Rent a car or Car Service

[Lynzer4]

I can't decide what to do... cost wise it seems rental car (parking at the terminal) is the same cost as the car service.

Anyone want to provide their experience.

We are going to Disney for 2 nights before but not going into the park. We arrive late Weds night and will stay at Port Orleans then move to the Poly so for that a car will make it nice but we can uber if we didn't have a car.

Thanks!

 

[OKW Lover]

We like the flexibility of a car. It allows you to go off-property to eat, get snacks, etc while you are at WDW. It also facilitates being able to stop to pick up some wine/beer on the way to the ship.

 

[MyDisWorld]

We used FLTOURS last cruise, a sponsor on WDW Info, and they were fantastic. No messing with car rental, parking, and returning. No traffic, no getting to the car rental facility, no getting back the airport when you drop it off. I compared to taking a shuttle instead, and for the slight cost premium, it was worth the convenience in my book. You can get free quote right on their website, and see if it's justifiable for you. Door to door service, and no hassles. We went from Airport, to Port Canaveral, from Port Canaveral to Universal Portafino for 2 days, and then from Universal back to the Airport. Don't remember exactly how much, but it was about $50.00 more than paying for shuttle service at the time. Will probably use them again.

 

[carolina_yankee]

I've been weighing the same question for months. Our trip is actually 15 days splits between cruise and WDW so the rental charge is high - dramatically high as we arrive near the end of Easter Week. If costs are within 10% and logistics aren't insane, my choice is for rental car.

Our plan:

• DME from MCO to SSR
• Car Service from SSR to Port ($150 + tip)
• Alamo Rental from Port to WDW and return at MCO one week later ($200)

Alternative would have been round trip car service and DME back to airport, which would have caused us to lose 2-3 hours of park time on our last day, and cost would have been about the same.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you want to pay for transportation, how comfortable you are with Disney's options or taxi/Uber, and what logistics you're willing to put up with.

Dirk

 

[JWG]

It's expensive to park at the port ($128 for a 7 day cruise), so don't forget parking fees in addition to rental fees. If flying, we just use the car service (you can get a discount through the service advertised here I believe). Now we live in NC so we drive, but gas and parking is cheaper than airfare.

 

[MissMet]

Car service is so much more relaxing & feels more like a vacation to me. Renting the car has some work to it & no one to help with bags. If it's the same price I'd do a car service for sure. They'll stop at a grocery store for you on the way.

 

[MyDisWorld]

Car service is so much more relaxing & feels more like a vacation to me. Renting the car has some work to it & no one to help with bags. If it's the same price I'd do a car service for sure. They'll stop at a grocery store for you on the way.

I agree, and yes they will allow (1) stop at a grocery store. FL Tours is a great affordable (relatively) alternative. There is a link to their site on WDWINFO.com, where you can just enter your pick up and drop off information, and thy will give you an instant quote. So you can compare without committing. They even have an option for "3 leg" trips. For us it worked out great. Drivers were courteous and friendly. They were at the airport when we arrived, and helped with the luggage, and at the port when we disembarked.

 

[Quellman]

I'd rather not have to mess with renting and returning a car if the cost is the same. Plenty of Disney transportation options as well to get you where you need to be. Don't have to worry about tolls or filling up the car.

 

[MissMet]

Also, Disney will move your luggage for you when you change resorts. Then just uber or take disney transportation to get to the Poly.

 

[JW9DVC]

I can't decide what to do... cost wise it seems rental car (parking at the terminal) is the same cost as the car service.

Anyone want to provide their experience.

We are going to Disney for 2 nights before but not going into the park. We arrive late Weds night and will stay at Port Orleans then move to the Poly so for that a car will make it nice but we can uber if we didn't have a car.

Thanks!

I would just do rental 1 way each time. Keep it as long or short as needed. I would not park the rental at the terminal. Unless your weekly rate was low. My weekly for any car of my choice is about $160.

 

[elvispursley]

We rented a car for our first cruise. And I will NEVER do it again (at least on the embarkation of a cruise) and here's why:
We rented from Budget and planned to take their shuttle over to the port for our 10:45 PAT. We got to the car rental agency to drop the car off at about 9;30 and holy Hannah--it was armageddon at the rental agency! The entire car lot was FILLED with people either foreign cars off or picking car up. But who could tell. There literally was about 100 people milling about the parking lot. They made us line up against the wall. And the line did not move. Apparently there were 4 ships that were in port and there were people who had disembarked and people who were embarking and it was a complete disaster!! I just happened to walk around the corner and happened to hear an employee say, "DCL should be over here" (and there were probably 10 people in the line). I quickly grabbed my family and jumped in line and bored the next shuttle. People behind me in the "cattle" line who were also going on DCL quickly jumped onto the shuttle and it quickly became so fully that kids were sitting on strangers laps in order to fit. It was absolutely NUTS!! We didn't get to the port until nearly 12:00, totally missing our PAT (not that it mattered, but it was really stressful when it's your 1st cruise and you don't realize that you don't need to be there exactly at your PAT).

The point to this is if you are going to rent a car and take a shuttle from the agency, make sure there are not 4 ships leaving port the same day as it will be absolute chaos. We used DCL transportation from Saratoga Springs last Oct and much preferred that. I would vote for car service over car rental (unless you are done with cruise and driving to WDW).

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

It's funny how different experiences can be. It is definitely hit or miss. We used Budget too. It was a Saturday afternoon in August. I dropped my family at the port, so that they could give the luggage to the porter and go through security. I drove to the Budget office (like a mile or two away, gassed up right next door). I got there about 11:00 and by 11:30 I was on one of their four shuttles (no one in my lap) and joined my family in the terminal. They had already gone through check in, so I just got in line to get myself checked in (and take my picture for the KTTW card). Then we all boarded together. I will say, being alone and not having any bags made it easier, but making an extra stop at the port probably took longer in total, but since we had a car we were in no hurry and could arrive whenever we wanted.

I'll also add that having a car let us pick where we wanted to eat the night before, stop for alcohol, and for my BIL to make an unplanned stop to Target, since his suitcase broke on the flight in. I know some people don't like driving on vacation. That is fine. What I don't like is having to be at a certain place at a certain time while on vacation, so having to meet the car service at a specified time, or get back to the airport to catch a shuttle would not have been conducive to vacation to me.

Pick the one that fits your idea of what is "relaxing."

 

[tlprice]

Personally, I rent a car at the airport (usually Dollar) which is pretty convenient and usually inexpensive (they've even upgraded me for free from a compact car to an SUV). I have pretty much given up on Disney transportation--it is SO slow, stops too many places, just SITS there sometimes, the air conditioning doesn't work sometimes, the waiting and waiting, etc. It is so nice to have a car and be able to go where I want, when I want. I like to eat at different resorts and being able to just hop in the car and drive there is so nice. I can also drive when I want to the port or airport and don't have to "schedule" it or arrive at the airport HOURS before I really want to be there. It is also really nice leaving the ship and just having the car waiting there. We usually drive straight to one of the parks afterward and are there right when they open without having to deal with a bunch of crowds or large groups of people getting off the ship together. My last couple of trips, Dollar also dropped us off at skycap and helped with our luggage when we returned the car. I don't know if they always do this, but it sure was nice.