Uh-ho! 7 ppl, 6 suitcases, a stroller and a Minivan

[BrittnTylersMom]

I'm screwed!
Originally there were 6 of us going on this trip, 4 adults 2 children. Well, last night my nephew (18) asked if he could join us on our Disney trip if he payed for his own flight tickets, PH and food. I of course said Yes! as we'd love to have him with us! We're renting a 5 BR villa so we have plenty of room to add him there, but I'm now concerned about the fact that we need to get to and from the airport and villa with 7 ppl, 6 suitcases and a stroller! We have reservations for a minivan with Alamo, and we probably would have gotten away with getting the 6 ppl, 5 SC and stroller..but now I know we have way to much!!

We'll be fine during the week in the van without all the luggage, but what other options do I have (if any) about the airport trips...other than making 2 trips to get everyone and everything transported??!! Being about 35-40 minutes from the airport...2 trips would take over 2 hours!

Heeeelp!!!

 

[manning]

Looks like you are going to have to figure out how to get some of that luggage onto the roof. Or get a bigger vehicle. Or look like the Clampets

 

[ajksmom]

Hi! I'd try to contact the rental agency and see if they have a 15 passenger van. Three years ago 11 of us came to WDW and I couldn't believe what I was going to pay for transfers from airport to hotel. After WDW we were driving down to see BiL in Wellington so we had a few mini-vans rented already. I called to see about changing our reservation to include at least one mini-van for WDW(and do trips back and forth from the airport) They told me they had a 15 passenger van and the rate was the same as the mini-van!!!! Needless to say we cancelled 2 mini-vans and rented the 1 large van all for the same money. If I remember correctly it was from budget. hope this helps!

 

[debster812]

Or...go totally outside the box here.

Get a limo or a van to get everyone to and from the Villa (probably a van with all the people).

Then...find an offsite rental location close by to the villa, and rent your mini van there.

The pricing may end up being a wash, since the off airport rental agencies are oftentimes cheaper than the airport locations.

Then just do the reverse to get home.

It may take a bit more planning and logistics, but I think it is do-able.

 

[crazywig]

it would probably be cheaper just to rent 2 cars.

 

[mareed]

How about having 1 or 2 people with a couple of the largest suitcases take a shuttle service like Mears. The cost should definitely be less than upgrading to the larger 15 passenger van. 2 cars is often the same price or cheaper than a minivan, but I can see wanting the convenience of all being able to ride together in the 1 minivan.

 

[momsully]

You can always hold suitcases on your lap for the drive to the hotel. Once the car is unloaded you will have plenty of room for the week.

 

[Poorman]

For $260.00 you can get two intermediates EA . And have tons of flexibilty.

I may be doing that in May.

 

[BrittnTylersMom]

Thanks for the options/suggestions!!

Now that I have some ideas to work with.. I will look into them and see what will work best for us.

Thank You all again!!

 

[travellady]

When we picked up our SUV from National a week ago last Saturday, a family of four was also picking up their SUV. They could not fit the luggage into the back - it was pretty humerous (to us, not them) as they kept trying and then went over to try another SUV. It looked like they had packed for a month with no plans to do laundry. I think the suggestion of sending a few people by Mears with their luggage is probably a good one.

 

[mom_rules]

Here's what we did and it saved us $300. Originally we were going to rent a minivan at the airport over easter. Would have cost us about $660. for 10 days. We really only needed it because 5 people and way too much luggage. At WDW we could make do with a car. So we hired FL Tours and their luxury van $115 (using $5 coupon from online booking) to get us to and from the resort, then we rented a full size car at the Dolphin hotel from National (alamo is also there) for $245 total (cheaper to rent from the Dolphin than from the airport location). Worked great! Did not have to worry about gathering our luggage, renting a car, getting to the rental with all our stuff and then driving to WDW (and the tolls). They picked us up in baggage claim, took our luggage to the van, dropped us at our hotel. Then we slowly made our way to the Dolphin and picked up our rental which was waiting for us at the front door (after we stopped by the rental desk inside to get our rental agreement). Will definitely do this in the future.
So I suggest, renting a minivan close to your hotel but take a service from the airport.