Rental Car?

[kelfox651]

Help! I'm going around and around about getting a rental car. Price for the duration of the trip is about $388 with AAA discounts and coupons. On top of that...add the $$ to park at the resorts and parks= I can't decide if a car is really necessary!! We arrive at the Orlando airport on a Wednesday morning, and heading right to Royal Pacific. We will be there until Friday evening, enjoying US/IOA...and am sure we won't need the car then. Friday eve. we will check in to a hotel down the street and staying 3 more nights to enjoy a couple of days at Sea World. The hotel doesn't charge for parking, and has a free shuttle to Sea World. Of course the freedom of your own vehicle is nice...but do you "veterans" find it necessary? It's a big expense. How reliable are the shuttles? I'm especially nervous about getting back to the airport on time! Can we find adequate restaurants to walk to near our International Drive Hotel (Holiday Inn Express)? Would a taxi be a better option? All of these add-ons are adding up to a lot of $$!!

Thanks for your advice!

 

[macraven]

i don't find it necessary to use a rental car when i am in orlando.

i did rent cars some years back but now i am satisfied staying at the resorts without leaving.

i use car service for a 3 leg ride.
mco-wdw-uo-mco.


you can take the mears shuttle at the airport to get to the UO hotel.
$19 adult, $15 child.

get a taxi for when you leave UO hotel to the offsite hotel.
or a rental car for when you leave.

there is a car rental station at the hotel.


you could use the free shuttle to Seaworld on the day you check out of the UO hotel. it is free.

then when you return to the hotel, get your belongings out of valet storage and move to the offsite hotel.


i would think renting a car from mco to UO would be overkill.
you don't have plans to leave the hotel/park in those 2 days do you?
go the cheapest route.

there are many restaurants on I Drive.
you can walk or take a taxi.

depending on what day of the week you want to drive to a food place on I Drive could be busy day if you choose to do so on a Saturday.

 

[kwdw]

Really, $388? What size car is that? I haven't been pricing cars recently, but that seems really, really high..... I, too, have a AAA membership, but I have never found the cheapest price through them. Better luck with comparison shopping on "your favorite travel website."

I'm one who LOVES having the car when I'm in town for a week - but the highest I've paid is $248 for 8 nights for one step up from the smallest size.

Not sure I would rent a car for that added cost, but normally, I do recommend it. Time is money on vacation and waiting for shuttles is bummer, plus you plan to move hotels.......

So, while I do suggest the car, I suggest doing more shopping for it!

 

[zack123]

For your plans, you could probably get by with shuttles and taxis.

I rented a car, but that was only because I split my vacation between Orlando and Tampa/St. Pete. Kind of hard to get to all the beaches I wanted to go to without a car.

You might also keep searching for rental car deals - not sure what you're looking for, but I paid less than half of that to rent a car for 7 days at MCO (unlimited mileage). The car would have comfortably fit five people, with plenty of room in the trunk for suitcases, etc. And it was brand new, which was nice.

Also, if you currently have auto insurance, check with your agent to see if it covers rental cars. That saves a ton of money if you don't have to purchase it from the rental company.

ETA: I rented my car through Expedia (the car was actually rented from Hertz).

 

[kelfox651]

Thanks for the great advice. Seems like my AAA "deal" through Hertz isn't much of a deal after all! I will definitely NOT be taking that car (it was a midsize to fit our luggage, but nothing fancy). That was supposed to be a 30% off deal, on top of the AAA discount. Wonder what else I've overpaid for?!?!
Is the Mears service from the airport something I need to reserve ahead of time? Would they take us back to the airport from our off site hotel, or would a taxi be better in that case?
Thanks again for the advice. We are first time visitors...and I like to have as many of the details planned out as possible. I hate surprises!

 

[kelfox651]

I guess I should also mention that we are there the Wednesday before President's Day, through the Monday that is President's Day. Perhaps that is why the price is inflated????

 

[kelfox651]

Macraven:
"i use car service for a 3 leg ride.
mco-wdw-uo-mco."



Do you have a particular service you would recommend??

 

[debbs0723]

Go look for rental codes on mousesavers.com. I used the costco code as well as one of alamo's coupons from their website and got a full size for 8 nights in January for 102 total including tax. You could also go to hotwire.com and see what you can get.

Even when we stay on site at Disney we still LOVE having a car. It is really nice not to rely on shuttles. Just my personal opinion

Hotwire puts you in a midsize for $205 It looks like it is from enterprise. I usually find that a combination of codes used through mousesavers saves you much more than any AAA discount will get you. I've used hotwire twice and been very happy. You will also find that rates get better closer to your trip on hotwire and the car rental agencies will release specials on their websites usually sometime the month before.

Of course you could always live without a car also and take the transportation mentioned above. You just have to ask yourself how important it is to you.

Debbie

 

[DopeysMom]

Is there a way to use the Costco discount and a coupon code? I can't figure out how to stack them when booking from Costcos website.

 

[macraven]

Thanks for the great advice. Seems like my AAA "deal" through Hertz isn't much of a deal after all! I will definitely NOT be taking that car (it was a midsize to fit our luggage, but nothing fancy). That was supposed to be a 30% off deal, on top of the AAA discount. Wonder what else I've overpaid for?!?!
Is the Mears service from the airport something I need to reserve ahead of time? Would they take us back to the airport from our off site hotel, or would a taxi be better in that case?
Thanks again for the advice. We are first time visitors...and I like to have as many of the details planned out as possible. I hate surprises!

they have a counter and all you have to do is walk up to it.

some have made ressies in advance but many just do a walk up.