What would you do regarding this situation?

[annyeb]

We have reservations at AoA from Nov 1-7 along with six days of tickets planning to use them the 1st-6th. We are actually arriving in Orlando midday on October 31st. We changed that from November 1st as plane tickets were quite a bit cheaper and we wanted a day to drive to the beach. So that would mean renting a van (7 people). We were thinking Cocoa Beach since that appears the closest and staying at a hotel there and driving back to Orlando the next morning, but now I think maybe we should drive back to Orlando that night and stay in a hotel there somewhere so we can go to WDW earlier that morning. But I am stumped on how to work returning the car, getting to AoA and then what to do with our luggage before our room is available.

Anyone have a situation like this before and have any clue on how to make it work? Thanks!

 

[ktate82]

We have reservations at AoA from Nov 1-7 along with six days of tickets planning to use them the 1st-6th. We are actually arriving in Orlando midday on October 31st. We changed that from November 1st as plane tickets were quite a bit cheaper and we wanted a day to drive to the beach. So that would mean renting a van (7 people). We were thinking Cocoa Beach since that appears the closest and staying at a hotel there and driving back to Orlando the next morning, but now I think maybe we should drive back to Orlando that night and stay in a hotel there somewhere so we can go to WDW earlier that morning. But I am stumped on how to work returning the car, getting to AoA and then what to do with our luggage before our room is available.

Anyone have a situation like this before and have any clue on how to make it work? Thanks!

There are a few options I would think of. One would be to stay at the Cocoa Beach for the night, return the car rental to the airport, and take MDE to Disney in the morning. You could either all take MDE or you could drop them off at the resort, let them go to the park ahead of you, and you meet up with them after you return the car and ride back to the resort.

Another option if you want to stay the night would be to rent from a company that has a car rental close to Disney (Alamo, National, Budget), drop everyone off at the resort, return the car, and take a taxi to the resort to meet up.

If you don't want to stay at Cocoa Beach, you could return the car to the airport and stay at the Hyatt at the airport and still catch MDE the next morning.

No matter what you do, if your room isn't ready when you check in at Disney, Bell Services will hold your luggage for you.

 

[richmo]

I like the previous suggestion of returning the car to the airport and take MDE to Disney...and they'll take your luggage.

On the other hand, the drive from Cocoa to Disney is only about an hour, so its easily driveable if you choose to get to Disney early.

If you wind up taking your rental vehicle to Disney, you can easily drop it there at either the Car Care Center or Dolphin, if you're with Alamo or National. Of course, set your rental up that way. They'll take you by shuttle whereever you like on Disney property after you return the vehicle.