To Rent or Not to Rent

[NavFam5]

We normally do not rent a car when we have visited WDW. However, for our August trip, I am not sure if renting a car would be the best option. We are a family of 5 and will be staying at OKW. We are going to Universal for 2 days, so we were thinking that renting a car for those days. I think shuttles are too expensive to pay for each person round trip for 2 days. We are also going on a Disney Cruise at the end of our vacation. Since we have never rented a car, would the pricing be better if we rented for 11 days compared to just 3 days for our Universal days and renting a car from Port to airport? Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

 

[cemeb4dk]

We are doing what you are doing, except for the cruise part. So what I did was I did some math of taxis or shuttles for 2 days, then looked at the express pass options on the universal tickets. Since we would only have 2 days at universal I wanted to make sure we do everything we want. And since you get free unlimited express passes when you stay onsite at a deluxe resort in Universal for the day you check in and the day you check out. I just booked a room at Universal for 1 night. The room rate was 299.00, but I figured I would be saving $80 in transportation fees, and then getting the unlimted passes that were $99 each day, so that was $680 value for the $299 room rate. Yes our room will be empty at Disney for 1 night and we basically are wasting the points for that night( we are DVC) but small price to pay.

 

[bumbershoot]

There's no way to make a guess about rental rates. You have to go to a site and plug in your dates and pickup/return places. Every rental can be different.

Are you staying on onsite for the universal visit? I recommend looking into it. Stay at a deluxe one night and you get unlimited express passes for checkin and checkout days. You will be paying parking at the themepark lot both days if you drove and don't stay there. Of you rent the hotel room you will end up paying the hotel for one night of parking there as long as you are out I the lot by midnight on checkout day. And you can use walking paths or the boats to get to the parks.

 

[robinb]

We normally do not rent a car when we have visited WDW. However, for our August trip, I am not sure if renting a car would be the best option. We are a family of 5 and will be staying at OKW. We are going to Universal for 2 days, so we were thinking that renting a car for those days. I think shuttles are too expensive to pay for each person round trip for 2 days. We are also going on a Disney Cruise at the end of our vacation. Since we have never rented a car, would the pricing be better if we rented for 11 days compared to just 3 days for our Universal days and renting a car from Port to airport? Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

www.carrentalsavers.com is a good place to start to look at car rental rates. Then, I would go to the car rental thread for the month you are traveling for discounts that may be available for you. Is the 11 days your total time from airline arrival to departure?

 

[richmo]

Also keep in mind that the car rental rates you see now for August may be completely different than what you'll see as the trip approaches. The best rates usually show up less than 3 weeks before you leave. I would say if you see any rates that you can live with now, book them and keep looking. Just don't prepay anything.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also keep in mind that the car rental rates you see now for August may be completely different than what you'll see as the trip approaches. The best rates usually show up less than 3 weeks before you leave. I would say if you see any rates that you can live with now, book them and keep looking. Just don't prepay anything.

So true.


Now that I'm off my cell (and corrected obvious mistakes caused by lack of attention LOL)...

I use this specific Loews site (http://uo.loewshotels.com/en/booking/uo?hotel=UEPBH,UEHRH,UERPR) to check for Universal onsite stays. Check and check often because things do change.

Remember to include port parking costs in your spreadsheet or regular notes, to know your full cost. I personally have yet to find a rental where it's cheaper to keep the car and pay for port parking, vs just turning it in and getting another, but others HAVE found those deals. So never assume! Always check and check again and again for your own trip. Pay nothing up front and make sure things can be cancelled when playing the rental car game. You want flexibility.

And just start a notebook specifically for this so you can keep track of it all.

 

[NavFam5]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I am a teacher and all about planning and getting the best deal.

 

[richmo]

...Remember to include port parking costs in your spreadsheet or regular notes, to know your full cost. I personally have yet to find a rental where it's cheaper to keep the car and pay for port parking, vs just turning it in and getting another, but others HAVE found those deals. So never assume! Always check and check again and again for your own trip. Pay nothing up front and make sure things can be cancelled when playing the rental car game. You want flexibility. ...

I was one of those that found the better deal holding on to the car and paying for parking at the port. Besides running the numbers for a full term rental (meaning MCO to MCO) vs. partial rentals, shuttles, etc., also keep in mind:
- You could look into staying near the port the night before your cruise. Some places will let you keep the car at the hotel and shuttle you to the port and some others give coupons for discounted parking at the port.
- One advantage to having "your" car at the port is when you return, you can just get in the car and go. No other transportation issues, etc. (In our case, our flight home after the cruise wasn't until night, so we went back to WDW, played some mini-golf, ate lunch at DTD, then back to MCO.
- Here's another advantage many don't think of. You will have already been in Orlando about a week (?) before your cruise. Do you really need or want to take your dirty laundry from that week onboard? You can leave it in the trunk of the car. Less to take on the ship and that space can be valuable. Same goes for Universal/Disney souvenirs...

Again, in our case, keeping the car for the duration was the way to go. I'm sure there will be many cases where its more economical to not do that. For convenience, we found it best to keep it and I would do it that way again even if it was a little more expensive. If a lot more, probably not.