October 2015 Trip - Car Rental

[Cassandra]

We're heading down October of next year for a week and we're planning on renting a car a couple of days to head over to Universal and possibly down to Tampa to visit family. I'm trying to figure out if we should set up a rental when we get down there through our hotel (I am told Disney offers this service at each of their hotels), if we should just plan to do Universal first and rent a car when we get there or if I should reserve the car and figure out a plan to get to a nearby car rental service. Has anyone had experience with this? Thoughts?

 

[BrianV]

Universal charges a parking fee to park on site even to hotel guests. That said, they have no magical express so you must pay for a cab or something to get there.

For what it is worth, you can get vastly cheaper rates by booking in advance and checking frequently for cheaper prices. You can always cancel and rebook if the rates go down. We are in FL now and headed up to orlando from ft Myers later this week. For 10 days we have a one way rental of a full size for $200 total. That same car rental if you just show up and request a car could be double or more. (And was vastly more expensive 6 months ago when I first tried booking.)

My advice is plan your trip sequence and then price it out with magical express, parking fees, and rental car and optimize. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Cassandra]

Thanks! I had heard that Disney has a deal with one of the car rental companies and they'll take you to the car rental place to pick up your car and also pick up when you drop the car off. Just wasn't sure if anyone had any experience with that or not. Not too concerned about the money piece of it.

 

[ShookieJones]

We rent a car every year when we go to Disney, with or without a trip to Universal. It's the best money you can spend on Disney vacation --- Why? Not having to deal with Disney transportation - pure freedom. Plus If you park hop you're going to get about 2-3 hours of your day back every single day.

Rent ahead of time online but wait until the 'last minute'. A month ahead of time should be right at sweet spot.
For example I was looking early this year (for our September trip next month )and full size car for 8 full days was around $350.

I just landed the same car last week for $157.00 out the door. RENTING CARS LIKE A BOSS.

I usually Rent through Priceline and do the "name your own price" ALL the rental companies (last time I checked) were onsite at the airport. Get off your plane pick up your car and your off.
If you go through the normal Priceline route or direct to a car dealer just make sure it says "on airport"

FYI - you should NOT pay more than $150-160 for a full size car for the time you're going.

 

[Cassandra]

Thanks for the advice! We were just going to use the Disney transportation while we're there, but I didn't think about all the time we'd be wasting with park hopping. I think I'll take your advice and set a calendar reminder to book a car rental and just rent for the full week. Thanks again!

 

[disney4life2008]

We rent a car every year when we go to Disney, with or without a trip to Universal. It's the best money you can spend on Disney vacation --- Why? Not having to deal with Disney transportation - pure freedom. Plus If you park hop you're going to get about 2-3 hours of your day back every single day.

Rent ahead of time online but wait until the 'last minute'. A month ahead of time should be right at sweet spot.
For example I was looking early this year (for our September trip next month )and full size car for 8 full days was around $350.

I just landed the same car last week for $157.00 out the door. RENTING CARS LIKE A BOSS.

I usually Rent through Priceline and do the "name your own price" ALL the rental companies (last time I checked) were onsite at the airport. Get off your plane pick up your car and your off.
If you go through the normal Priceline route or direct to a car dealer just make sure it says "on airport"

FYI - you should NOT pay more than $150-160 for a full size car for the time you're going.

Well said - I always tell myself that I am going to rent a car at disney and without fail - I never pick it up when i arrive at the airport. A car rental at disney is worth the money especially after being in the parks all day - waiting on a bus for 20 or more minutes (and it may be packed at that) is no fun.

 

[JillC LI]

Thanks! I had heard that Disney has a deal with one of the car rental companies and they'll take you to the car rental place to pick up your car and also pick up when you drop the car off. Just wasn't sure if anyone had any experience with that or not. Not too concerned about the money piece of it.

There is an Alamo on Disney, and yes you can get a lift there and back by shuttle from a Disney resort. However, in our experience, we always get and return the rental car at the airport because we don't want to waste any time with waiting for shuttle pickups and car rentals once we get to WDW. Except for our very first trip to WDW, we have always rented a car for the convenience factor even just on Disney property. But it is definitely helpful if you are going to Universal too. We've gotten some great deals with both Alamo and Enterprise through Costco. And after you make your reservation, continue to check pricing because sometimes it drops as you get closer, and it's easy to book a second reservation and cancel the first.

 

[Bocko57]

For the past several years, we have always rented a car even if we were doing Disney. Renting early can possible save you money, and you could possible get a cheaper rate if you rent for the whole week compared to 3 or 4 days. CAUTION: You mentioned going to Tampa to visit. Around the Tampa area they have cashless tolls. If you rent a car and go through one, the rental company will charge you the toll fee plus a penalty. That penalty could be $25 or more per toll. If you do rent and plan that trip to Tampa, read up on Cashless Tolls.