Questions about hiring a car at Disney

[markmcalear]

I am staying at CR for 2 weeks from 14th August. We are a family of 7 (2 adults, 3 children and 2 infants).

I am thinking that car hire may be slightly better for us than Disney buses. I just have a number of questions about driving at Disney:

1. Do resort guests pay for car parking at the resort?
2. Do resort guests pay for car parking at the parks?
3. I noticed a toll on the I4, how is this payable? Can you use a debit/credit card or is it cash only?
4. How much are tolls?

I am thinking that as I have never driven in USA before (I am from UK) that I may just use the car to drive around Disney property, possibly venture out if I feel confident but I can take a cab if not.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I am staying at CR for 2 weeks from 14th August. We are a family of 7 (2 adults, 3 children and 2 infants).

I am thinking that car hire may be slightly better for us than Disney buses. I just have a number of questions about driving at Disney:

1. Do resort guests pay for car parking at the resort?
2. Do resort guests pay for car parking at the parks?
3. I noticed a toll on the I4, how is this payable? Can you use a debit/credit card or is it cash only?
4. How much are tolls?

I am thinking that as I have never driven in USA before (I am from UK) that I may just use the car to drive around Disney property, possibly venture out if I feel confident but I can take a cab if not.

No charge for parking at resort or parks You'll get a parking pass at your resort to leave on your dashboard I had to go to MCO airport in April IF I remember correctly it was a total of $2.00 for the tolls I paid cash not sure if they take debit/credit I don't think so I remember scrambling around looking for change in the car

 

[markmcalear]

Thanks, I have booked a 7 seater SUV (Chevy Tahoe).

Do I get valet parking at the resort or do I just find a space myself?

 

[richmo]

Just a clarification:
- the previous poster was correct that resort guests have no parking fee for either the resort or the parks.
- The tolls are NOT on I-4. There are two main roads that go from the MCO airport towards Disney:
If you take the airport "North Exit", you will go west on SR-528, also known as the Beach Line (Bee Line) expressway. You will pay two tolls, then take that until it ends to I-4 West, towards Tampa. Then you'll be on I-4 for a few miles until the Disney exits start.
If you take the airport "South Exit", you will be on an airport road for a few miles (Jeff Fuqua Blvd. which turns into Reedy Creek Blvd.), then pick up SR-417 West, also known as the Greeneway. Again there are two tolls of $1.50 each. Same for returning to the airport.

Not sure if the Beach Line tolls are the same as the Greeneway, since I always take the Greeneway now, but they should be very similar.

I would also recommend taking the South Exit route. Much less potential for traffic. Especially at rush hour, I-4 can be an adventure.

 

[MouseyMin]

Valet parking is extra - I would just find a space and park.

You said you have 5 kids, including 2 babies. Florida law requires car seats and/or booster seats until kids are either 12 years old or a certain weight. I would suggest Googling "Florida car seat law" or something like that and seeing what you will need in the car for your children. Most car rental agencies can rent you the seats, but there will be fees for each one needed.

Welcome to the US!!

 

[ConnieB]

I bring along my GPS and simply tell it to avoid tolls....very little difference in mileage/time. If you don't have a GPS, download an app on your smartphone.

You can also ask that your rental car have the SunPass toll device in it, but you will pay more than the cash tolls with most rental companies. But it saves the worry of having exact change or of having to stop.

I don't mind paying the one or two dollar tolls....I just hate having to remember to have exact cash because most of them don't take cards and I am cheap enough to be adverse to paying extra for the convenience of a toll device.

If you rent and do NOT want the toll device....be sure that they remove it. Too many people complain that it incorrectly charges you even when you paid cash....and the burden is on you to prove it. So, if it's a permanently attached device always keep your receipts for the tolls you pay, because that's the only proof that they'll accept (hubby drives all over the country and has dealt with these problems several times too, but he has to keep his receipts for his expense report so he's always able to resolve them).

 

[richmo]

I bring along my GPS and simply tell it to avoid tolls....very little difference in mileage/time. If you don't have a GPS, download an app on your smartphone.

Agree on mileage, disagree on time. 417 is very direct and you're going 65 with no lights. Other alternates are much slower and many more lights (and lights in Florida are long!!) Definitely worth the $3 for me.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Hi I'm from the UK and we have driven in florida many times. Florida car seat law is pretty much the same as UK law.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Who are you renting from? Some car rental agencies charge less if you opt in for the sun pass.

I tend to prefer Alamo. With Alamo you don't have to opt in for sun pass. You pay $3.95 fee per day USED (not everyday of rental) up to a max $19.95and then the actual tolls. It was easy and worth the extra expense to use sun pass. I had no issues last December when I used it. And I also had no issues last August when I did NOT use it-no extra charges.

Here's a great link for how other rental agencies charge for usage:
https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar

 

[Ronda93]

I will chime in to say if you take the airport south exit pay CLOSE attention to the speed limits. Never been nabbed, but see lots of folks making one last payment ; )

 

[Monykalyn]

And please remember crazy tourists so excited to see Disney they stop and back up on highway!

 

[ConnieB]

Who are you renting from? Some car rental agencies charge less if you opt in for the sun pass.

I tend to prefer Alamo. With Alamo you don't have to opt in for sun pass. You pay $3.95 fee per day USED (not everyday of rental) up to a max $19.95and then the actual tolls. It was easy and worth the extra expense to use sun pass. I had no issues last December when I used it. And I also had no issues last August when I did NOT use it-no extra charges.

Here's a great link for how other rental agencies charge for usage:
https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar

Ok, but that means you are paying $20 PLUS the tolls. Looking at the road to and from MCO it would be a total of 3 miles each way out of the way, for a total of 6 miles....not worth $20 to me. Even if those 3 miles are on the slowest roads with maximum speeds of 25mph, that would only be 20 minutes (and the detour is NOT that slow).


Go to the Transportation Board and you will see quite a few people complaining that they were charged fees when they had paid the tolls themselves.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Ok, but that means you are paying $20 PLUS the tolls. Looking at the road to and from MCO it would be a total of 3 miles each way out of the way, for a total of 6 miles....not worth $20 to me. Even if those 3 miles are on the slowest roads with maximum speeds of 25mph, that would only be 20 minutes (and the detour is NOT that slow).


Go to the Transportation Board and you will see quite a few people complaining that they were charged fees when they had paid the tolls themselves.

You only pay for days used so if you only use it to/from airport it is $8 plus tolls.

 

[Day-Day]

The main toll areas do not require exact change. There are some "secondary" exits that would require exact change if paying cash for tolls. Four quick stop-and-go's for a total of $6 or less for the entire trip (if only going roundtrip once between airport and WDW); it is not not worth fooling around with other methods of paying the tolls or avoiding the tolls.

 

[sethschroeder]

I know some people like to rent cars but I think of it this way:

Each time we went to get on a bus (stayed at BWI) it was no more than 5-10 mins (that we really noticed) anywhere except downtown Disney and Water Parks.

The amount of time it will take you to figure out how to drive to the parks, park in a far off lot potentially, grab a shuttle or walk, and then finally get to where the busses drop you off right next to the gate would eat up any time saved...

Unless your going between resorts a lot I don't see the point of renting a car unless you plan on taking a few trips off the property. Even then I would just rent it for the 1 day you need the car to go to legoland or what not instead of renting it for the whole trip.

 

[Alesia]

Florida law requires car seats and/or booster seats until kids are either 12 years old or a certain weight. I would suggest Googling "Florida car seat law" or something like that and seeing what you will need in the car for your children.

Actually, Florida law only requires kids 3 and under to be in car seats. That's it. Kids aged 4 and up are only required to use seat belts.

 

[MouseyMin]

Actually, Florida law only requires kids 3 and under to be in car seats. That's it. Kids aged 4 and up are only required to use seat belts.

This is a direct quote from the Florida DMV webpage: (the bold words are from the DMV)
"It is the responsibility of the supervising adult to ensure that any child under 5 years old is seated in a federally-approved child car seat. Failure to do so could result in a $60 fine and 3 points against your driver’s license. "

They are also recommendations on the website for older children (up to age 12) depending on age and weight. Maybe the law was recently changed.

 

[markmcalear]

Thanks all. Tolls probably wont be an issue as I will likely only drive around Disney property. Dont want to struggle with buses and folding down the pram with 2 babies sleeping

I may drive to Universal.

Only two babies under 5 (1 and 2) others are 6, 7 and 9.

 

[richmo]

...Thanks all. Tolls probably wont be an issue as I will likely only drive around Disney property...

Just wanted to make another comment on this and get back to your original question too.

Keep in mind that if you are renting the car from the MCO airport, you will have to pay tolls just to get to Disney property (yes, there are ways around it, but not all that easy, especially if you're not familiar with the area and driving in the USA). Once you are on Disney property, you will be done paying tolls, even if you drive up to Universal, since there are no tolls on I-4. (Of course, when you drive back to the airport at the end of your trip, you will have to pay tolls again)

Also, on your original question, as far as I know, you would have to use cash to pay the toll, unless you use one of the Sunpass options the rental car companies have. In your case, it would not be worth it.

Another option you have, since you're staying on property, is to use Magical Express to get to CR and return to the airport. Then you can rent a car onsite at either the Car Care Center or the Dolphin hotel. Sometimes the rates at the CCC or Dolphin are a bit higher than renting from MCO, sometimes not. The agency for either is Alamo or National. The way it works at the CCC is that you would make the car reservation online, but use the CCC as your pickup/dropoff location (I think they show up if you use Orlando as the pickup instead of MCO). Then a day before you want the car, call the Alamo/National desk at the CCC and let them know that you have a reservation and at what time you would like to be picked up and where (CR). The shuttle will pick you up and bring you to the CCC. In reverse, you drop the car at the CCC and the shuttle will take you anywhere on Disney property ...no need to call ahead. You could also do a one way rental...pick up at CCC and drop at the airport, if you wish. The other nice thing about doing an onsite rental is that you don't necessarily need to take the car for your entire trip, if you don't need it.

 

[pjhootch]

If you are coming from the UK I assume the cost of the tolls is not an issue beyond needing to know how to deal with it.

But back to the original question. I had young children and infant twins at one point, and I would much rather take the buses than try to get from park to park driving around Orlando. If you have children that age and are staying off property, a car is a must. If you stay on property, getting all those kids to the car, getting them strapped in and then parking wherever, unpacking them, getting the strollers out and then getting to the actual park.... HUGE hassle.

Keep in mind that Disney "property" isn't connected in many instances. In order to go from Point A to Point B on property, you will usually have to go off property to get around.

Also, when you park the car at one of the theme parks, it is usually quite a long haul to the gate, so you are still dragging strollers and kids onto trams or what have you, just to get to the park.

If your actual vacation doesn't include non-Disney things, a car is more trouble, even with little kids. Especially with little kids, driving on the other side of the road, in an unfamiliar city with a bunch of tourists that don't know where they are going. These days, people are too busy looking at their GPS to look where they are going!