Party of 8, any suggestions.....

[boysplustwins]

We are going to stay at BWV for 5 nights, but airfare was much cheaper for us to come in 1 day earlier. We are going to stay the first night off-site at the Sheraton Safari. There are 8 of us (4 adults, 4 children). What are my transportation options? We HAD planned on using ME, and will do so for the trip back, but not sure what the best deal is. All of the rental places list a minivan, but max. capacity is 7. Should I just call Mears for a shuttle? Thanks for your help!
Janet

 

[kkmauch]

If you're interested, a lot of local towncar companies also have large vans. A year ago we had a total of 8 people in our group and we used Quicksilver to go to SSR from MCO. It was a 15 passenger van I think...if I remember correctly. It held all of us and all of our luggage quite well and we enjoyed their service. There are a number of towncar companies, so just check to see which offer the 15 passenger van option and you should be able to check back on the boards about their service and reputation.

 

[n2mm]

when we travel with all of the kids we are a group of 9 (7 adults, 1 child, 1 infant--car seat). We always rent 2 cars. My WDW veteran kids dislike using the buses, as we do. By having 2 cars, we often split up alot. And since you're staying at the villas it would help to get to the grocery store (Publix is always my choice). We did have a minivan in July (National) and it was an 8 seater Sienna. Even with that, there is no way you can transport luggage for 8 in any type of minivan. I would crunch the numbers of the price of 2 intermediate or full size cars vs. cab or limo service to move 8 plus luggage from the airport to your offsite hotel, and the price of moving 8 plus luggage from your offsite hotel to BWV...sounds like you might break even. JMHO

 

[SB in KY]

Don't know how tied in you are to your Sheraton Safari reservations....but you might want to think about Pricelining a couple of hotel rooms at a 3* hotel in the MCO zone....Priceline books at the Marriott, Holiday Inn Select, Renaissance, Sheraton Suites and the Hyatt inside the airport. All offer complimentary shuttle service to/from MCO 24/7 and all are (IMHO) a notch above the Sheraton Safari in quality. All have nice pools and full services. That way you could catch the shuttle from the airport to the hotel for your first night then shuttle back to MCO in the AM at anytime you wish and hop the DME. It would probably represent significant savings for the group. Usually a bid in the range of $42 - 52/room will get a 3* hotel in the MCO zone on Priceline (depending on your dates).

If you prefer to keep your Safari reservations I would second the choice for 2 rental cars for 1 day with a drop off at Dolphin (Alamo or National)....that would also give you the option of making a grocery stop before (or after) you check in at the Boardwalk....which might be handy for a large group staying for the week. I suspect you would come out better than booking a car service large van twice (airport to Safari and Safari to BW).

 

[pyrxtc]

I rented a car for one day from Alamo. We pick it up at te airport and go to the Sheraton the I will use it in the morning to go to the BWV's and grocery shopping. I will drop it off at the Dolphin and hop on a bus from there to the MK for MNSSHP.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I had a trip planned with a late arrival at the airport, so I had planned to stay off-site (near the airport) the first night.

When Magical Express was announced, I figured out it would actually be cheaper to change the first night to be on-site after all.

The added bonus is that when we wake up the next morning, we'll already be at our WDW resort. We won't have to lose hours moving. We won't have to store our luggage if the room isn't ready in the morning. We can just go off and have fun!

 

[sherry66]

Alamo has 8 passenger minivans or they did in 2004 as we had one

 

[boysplustwins]

Thanks so much for all the replys and suggestions. Unfortunately, we bid on Priceline for the hotel, and figured the kids would love the theming and the slide and the down-time from the flight. I think that we will end up renting a mini-van for the week (or at least the day) so that we can get around a little easier. Apparently the busses from BWV can take a LONG time, and with F&W and free dining, I suspect it will be pretty busy. Thanks again!!
Janet