From the tarmac to the road......

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ok, so we are scheduled to land at 2:25pm on September 5th. Can you guys give me a guesstimate on how long it should take us to get from the plane to the road(rental car)? I'm hoping to be on the road within an hour, is that reasonable?
 

Gig 'Em Mickey

Well-Known Member
Entirely depends on the day and how busy they are. Usually they are fast so maybe 15-20 minutes would be a conservative estimate, could be longer. Especially if they lose one of your bags.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That's not too bad. We're supposed to hit Cocoa Beach for a little bit after we land, so I hope we're able to get out of there quickly.
 

mrerk

Premium Member
As long as there is no lightning near the airport you should easily be on your way within 30-40 minutes. If there is lightning in the area they have to clear all ground personnel from the tarmac and everything comes to a stop until they get the all clear.

If you are a member of one of the loyalty programs ( I use Avis Preferred) you can skip the line and go right to the garage. Your name will be on the screen, telling you which space your car is in. A quick check of your license as you exit and you are on your way. Saves lots of time.

Even with luggage we have been able to make it to breakfast at the Poly on our arrival day.
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
We did the same thing in Sept 2011, we were off the plane on head down the road in a Alamo rental car in well less than an hour. I would guess 45 mins at most was our time.
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
As long as there is no lightning near the airport you should easily be on your way within 30-40 minutes. If there is lightning in the area they have to clear all ground personnel from the tarmac and everything comes to a stop until they get the all clear.

If you are a member of one of the loyalty programs ( I use Avis Preferred) you can skip the line and go right to the garage. Your name will be on the screen, telling you which space your car is in. A quick check of your license as you exit and you are on your way. Saves lots of time.

Even with luggage we have been able to make it to breakfast at the Poly on our arrival day.

Happened to me May 2009 - we were literally cleared for landing then we suddenly went back up in the air and circled for about an hour because of bad weather.
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
We did the same thing in Sept 2011, we were off the plane on head down the road in a Alamo rental car in well less than an hour. I would guess 45 mins at most was our time.

Agreed - having a rental car is much quicker than DME. I am usually out and at my resort in under an hour. But I travel early morning before major traffic.
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
Agreed - having a rental car is much quicker than DME. I am usually out and at my resort in under an hour. But I travel early morning before major traffic.

Heck I just love the way that you get to pick you car at MCO when renting a car. It's almost like a park ride getting to go into a garage full of cars all with open doors and keys in them and getting to pick which one you want :)
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Heck I just love the way that you get to pick you car at MCO when renting a car. It's almost like a park ride getting to go into a garage full of cars all with open doors and keys in them and getting to pick which one you want :)

Seriously - one time the guy at the counter said pick any car from economy through full size SUV, lol. He was not joking I ended up getting a huge black SUV with every digital dohicky lol for the economy rate. I am not sure if that is the case for all airports or companies though - I vaguely remember renting from Alamo or National and they write the exact space/car you want (but this was many years ago)>
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
Seriously - one time the guy at the counter said pick any car from economy through full size SUV, lol. He was not joking I ended up getting a huge black SUV with every digital dohicky lol for the economy rate. I am not sure if that is the case for all airports or companies though - I vaguely remember renting from Alamo or National and they write the exact space/car you want (but this was many years ago)>

I can only speak for Tampa and Orlando airports, they are the same. We were told at both to pick any car in the "class" that we rented from. Full size cars for us, but we did upgrade to a SUV once for $50 more for the week. And like you we got the biggest most tricked out one they had. The kids had to be the only kids in Florida in June using electirc seat warmers, we don't have those those in any of our cars.
 

mrerk

Premium Member
Happened to me May 2009 - we were literally cleared for landing then we suddenly went back up in the air and circled for about an hour because of bad weather.

We landed and de-planed but then had to wait about an hour before the luggage showed up. And when it did show up it was soaking wet.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yeah, it's the same here at Memphis International. You show up and pick from your rental class. Kind of ironic because back in February when we were going to Atlanta we went to MEM to get the car. Dude said pick any car from the standard section. I get out into the garage and there's literally ONE car in that section. Well, selection made it seems....

I made reservations with both Dollar and Thrifty and I've already signed up for their "preferred" service, so I can skip ahead of the counter. I'm hoping we can make it to Cocoa Beach before 4:30 so we can get some swim time in there.
 

BigTxEars

Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's the same here at Memphis International. You show up and pick from your rental class. Kind of ironic because back in February when we were going to Atlanta we went to MEM to get the car. Dude said pick any car from the standard section. I get out into the garage and there's literally ONE car in that section. Well, selection made it seems....

I made reservations with both Dollar and Thrifty and I've already signed up for their "preferred" service, so I can skip ahead of the counter. I'm hoping we can make it to Cocoa Beach before 4:30 so we can get some swim time in there.

Cocoa Beach looks pretty sweet :)
 

mrerk

Premium Member
Yeah, it's the same here at Memphis International. You show up and pick from your rental class. Kind of ironic because back in February when we were going to Atlanta we went to MEM to get the car. Dude said pick any car from the standard section. I get out into the garage and there's literally ONE car in that section. Well, selection made it seems....

I made reservations with both Dollar and Thrifty and I've already signed up for their "preferred" service, so I can skip ahead of the counter. I'm hoping we can make it to Cocoa Beach before 4:30 so we can get some swim time in there.

I was thinking 4 o'clock, so 4:30 should be doable.
 

draybook

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Cocoa Beach looks pretty sweet :)


It is pretty nice. We usually go down a few streets, away from the main part so we can have a section to ourselves. Plus it's cool once you hit A1A Avenue, which you may remember from Vanilla Ice's heyday!
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
If you're travelling with a group, you can always divide and conquer. Have one person go to baggage claim and wait for the bags while the other goes to the rental counter.

Check to see if your rental company has self-serve kiosks. I've cruised past a line of 7 or 8 people waiting for an agent at the counter, walked over to the kiosks off to the side that were being ignored by everyone. I was in and out and heading to the garage in about 3 minutes. While the same two groups were still being helped at the counter. (This was either Alamo or National)

-Rob
 

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