What would you do?

[TSWJan78]

So I have gotten the OK to add 2 Disney days onto our cruise that leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale in September. We will be arriving late (10:00 pm) Thursday night and heading to Ft. Lauderdale later Saturday afternoon. We will need to rent a car but I am really torn.

Do I rent one from the airport on Thursday night so we can leave the cruise luggage we will not need in the car from the get go?

Do we take ME to the hotel and rent from the car care center Friday morning? I hate to waste the little time we have renting a car on Friday but it is an extra $80 to rent from the airport which is 10% of our budget.

I think it is important to mention we will have our 18 month old with us, so the sooner we can get her setteled the happier we all will be and I think we will be staying at POP.

I ask the experts.. What would you do?

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

So I have gotten the OK to add 2 Disney days onto our cruise that leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale in September. We will be arriving late (10:00 pm) Thursday night and heading to Ft. Lauderdale later Saturday afternoon. We will need to rent a car but I am really torn.

Do I rent one from the airport on Thursday night so we can leave the cruise luggage we will not need in the car from the get go?

Do we take ME to the hotel and rent from the car care center Friday morning? I hate to waste the little time we have renting a car on Friday but it is an extra $80 to rent from the airport which is 10% of our budget.

I think it is important to mention we will have our 18 month old with us, so the sooner we can get her setteled the happier we all will be and I think we will be staying at POP.

I ask the experts.. What would you do?

It sounds like you already know what you want...and it make sense. I know some people have had luck with ME back to port but it took HOURS (like more than one full Disney movie!) to get us back because they had to wait for a full bus to leave to get to the values. When we took ME and stayed deluxe, they much better But, that isn't the issue here. So task at hand...have you considered priceline? Every time I've rented for Disney I've used priceline and had no problems. I didn't know your travel dates so I put in some dummy dates of 9/12 to 9/19 and it shows you can rent a mid-size car for $221 for the entire week, including taxes. And that is before naming your own price. September is not peak season so if you are ok with a compact size vehicle, you can probably bid as low as $14/day. And because you are far enough out, even if the bid is rejected you can bid again. The only downside to this all is you can't get your money back. For me, the savings was worth the gamble. You will have to decide for yourself. Good luck and enjoy those extra Disney days and your cruise!

 

[mikelan6]

I'd go for the less expensive option.

 

[Cherinva]

I'd go for the less expensive option.

That's my vote also. Save the extra money for Disney Stuff.

 

[schoen]

I would rent at the airport. There is value in knowing that you are going to have time to do what you want on your trip. With an 18 month old, I would want full control of my transportation situation, and so I would go with renting the car. It will be nice to not have to worry about doing anything on Friday other than having fun in the parks. 80 dollars is a lot of money, but perhaps you could save in other areas of your everyday life to make up the difference? Maybe skip a few dinners out or something like that. You could also consider doing the give a day promotion, that has about an 80 dollar value.

Good Luck with your decision!

 

[spaddy]

This is just me, but I would pay the extra to rent from the airport. For me the worst part would be taking ME at 10PM with a little one and all of my cruise luggage.

Are you doing a one way rental? We have had pretty good luck with Alamo with one way rentals. And don't forget to keep checking back on the car rental prices. I would also book the car rental now and cancel if you decided not to use it.

Good luck deciding and have fun at WDW and on your cruise.

 

[exwdwcm]

I have to agree, I would pick the convenience of the airport rental over the cost savings, but if the budget is really big for you, moreso than time, then rent at disney. Convenience wins out for me though. In fact we considered this on our December (renting at the car care center and using ME), but in the end, we decided it was easier to just rent at MCO and definitely saved some time.

 

[BilltM]

I agree with the Priceline option. I rented in December for DAP and got $12 for a compact through Hertz (which is off the airport) and everything worked fine. Five days for ~$100 ... seven days would have been the same amount.

Also, keep checking http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html for updated rental codes.

Based on your arrival time either choice will get you checked in close to midnight. I'd lean toward getting the rental at the airport if the rates are favorable so you don't spend extra time Friday chasing down a car. I assume Friday is going to be your park day so use your time touring.

 

[BilltM]

Check the transporation boards (if you are not already) for any tips.

This was already mentioned but if you book through priceline you are locked into the rental, regardless. At MCO, an agent for one of the rental companies was asking people for a chance to match/beat the other companies rental price.

 

[esddk]

With an 18 month old, I would definitely go for the convenience. I liked what someone suggested previously about trying to save the $80 somewhere in your everyday life before the trip. Enjoy that full day you have in the parks!

 

[TSWJan78]

Thanks everyone.. I think you are all right.. we have no more than 16 hours at Disney and I see that time as precious. As much as I like renting from Alamo at the car care center I do not want to waste that precious time. I Use mousesaver all the time and rent mostly from Alamo using there Wal mart code.. Well I tried another one and got a total rate for 3 days at $129.00 which is half of what we got last time so I booked it! Thanks everyone!!

 

[spaddy]

Thanks everyone.. I think you are all right.. we have no more than 16 hours at Disney and I see that time as precious. As much as I like renting from Alamo at the car care center I do not want to waste that precious time. I Use mousesaver all the time and rent mostly from Alamo using there Wal mart code.. Well I tried another one and got a total rate for 3 days at $129.00 which is half of what we got last time so I booked it! Thanks everyone!!

Awesome. I hope you have a great vacation. Are you going on Royal Caribbean?

 

[TSWJan78]

Celebrity Anne... I am a little worried about taking the baby on a Non Disney ship as there is not much for her to do and they do not offer a nursery just in room sitting that I am not sure how I feel about. This will be a very different crusie for us so we will see!!

 

[spaddy]

Celebrity Anne... I am a little worried about taking the baby on a Non Disney ship as there is not much for her to do and they do not offer a nursery just in room sitting that I am not sure how I feel about. This will be a very different crusie for us so we will see!!

It's still a vacation. I am sure you will have a great time.

 

[TSWJan78]

It's still a vacation. I am sure you will have a great time.

and we get 18 hours in WDW!!!