Wait times for ME at MCO?

[surfer_ed]

Hi all, what is your recent expereince with wiat time and ME at MCO? A few times I have passed by the line it was huge. Does it move fast?

I usually rent a car at the start of the stay and then return it on property and take ME back and the end of the stay.

This time I am thinking of taking ME to WDW for 2 days before our DCL and then taking the DCL bus to the port.

I can't find a rental car deal that works for me $$ wise. best I can do is $125 for the 2 days from Budget.

Timing for the trip is Friday night @ 7:00pm in October.

 

[flyerron]

Where do you return a car on property? Can you rent a car on property without going off property to pick it up?

 

[spiceycat]

I haven't used Me except for the first month it was opened. then they were having trouble - I waited in line maybe 70 minutes - but the bus driver was busy talking - probably waited for her another hour. had trouble with the wrong people on the bus too.

now I hear the wait time is less than 15 minutes.

going in Sept and using Me - so I will tell you when I get back.

 

[spiceycat]

Where do you return a car on property? Can you rent a car on property without going off property to pick it up?

Alamo is on property.

budget, avis(? - might be hertz), and dollar are at DD hotels.

 

[larrytau]

We have used ME twice (Dec 06 and May 07), and I would guess the average wait time was about 20-25 minutes. Of course, we did not have to pick up our bags, so there was basically no additional wait compared to picking up bags and then renting a car. Less wait time in total.

We rented a car in Dec from National/Thrifty, located at the Car Service Center at the Transportation Center/Magic Kingdom. They picked me up at SSR at the appointed time, and check in was fast because I used their automated station with a credit card. I dropped the car off the last time, and was back at SSR in about 45 minutes (shared shuttle with other Disney visitors).

In Nov 07, we will use ME and then rent a National car at Buena Vista Resort, across the street from SSR. The cheapest prices are at the airport, but we like the ability to use ME and then use a car for part of the time we are there. We will pick up the car around 3 the first day, and keep it for 3 of our five nights. Probably not as cheap as taxis, but we like the flexibility.

Hope that helps!

 

[grd]

On our last trip we waited at budget for 1.5h to get the car. We dropped it off at a hotel near Disney later in the week and they drove me back to the resort. We then took the ME back.

Next time we will take ME both directions and if I need to get a rental, I would try picking it up for a few days near Disney instead of the airport.

 

[Meliechick]

We have used ME about 5 times. The longest we had to wait is about 20 minutes. We used ME last month (landed on a Friday about 6 PM) and had no wait to check in and as soon as I was checked in I got right on the bus.

 

[larrytau]

I have had similar experiences like grd. I have waited about one hour to get a car from Hertz about three years ago. The processing of my request wasn't bad, but the queue can be horrendous. I think the worst time was when we arrived at the rental counter around 10PM. Not much to pick from at that time of night, and they were actually running out of cars. Someone was given a really small car and asked to come back the next day for a bigger car!!

On our last trip we waited at budget for 1.5h to get the car. We dropped it off at a hotel near Disney later in the week and they drove me back to the resort. We then took the ME back.

Next time we will take ME both directions and if I need to get a rental, I would try picking it up for a few days near Disney instead of the airport.

 

[ebenmax]

We waited no time for ME on a Sun. in June when going to BWV. I saw one huge line and my daughter went to check out which resort it was. It was SSR. It made us glad we weren't going to SSR until Wed.

Next week we are going straight to SSR, but arriving on a Monday which may help the situation.

 

[byoung]

Used ME the last 7 trips, never more than 90 minutes from landing to the resort.

 

[wildernessDad]

I budget about 2 hours from the time I step off of the plane until the time I step into the resort. It seems about right.

 

[3DisneyKids]

On our last trip we waited at budget for 1.5h to get the car. We dropped it off at a hotel near Disney later in the week and they drove me back to the resort. We then took the ME back.

Next time we will take ME both directions and if I need to get a rental, I would try picking it up for a few days near Disney instead of the airport.

I have had similar experiences like grd. I have waited about one hour to get a car from Hertz about three years ago. The processing of my request wasn't bad, but the queue can be horrendous. I think the worst time was when we arrived at the rental counter around 10PM. Not much to pick from at that time of night, and they were actually running out of cars. Someone was given a really small car and asked to come back the next day for a bigger car!!

We always rent a car...just our personal choice...but we never wait more than a few minutes. BIG TIP: whichever agency you rent through, join their "Members" club (they all name it something different). You join online and it is completely free. But the payoff is huge...you go right to the front of the line and bypass that whole cue!

The wait for a car for our May trip would have easily been an hour in the cue, but we were able to go right to the Express lane....in and out in 6 minutes (yup, I timed it! ).

 

[kgkmom]

We've used ME twice, and never waited long at all. We travel in in the summer too, during high season. The lines to check in look long, but we've never waited longer than 15 minutes in the line.

So I'd with a previous poster that our experience has been no more than 90 minutes from landing to resort.

I hope I didn't just jinx our upcoming trip!

 

[flyerron]

OK great stuff, but my questions continues to be, can you rent a car on property that does not require a shuttle to the car rental lot? Is there a supply of cars on the property? Can you return the car on property with out a shutlte trip to an off site lot? I guess the summary queation is, is there a supply of cars on property?

 

[castleri]

OK great stuff, but my questions continues to be, can you rent a car on property that does not require a shuttle to the car rental lot? Is there a supply of cars on the property? Can you return the car on property with out a shutlte trip to an off site lot? I guess the summary queation is, is there a supply of cars on property?

You can rent from alamo at the Dolphin- once the paperwork is done you go to the front entrance and the valet person brings the car to you in about 5 minutes or less. You return the car to the Dolphin when done - just give it to the valet person and be on your way once he gives you your receipt. I have found it to be one of the better places to rent - they close at 4 for rentals but you can return the car later than that if needed since you don't have to return to the rental desk to do that. They also have rentals at the car care center and a van will pick you up at your resort and return you after you return the car. They have longer hours than the Dolphin. It has been more expensive than Dollar the last times I was there so I used Dollar which is located at the Grosvenor Resort across the street from the DTD bus stop at the marketplace end. We either took the bus to DTD and walked across the street or just walked from SSR to do the rental. I think they have shuttle vans but it was just as easy to walk. They also have limited rental hours so if you use them make certain you know what they are. Again you can return the car even if they are closed for rentals.

 

[flyerron]

Thank you!

 

[crw]

only used twice -- about 15 minutes of lines total. Only downside is potential for stops at other resorts. We're trying a rental car next time for a short trip just to compare.
Chris

 

[Machta]

You can rent from alamo at the Dolphin- once the paperwork is done you go to the front entrance and the valet person brings the car to you in about 5 minutes or less. You return the car to the Dolphin when done - just give it to the valet person and be on your way once he gives you your receipt. I have found it to be one of the better places to rent - they close at 4 for rentals but you can return the car later than that if needed since you don't have to return to the rental desk to do that. They also have rentals at the car care center and a van will pick you up at your resort and return you after you return the car. They have longer hours than the Dolphin. It has been more expensive than Dollar the last times I was there so I used Dollar which is located at the Grosvenor Resort across the street from the DTD bus stop at the marketplace end. We either took the bus to DTD and walked across the street or just walked from SSR to do the rental. I think they have shuttle vans but it was just as easy to walk. They also have limited rental hours so if you use them make certain you know what they are. Again you can return the car even if they are closed for rentals.

I had to rent a car in a hurry about 2 years ago. We were at BCV, and my sweet baboo (aka DH) trundled off with the paramedics about 5am one morning with what turned out to be appendicitis. It was late that afternoon when he was scheduled for surgery at Celebration Hospital. I can't say enough good things about the people at the Dolphin's Alamo/National rental office--I was pretty panicked, but they fixed me up with a car and all the trimmings (carseat for the little one, etc.) in about 10 minutes. It was an easy, albeit frantic, walk from the BCV to the Dolphin to pick it up. We arranged to return it at the airport (no dropoff charge) and it all worked very well. They were *very* helpful, and I highly recommend the Alamo/National office at the Dolphin!

 

[pilferk]

Hi all, what is your recent expereince with wiat time and ME at MCO? A few times I have passed by the line it was huge. Does it move fast?

I usually rent a car at the start of the stay and then return it on property and take ME back and the end of the stay.

This time I am thinking of taking ME to WDW for 2 days before our DCL and then taking the DCL bus to the port.

I can't find a rental car deal that works for me $$ wise. best I can do is $125 for the 2 days from Budget.

Timing for the trip is Friday night @ 7:00pm in October.

I've had it take as little as 10 min to get through the line and to a bus and as many as 45 min to do the same, depending on both time of year AND how many planes just landed. The counter can quickly be overwhelmed if multiple flights all land close together with lots of tourists.

The thing is: It takes me at LEAST 45 min (unless I use Emerald Isle..then more like 30 min) to get to baggage claim, grab my luggage, get to the rental car counter, and get to my car.

If you're not using baggage claim, cut off 15 min from the above totals.

So, IF you're using Emerald Isle (does any other rental agency have something similar?), and NOT using baggage claim, you can probably get your car and be on the road quicker with a rental, and you'll likely arrive quicker than ME will because you travel faster and are taking a direct route......but the catch is (as you mentioned) price.

Personally, I prefer ME. The $200+ (we're a family of 5 with 3 young kids all in car seats or boosters) for a rental for the week offsets the very small time savings I might realize (30 min to an hour, maybe). But that's for me...

 

[mikesmom]

We always rent a car...just our personal choice...but we never wait more than a few minutes. BIG TIP: whichever agency you rent through, join their "Members" club (they all name it something different). You join online and it is completely free. But the payoff is huge...you go right to the front of the line and bypass that whole cue!

The wait for a car for our May trip would have easily been an hour in the cue, but we were able to go right to the Express lane....in and out in 6 minutes (yup, I timed it! ).

If you join the Alamo members club you can check in online before you leave home. Advantage? You don't get in the line at all! You just pick up your luggage and go out and pick out your car. We've done it a couple of times and it's a breeze!