What if we don't fit?

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Opps double posting.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would just book the van now. If you wait till you get to the airport you will be charged whatever the "walk up rate" is and often times its a WAY higher rate than what you could have gotten by booking ahead of time.

This happened to my FIL. He was ticked because he knew what the online rate was but decided he could rent a car when he got there. When they told him the price he said to them, "but the rate online is (whatever the price was that he saw). The agent said that when you walk up and make a reservation we charge whatever the "walk up rate" happens to be.

 

[gmeh1]

In all honesty, this is my suggestion...

I would personally pre-tip the agent at the counter. I would take a $20 bill as a tip for excellent service and pass it to the agent along with my driver's license and Alamo Insider's card, with the Insider's Card on top.

Car rental agents, like hotel front desk staff, are in the service sector, and these positions are permitted to receive tips for good service if desired by the customer. Paying the tip up front is a good motivator to garner excellent service, and some DVC members pre-tip Mousekeeping when they arrive to entice good service when needed.


A second option...

Change your reservation to National car rental (Alamo's sister company), sign up for Emerald Club (free most of the time, but Mousesavers has a link for free sign up if needed), and rent a mid sized car. At the airport you can go to the Emerald Aisle and pic from the available selections, which vary. In the least, you can try to get stuff packed in the car of your choice before driving off, even if it takes a few attempts.

Good luck!

Alamo, Enterprise and National employees are not supposed to accept tips. If the customer insists, then they are allowed to take them, however anything 20.00 or over is supposed to be handed over to a manager.
National Emerald Club is free for anyone to sign up. They have not charged for that in years. Emerald Club guarantees a least a mid size car or above. There is no guarantee that you will find anything larger, although there is usually a full size car on the aisle. sometimes a mini van or suv, but, I would not bank on it.
Tip: rent the size you need.

 

[gmeh1]

Yes, I am sure.

I thought the trunk was going to be much larger than it was.

18.5cf is a pretty big trunk. Your bags must have been very large.

 

[JanaDee]

18.5cf is a pretty big trunk. Your bags must have been very large.

Nope, not at all. It is a standard small (carry on size 21 inches), medium (25 inches) and large suitcase (29 inches) set.

You're free to keep arguing about my experiencing, though.

OP, if you are afraid you won't fit, take the stress out of the vacation and take the larger vehicle.

 

[gmeh1]

Nope, not at all. It is a standard small (carry on size 21 inches), medium (25 inches) and large suitcase (29 inches) set.

You're free to keep arguing about my experiencing, though.

OP, if you are afraid you won't fit, take the stress out of the vacation and take the larger vehicle.

not arguing at all, but, having watched a LOT of people pack a ton of stuff in those trunks, I was surprised, that's all.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I can tell you for sure that you would fit all that in a Chevy Impala - we own one, and we were able to get to the airport in January with four adults, three large suitcases, four small suitcases and four backpacks, and golf clubs without any trouble at all. And I'm sure if you're not happy with whatever car you get, or you don't fit, the rental company will work with you - sometimes when we have picked up at MCO with Alamo, since they just tell you to choose from the full-size aisle, there have actually been minivans available, so I would save your money with Budget ressie, and just see what happens when you get there.

Of course they will work with you, they will be glad to charge you the walk up rate for a larger car

Do not assume "oh they will just give me a mini van". I rent cars weekly and have never seen a mini van on the full size aisle

I fly into the two Disney airports a lot (John Wayne in California and MCO in Orlando) and every few month I see an upset family getting to see how much the upgrade will cost.

 

[gmeh1]

Of course they will work with you, they will be glad to charge you the walk up rate for a larger car

Do not assume "oh they will just give me a mini van". I rent cars weekly and have never seen a mini van on the full size aisle

I fly into the two Disney airports a lot (John Wayne in California and MCO in Orlando) and every few month I see an upset family getting to see how much the upgrade will cost.

Mini Vans are often on the midsize and full size rows in busy times, sometimes even on compact. In fact, I have seen it where about the only thing available is a mini van. I worked at MCO for a long time and saw a lot. I have even had EC members scream at me cause all there were were vans. Like that was my fault.

 

[wcduke]

I would keep both reservations. Go to Alamo first and see what you can choose from. If you can't fit in the largest car, see if you can work something out with the attendant. I would think when they have someone there ready to rent a car, they can work something out. If it is more than the $150, say no and go over to Budget. You are not locked in until you drive off the lot. If Alamo quotes you over the $150, tell them you can get it cheaper at Budget, they may under quote them and you won't have to go anywhere.

Is it wise to have two separate car rental reservations when you only need one vehicle? Isn't there some sort of penalty for having a reservation but being a no show? If you are a member of whatever the "frequent renter" program is called, don't they have your credit card info? Won't you be charged something for not showing up?

 

[laughinplace199]

OP, we are in a similar situation. We had a full size booked through Alamo and we also have 3 kids (but we don't have a stroller and only one of our kids is still in a booster).

We're driving 2 hrs to Vero Beach from MCO and I think the kids will be too crowded in the back of a sedan. Plus, our oldest is a teenager and doesn't exactly pack light, so we'll have plenty of luggage to fit into the rental.

I ended up getting a great rate at Hertz using a BJ's discount code, so we're switching to the minivan.

 

[jack'smom]

Of course they will work with you, they will be glad to charge you the walk up rate for a larger car

Do not assume "oh they will just give me a mini van". I rent cars weekly and have never seen a mini van on the full size aisle

I fly into the two Disney airports a lot (John Wayne in California and MCO in Orlando) and every few month I see an upset family getting to see how much the upgrade will cost.

What would happen if we go out to the garage, after doing everything at the kiosk, and figure out everything won't fit and decide not to rent from them? Could we then just cancel and go over to Budget and rent the minivan that I have a reservation for?

I hate to spend a lot on a rental car for the short amount of time we'll use it. Once we're on property, we're staying at Wilderness Lodge so we'll be using the boat to get to Magic Kingdom, which will be quite a bit of our vacation.

 

[jack'smom]

OK, just saw that through Costco, I can get a premium car from Budget for about $15 more. It says it would be a Ford Taurus or similar. Would that work for us?

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Ok. Take your chances. Our expert has spoken. Seriously I can't believe anyone recommends renting a smaller vehicle because "minivans will be on the full size aisle".

And when they are not there, what do you do then?

 

[jack'smom]

Ok. Take your chances. Our expert has spoken. Seriously I can't believe anyone recommends renting a smaller vehicle because "minivans will be on the full size aisle".

And when they are not there, what do you do then?

???
I never assumed I would get a minivan by paying for a full size car. It never actually even crossed my mind.
Who is the expert? I'm not sure and I don't know what this person recommended.
I simply would like to see what other's experiences were and if anyone knows if I could cancel the reservation after the fact if we didn't fit.
BTW, I just tried to put our suitcases in our old Malibu (which I believe has a 15 cf trunk). We fit our 2 large and our rolling carryon back there, which means we would need room for 1 more suitcase. I always figured our stroller could go by the kids' feet. We can pack the backpacks around the suitcases and up by me. My kids don't mind riding 2 in a row at all. We do if fairly often in the minivan when we have visitors staying with us, and that is with a bigger booster seat and a car seat instead of a booster.

 

[xipotec]

Of your driving any significant length of time the minivan is what you need.

You will never regret the money spent...

We had a similar situation this summer, upgraded to a suburban,,,
Best thing we did..

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

We opted to try for the Impala but that was not an option when we got there. Nothing fit in the Taurus that was there! We four did have one 29", two 26", a 22", 2 backpacks, stroller, carry on's and ended up with a SUV the last minute. Oh, and an egg crate mattress topper.
I think we could have fit everything into an Impala, but that ended up not being the model of full size.

If everything but the stroller fits into a Malibu then you can do it. When getting to the airport you should know what's going to work before you even leave.

I wouldn't want to waste a moment fretting about not fitting or going to a second rental. If you need to take the luggage with you i would just get the minivan and watch the rates.

 

[gmeh1]

Is it wise to have two separate car rental reservations when you only need one vehicle? Isn't there some sort of penalty for having a reservation but being a no show? If you are a member of whatever the "frequent renter" program is called, don't they have your credit card info? Won't you be charged something for not showing up?

Alamo does not require credit card info to make a reservation, hence, no penalty. National has a no show penalty clause, but, never enforces it at MCO.

 

[gmeh1]

OK, just saw that through Costco, I can get a premium car from Budget for about $15 more. It says it would be a Ford Taurus or similar. Would that work for us?

The Taurus has a pretty large trunk. 20.100 cf. but, be aware, a premium does not mean larger, it means more features. It could end up with a smaller trunk than a full size.

 

[gmeh1]

Ok. Take your chances. Our expert has spoken. Seriously I can't believe anyone recommends renting a smaller vehicle because "minivans will be on the full size aisle".

And when they are not there, what do you do then?

Did I say they would be available? NO, I DID NOT. I said, in contrast to your inaccurate "facts", that they are often on midsize, full size and compact rows when it is BUSY. I NEVER tell anyone to rent something smaller than what they need, in fact, I often state, rent what you need and don't gamble if it is important to you.
Please, in the future, read what I post, not what you think I post. I worked there 5 days a week, I know what I saw, which is different than what you saw when you breezed through. Your implication that I am not being factual is insulting.

 

[gmeh1]

???
I never assumed I would get a minivan by paying for a full size car. It never actually even crossed my mind.
Who is the expert? I'm not sure and I don't know what this person recommended.
I simply would like to see what other's experiences were and if anyone knows if I could cancel the reservation after the fact if we didn't fit.
BTW, I just tried to put our suitcases in our old Malibu (which I believe has a 15 cf trunk). We fit our 2 large and our rolling carryon back there, which means we would need room for 1 more suitcase. I always figured our stroller could go by the kids' feet. We can pack the backpacks around the suitcases and up by me. My kids don't mind riding 2 in a row at all. We do if fairly often in the minivan when we have visitors staying with us, and that is with a bigger booster seat and a car seat instead of a booster.

If it fit in the Malibu it will fit in the Impala. Yes, you can cancel the reservation, assuming it is Alamo, if you don't fit with no penalty. BUT, if you don't fit, I would speak to someone in the booth before I would trek up to another agency. They just might price match, which I have seen done many, many times.
I am the "expert" referred to in some very snarky comments.