Renting a car to drive to WDW?

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Is there anyone who does this? We currently have a Neon, and a 98 Blazer that is not too reliable. We are planning a trip for June 2006 for me, dh and ds (age 2). We are looking to rent a minivan here in PA, and then use it to drive, but the rental places here are priced outrageously! We are looking at a 12 day rental so we can take our time there and back, and the prices that Hertz is giving us are over $1000!!! That isn't the only problem- all of the rental places here say that the cars have limited daily mileage, and cannot be taken any further south than South Carolina- I don't know what we are going to do now- we live in rural PA, so we don't have too many options to pick from.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

Lisa

 

[rkmassa]

It has been a few years since we have done this, but we have twice. We rented from Hertz each time. Picked up at the airport-cheapest rates found. We drove from Kansas City to Key West and over to New Orleans. Of course we stayed at Disney on the way. We were gone 2 weeks each time. The Hertz CM just about died laughing when we returned the car with all the miles on it. He just couldn't believe that 4 ladies drove that much in 2 weeks. We rented a Taurus each time.

What are your specific dates? Where are you planning on leaving from?

 

[annabelle]

You could fly cheaper than that... then rent while you're at Disney.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

What are your specific dates? Where are you planning on leaving from?

We are thinking around June 15th, 2006, and renting about 12 days. The closest airport to us is a commuter one, and that is 3 miles down the road, but it doesn't have minivans. The closest airports to us are Pittsburgh (about 2 1/2 hours), and Baltimore (about 4 hours)- both out of the way direction wise, too. I don't know what to do!

Lisa

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

I only wish we could fly- I would do it in a second. Dh is terrified to fly, and says that the only way we go to WDW is if we drive. Driving isn't exactly my idea of fun- we will have ds with us (he will be almost 3), and I get carsick- sounds like a great time, right???

Lisa

 

[safetymom]

Does it have to be a mini van? Usually mini vans are the ones that have restrictions on the mileage and out of state rules.

 

[rkmassa]

So what is your closest airport on the way? You shouldn't need a mini van for only 3 people. We went to Disney from K.C. in a Taurus. There were 4 ladies and a lot of suitcases. We were just fine. I would think a full size would be fine for you.

 

[zippehsmom]

I would agree about trying to rent a smaller car. I would also try and book using an Entertainmnet Book coupon. I know it is to early for Entertainment coupons for 2006, but if you let me know what company you'd rent from I could PM you the code for this year. You could at least get an idea of what rates might look like for your trip.

I would also suggest constantly checking on line. I know for our reservation this August, I booked originally at $430 (12 passenger van, 14 days), about a month later it dropped to $373, and now it is up to almost $1,000 . So, I would definitely start watching it.

Good luck, I hope you find a rate you can live with, or better yet maybe your DH will want to fly .

zippehsmom

 

[matdamom]

I only wish we could fly- I would do it in a second. Dh is terrified to fly, and says that the only way we go to WDW is if we drive. Driving isn't exactly my idea of fun- we will have ds with us (he will be almost 3), and I get carsick- sounds like a great time, right???

Lisa

What about taking Amtrak? Do you have a station within driving distance of your home? It is usually cheaper than flying, and then you could rent a small car at their station. Are you planning on staying onsite at WDW? If that is the case, then you could get a shuttle from the train station and then use Disney transportation to get around, eliminating the need (and expense) of a rental car.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We rented a minivan back in May from Avis using a USAA discount code and paid $300 for 10 days, no mileage restrictions or anything. We found that picking it up at the airport meant adding hundreds of dollars onto the fare - instead, we found a little store in a shopping center near us, they were much cheaper, and we could drop it off anywhere on the way back (we used the airport).

 

[MrsM]

We also live in rural PA (outside the Lehigh Valley). We rented a car once from the airport to drive to WDW. Since we only had one child at the time, we rented a 4 door Buick Century. It had unlimited mileage, and for the 12 day rental, I think it was around $300.

The car broke down while we were at Disney, so we called the rental car company. By the time we had returned from the park at the end of the day, they had picked up the old car and delivered a new one for us. We were quite happy with the service.