Takin Amtrak to Orlando and need to rent a car - options?

[Ragman]

My family of 5 will be arriving in Orlando via Amtrak on 3/19 mid afternoon and leaving 3/24 in the late afternoon. We know there is no cab that will fit all of us and our luggage to take us to our hotel and we really want to have a car/minivan because we wont be staying onsite for our entire stay.
I have found some good deals on rental cars thanks to the helpful people on this site but I have no idea how I will get from the Train Station to the Rental place short of paying for just me to take a cab there and come back to pick up the family.
Ive called Amtrak but its a 800# that doesnt have much specific info about the Orlando Train Station. The only rental car company that rents from the Train Station is Hertz and even with my AAA discount its still $600 for the 5 days we will need it.
Has anyone ever rented a car after arriving by train in Orlando? If so, whats the best option for me and my family to keep the costs down.

Right now I've found a minivan for those dates thru Budget at MCO for $295 using the codes on this site. I can handle that. Just noidea how I would get there.

Thanks.

 

[reindeer]

My family of 5 will be arriving in Orlando via Amtrak on 3/19 mid afternoon and leaving 3/24 in the late afternoon. We know there is no cab that will fit all of us and our luggage to take us to our hotel and we really want to have a car/minivan because we wont be staying onsite for our entire stay.
I have found some good deals on rental cars thanks to the helpful people on this site but I have no idea how I will get from the Train Station to the Rental place short of paying for just me to take a cab there and come back to pick up the family.
Ive called Amtrak but its a 800# that doesnt have much specific info about the Orlando Train Station. The only rental car company that rents from the Train Station is Hertz and even with my AAA discount its still $600 for the 5 days we will need it.
Has anyone ever rented a car after arriving by train in Orlando? If so, whats the best option for me and my family to keep the costs down.

Right now I've found a minivan for those dates thru Budget at MCO for $295 using the codes on this site. I can handle that. Just noidea how I would get there.

Thanks.

Ib would call Budget and see if they will come pick you up

 

[Ragman]

Ib would call Budget and see if they will come pick you up

Thanks Reindeer, I will before I rent. Im afraid if I rent over the phone when I call I wont be able to use the nice codes I found here on the site.

Has anyone else been in this situation?

 

[pepe of ohio]

We get off and on in Kissimmee and have seen the Enterprise van there to pick up people renting from them....I'd check and see which rental you're interested in is closer to which station and like you said, just you go for the rental via a cab or use a rental that will come get you...I know from experience, Kissimmee being a small station and next down the line from Orlando, is much easier getting off at and getting on......personal choice though.....I know there's Budget a few blocks from the Kissimmee station when I was thinking on renting...but never followed through on...google car rentals in Kissimmee and Orlando for the closest..

 

[lisa-upnorth]

see is hertz with price match-they did for me! I arrived at the Kiss train station and got my car there too

 

[pepe of ohio]

see is hertz with price match-they did for me! I arrived at the Kiss train station and got my car there too

There is no rentals at the Kissimmee station....

 

[kaytieeldr]

pepe of ohio offers good advice on two fronts.

Most car rental agencies in the WDW area have shuttles that will pick up renters. Enterprise is always a gok'd choice, since that's their 'thing', but compare Alamo/National (yes, I know Enterprise owns them), Budget, Dollar - shop both price and service.

The other great suggestion is to use the Kissimmee station. Yes, you'll be on the train about twenty minutes longer than the people who debark in downtown Orlando, but you'll be closer to the park; and on the way home, it'll be MUCH easier and less confusing to board.

And it's the same price. Oh, speaking of price - don't be so sure about not finding a cab for your whole party. Taxi vans hold up to five passengers and have a large area for storage in the rear.

 

[Marcy Mouse]

Are you doing a round trip on the train? We are taking the train down from buffalo and then driving back with the one way special from Alamo. They basically have a deal were you can rent any size for 20 per day no drop of fees. So we get in on Friday are doing a Disney cruise Sat to Sat getting of the Cruise taking the shuttle to alam(included) picking up the car and driving to Buffalo - the total is $48 for the two days.

If you are willing to drive back you could rent the car for a max of 21 days so if you need a week it would be 140 plus tax and you can get a full size for that price to fit the 5 of you. Just an idea to consider???

 

[Marcy Mouse]

Another thing to note is that Dollar has a shuttle service in Kissimmee and they may pick up at the station:

Courtesy Shuttle: Kissimmee Shuttle available during the hours 8:30am - 5:30pm. Please call 407-583-8009 to schedule. This is from Dollar -

Marcy

If you have any more questions let me know as I did this last year too.

 

[Ragman]

Ok Hertz rates were too high so I went with Budget.

Our train arrives in Orlando, 1400 Sligh Blvd at 1pm on Sunday the 19th.
Our train leaves Orlando at 7:20pm on Friday the 24th

I rented a Dodge Caravan from Budget for $261.95 from the location at 2195 West Colonial Drive, for the entire time with the 2 codes provided by the great people on this site.

Budget has a pick up service at that location BUT....there is only 1 person there and it is based on IF they can get someone there. Now its only 3.5 miles away from the station so I will probably have to take a cab over and come back to pick up my family. The other issue is that the place closes at 6 on Friday so we will be a little early for our train ride back.

I just wanted to let everyone know what happened with this.

I was very happy with the price. Ive paid more than that for a smaller vehicle for less time....

 

[lisa-upnorth]

There is no rentals at the Kissimmee station....

DANG!!!! I mixed it up again!!!

Why do I keep doing that!Yes, I DID get my hertz rental in ORLANDO! and I did have them do a price match to the low rate I had found

 

[sparklepnh]

how did this arrangement work out for you? we are going next year and i'm thinking about doing something similar.