WWYD? Car rental vs shuttles/trolleys/taxi's for staying off-site

[Jenny3]

I'm a little clueless (ok a lot) when it comes to renting a car. The only time we ever did it was on our honeymoon in Ireland, LOL

Last time I was in Orlando, we stayed on-site in Disney and I didn't worry at all about transportation. This time, it is just DH and I and we are staying in the Universal area on International Drive and it's a completely different world.

Dates are Nov 8-13. We will need transportation to and from airport; to and from the Convention Center; to and from Sea World / Discovery Cove; and to and from Universal. Plus out to eat or to the bars or what have you.

There is free scheduled shuttle service through the hotel, but their times stink and don't really mesh with our schedule. So we would rely mostly on the I-Drive Trolley or taxis to get around and I'm thinking that could really add up or just be a royal PITA.

What would you do if you were me? Any thoughts or suggestions you could toss my way?

 

[dzorn]

I'm a little clueless (ok a lot) when it comes to renting a car. The only time we ever did it was on our honeymoon in Ireland, LOL

Last time I was in Orlando, we stayed on-site in Disney and I didn't worry at all about transportation. This time, it is just DH and I and we are staying in the Universal area on International Drive and it's a completely different world.

Dates are Nov 8-13. We will need transportation to and from airport; to and from the Convention Center; to and from Sea World / Discovery Cove; and to and from Universal. Plus out to eat or to the bars or what have you.

There is free scheduled shuttle service through the hotel, but their times stink and don't really mesh with our schedule. So we would rely mostly on the I-Drive Trolley or taxis to get around and I'm thinking that could really add up or just be a royal PITA.

What would you do if you were me? Any thoughts or suggestions you could toss my way?

Rent a car. Look on mousesavers for discount codes. I would not consider staying off site without a car.

Denise in MI

 

[mek17]

Rent a car. Look on mousesavers for discount codes. I would not consider staying off site without a car.

Denise in MI

Agree completely.

 

[Jenny3]

Checking out Mousesavers now... wow! So much info; overwhelmed again

 

[rwdavis2]

Rent a car. In 5 trips I've never ridden a Disney bus.

Apply for a KLM frequent flyer account (no purchase required) and you can get a National Car contract code for a hefty discount.

 

[Jenny3]

I didn't mind the Disney buses at all when we went last year, but this time it's totally different as we're not doing Disney at all.

I will check out the KLM codes, thanks!

I did find a rate for Advantage for $180 total for our stay. No clue if that's a good deal or decent company or not. I'm also a AAA member and trying to see if that will benefit me in any way

I need a book for dummies on all this, LOL

 

[skelooch]

I too would recommend renting, but I think you can do better with Alamo, picking up and returning at MCO. I just checked for your dates, pickup and dropoff times don't seem to matter as it's a weekly rate. You can get a compact for $128.72 a midsize for $139.64 or a standard size (fullsize) for $150.54, all incl taxes and fees. I used costco codes.

Good Luck and keep checking daily just in case they go lower.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Rent a car. Look on mousesavers for discount codes. I would not consider staying off site without a car.

Denise in MI

I agree 100%. Rent a car!!

There is excellent signage on Disney property so it's easy driving around the World. Also many road signs off property lead you TO WDW but none of course lead you back to your hotel. Either bring a GPS or print out lots of mapquest/google maps directions. That's what I did before we bought a GPS.

 

[Jenny3]

That's a great rate! How did you do that? I just tried and it's coming up as $408.79 so I'm doing something very wrong