Rental Car from Disney to Port Canaveral

[bella77]

First Disney cruise coming up soon!! There are 6 of us, so we've decided that renting a minivan or something equally large is the most practical thing for us. It will be cheaper than Disney transportation, and our flight out after the cruise is pretty late and we don't want to spend the day at the airport. But I have some logistical questions. We are flying in the day before the cruise and staying the night at Caribbean Beach Resort. We plan on doing just the one day rental to get to Port Canaveral and a one day rental on our return day. For those of you who have chosen this method of transportation, how do you get your car? I don't want to accidentally reserve a car that is on the other side of Orlando or something. I've been entering the address of CBR to check prices, but sometimes it doesn't register as a place. Also, I'm looking on sites like Expedia to try to get a good price. Is it better to go through the specific rental car company? Does anyone have any sage advice to offer on rental cars?

 

[tigerchic89]

For 6, I'd compare the price of renting a mini van to the price of using a car service (check happy limo or Mears)... I think the car service may be cheaper. But if you do rent... we've done it from Avis... and we reserved it from the counter of the ?Hilton? or Holiday Inn just across the street from Disney Springs. There are a few other brands with counters near Disney. We ubered to the counter, but you could also just send 1 adult on Dis bus to get the Van and then drive it back to pick up the other 5 people and the luggage. Same thing at the port.... you could drop everyone at the port and then return the van and ride the van shuttle alone. Everyone else might have to wait on you in the terminal, but that's much more exciting than hauling luggage on and off of a rental car shuttle bus

 

[ktate82]

We are doing something similar. There are 8 of us, and we are staying at OKW before the cruise and flying home late in the day we get off the ship. We found that having a car service pick us up from OKW and transport us to the port to be cheaper than a one way rental that would fit us all and easier. On the way back, we are renting from Alamo so we have the freedom to not wait at the airport all day.

 

[FigmentSpark]

You'll look for a rental out of MCO. We used Alamo, but Budget, Avis, National... all the big ones are right there. Also, there are several others, like Dollar, et. al. that have lots at MCO. Just make sure you're looking for a rental at MCO. And your return will be Port Canaveral.

As someone else mentioned, you might also look into a service, just to see if it would work for you.

 

[MichelleCanada]

We are doing the same thing in two weeks. We got a rental from MCO to the port (Budget). We will land on Friday and keep the car until Saturday morning - we will drop at rental company and catch shuttle to the port.

After our cruise we are staying at POFQ for three days. We wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Centre while out at Port Canaveral. We are picking up car at Alamo after the cruise; spending the day at KSC and then taking car to our hotel. We will drop off car at Alamo in the morning (one block from Disney Springs) and then catch Disney bus or boat back to POFQ. We booked our hotel before they implemented the parking fee so we will not pay to park at hotel for first night.

I kept watching the prices and rebooking when it was cheaper (Expedia) There are only three of us so we only booked a full size and I got both rentals together for $115! Disney transfer would have cost $105. This way we can pick up wine and snacks before the cruise; go to KSC and have somewhere to leave our luggage and get to our hotel.

I priced out a private transport and other shuttles - this gave us the most freedom at the lowest cost. Yes there are tolls and shuttling to the car rental company...but we are okay with that.

 

[truck1]

I believe its Alamo has a rental agency on Disney property. I know there is a rental agency there. Pretty sure its Alamo. anyway, if you rent from them, they have a shuttle.service that will come get someone in the party to get the car. It's on property at the car care center at the Magic Kingdom gas station.

 

[Capt_BJ]

just an FYI ... last Friday I picked up a car from Budget at MCO, around 10 AM

I was in line for over an hour .....

 

[OKW Lover]

last Friday I picked up a car from Budget at MCO, around 10 AM

I was in line for over an hour .....

I'm guessing you aren't a member of their frequent renter program

 

[bella77]

just an FYI ... last Friday I picked up a car from Budget at MCO, around 10 AM

I was in line for over an hour .....

That sounds nightmarish.

 

[dcassetta]

I believe its Alamo has a rental agency on Disney property. I know there is a rental agency there. Pretty sure its Alamo. anyway, if you rent from them, they have a shuttle.service that will come get someone in the party to get the car. It's on property at the car care center at the Magic Kingdom gas station.

The car care center has Alamo and National. So does the Dolphin hotel. If you're renting you may want to check both as the rates can vary between the two. The Hilton in Disney springs has an Avis location and the B hotel has Enterprise.

 

[owensamo]

I'm pretty sure there's a Budget location near Disney Springs in one of the hotels - since we always rent from Budget and we've used that location twice for cars from WDW to PC. If you have a Costco membership, be sure to try pricing through Costco. We've found Budget usually has the best price when dropping off at a different location - some rental agencies charge a fee to drop off somwhere other than where you picked it up but we've never run into that with Budget.

 

[Michelle James]

We're doing the same thing for our group of 6, sailing in Jan. Rental of a "premium SUV" that seats 7 was about $50 cheaper than a car service.
We've rented cars several times while staying on Disney property, always through the car care center. We've been able to arrange an early morning pick up from our resort for my husband, who then drives the rental back to the resort to pick up the rest of us. Has been pretty seamless, really.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

For a one-day rental with drop-off at Port Canaveral, I would pick up at MCO when you flight arrives and drive to your resort. The next morning, drive to PC and drop off passengers and luggage, then return the car at the nearby car rental location. You will then take a free shuttle back to the port. All the major car rental operations have locations near the port. We usually use Alamo, booking through our Costco membership, but check all the rental companies to find the best rates. My target is a midsize or full size car for the $70 it would otherwise cost for the two of us to take the DCL bus from the resort. With 6 cruisers to get to the port, you should be able to find a good price that will save money compared to the DCL pricing. When you return from your cruise, you will need to pick-up the rental at one of the port locations and drive back to MCO (assuming you’re flying home that day). The main decision is whether to take all passengers and luggage on the shuttle or to have the driver go for the car and then return to the ship to pick up everyone else and the luggage.

 

[southerngirl528]

We are flying in the day before the cruise and staying the night at Caribbean Beach Resort.

I believe its Alamo has a rental agency on Disney property. I know there is a rental agency there. Pretty sure its Alamo. anyway, if you rent from them, they have a shuttle.service that will come get someone in the party to get the car. It's on property at the car care center at the Magic Kingdom gas station.

I was getting ready to post what Truck1, did. YES. Alamo has a rental right on WDW property in the same building as the Care Care Center near the MK gates (where you pay to park). And YES, they have a shuttle van that will pick you up! Just beware that one-way rentals can be considerably more pricey, so keep an eye on the rates to avoid ugly surprises!

just an FYI ... last Friday I picked up a car from Budget at MCO, around 10 AM

I was in line for over an hour .....

I second what OKW Lover said, ALWAYS sign up for your rental's loyalty program well BEFORE you pick up your car! It can save you a boatload of time...... OH , am I "punny" or WHAT?? (boatload of time...... )

 

[southerngirl528]

If you have a Costco membership, be sure to try pricing through Costco.

Yes! I almost always find my best car rental rates through Costcotravel.com!