Rental Car Question

[PurpleKomodo]

We are going to DL in July. There are 7 of us in our group and 2 are young children in carseats. 2 are also "larger" adults. We are trying to decide how to approach a rental vehicle. We are flying in to San Diego and out of LAX. We originally thought a minivan would work, but are concerned that with the seats maxed out, it would get tight to suitcases and a stroller. Are there any good companies that rent bigger vans? Does anyone have experience with renting a minivan with a larger group? We do not own a minivan, so it is hard to guess.

Thanks for any input.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Avis rents passenger vans up to 12 passengers. Not sure if they have them at the location you need, but it's worth checking. Also Chase CC holders or AARP get discounts.

 

[SMD]

Enterprise has passenger vans that hold 12 or 15 and premium SUVs that hold up to 8 (sometimes you don't get a bench seat in the middle). But you're right, the bags will be the issue. You could ask for a passenger van with the last row removed. Midway will do this at LAX, not sure about Enterprise, Avis or if there's a Midway in SD. But the rate for the a passenger van is a lot more than a minivan. If the only time you'll have all of the luggage is going from the airport in SD and from SD to Anaheim and Anaheim to LAX you might want to look into having 2 people in your party take some combination of public transportation, taxi, ride share or Amtrak. You could probably even do 2 airport trips in SD if your hotel is close enough. Or rent a second car for the 1 day going between SD and Anaheim. If you're not doing anything other than DLR in Anaheim before LAX, it might be more cost effective to take a shuttle to LAX rather than pay for extra rental days and possibly parking in Anaheim.

 

[VandVsmama]

I think that you should look at a couple of different options and then do a price comparison. However, what are the reasons for needing a rental car? Is it only for San Diego-->DL and then DL-->LAX transportation? Or will you be doing some day trips off and on while in Anaheim and, as a result, would need to keep the rental car for the duration of your trip? Some options I can think of off the top of my head:

• Uber or taxi from your San Diego hotel to a San Diego Amtrak station. Then Amtrak to Anaheim. Then uber, taxi, or ART shuttle to your hotel. This one is the most inconvenient.
• A regular minivan will likely NOT fit 9 people, including 2 in car seats, a stroller, and luggage for all 9 people. You'd need 2 rental cars - 1 for 5 people with 4 people in car #2. As a result, you'll need 2 separate reservations and you should have the driver of car #2 make his/her own reservation for that vehicle.
• 12-person passenger van
• A lot of DIS'ers use Lansky. According to their website, they have Lincoln Town cars, Chevy Suburbans, and Honda Odysseys. I'm not sure if even the Chevy Suburban would be large enough (since Lansky is a chauffeur service, so it would have to fit 10 people - 9 of you plus the Lansky driver). 1-way from hotel near Disneyland to LAX is $110. You'd need 2 of these in order to get to LAX, so $220 for airport transfers at the end of your trip.

For example, I picked a random week day in April. Selected to pick up car at San Diego airport from Enterprise & return it to an Enterprise location in Anaheim (on Katella). For 1 minivan (reg minivan, not a 12-15 person one), it's $142 for the day. What drives the price up is a $40.00 "drop fee" for returning the vehicle to a location that's different than where you picked the car up from.

So probably $300 in total for transportation for 2 minivans from San Diego to Anaheim.

if you budget $600 for transportation, then you'll be fine and you can probably find better deals that I did since I wasn't doing a very good job of searching.

 

[VandVsmama]

BTW, 9 seats on Amtrak from San Diego to Anaheim will cost ~ $210 or so. Doesn't include taxi or Uber (which you'd need 2 or 3 of these to accomodate your large group) from hotel to Amtrak station.

 

[bumbershoot]

However, what are the reasons for needing a rental car? Is it only for San Diego-->DL and then DL-->LAX transportation? Or will you be doing some day trips off and on while in Anaheim and, as a result, would need to keep the rental car for the duration of your trip?

Those questions are always a good jumping-off place.

 

[ParkHopper1]

I cram teams of larger people in rental mini vans all the time...you are fine with 7 as long as everyone does not overpack but it will be cozy.

Driver
Lager Person #1 Shotgun
Larger person #2 and car seat #1 will fit in row 2...or some even have dual captains chairs
Carseat #2 and two smallest folks will fit in row 3

If you run outta rear space there is still a ton of floor space between seats for smaller and soft sided bags. You would be amazed how much you can cram between the driver and passenger seats.

I have packed those things like clown cars! Get a Town and Country if you have the choice when you arrive. They are the largest.

The 12 passenger vans are usually stupid expensive...especially one way...and the min van will have far more room than the Suburban for 7 people plus you would not have the extra floorspace.

 

[Tasscrapper]

We have 6 in our family and have had minivans for years now. My kids are pretty much adult size at this point. Depending on how large your large people are and how big the stroller is I think you could do it. It would be uncomfortable and difficult for anyone around the 300 pound + mark to get in and out of the third row of a minivan but not impossible. If the stroller is an umbrella stroller or something similar you could probably manage it with everyone packing responsibly. If people have 'fun bags' (a backpack ect) they might need to be shoved by feet or on laps. If the stroller is a large one a car seat fits onto I don't think you'll have room.

 

[bcla]

The issue I have is that minivans are typically priced as "premium" vehicles and can cost more than double that or renting two mid sized cars. I also don't like the idea of having luggage in the passenger compartment. If you start getting into full-sized vans, the rates become astronomical.

You can often find great rates for cars.

I do remember once renting a midsized car only to arrive and be told they didn't have any. We got a minivan at the same rate. I guess it used more fuel, but my FIL loved it since he could fully extend his legs. I was worried about our luggage though, since this place was notorious for rental cars being broken into for luggage theft.

 

[Pintail]

You could check Hertz.
They have a Yukon XL/ Suburban that would be better for your luggage situation.
The first two rows of seats are bigger too.
If you have an AAA membership, you get the vehicle discount and your first car seat free.
Sign up for Gold, its free, and that way your name shows up on the board - and you don't have to go to the counter.
Have a great trip!

 

[Darkbeer1]

As for AMTRAK, make sure and look at the discounts available.

http://www.railserve.com/amtrak_coupons.html

If AMTRAK works for me (destination in San Diego), I much prefer it to driving the I-5, which can get bad easily, and have been stuck in trips of over 6 hours multiple times between Anaheim and San Diego.

Relaxful, doesn't get stuck in traffic, great views, everyone in the group can relax and enjoy.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

As for AMTRAK, make sure and look at the discounts available.

http://www.railserve.com/amtrak_coupons.html

Cool resource for Amtrak discounts, Darkbeer! I added the link to the transportation thread.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

Thanks for the input. To clarify a couple of the questions. Our itinerary includes 3 days in San Diego (zoo, Sea World, maybe beach or museums), 1 day at Legoland, then 3 days at Disneyland. We are staying at a good neighbor hotel at DL that is walking distance. We have considered 2 cars, but weren't sure that paying to park 2 cars would be cost effective. Our stroller that we are bringing is a city mini single stroller, so it is not huge, but not as small as an umbrella stroller.

 

[bumbershoot]

We have considered 2 cars, but weren't sure that paying to park 2 cars would be cost effective.

All there is to it is to get a notebook and start writing down all the costs of the plans. Then contrast and compare. Consider irritation levels.

Parking at SD zoo is free from what I recall. There are transit options that take you there depending on where you are staying. Having a rental from the SD airport means you have the joy of dealing with driving out of the airport. If there's a game within 3 hours of that or if it's commute time, have fun!

Brainstorming about things that I would price out makes me think of one car for the car seats then for the zoo and sea world days you have some take uber or a cab there while others drive the kids. Rent another car for legoland day.

Return car, Amtrak it up to Anaheim, cab or uber to the hotel.

All compared to parking costs for two vehicles and rental and gas costs for the two, vs a big passenger van cost (what hotel at Disneyland? Some of those parking lots are small and cannot fit a big van) etc etc.