One day car rental - practical? economical?

[nmack]

We'll be staying at POFQ for 9 nights in January. This means we'll have 8 full days at WDW and thought it might be nice to rent a car for a day or two to get out and about, perhaps to go the beach.

Since we'd be doing this in the middle (most likely) of our stay, how would this work? What's the easiest to get a rental from Disney property? I heard Alamo has cars at the resorts??? Are they reasonably priced? I'm guessing I'd have to book in advance otherwise the price might be astronomical.

Anyone done this? How did it work for you?

 

[ccw]

We rented a car (mini-van)for just a day last year thru Alamo at the WDW Car Care center. Their shuttle picked me up at OKW, I had the car in just a few minutes...the next day, my friends and I all went to take the car back and the shuttle driver dropped us all off at EPCOT, which is where we wanted to be for the rest of that day. I don;t remember the cost but it seemed reasonable to me. We only wanted the rental to make a grocery store run and to get to our big dinner at Calif. Grill without the hassle of resort to resort Disney transportation. Worked like a charm..and valet parked for free at CG with DDE card/DVC membership. Good luck!

 

[mommy*RN]

I rented a car here in Milwaukee for 1 day in October (to get us to the airport for our flight). The rates I was being quoted were cRaZy...so I gave Priceline a whirl. I was able to get a full-size car for $34 total (I bid $25 and my price was accepted by Avis). The only downside (though it doesn't really affect us)...is you have to pay for the car immediately after the price is met (by credit card) AND it is non-cancelable and non-refundable. Im no expert, but I don't know of any codes that are applicable for 1 day only (though I could definitely be wrong).

You might just want to give Priceline a try!

Good luck!

 

[laurabelle]

National and Alamo are on property (Car Care Center and Dolphin Resort) I only really need a car for one day of my upcoming trip and didn't find any good discounts on one day rentals. Do you have an Entertainment book? There is a 3 day rental coupon for National where you get a free day. I used a combo of codes and coupons and got an intermediate for 7 days for $100 total. We will be using it to drive to parks, except MK, dinner at resorts, DTD, water parks...it's worth it to me to have my own wheels for the week.
Check on http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html

 

[traces7]

I got a 1 day car rental from National, picking up and dropping off at the Dolphin for $29.21 for an intermediate size car. I didn't think this was too bad. It's for Oct 29-Oct 30. I used the AAA code on Mousesavers. We're using the car to drive to see the ocean one day. The Car Care rates were $48, so I chose to pick up at the Dolphin. Hope it works out ok! Hope this helps!

 

[LoveMickey]

I used the AP code.

There were longer lines at the Car Care Center the day we returned the car, is this the usual thing, or did I just hit it wrong. There had to be 20-30 people in line. Luckily they had a express drop off, but it was not well marked.

 

[laurabelle]

I got a 1 day car rental from National, picking up and dropping off at the Dolphin for $29.21 for an intermediate size car. I didn't think this was too bad. It's for Oct 29-Oct 30. I used the AAA code on Mousesavers. We're using the car to drive to see the ocean one day. The Car Care rates were $48, so I chose to pick up at the Dolphin. Hope it works out ok! Hope this helps!

I keep checking and the best I'm getting for my dates is $50 for one day...one code I entered quoted me $99!

 

[pooch]

for us. Wanted a convertible mustang (Ds's dream car!) for 2 days during our Aug. trip. $117.00 plus tax for 2 days. Could have gotten cheaper if we didn't want a specific car.