Please help me envision transfers from wdw resort to port

[Kimberly9701]

In case you don't know, you can't use the booster on the plane.



What tonka is talking about is the loss of use charge. I've never once heard of it being charged at the daily rate. I don't think that's correct.

But I would be VERY surprised if the CC coverage covered it. And I can say with a high amount of security that your car insurance won't either. They'll cover the costs to fix it. But not loss of use.

We have a rate that includes the loss of use insurance when we book national (hubby's work code and he's allowed to use it for personal trips too) so that's nice.

In Ireland we paid or the insurance. If you've ever driven in Ireland you'll understand why!

And the one time Alamo tried to tell me I damaged their car I asked them to prove it was me and they could not. So that was good.

Yes, it's always part of our checked luggage.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Another thing people kinda just do fast and not in detail..is the damage walk around.as Bumpershoot mentioned, the rental car insurance company will try to charge you for the damage.

It is important that you, not just the agent, walks around the car and notes all damages , right down to scratches. Splash Mountain can wait 2 or 3 minutes longer.

AKK

 

[Kimberly9701]

Another thing people kinda just do fast and not in detail..is the damage walk around.as Bumpershoot mentioned, the rental car insurance company will try to charge you for the damage.

It is important that you, not just the agent, walks around the car and notes all damages , right down to scratches. Splash Mountain can wait 2 or 3 minutes longer.

AKK

I don't know if things are different now, but in 2005 I was in a car accident in a rental while in Key West. Someone made a right turn on red, into the center lane, when I had a left turn green light, they hit the center of the passenger side (was a small convertible) and the car was not able to be driven afterwards. The rental car company did not give me another car. I ended up flying back to FLL.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I don't know if things are different now, but in 2005 I was in a car accident in a rental while in Key West. Someone made a right turn on red, into the center lane, when I had a left turn green light, they hit the center of the passenger side (was a small convertible) and the car was not able to be driven afterwards. The rental car company did not give me another car. I ended up flying back to FLL.

Hi Kim,

Did they give a reason why they would not give you another car? Like they did not have any available? I only had 1 rental car issue, and that was when a guy hit the car in a parking lot. It was able to be driven, but Enterprise sent a tow truck and a replacement car in about 45 minutes. I was told liability issues, in case there was hidden damage that could cause another accident.

AKK

 

[Ofinn]

I wouldn't let people scare you off from renting a car based on the one in million chance that something might happen. I have rented cars hundreds of times without incident, and will continue to rent a car each and every time we sail out of any port. It's the cheapest and easiest way to get to from airport to cruise port. Rental cars are covered under most insurance policy's. A lot of people seem to live in this "what if" world. I don't know how you can enjoy life dreaming up every possible thing that can go wrong. If renting a car saves you money do it. We rented a car in every port on our Hawaii cruise. It saved us hundreds of dollars vs DCL's ''Unmagical cattle call bus tours". I plan on renting a car in Iceland too.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Hi Kim,

Did they give a reason why they would not give you another car? Like they did not have any available? I only had 1 rental car issue, and that was when a guy hit the car in a parking lot. It was able to be driven, but Enterprise sent a tow truck and a replacement car in about 45 minutes. I was told liability issues, in case there was hidden damage that could cause another accident.

AKK

Oh, it was a huge issue. They told me that when there is an accident of that magnitude that they can not immediately rent another due to liability. I was livid especially since obviously the accident was not my fault, and there was a police report to prove that. They didn't come after me for damages or charge me anything extra, prorated my charge for the 2 days remaining, but they would not replace the car. I tried to fight it, especially bc of the money I had to spend on a 1 way ticket, I pretty much gave up after about a week of phone calls.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I wouldn't let people scare you off from renting a car based on the one in million chance that something might happen. I have rented cars hundreds of times without incident, and will continue to rent a car each and every time we sail out of any port. It's the cheapest and easiest way to get to from airport to cruise port. Rental cars are covered under most insurance policy's. A lot of people seem to live in this "what if" world. I don't know how you can enjoy life dreaming up every possible thing that can go wrong. If renting a car saves you money do it. We rented a car in every port on our Hawaii cruise. It saved us hundreds of dollars vs DCL's ''Unmagical cattle call bus tours". I plan on renting a car in Iceland too.

Oh I still rent cars all the time! The chances of that happening again are so slim.

 

[Ofinn]

Kimberly - based on your needs I would echo others and say the DCL transfers are a no brainer - totally Seamless and you'll love it. You will put your tags on your luggage once you're out of the airport and in Florida and then once you give them to the bus driver, you will not see them again until they are delivered to the stateroom on day 1.... as far as leaving, they have porters greeting you at the bottom of the escalator as you leave the ship and they push a cart and you show them where your luggage is (You will get new luggage tags the night before the cruise ends to show you where to pick up the luggage) and the porter will put all of the luggage with you on the cart, push the cart for you through customs and then escort you back to the DCL bus and just tip him $10 or whatever you're comfortable with.

The luggage gets tricky at the MCO but we find sky caps are the fatest way to check the luggage, if you are flying SW you get dropped off at side B on the DCL bus and will have to walk across the airport to the A side, so it can be annoying but doable, especially if you pay $5 for one of those luggage carts that are available right outside of the bus


For those who rent the car - how convenient is it? How do you pick it up at the Dolphin and then you just drop it off at the port? Do you drop your luggage with the porters before or after you drop off/return the car?


for PP Meet and Greets tickets are like what another PP said, they are ticketed character events, free but they run out of them after day 1, so if you are interested in getting some timed character experiences, then be sure to pick them up at the port adventures desk on day 1, the line will be long but moves quickly, you don't need tickets to experience characters but we find them more convenient than following the character times in the navigator

We have picked up a car at the Swan and Dolphin. It was very easy. Spent the day at Epcot, walked over to Swan and Dolphin picked up car, drove to WL, drove to port next day picked up beer and wine on the way, dropped off car, on the ship by 11am. Very easy and it only cost us 32.00 dollars for a standard car vs 140.00 for dcl transfer. We also got on the ship hours earlier than taking a bus. We have done many 2 week trips to Florida and I was able to rent a car each time for Under 200.00 for the whole 2 weeks. It's very cheap to rent cars in Florida. My car rental in Iceland is 200.00 for a day. Still saves me 400.00 vs the DCL tour though.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

The fun times dealing with large Companies! You can beat your head against the wall for ever and they rarely give in! One of the reasons I pay the rental car companies insurance.

AKK

 

[Kimberly9701]

We have picked up a car at the Swan and Dolphin. It was very easy. Spent the day at Epcot, walked over to Swan and Dolphin picked up car, drove to WL, drove to port next day picked up beer and wine on the way, dropped off car, on the ship by 11am. Very easy and it only cost us 32.00 dollars for a standard car vs 140.00 for dcl transfer. We also got on the ship hours earlier than taking a bus. We have done many 2 week trips to Florida and I was able to rent a car each time for Under 200.00 for the whole 2 weeks. It's very cheap to rent cars in Florida. My car rental in Iceland is 200.00 for a day. Still saves me 400.00 vs the DCL tour though.

The main thing for me is the car seat. Once I add in the fee (and I don't trust their car seats anyway) it isn't that much of a savings. So every other time I have brought my own, it's not very convenient to travel with. Makes the airport cart quite awkward(apologies if I've ran over anyone's feet on these boards while at MCO, PBI, FLL, or MIA )..and I can't imagine bringing it on the ship so would have to rent the car for 2 weeks and deal with parking at the port.

 

[hanscarlet]

We have picked up a car at the Swan and Dolphin. It was very easy. Spent the day at Epcot, walked over to Swan and Dolphin picked up car, drove to WL, drove to port next day picked up beer and wine on the way, dropped off car, on the ship by 11am. Very easy and it only cost us 32.00 dollars for a standard car vs 140.00 for dcl transfer. We also got on the ship hours earlier than taking a bus. We have done many 2 week trips to Florida and I was able to rent a car each time for Under 200.00 for the whole 2 weeks. It's very cheap to rent cars in Florida. My car rental in Iceland is 200.00 for a day. Still saves me 400.00 vs the DCL tour though.

Thank you for this info! We're staying at the Beach Club so we may try this. I really loved the bus but not getting on the ship until 1 or so is kind of a not what we want to do. The ride seems pretty easy right? Thanks!

 

[Ofinn]

Thank you for this info! We're staying at the Beach Club so we may try this. I really loved the bus but not getting on the ship until 1 or so is kind of a not what we want to do. The ride seems pretty easy right? Thanks!

If your staying at Beach Club then it's super easy. I rent through Costco. Sometimes prices are high just keeping checking as it gets closer to your cruise prices will usually drop.

 

[kiford]

ou need to decide if you are ok with possibly missing out on meet and greet tickets and/or any other service you would want to sign up for once you board.

We've never had problems getting tickets for things and we always take DCL transfers. Now, we don't do M&Gs but we do tastings and other things. I've not heard of people being locked out of M&G tickets though regardless of time.

 

[longboard55]

So I checked prices for a trip in 2 weeks, for 4 Disney dcl bus is 140 each way. The pick up at the dolphin and drop off for a impala which we would need for 4 is 150 each way. Getting a car at MCO for a week with parking for 5 days was around $150 each way for a terminal pick up ( you could get lower rates for some offsite lots but not doing that again) . Funny how these things work out. So I guess it gets down to if you want to get there early and stop for food, or the ease of the bus.

 

[Billinaz]

So I checked prices for a trip in 2 weeks, for 4 Disney dcl bus is 140 each way. The pick up at the dolphin and drop off for a impala which we would need for 4 is 150 each way. Getting a car at MCO for a week with parking for 5 days was around $150 each way for a terminal pick up ( you could get lower rates for some offsite lots but not doing that again) . Funny how these things work out. So I guess it gets down to if you want to get there early and stop for food, or the ease of the bus.

What rental agency is that? You can get a full size car for about $40 from Avis. I am getting one from the holiday inn on hotel plaza blvd.

 

[longboard55]

What rental agency is that? You can get a full size car for about $40 from Avis. I am getting one from the holiday inn on hotel plaza blvd.

That was Alamo for pick up at the Dolphin and next day drop off in port canaveral. The Dolphin has an Alamo desk, I think it is the only one at a Disney Property Hotel.

 

[Billinaz]

Budget is at the Doubletree on Hotel Plaza Blvd, and Avis is at the Holiday Inn on Hotel Plaza Blvd. We usually stay at the Grand Floridian and I have gotten a car from Budget. With a day notice they will pick you up at GF (and I am assuming other WDW hotels). Avis was priced better this year so we are using them. If they wont pick us up I will grab a taxi or Uber to the Holiday Inn. So the bottom line is that even adding that cost if I have to, I have a full size car for about $55 total.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Don't forget you have to add in the rental car taxes and fees. While I don't doubt the PP got the $40.00 fee he mentioned, I could not find any near that. I would guess he got a specail rate.

I would also check on just what your home car insurname and credit card insurances cover. There is often open gaps

Like:

1. If, God forbid, you have a accident, and the rental car repair bill is more then your insurances will pay......your on the hook.

2. The days the rental car is being repaired, the rental car agency can continue to charge you your daily rental rate.

3. Usually, You have to pay the rental car bills and then deal with your insurances to get your money back.


The bottom line here is until you have more them 3 or 4 people in your party , DCL Trans maybe the better option, if your only 2, then DCL is the better deal.

This includes no driving, no shuttle,big comfortable ride and Disney Magic right from the start. Even if your likely to get to the port about 1300.

AKK

 

[hanscarlet]

For us I think we're going to get DCL transfers but get them at MCO instead of the resort, we'll look into uber or a taxi from the hotels to the MCO.

 

[Carie]

My family (husband and daughter) are cruising in October. We've payed for the DCL transfers but I'm wondering if there are other options. We'll be staying at Pop Century prior to our cruise with my parents who are not coming on the cruise. We would all like to have breakfast at Ohana the morning of our cruise. We currently have a reservation for 10:00. I was thinking maybe it would be better for us to have a limo pick us up bring us to Ohana and then to port after? My daughter is 4 would she have to be in a car seat in the limo?