Need some advice - 3 week minivan rental

[dizneyrulz]

Hello folks!

My trip is very quickly approaching and I have not secured a rental yet. The family and I arrive June 2nd and will depart June 22nd. We are planning the first two days at Universal, a week at Disney, 6 days on the Dream, 2 days at Vero Beach, then 4 or 5 days driving around Florida meeting up with old friends and family before we head back to MCO to head back home.

I am having a heck of a time finding a good price on a minivan (there will be 5 of us plus luggage) through a decent company. Has anyone had any luck renting a van through Ace Rent a Car or Fox? Their reviews scare me. My gut is saying spend the extra $300 or $400 to go with a "normal" place like Dollar, National, Thrifty, etc. But my head says if I can save $300 then I should save $300 so I am torn. Looking for advice... what would you do?

I figured I would rent for the entire time as I think it would get costly paying the one way rental fees (MCO to Port and then Port to MCO). I am open to any and all suggestions!

Thanks in advance.
Terry

 

[bumbershoot]

We are planning the first two days at Universal, a week at Disney, 6 days on the Dream

Do you need the car for those time periods? Cab/uber from the airport to Universal (from MCO you can only get certain ubers, so see if those work with your party), hang out there. Cab/uber to Disney. Will you be driving around? Most people don't (I do but I'm weird). Maybe a one day rental to get out to the port, but turn it in.

I figured I would rent for the entire time as I think it would get costly paying the one way rental fees (MCO to Port and then Port to MCO). I am open to any and all suggestions!

There's no room to just *think* with car rentals. One way fees are by NO means a certainty. In fact in FL I believe they are the oddballs. (some say they aren't allowed in FL, but enough reputable people have reported the occasional fee that I think it's not actually illegal) But it all depends on the car rental's needs. Do they need a car here vs there? Are they going to give you a good rate because you'll get the car to where they need it, or are they raising the prices because they want to conserve the cars?

There's no place in car rentals to just guess or assume. You have to actually price it out. Including the cost of parking that car for the time of your cruise. Get a nice clean notebook, clear a couple hours from your schedule, and work it ALL out. Every scenario.

I, personally, go with the big agencies.

 

[FCDub]

I personally would not rent from "Ace Rent a Car."

 

[ncc1701]

Agree with Bumbershoot. Do you need a rental while at Universal & WDW? May be cheaper to use car services to go from MCO to Universal then from there to WDW and on to the port. I also agree with staying with a national firm if you do rent. You do need to spend time pricing out the different options. We no longer rent going to WDW but have had different results renting elsewhere depending in the time of year and rental car demand. I know there are no parking fees at WDW but what about the port? Make sure you factor those in.

 

[Dis703]

It's been a few years since we actually rented a car in FL, but we did the one way thing fairly often and have priced it out more recently as well. The price increase (at least through Alamo) didn't seem that bad. I'd at least compare it to the difference of paying for a rental for the entire time of your trip vs. only the days you'll need to have it.

We've really only ever rented through Alamo or Hertz so I can't comment on the companies you asked about, but I'd personally be very hesitant to rent a car from a lesser known company. Even more hesitant if reviews are poor.

Good luck with your decision. As a family of 5 who needs a larger vehicle now I feel your pain. The jump in price from those little compact cars to minivans was quite a shock.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

How much do you consider "reasonable"? Unfortunately, waiting until now to rent a car in the summer can be pricey. Have you looked at Costco prices? I don't know if this would be big enough, but you could rent an intermediate (seats 5) SUV from Enterprise for 21 days (prices per week are usually cheaper than your 20 days, and they usually don't care if you return early). The price was $625, $740 if you drop off at MCO.

You would have to pick it up at the B Resort in Disney Springs rather than at the airport, but I just rented a car from them there last week and they couldn't have been nicer and easier to work with. If it were me, I would check with Disney to see if I could take Magical Express to the resort I'd be checking into 2 days later, and then take a bus to Disney Springs and walk to the B Resort to get the car. Disney might not let you take Magical Express early, but it's worth asking. A lot of hassle, I know, but this would save you as much as $500 by not renting at MCO.

(If you do decide to rent a vehicle, try to do it right away. You can always cancel if you change your mind, and prices often go up from one day to the next. But keep checking - sometimes they go down!)

 

[NotUrsula]

Too bad you're not driving out of Florida; you are just barely within the usual time frame for the one-way drive-out deals. Rates are as low as $5/day for these, though SUVs and vans are a bit more expensive. Maximum rental period is 21 days. If you're flying SWA, you might want to consider changing your flight home to leave out of Atlanta, and drive up and fly home from there. (You have to return the car somewhere outside of Florida to get this offer.)

 

[dizneyrulz]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We do need a car the whole time as my wife has a medical condition that doesn't allow her to walk long distances so we travel with a scooter. I've never thought of trying Costco (someone mentioned above). Well I just checked them and I was able to secure a van for about $800! I know it seems like a lot but all the other places I was finding were in the 1000 to 1300 range so I will take it for $800!

Thanks again for all the replies!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I'm glad it worked out! I've gotten such good advice and suggestions from people on the disboards, and was happy to see it went the other way!

 

[NotUrsula]

Yep, Costco is awesome for rental cars; that is the entire reason that we have a membership there. (We have 2 stores in our metro area, but both are over 20 miles from home in areas that we very seldom visit. The savings on only one car rental made the investment worth our while.)

Tip re: Costco and Alamo: You can save even more over booking via Costco's site if you book on the Alamo site and manually enter the Costco codes, because you can also use the pay-in-advance discount if you book direct on the Alamo site.
So, go to the Costco travel comparison site, price it out, and if Alamo is the best bet, look at the fine print, then take those codes over to the Alamo site and book it there.

Also, if you use a cash-transfer travel credit card such as the CO Mileage Rewards card, you can use f the points you earn on your purchase to further pay down any travel costs. I like to roll the extra savings that way.

 

[bumbershoot]

We do need a car the whole time as my wife has a medical condition that doesn't allow her to walk long distances so we travel with a scooter. I've never thought of trying Costco (someone mentioned above). Well I just checked them and I was able to secure a van for about $800!

Many people onsite at Disney find the bus transportation to be decent when dealing with a scooter, FWIW. And if you're onsite at Universal you don't want to be driving to the parks! You leave your car at the hotel's lot and use the pathways or boats. Driving (or taking shuttles) drops you at the citywalk/themepark garage which can take LONGER to get through than coming from the hotels.

Also, you're still having to pay for parking for that week on the cruise, yes? If it were me I would at least *check* the costs of turning in the car for that week and therefore having two separate rentals. When you drive to the port you can drop everyone off at the port, then have one person drive the car to the rental agency and take the shuttle back, and then just reverse that when you are done with the cruise. It's worth finding out the costs. I mean, maybe it'll double it. Or maybe eliminating a week and the parking garage costs will be financially worth it.