Returning car to Avis at DTD - when to do it?

[Tony]

Apologies if this is the wrong forum but I guess it's all to do with transport...

We're staying at BCV and soon after arrival will need to return a car to Avis in the Hilton at DTD.

Question is, when to do it?

We're driving across from Clearwater that morning but I understand that check-in isn't until 4pm. There's no point in buying groceries until we know we can get into the villa as a lot of the food will need to be refrigerated.

The Avis desk closes at 6pm and I haven't seen any reference to out of hours drop-off, but I guess it would also be feasible to return the car the next morning if required. (I could duck off there giving the rest of the family time to get ready then meet in one of the parks).

Option 1 - go straight to a park, spend a few hours then head off-site to get the groceries in. After that, we can get back to the Villas to check-in etc then grab some food around the boardwalk.

Option 2 - leave Clearwater a little later, go somewhere nice for lunch (AKL?), go to the store then head over to BCV's. Check-in, unpack, return car to DTD, dinner/shopping & back to the Villa.

Given the current pricing of park tickets, only using a few hrs on the extra day isn't an issue to me. This does however mean we still have to go out to DTD to return the car the next day. I think it's probably too much to try option 1 but still get the car back by 6pm.

Any thoughts/observations/better ideas are more than welcome!

Thanks

Tony

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi Tony, and welcome to the DIS boards!!!!
Even though checkin at BCV isn't until 4:00, you can still checkin, and do 'your thing'. No, you won't be able to get into a room...very seldom can you get into a villa much before the official checkin time. However..you can leave your luggage, as well as any groceries, with Bell Services. They will refridgerate anything that needs to be kept cold! So, make the drive, grab your groceries, and then go and checkin at BCV. Then, drive to DTD, return your car, and start your vacation!!! You can get buses back to the different resorts from DTD, but not the parks. If you want to head to MK, then I would hop on a bus to either the Contemporary or GF, then walk from the CR or take the monorail from GF. If you want to go to Epcot, then grab a BC/YC or BW bus and walk over..takes about 10 minutes. MGM? Back to BC/YC or BW and take the boat.