What Is The Best Way To Go Off Property?

[Longhairbear]

We haven't been off property in years, and we are planning to on our next trip.
If we are only going to Universal I would image a taxi is the best bet. However we also might want to visit Cape Canaveral, Sea World etc. I'm assuming renting a car would be best. If we get a rental car, we could also get our own groceries instead of using the delivery grocers.
Anyone have some good ideas, such as length of time to rent a car, or the cost of a taxi ride to Universal?
We are also considering staying at Cabana Bay first, and then taxi over to our DVC. That would mean not showing up for ME at the beginning of our trip, and using only for the ride back to the airport.

 

[k3chantal]

We haven't been off property in years, and we are planning to on our next trip.
If we are only going to Universal I would image a taxi is the best bet. However we also might want to visit Cape Canaveral, Sea World etc. I'm assuming renting a car would be best. If we get a rental car, we could also get our own groceries instead of using the delivery grocers.
Anyone have some good ideas, such as length of time to rent a car, or the cost of a taxi ride to Universal?
We are also considering staying at Cabana Bay first, and then taxi over to our DVC. That would mean not showing up for ME at the beginning of our trip, and using only for the ride back to the airport.

The cost of a Mears private car for 5 including car seat was under $100 including tip from Kidani to the Royal Pacific (Universal; we were changing hotels to get the early morning entry to Harry Potter) and a little less from the Royal Pacific to the airport. Since you have so many stops and places, a rental car is probably your best bet.

 

[disneynutz]

We rent a car for at least one day each stay to shop and eat a meal or two off property. The Alamo agency at the Dolphin is our preferred rental location.

Bill

 

[zavandor]

We rent a car for at least one day each stay to shop and eat a meal or two off property. The Alamo agency at the Dolphin is our preferred rental location.

Bill

I'm deciding if renting a car for 2 weeks, getting it at the airport, or rely on Disney transportation the first week and rent it for the second week to go offsite. Saving some money and not having to drive from the airport after a long air travel are the big advantages of the second solution.
How is it convenient to go to the S&D to get the car? I'll stay at AKV, what would be the best way to get there?

Also, I read that getting the car at the Car Care Center they would bring it to the hotel. Is it true and how much do they charge (if they charge anything)?

 

[disneynutz]

I'm deciding if renting a car for 2 weeks, getting it at the airport, or rely on Disney transportation the first week and rent it for the second week to go offsite. Saving some money and not having to drive from the airport after a long air travel are the big advantages of the second solution.
How is it convenient to go to the S&D to get the car? I'll stay at AKV, what would be the best way to get there?

Also, I read that getting the car at the Car Care Center they would bring it to the hotel. Is it true and how much do they charge (if they charge anything)?

I hate to have a rented car sit in the parking lot and we find that is what happens if we rent for the entire stay. Usually get it on the 2nd day, do our shopping, eat dinner out, return the next day.

The CC center give us the worst service. Too big to care IMO, went to pick up reserved car and they didn't have any of our size left and the manager would not give a free upgrade. Had to pay for upgrade and the car was not cleaned well. Didn't feel like fighting so we just gave in and left

Dolphin Alamo, clean cars, great counter service, free upgrade if available. You need to bus transfer at any park or DTD to get to the Dolphin but we plan a meal in the area or after a Epcot or DTD visit.

Bill

 

[zavandor]

That's great info, thank you!
I think I'll keep the first week for Disney without the car and the second week for Discovery Cove, Universal and Sea World with the car.

 

[thepops]

Since you mentioned going to Universal, depending on what time of year you go, it may be worth it to stay at one of the Universal hotels for 1 night. When you do that, your hotel key is your "front of the line" pass. So, similar to the Fast pass, it really cuts your wait times. And you get access to Harry Potter World 1 hour early. Our wait time over there at opening was about 15 minutes! The room was pricey ($350 I think) but the 5 of us squeezed in. When I checked the cost of the unlimited front of the line pass (it changes daily depending on park volume) it was $70/person/day! So I came out saving $ by getting the room.

 

[jerseyduke]

Im all for renting a car. I usually do it at the car care center (cause I am staying by MK and that's closer) I am not big on waiting for the buses.

mousesavers.com often has good promo codes. Rental car rates seemed to have gone up in Florida in the past few years.

You can drive past DTD (with it on the left) and straight out of the property, to a shopping area with a grocery store and a few places to eat. Also gets you to 4 for universal and sea world.

A few meals off property offset the rental car expense some, and it is just a lot easier, in my eyes.

 

[bumbershoot]

Since you mentioned going to Universal, depending on what time of year you go, it may be worth it to stay at one of the Universal hotels for 1 night. When you do that, your hotel key is your "front of the line" pass. So, similar to the Fast pass, it really cuts your wait times. And you get access to Harry Potter World 1 hour early. Our wait time over there at opening was about 15 minutes! The room was pricey ($350 I think) but the 5 of us squeezed in. When I checked the cost of the unlimited front of the line pass (it changes daily depending on park volume) it was $70/person/day! So I came out saving $ by getting the room.

The OP mentioned staying at Cabana Bay, which is U's new future resort. It's worth noting that as it is not a deluxe resort, they will not have access to the unlimited Express Pass. Early Entrance for Wizarding World yes but not the EP.

 

[Longhairbear]

The OP mentioned staying at Cabana Bay, which is U's new future resort. It's worth noting that as it is not a deluxe resort, they will not have access to the unlimited Express Pass. Early Entrance for Wizarding World yes but not the EP.

Thanks for mentioning that. I don't know much at all about Universal, we haven't been in many years, and things are changing so much.
Cabana Bay looks like a fun theme, that's why I mentioned staying there. I'll look into when it is opening. We haven't been to FLA in a few years, and it may be a few before we go back. I'm starting to miss my VWL.

 

[Orioles1966]

We rent a car. More options that way.

 

[JimMIA]

A few meals off property offset the rental car expense some, and it is just a lot easier, in my eyes.

Meals offsite are much more than an expense offset! A rental car opens up a whole world of dining, which at every level -- from McDonalds to fine dining -- is better, more varied, and less expensive.

For example...a short drive away is Celebration. Here are some suggestions there: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34956129&postcount=463

In Celebration, don't miss Columbia (must do on every trip for us) and Kilwins (to-die-for ice cream and chocolate, right around the corner from Columbia).

 

[Longhairbear]

I haven't compared prices, but are the rentals at the airport more expensive, or less than getting one on property? Perhaps get one at Universal to drive to WDW after a few days?
I'm also open to other suggestions for visiting the area out side the gate. Celebration might be a place we want to see, if only a drive by. I'm also considering getting ingredients I need for exotic cocktails that I can't take on the plane.

 

[Dean]

I haven't compared prices, but are the rentals at the airport more expensive, or less than getting one on property? Perhaps get one at Universal to drive to WDW after a few days?
I'm also open to other suggestions for visiting the area out side the gate. Celebration might be a place we want to see, if only a drive by. I'm also considering getting ingredients I need for exotic cocktails that I can't take on the plane.

Personally I'd get the car if you can get it for a good price. I checked a week (one) early August at it was expensive, almost $400 for economy. Then I checked a week early Sept and it was under $150 for a full size car including taxes (costco travel). For a low price option I'd get the car the entire time, for a high cost time, I'd get a car just for the time you need it, maybe a few days and do all the non Disney things within those few days.

 

[Minniesgal]

We always always rent a car for the length of our stay. We pick it up at the airport and drop it off as we leave. That way we can go to Walmart, eat offsite, and visit other parks as well as shopping malls as we please. We also find transporation between parks and to dinner a lot faster. As we shop at Walmart and often eat offsite i'm convinced we probably save on food close to what we spend on the car.

how long you should have a car for depends on what you want to to and how often. What i did was plan my days out and see what was the minimum we could have the car for. We then looked at the difference in price between just the days we needed and the full holiday and the difference wa small enough we went for a length of stay car. If you don't want it from the airport you can oick it up at disney car hire.

 

[jerseyduke]

There are a lot of ways to go with rental cars (which used to be quite a bit cheaper in florida then they are now)

Personally, I prefer Magical Express to handle my luggage and everything, so I use that, then on day 2 of my trip I use the Car Care Center to pick up a car. You can get a courtesy shuttle, or just take a cab, it's cheap. I also return it the day before we leave, and again use ME to get back to the airport. In Dec. of 2012 after returning to the CCC, the courtesy shuttle took us right to Hollywood Studios. You can fill up with gas right there too.

Even with Lodging through DVC, a trip to the world is $$$, so I do not get too caught up on trying to save 20 bucks.

I found a good promo code on mousesavers last december and used that.

We went off property past DTD a few times to that little shopping area, as well as some way off property past AK to a road that had a Cracker Barrel and a few other eateries.

Look for promo codes and AAA discounts.

For me, renting on site is a convenience, plus it allows me to knock at least one, if not two days off of the rental period.

 

[lorie13]

I haven't compared prices, but are the rentals at the airport more expensive, or less than getting one on property? Perhaps get one at Universal to drive to WDW after a few days?
I'm also open to other suggestions for visiting the area out side the gate. Celebration might be a place we want to see, if only a drive by. I'm also considering getting ingredients I need for exotic cocktails that I can't take on the plane.

Last year we need a rental car for a few days of the two weeks we were there. We rented from one of the hotels (not Disney) by Downtown Disney. Took a bus to downtown and walked across the road to the rental cars. Did the same when we returned it. When looking at rates it was less expensive to rent at the airport per day, but since we did not need it for the full two weeks we opted for the option of renting it closer to Disney and paying more per day. When looking up rentals, use Lake Buena Vista as location.

 

[Longhairbear]

There are a lot of ways to go with rental cars (which used to be quite a bit cheaper in florida then they are now)

Personally, I prefer Magical Express to handle my luggage and everything, so I use that, then on day 2 of my trip I use the Car Care Center to pick up a car. You can get a courtesy shuttle, or just take a cab, it's cheap. I also return it the day before we leave, and again use ME to get back to the airport. In Dec. of 2012 after returning to the CCC, the courtesy shuttle took us right to Hollywood Studios. You can fill up with gas right there too.

Even with Lodging through DVC, a trip to the world is $$$, so I do not get too caught up on trying to save 20 bucks.

I found a good promo code on mousesavers last december and used that.

We went off property past DTD a few times to that little shopping area, as well as some way off property past AK to a road that had a Cracker Barrel and a few other eateries.

Look for promo codes and AAA discounts.

For me, renting on site is a convenience, plus it allows me to knock at least one, if not two days off of the rental period.

I do plan to book ME, just not use it on arrival if we plan a 2 night stay at Universal at the start of our vacation. That way we buy a park hopper for when we arrive at WDW. I hate buying a park hopper for a week, and not using it because we went to Universal during the middle of the week. And I do have AAA, so I will look for discounts. I have to consider drop off of the car if I got it at the airport, and only wanted it for 3 days. Another option is not doing the WDW parks, and just staying at our DVC as a base for every place else, and renting a car on property and still using ME. So complicating...LOL.