Renting a Car to Get to Disney

[DisneyStarWisher]

My family of 6 is headed to WDW for Thanksgiving Break. We are finalizing travel plans, and I need help. I know very little about renting cars. We are thinking of driving our Subaru Outback (which seats 5), which means we will need to rent another car. The issue is my DS23 and DS21 will be taking turns driving the rental. The fees are crazy for that. I just spoke to someone at Hertz who said I could save a lot of money by adding them on for the first two days and then going into a Hertz in Orlando and adding them back on for the last day. (There are only 3 days they will be driving, since once we get there, we will be using Disney transportation only.) Can anyone else give me some good strategies to try to save money on this? It's crazy how much just getting there and getting home is!

 

[2TxAgs]

Can your sons drive your Subaru and you drive the rental? Most rental companies won't even rent to anyone under 25, so I can just imagine how much $$ you're talking about! Costco allows a second driver free - not sure if they specify that they must be over 25. If not, could be worth joining Costco.

Another option, can one of your sons fly ahead and y'all just meet him at the hotel?

Or, what about renting a single van/SUV that seats 6, so you all drive in a single car? Probably expensive, but maybe less than gas for 2 cars and the rental price for the young adults.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Does you car need any service? we got a super great rate for our car was at the dealership....

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Can your sons drive your Subaru and you drive the rental? Most rental companies won't even rent to anyone under 25, so I can just imagine how much $$ you're talking about! Costco allows a second driver free - not sure if they specify that they must be over 25. If not, could be worth joining Costco.

Another option, can one of your sons fly ahead and y'all just meet him at the hotel?

Or, what about renting a single van/SUV that seats 6, so you all drive in a single car? Probably expensive, but maybe less than gas for 2 cars and the rental price for the young adults.

This is actually a good idea. I guess I'm willing to give up my brand new Subaru to save $100! In my mind, I guess I was thinking that my DH would have to be separated, with one of us driving the rental and one driving the Subaru. But this makes sense. And if we really get to missing the Subaru, then we can have the boys chauffeur us one at a time. I'll have to play around with the prices though. My DH and I were planning on going down the day before, stopping in Atlanta for something, so that would put us having to get the rental car a day early, plus it eliminates getting a larger vehicle so we can all go together. We still don't know if we will be going a day early, so if we decide against it, that will be an option. An SUV will probably be the same price as a car with the under 25 fee, but we would definitely save on gas. I'll check on Costco. Thanks for the suggestion. Flying is out of the question. Way too expensive around Thanksgiving plus much is sold out.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

My Ds22 rented through Hertz using AAA and that removed the under 25 fee:

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

My Ds22 rented through Hertz using AAA and that removed the under 25 fee:

This is good to know. We have AAA, so I will check on that.

 

[SharonZ]

If you have a Costco Membership, I think hey waive the second driver fee on the rental.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

My Ds22 rented through Hertz using AAA and that removed the under 25 fee:

This is still the case. I confirmed it with AAA today. Thanks so much for the information!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

This is still the case. I confirmed it with AAA today. Thanks so much for the information!

You’re welcome! My son just recently rented from them and used this. Enjoy your trip. My boys are about the same ages as yours (24,22).

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

If you already have to rent a 2nd card I wouldn't waste the extra mileage on your Outback and just rent a minivan so everyone could ride together.

 

[badiggio]

If you already have to rent a 2nd card I wouldn't waste the extra mileage on your Outback and just rent a minivan so everyone could ride together.

plus save on gas an share the driving

 

[DisArmyWife215]

I'd drop your current rental rate into a fare search on AutoSlash. They check weekly and notify you on lower rates.

 

[kymom99]

I'm playing around with a similar idea. There are 5 of us and if we were to try to take a budget trip we would drive. Putting 5 in our sedan would be a tight ride for 13-14 hours. We actually have 2 newer cars right now, both 2018, a camry and an accord. We could drive them both but gas would be double and it would be a lot of miles on both cars. I priced vans and can't find one for under $500 for the 9 days we would need it. (Pick up the day before and return the day after.) That is renting from a neighborhood rental site vs. the airport, which has lots more fees. I hope checking closer to our tentative date would get us better prices, but I just can't seem to work out in my mind which scenario makes more sense, renting a van or driving our 2 cars.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Family of 5 here and we stopped trying to stuff everyone in the Outback a couple of years ago. The minivan is a great idea and if you run the rental through Autoslash you might be surprised how low the cost will go. Another option is an RV - we did that over Christmas break. The minivan rental cost was more than we wanted and we were having a hard time finding hotels with suites that would fit us. As a joke I looked into the RV from Cruise America and we found a rate CHEAPER than the minivan. Campgrounds were really inexpensive compared to hotel suites and the thing had unbelievable storage. I will warn you that those things GULP gas, but if you then also stayed in it in Ft. Wilderness you might save enough to have it pencil out.

Not sure it was mentioned but you could rent the minivan one-way, drop it off, use Disney transportation, then rent another one 1-way to get home. You really don't need it once you get there.

Edit:
Here's a thought - could you rent a minivan, drop it off at the airport in Orlando, then take DME to the park as if you got there by plane?

 

[kymom99]

We are planning to stay at WBC with this tentative plan. I found a great deal on a minivan out of Vegas airport for a past vacation. I’m hoping I might find a better price. For some reason cans in my area are expensive in general.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I would let go of the rental once I got to WDW. Uber or Lyft would be cheaper than your daily rental fees and parking. Many times there discounts for one way rentals in and out of florida (depending on the time of year) November just might be the time that rental agencies are shifting their fleet to Florida. I've done this with Avis a few times. Orlando to Chicago in May, $11 a day and sometimes they give you with a full tank of gas too.

 

[BlueRibbon]

Family of 5 here and we stopped trying to stuff everyone in the Outback a couple of years ago. The minivan is a great idea and if you run the rental through Autoslash you might be surprised how low the cost will go. Another option is an RV - we did that over Christmas break. The minivan rental cost was more than we wanted and we were having a hard time finding hotels with suites that would fit us. As a joke I looked into the RV from Cruise America and we found a rate CHEAPER than the minivan. Campgrounds were really inexpensive compared to hotel suites and the thing had unbelievable storage. I will warn you that those things GULP gas, but if you then also stayed in it in Ft. Wilderness you might save enough to have it pencil out.

Not sure it was mentioned but you could rent the minivan one-way, drop it off, use Disney transportation, then rent another one 1-way to get home. You really don't need it once you get there.

Edit:
Here's a thought - could you rent a minivan, drop it off at the airport in Orlando, then take DME to the park as if you got there by plane?

I'm with Lumpy - Try to look at minivan rentals and leave the Subaru at home. If you checkout costco travel, the minivan prices are usually pretty good.

I also second the idea of dropping the van off at the airport and taking DME and resort transportation like you flew in.