Plan for me getting rental car, DH getting luggage, and not getting lost

[leadfootlevi]

DH thinks, in order to save time, I should take the carryons and go get the rental car while he and DS6 get the luggage. Then I will come and pick them up at the arriving flights area.
Is this 1) doable? and 2) not to difficult? I am not good with direction/orientation (which way is north?) and getting lost would be a very bad thing for me. The rental car is coming from Alamo and we are flying in on SW.

 

[mdsd8700]

We do this all the time! Except we switch, my husband goes to get the car and I stay with the kids to get the luggage.

The rental car pick-up is on site in Orlando and literally is just across the street from the terminal. The sinage is very clear and you will not have any problem locating it. You honestly can't miss the "parking" structure that houses the rental car agencies. The tricky part can be getting out of of the rental car place and back to terminal to pick everyone up. That might get you turned around. It created a problem once so now we take the luggage over to the rental car place. That probably sounds like it doesn't save as much time, but we feel it still does. There are luggage carts for rent if you need them. I think they are $5 or so. Debit/credit cards excepted at the machine. My son is 18 so we don't need the cart he just helps me wheel the luggage over to the rental place.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Fire14]

I personally am sure I could do it but a first timer trying it can be tricky. The signage is great at airport but you really need to be careful coming back around, and what's to say you won't be left waiting at curb for them.

 

[DebbieB]

DH thinks, in order to save time, I should take the carryons and go get the rental car while he and DS6 get the luggage. Then I will come and pick them up at the arriving flights area.
Is this 1) doable? and 2) not to difficult? I am not good with direction/orientation (which way is north?) and getting lost would be a very bad thing for me. The rental car is coming from Alamo and we are flying in on SW.

SW is on A side so you would have to look for the signs that say Arrivals A to get to the curb. To be honest, unless you are familiar with MCO, I would not separate. You can very easily get in the wrong lane and end up heading out of the airport. That happened to me a couple of times, I wanted the South exit and ended up going out the North exit.

 

[bumbershoot]

DH thinks, in order to save time, I should take the carryons and go get the rental car while he and DS6 get the luggage. Then I will come and pick them up at the arriving flights area.
Is this 1) doable? and 2) not to difficult? I am not good with direction/orientation (which way is north?) and getting lost would be a very bad thing for me. The rental car is coming from Alamo and we are flying in on SW.

Since you're not good with direction, why not switch? He can get the car and you get the bags?


But honestly, just go together. You're not saving that much time doing it the way he wants to, and the airport roads are well marked BUT still VERY confusing, especially if you don't have a navigator! Since you're already not a direction-person, I can see you looping the airport once or twice, not feeling all that good while doing it, and taking far more time than the time saved by separating.

 

[NotUrsula]

If Alamo was offsite it would make sense, but it is just across the driveway in the parking garage. Don't bother driving around.

Do go ahead and go get the rental paperwork done by yourself if you need to go to the kiosk or counter, but then go meet them back at baggage claim and head for the tunnel together. Most of the time if you use the kiosk you can be done and back to them just about the time that they get the bags off the belt. (Also, you might want to consider taking the little one with you. Young kids can easily get in the way of someone near baggage belts and get hit when people yank their bags off.) Bring a bungee and you should be able to stack a couple of your bags to make them easier to pull.

 

[DVC California]

DH thinks, in order to save time, I should take the carryons and go get the rental car while he and DS6 get the luggage. Then I will come and pick them up at the arriving flights area.
Is this 1) doable? and 2) not to difficult? I am not good with direction/orientation (which way is north?) and getting lost would be a very bad thing for me. The rental car is coming from Alamo and we are flying in on SW.

IMHO, I have a great sense of direction but I still can get lost doing a loop in an airport. And doing that while looking for signs for the right terminal, airline, arrival/departure, ramp, other cars....omg.

I agree with other posters that it would be much easier to just pick up the car keys from the counter, than go back up to family. You will not save any appreciable time by driving all the way around the airport.

BTW - After you pick up the car keys, make sure you get on the escalator to the 2nd level (Baggage Claims). I've gotten on the long escalator that went up to 3rd level (Departures) and had to walk around looking for the down. Or better yet, take the elevator.

HTH, Steve

 

[skelooch]

I agree with others, the 5 or 10 minutes you might save could turn into a lot of lost time. Getting from the garage back to the arrivals area can be a bit intimidating unless you are very familiar with the airport.
Better off just all sticking together.

 

[OKW Lover]

We do this frequently and its really not hard. The signage is fine at the airport so just read and follow.

It also works on the way back since you can drop your party off at the check-in level with all the bags/carry-ons and then drive around to return the car.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would not seperate! Like others have said, you could end up loosing time if you get lost driving around to get him. Plus what if one of your bags happens to be lost and your husband has to file a claim for it. You will be left waiting at the curb for him while he does the paperwork. In which case security "may" ask you to move along if you are waiting too long and you will then have to circle around again.

Using the kiosk is super easy and quick takes less than 5 minutes to get your rental agreement. Not sure if you know this but Alamo allows you to pick your own car in the lot. All of the keys are in the vehicles so all you have to do is hop in and drive to the exit. At the exit booth give them the tag hanging on the rearview mirror along with your rental contract and drivers license. After a few quick checks off you go. So some of the fun is going to the garage to pick out which vehicle you want to drive for the week.

I would go as a family.

 

[mossy1]

If Alamo was offsite it would make sense, but it is just across the driveway in the parking garage. Don't bother driving around.

Do go ahead and go get the rental paperwork done by yourself if you need to go to the kiosk or counter, but then go meet them back at baggage claim and head for the tunnel together. Most of the time if you use the kiosk you can be done and back to them just about the time that they get the bags off the belt. (Also, you might want to consider taking the little one with you. Young kids can easily get in the way of someone near baggage belts and get hit when people yank their bags off.) Bring a bungee and you should be able to stack a couple of your bags to make them easier to pull.

This is what I would do. Best of luck with what ever you decide.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'm also in the stay together camp.....I really don't see that you will gain much time by splitting up.

 

[gmeh1]

We do this all the time! Except we switch, my husband goes to get the car and I stay with the kids to get the luggage.

The rental car pick-up is on site in Orlando and literally is just across the street from the terminal. The sinage is very clear and you will not have any problem locating it. You honestly can't miss the "parking" structure that houses the rental car agencies. The tricky part can be getting out of of the rental car place and back to terminal to pick everyone up. That might get you turned around. It created a problem once so now we take the luggage over to the rental car place. That probably sounds like it doesn't save as much time, but we feel it still does. There are luggage carts for rent if you need them. I think they are $5 or so. Debit/credit cards excepted at the machine. My son is 18 so we don't need the cart he just helps me wheel the luggage over to the rental place.

Enjoy your trip!

Just a FYI, the luggage carts are 4.00 and cash, debit and credit cards are accepted.

 

[gmeh1]

I would not seperate! Like others have said, you could end up loosing time if you get lost driving around to get him. Plus what if one of your bags happens to be lost and your husband has to file a claim for it. You will be left waiting at the curb for him while he does the paperwork. In which case security "may" ask you to move along if you are waiting too long and you will then have to circle around again.

Using the kiosk is super easy and quick takes less than 5 minutes to get your rental agreement. Not sure if you know this but Alamo allows you to pick your own car in the lot. All of the keys are in the vehicles so all you have to do is hop in and drive to the exit. At the exit booth give them the tag hanging on the rearview mirror along with your rental contract and drivers license. After a few quick checks off you go. So some of the fun is going to the garage to pick out which vehicle you want to drive for the week.

I would go as a family.

Great advice!!!! Just a FYI, Alamo rarely uses the hang tags anymore. We use a strip of paper with a scan code and it is usually placed inside the driver's side visor. Actually, we don't even need that as we can get the VIN from the windshield or from a UPC strip on the window. About the only place you will find a car with a hang tag is on the EA.
Now, the trick is to get the renters NOT to toss that strip of paper away.

 

[Brian Noble]

Do go ahead and go get the rental paperwork done by yourself if you need to go to the kiosk or counter, but then go meet them back at baggage claim and head for the tunnel together. Most of the time if you use the kiosk you can be done and back to them just about the time that they get the bags off the belt.

This would be my advice too. You are only saving about 1-2 minutes, total, of walking time picking him up curbside rather than just all of you walking to the car.