Staying at OKW and National Car rental

[jmatias]

For our December trip we are planning on using ME and then picking up a small car for running around.

WE will be at OKW and was wondering what's easier

1. picking up national car rental at Dophin Resort
2. picking up " " " " at Car Care center

Are there shuttles? Do we catch the Disney bus?

Aloha,
Jen

 

[disneykidatheart]

We stayed at OKW in September and also used ME. We had a car reserved with National at the Car Care Center to be picked up two days after we arrived at OKW. The Car Care Center has a shuttle. You must call them 24 hours in advance and they will pick you up in front of your resort. The pick up went very smoothly. However, the drop off was a bit more tricky. There is construction by the Car Care Center. Detour signs were either non existent or misleading. My husband took the car back alone. He ended up by the Contemporary resort before finding his way back to the Car Care Center. The lady in line ahead of him made the same mistake. After turning in the car the shuttle was immediately ready to take him back to OKW. When we booked the car we didn't realize we could pick up a car at the Dolphin. We thought the rental experience went okay. We didn't want to rent for our total length of stay and this worked well for us except for the minor detour problem.

Another thing to note. Our shuttle driver told us Disney is phasing out National. They will be offering only Alamo which is being offered right now along with National. I don't know when National will no longer be offered. Alamo can be picked up from either the Car Care Center or the Dolphin.

Good luck!

 

[CarolMN]

Before you decide, check the hours of each location - they are not the same. For the Car Care Center, the hours are

Sun: 06:00 am 06:00 pm
Mon-Fri: 06:00 am 08:00 pm
Sat: 06:00 am 06:00 pm

For the Desk at the Dolphin, the hours are Sun-Sat: 08:00 am 04:00 pm.

That said, I would go to the Dolphin if you can make the hours work. No need to wait around for shuttles - they can be very busy and in my experience, they somtimes involve a good bit of waiting.

To get to the Dolphin from OKW, you can take a cab (quickest way) or you can bus over to MGM and then walk to the Dolphin. If the parks are open (or about to open), you can take the boat from MGM to the Dolphin. No need to depend on anyone else for transportation and the trip will probably not take any longer than the shuttle.

Best wishes -

 

[jmatias]

Thank you for the replies! Looks like either option works for us but I have ressies with the Dolphin location so we'll stick with that since the rental prices are almost the same.

Aloha,
Jen

 

[I'mNoPrince]

You can also so check the DTD locations for other rental comanies.

We have a Dollar rental that right across the street from DTD Marketplace bus stop for our Dec trip.

 

[shoes99]

I have used National at the Dolphin for my last two trip. I took DME from the airport to my hotel, then picked up the car at the Dolphin the next day. Good service, I just went to Epcot first then walked or took the boat to the Dolphin in the afternoon to pick up the car.

 

[castleri]

We used the DOLPHIN site in Sept and it was the best Alamo experiencee we have ever had. The last time I rented at the airport it took use 2 1/2 hours from landing to leaving the airport. Melissa the person behind the counter is great and not at all pushy about extra insurance etc. We went from OKW to SSR by boat for lunch and then to DTD where we picked up a bus to the Dolphin. Round about but we weren't in a hurry so it worked great for us. Look for the guest services sign in the Dolphin - Alamo/National is in the same area. Couldn't get a good Alamo rate so will be using Dollar at Christmas and hope tings go as smoothly.

 

[RobDoc]

We have also used the Dolphin rental desk for our last few National rentals. We just take a Disney bus to MGM and then walk or take the boat to the Dolphin.

The Car Care center is also fine and the shuttles are reliable- but with the Dolphin you will be in control of your arrival.

Enjoy!

 

[Cruelladeville]

The rental desk at the Dolphin is open 7 days a week, but I think it closes at 5. We find them much easier to deal with than the Car Care Center, because at the Dolphin you drive up to the hotel when you return your car, and the valet takes your keys, and will even get a town car to take you back to your hotel(cost us $10, but it was very nice). At the Car Care Center, they are more disorganized. You use the same line to rent and return the car, then it's up to you to find the bus to go back to your hotel. They also don't seem to check out their cars before renting--ours smelled like pee. At the Dolphin the people are relaxed and polite, but at the Car Care Center they were very stressed, due to all the people, and only two people to handle them all.

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

I have an existing reservation with alamo and a drop off scheduled for the car care center, does anyone know if i can drop at the Dolphin location instead?? I wasn't aware that alamo had a drop there when I made the reservation. We are staying at BWV and that dolphin location is much more convenient.

 

[keishashadow]

re rental desk @ Dolphin:

it's a one-woman operation, who indicated that it was good we picked up our 4:00 p.m. rental early because she's out the door @ 4:00 p.m.!

assume she'd process who-ever was in-line but, she wasn't kidding around...said lots of people complain that they're shut-out when they show up late & the desk is unstaffed.