Driving down, flying back?

[garyhoov]

Has anyone ever done this?

Here's the story:

My son, since he was about 5, has been afraid to fly, so we always drive down and back. Now, he has decided that he's not afraid to fly anymore . . . but he and I both sort of enjoy the drive down. It's sort of fun, it gives us time to talk and listen to cds, time to look forward to our trip and transition from real life to Disney.

. . . but the trip back, by comparison, seems long and dreary. On the trip back, I just want to get home.

So I'm thinking of renting a car, driving down, and then dropping the car off at the end of the trip and flying back.

Some questions:

1. Roughly how much would it cost to rent a car for a week-long, one way trip like that? Do the rental companies make it easy?

2. Is buying one-way rather than two-way plane tickets more expensive? What kind of cost am I looking at there?

3. I think my son's pass-port has expired by now. What are the current requirements on that? He'll be 15. Does he need a photo ID to fly?

4. Any other thoughts, comments or insight?

Thanks!

 

[Nemo14]

Can't help you on all of these Gary, but I'll try.
The cost of a one-way ticket varies with the airline - some base their fares on a round-trip ticket. Check with Southwest for good deals on flights from Orlando to Philly. The same thing goes for car rentals - some agencies charge for having a different drop-off point.
As far as an ID for your son is concerned, he won't need a passport unless you're leaving the country, and at 15, he won't really need an ID. If he has a school ID it helps, but it's not totally necessary.
Hope this helps...

 

[shoppingnut]

Regarding renting a car for a one-way trip, check the various car rental websites directly (not through travelocity or others) as they sometimes have one-way specials. I know I've seen it on Hertz and one other which I can't recall now. It's the car company's way of getting the cars back where they belong without having to put them on a trailer. Otherwise, the one way rental can be costly as they charge all sorts of fees for it.

Plane tickets one way aren't any more expensive than buying r/t now. And, it is generally cheaper to fly from MCO.

 

[garyhoov]

Can't help you on all of these Gary, but I'll try.
The cost of a one-way ticket varies with the airline - some base their fares on a round-trip ticket. Check with Southwest for good deals on flights from Orlando to Philly. The same thing goes for car rentals - some agencies charge for having a different drop-off point.
As far as an ID for your son is concerned, he won't need a passport unless you're leaving the country, and at 15, he won't really need an ID. If he has a school ID it helps, but it's not totally necessary.
Hope this helps...

Regarding renting a car for a one-way trip, check the various car rental websites directly (not through travelocity or others) as they sometimes have one-way specials. I know I've seen it on Hertz and one other which I can't recall now. It's the car company's way of getting the cars back where they belong without having to put them on a trailer. Otherwise, the one way rental can be costly as they charge all sorts of fees for it.

Plane tickets one way aren't any more expensive than buying r/t now. And, it is generally cheaper to fly from MCO.

Thanks!!

I guess if I wasn't so lazy, I could have gone ahead and checked some quotes.

Actually I'm not quite ready yet (with exact dates, etc.) , so I figured some of the people around here might be able to give me an idea what to expect before I got started.

That's some good information to start with. Thanks again!

 

[slappy magoo]

I've done the opposite, and not by planning. My then-GF-now-wife & I flew down in August of 04, then wound up driving our rental car back to Philly, because a hurricane was bearing down, closing the airport AND the parks in anticipation. But while the hurricane DID come, it wound up traveling through the state much slower than anticipated, giving Shan & I the opportunity to wake up 4am the Saturday before Labor Day, check out a day early, and drive out of there. We neve experienced more than a drizzle the entre way back. Since the parks and the airports were closed, we were reimbursed for the day's lodging and half of our airfare. Alamo rental was extremely sympathetic. Don't ask me why, but they reimbursed us about a third of our car rental, and didn't surcharge us for not filling up the rental car (we couldn't find an open gas station, it was after midnight when we got to the philly airport area...

Meanwhile, if you don't mind driving up to Newark or down to Richmond or DC, jetBlue does one-way flights. You could also try going to travelocity or expedia and getting a package price on a flight & car rental

 

[RiversideBunny]

Read the fine print and ask questions.
Sometimes one-way car rentals are expensive. They start charging by the actual miles instead of giving you unlimited mileage for the rental.
Sometimes there can even be a drop-off charge.

Airllines can sometimes charge more for one-way, mathematically, than for a round trip, i.e., a one-way ticket may be more than what half of a round trip ticket would be.

Good luck.

 

[garyhoov]

I've done the opposite, and not by planning. My then-GF-now-wife & I flew down in August of 04, then wound up driving our rental car back to Philly, because a hurricane was bearing down, closing the airport AND the parks in anticipation. But while the hurricane DID come, it wound up traveling through the state much slower than anticipated, giving Shan & I the opportunity to wake up 4am the Saturday before Labor Day, check out a day early, and drive out of there. We neve experienced more than a drizzle the entre way back. Since the parks and the airports were closed, we were reimbursed for the day's lodging and half of our airfare. Alamo rental was extremely sympathetic. Don't ask me why, but they reimbursed us about a third of our car rental, and didn't surcharge us for not filling up the rental car (we couldn't find an open gas station, it was after midnight when we got to the philly airport area...

Meanwhile, if you don't mind driving up to Newark or down to Richmond or DC, jetBlue does one-way flights. You could also try going to travelocity or expedia and getting a package price on a flight & car rental

Wow! That's one of those things that - after all the frustration and worry is over - you say: "Well at least we got a cool story out of it.":lol:

And I'll have to look into some of those options. Thanks!

Read the fine print and ask questions.
Sometimes one-way car rentals are expensive. They start charging by the actual miles instead of giving you unlimited mileage for the rental.
Sometimes there can even be a drop-off charge.

Airllines can sometimes charge more for one-way, mathematically, than for a round trip, i.e., a one-way ticket may be more than what half of a round trip ticket would be.

Good luck.

Those are good points. I know before when I've looked into rental cars as possibilities for the whole trip, they seemed relatively innexpensive . . . but that was because they had flat rates without miles. If they start charging me miles, that could get pricey.:dazzle:

Thanks!

 

[bgraham34]

The only decent flights I have ever gotten that were 1 way were with Jet Blue, but they dont fly everywhere. I looked into car rentals but I could never find one that had unlimited miles outside the NYNJ area.

 

[smk]

I think that it would be very expensive to drive one way and fly the other. Just stick to driving, if that is what you are more comfortable with. I agree it gives you more time with the ones you love and it sounds like it could be risky if your son changes his mind and suddenly doesn't want to fly, then you are stuck with another one way rental. My niece has refused to fly since 911, and my sister and her family drive everywhere on vacation. We fly but have never experienced a child afraid of it, if we did then we would drive everywhere too.

 

[DisneyMarg]

I usually vote for driving, but from New Jersey? Maybe I'd fly that far. Don't worry about missing out on together time. By the time you drive to the airport (arriving 1-2 hrs early), wait for the flight, then fly to Orlando, you'll still have plenty of chat time.

 

[garyhoov]

I usually vote for driving, but from New Jersey? Maybe I'd fly that far. Don't worry about missing out on together time. By the time you drive to the airport (arriving 1-2 hrs early), wait for the flight, then fly to Orlando, you'll still have plenty of chat time.

That's an interesting point. I'm starting to have second thoughts based on some of the comments.

Thanks for all the input everybody!

 

[MouseMadness]

I just looked to see what it would be for the dates of our trip, Gary, and here's what I got from enterprise (because I think that's the only company in town here :lol: )


Your Dates and Times

Start: Mar 17, 2007,Noon

End: Mar 24, 2007,Noon

Price Quote

1 Week @
Weekly $ 277.19 USD $ 277.19 USD

Subtotal $ 277.19 USD

SALES TAX $ 18.02 USD


*Total Estimated
Charges $ 295.21 USD

* Additional surcharges, local taxes, etc. may apply.

MILEAGE IS UNLIMITED WHEN VEHICLE REMAINS IN MI, OH, IL IN, WV, KY, PA, WI, TN, MN, IA, MO, NJ, NC, VA, MD, DE, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH, VT AND ONTARIO, CANADA. IF TRAVELING OUTSIDE OF THESE STATES, MILEAGE IS CHARGED AT 150 FREE PER DAY, 1050 FREE PER WEEK AND 3000 FREE PER MONTH. ADDITIONAL MILEAGE IS AT .25 PER MILE.


(and I got these rates based on the assumption that you'd of course want a sweet minivan)

:lookaroun

 

[davidpw97]

I usually vote for driving, but from New Jersey? Maybe I'd fly that far. Don't worry about missing out on together time. By the time you drive to the airport (arriving 1-2 hrs early), wait for the flight, then fly to Orlando, you'll still have plenty of chat time.

I totally agree with this. If there isn't a huge price difference in one way tickets vs r/t, I'd say try to fly both ways. There's plenty of time to talk on a plane and you'll get to spend more time at WDW if you fly both ways.

 

[garyhoov]

I just looked to see what it would be for the dates of our trip, Gary, and here's what I got from enterprise (because I think that's the only company in town here :lol: )


Your Dates and Times

Start: Mar 17, 2007,Noon

End: Mar 24, 2007,Noon

Price Quote

1 Week @
Weekly $ 277.19 USD $ 277.19 USD

Subtotal $ 277.19 USD

SALES TAX $ 18.02 USD


*Total Estimated
Charges $ 295.21 USD

* Additional surcharges, local taxes, etc. may apply.

MILEAGE IS UNLIMITED WHEN VEHICLE REMAINS IN MI, OH, IL IN, WV, KY, PA, WI, TN, MN, IA, MO, NJ, NC, VA, MD, DE, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH, VT AND ONTARIO, CANADA. IF TRAVELING OUTSIDE OF THESE STATES, MILEAGE IS CHARGED AT 150 FREE PER DAY, 1050 FREE PER WEEK AND 3000 FREE PER MONTH. ADDITIONAL MILEAGE IS AT .25 PER MILE.


(and I got these rates based on the assumption that you'd of course want a sweet minivan)

:lookaroun

Thanks!

So even though it looks like I'd get charged for mileage to go to Florida, I'll get enough free miles for the week to pretty much cover it. So just based on car rental rates (I'll probably have to call at some point and confirm) it may not be a deal-breaker.

 

[MouseMadness]

Yeah, your rates may be higher, just because of your location, and type of car chosen :lookaroun

 

[garyhoov]

Yeah, your rates may be higher, just because of your location, and type of car chosen :lookaroun

You mean the mini-van isn't the most expensive option they have?:lookaroun

I wonder if there's enough space behind the seats of a Ferrari F-430 to fit suitcases for a week's stay?:lookaroun

 

[TTFN-Tiggger]

One way rentals can be expensive. Example - pick up in Chicago and Drop in Detroit (not really that far of a drive) for one day - just over $100. One way air ~ you can find some good deals on occasion ~ especailly with Sun Country, SW, Jet Blue, Air Tran, etc. Good luck on planning.

 

[garyhoov]

One way rentals can be expensive. Example - pick up in Chicago and Drop in Detroit (not really that far of a drive) for one day - just over $100. One way air ~ you can find some good deals on occasion ~ especailly with Sun Country, SW, Jet Blue, Air Tran, etc. Good luck on planning.

Thanks! I wonder though. If, for example, they tack a $50 fee on for one-way, that's going to double the price for a one day rental. But if it's the same $50 fee on a week's rental, that won't be so bad.:shrug:

I probably should just pick up the phone and talk to somebody, but it's still a little early to make firm plans. I'm just trying to get an idea if it's even worth thinking about or I should just cross it off as a possibility.

I'd say if I can get the rental car and one-way plane tickets for $800 or less, it's probably worth at least considering, and that seems like it might be a possibility.

 

[jholiiday]

Thanks! I wonder though. If, for example, they tack a $50 fee on for one-way, that's going to double the price for a one day rental. But if it's the same $50 fee on a week's rental, that won't be so bad.:shrug:

I've only done a 1-Way rental once. It was National, and I'm an Emerald Club member (which I think is free now) - I got a Chevy Trailblazer for about 80 for 1 day, with Taxes included, from Boston to Newark. I can't remember if the extra fee was one time, or per day, but it's worth looking into. I think driving would be fun, so if you can do it, try. You also might get a better deal if you try Enterprise, since they have many off airport locations, which are often cheaper. Look for coupons, and discount codes, and try your best for a car upgrade (I find National to be the best with upgrades, inventory, and having newer cars)

 

[mkt]

Gary, one thing I've done is call the local office in advance and ask if they had a car that had plates of my destination. This is a good bargaining chip, as it is cheaper for them to rent the car at a considerable discount than it is to ship it back to the home state.

Dollar here in MCO knocked off quite a bit for returning a Texas car to Texas And Avis in Buffalo basically gave me an Ontario registered car for free to return it to Canada. The only catch with that last one was driving around Buffalo in a 100% metric car (farkin' Audis!) was not that fun.