I am 48 years old and I have never needed to rent a car in my life. This December we will be renting a car while we are at WDW. We will be flying Southwest and you can book a car while you buy your tickets. Will I be charged the rental amount at that time or does this only reserve a car for us and we pay when we pick it up?
Thanks again,
Paul
Can you please explain what you mean by 'you can book a car while you buy your tickets'...do you mean you are considering a package booking (flight + car)?
If so, I have always booked car separately from flights, and the prices are always cheaper. The key with car rentals is that they seem to always be changing. Look to see if there is a discount rental board discussion for December, but if not I suggest going to the website carrentalsavers dot com and entering your information. Keep in mind that the prices are CONSTANTLY changing. The nice thing about this site is that they search and apply the discounts for you. I have also had great success with booking online through Costco (if you are a member, check them out).
Know that if you make a reservation, they are very easy to cancel, and rebook, if you find a better price. Often the best price is found the week you are traveling (around 5 days before your trip). Also know, that you do not pay until you check in at the airport. I also suggest signing up for whatever free rewards program that the car rental company offers. This will allow you to skip lines at the airport, and get to you to WDW faster. We always choose to stick with a major carrier, and only on site (no shuttles). This information should be obvious when you book.
Oh...and make sure you decline the extra insurances they will try to sell you, along with other services (GPS, tolls, etc.), they are very, very overpriced.
Good luck. Renting a car is quick and easy out of MCO!
