Rental cars at MCO/WDW.

[draybook]

Ok, so we might, and I stress might be flying down instead of driving. We still plan on getting a rental, since we'll have a few days off-site and we just like having the car. So, I've heard great things about cheap rental cars at MCO or the surrounding areas. I must either be looking in the wrong places or I have the wrong idea as to what constitutes cheap.

The rental period will be from September 4th at 3pm until September 22nd at 2pm. So far, I've only been able to get it down to $425 in a compact car. Any tips or ideas?

 

[nolatron]

I know with Alamo if you join their free insider program you get 10% off rack rates. Then check Mousesavers for various promo codes that can be combined with that. Might help some.

 

[draybook]

Thanks! Our last rental in February was with Alamo, and I think I'm already signed up for that club. I'll check MS too. Thanks!

 

[Clamman73]

I would say for $425 for that amount of time that you're in the ballpark of a decent price. You can can just keep checking and making different reservations up to your trip if you don't pay up front for it.

 

[mrerk]

If I can get something for under $200 a week I'm happy. Considering you are 2 1/2 weeks I don't think you are doing too bad. Otherwise check for Costco/BJ's/Sam's club coupons and Avis Preferred, National Emerald Club or the other loyalty programs.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

I feel like that is alot on Our Honeymoon (2011) we stayed for 2 ( rented for 15 days total) weeks and rented a step up one ( dodge charger ) we paid 700.00 and that was with the 25/day under 25 fee , I would call around!

 

[draybook]

Yeah, I think that if I don't find anything better, I'll try to lowball them a few days prior with NYOP.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

i always find the best prices with budget from mco. if you sign up for their rapidrez system and pay up front, you can save money. also, like others have said, dig for discounts. work for a larger company that has employee discounts? does one of your credit cards offer discounts if you use it for the reservation? are you a student or alum of a larger school? i did one of my degrees with university of phoenix and they have a lot of student/alum discounts... something to consider.

 

[lunchbox1175]

I don't know how much you plan on going off property, but if it were me, I would take the DME to the resort, then determine how many days we were going to spend off property, make them consecutive, and then rent a car from the Enterprise by DTD. I know that doesn't leave much room for impromptu trips off property, but it could save you some money if its only for a day or two. I did this for my wedding weekend. Had the bachelor party at WDW for 3 days, then rented a car so that we could drive to Sarasota morning of the wedding, drove back to WDW for Honeymoon night of wedding and returned the car the next morning. Saved me a bunch instead of just renting it for the entire stay. The enterprise people picked me up on property and brought me to their office which is located in one of the hotels just past DTD. Only issue I had was after dropping off, we had to pay for a shuttle to DTD to then take bus to the resort, but it was only $5.

 

[SAV]

In past years I have been able to get a car for 10 days for under $150 using various codes. So far this year, I am seeing prices well over $300 and it is consistent across all companies. I'm still going to keep checking and wait for the drop. Last trip I happened to hit it just right one day and the price bottomed out and then the next day it skyrocketed again, so that's my best advice...keep on checking.

 

[draybook]

Yeah, using WDW transportation is not an option. We don't like relying on the buses and stuff, we'd rather get in our car and go.

 

[stillgoofy]

We rent a car every time we go (twice a year) and I always check through Orbitz so you can see prices from multiple companies. Alamo is no longer on Orbitz but they have been running higher prices lately anyway. I keep checking everyday for the lowest price and then when I find it I go out to Mousesavers and get a discount code to go along with it. If a lower price comes up I cancel and re book, sometimes 5 or 6 times before the trip. Cheap prices will pop up but only briefly so grab it if you see it. I have gotten as low as $47 per week. We seem to use different company each time and have had no probs in many years.