experiences with Dolphin rental car stuff would be awesome.

There is no reason to drop at Dolphin if you’re going to MK, CCC is by MK. Also price it out, usually Dolphin is more expensive for me. If you were doing EP or DHS it would be different because you could drop the car and catch the boat to the park from Swolphin.

Does Dolphin take you to the bus drop off for MK or just to TTC? And, where does the CCC shuttle drop you?

Swolphin buses and CCC shuttles drop at TTC. The only things that drop at MK itself are Disney’s buses and Minnie Vans.

 

[Little E]

@gottalovepluto and @EACarlson This is good to know. Our plans have changed a little. My friend, who has a car, will be meeting me/picking me up wherever I drop my rental car. We'll quickly scoot to Pop to check in and leave our bags with bell services, and then we'll head to MK from Pop. I now won't be going immediately to MK, but rather making a stop at Pop first. So, I'm wondering if Dophin will be easier/closer to drop off my rental car before heading to Pop?

 

[Tiggr88]

I'm not sure how easy it will be for your friend to go through the security gate to pick you up at Dolphin. Those on the Dolphin/Swan resort thread would know best. Some Disney resorts can be funny about letting people in without a dining reservation. I'm not sure about Dolphin. They might try to charge the parking fee. Assuming it is not an issue, it should be easy to do.

He should be able to get you to at CCC easily, since people need to be dropped off there to pick up cars all the time.

I don't think the difference in driving distance should really be a concern. According to google maps it is about 2 minutes longer driving distance from CCC than Dolphin, not enough to make a difference IMO.

The CCC will have longer hours, especially if arriving on a Sunday, so take that into consideration. Also, the CCC has a Speedway right there if you want to gas up just as you are dropping off. Of course, there is a Speedway right around the corner from the Dolphin as well, only about 2 minutes away, so again, I would just choose what is more convenient.

FWIW, I have dropped off at Dolphin several times in the last year and had a good experience. You just drive up to the normal guest dropoff location and tell them you are dropping off a car. They will tell you where to park and one of the valets will come over and take all the information. Don't forget to take pictures of mileage as well as of the car. Nice thing about the Dolphin dropoff is that they have all indicated 'No damage' on the receipt when I drop off. They don't normally do that when I drop off at other locations.

I dropped off at CCC and picked up there once but that was years ago. I recall the experience being relatively easy and pleasant there as well.

I know it is not a consideration for you anymore, but I have taken the shuttle to/from the CCC in the past and it is simple. You may need to wait a bit for a shuttle to arrive and you may share and no got direct, but it is fairly easy.

I've also dropped off at Dolphin and taken the boats to Epcot or HS. Great way to start a trip BTW. I've also taken the bus to the TTC at MK as well. Especially if you want to drop off everything at Pop first and then drop off the car instead of vice versa. We usually take care of our bags, groceries, resort check in etc and then drop off the car after we our done and then go to parks.

In the end, whatever works best for your timing is what I would focus on. And if the cost is any different. I haven't usually seen a difference in price so lately I've been dropping off at Dolphin but wouldn't hesitate to use CCC especially if I need the extra time. Dolphin usually closes earlier for returns. Good luck.

 

[CarolynFH]

I'm not sure how easy it will be for your friend to go through the security gate to pick you up at Dolphin.

Dolphin doesn’t have security gates. OP’s friend can easily drive up to the front entrance to pick them up.

So, I'm wondering if Dophin will be easier/closer to drop off my rental car before heading to Pop?

Pop is much closer to Dolphin than to CCC, so it would be a more convenient location for you to drop off your car and be picked up by your friend.