To rent a car or not rent a car.

[DisneyparkFreak]

We are going with my parents (5 all together) from Oct 11 to Oct 22nd.

We have never rented a car before, but hate all the wasted time on buses, transfers or waiting for another bus to come and pick us up. We are staying at POP.

So... Should I just pony up the $400 bucks for a car which will get us around faster or just deal with the overcrowded buses?

Have I thought of everything, or am I missing something?

 

[draybook]

We rent, but we rent from here and just drive. Although a 2 hour flight would be much better than a 12 hour drive, it's just cheaper for us to do. Plus, even with the cost of gas, it's WAY cheaper than flying. I usually get the rental car(Camry or Mazda6) for 2 weeks for about $315 total. Add about $220 for gas for the trip and it's still half of what flying would cost.

Plus, when we want to go somewhere, we go. No waiting in line, no being smooshed together. Plus we sometimes have to go to WalMart or like this last trip in March, to pick up some medicine, so a car was a must!

 

[DisneyparkFreak]

Thanks everyone, we are actually taking ME from the airport to POP then renting the car from the car care center the next day. Is this a good idea?

 

[patricia27]

Car?

We always have a car as we like to go off site to buy supplies.
As others have said we drive to the water parks especially if you want to be there for opening and get on the popular slides!
Also we drive to Animal Kingdom as it seems to take for ever to get there on the bus. Also it is handy if you want to dine in other resorts or just visit them.

 

[JillC LI]

Thanks everyone, we are actually taking ME from the airport to POP then renting the car from the car care center the next day. Is this a good idea?

It depends. It will likely save you one day on the rental (assuming you pick it up at least 24 hours later - otherwise you're still paying for the day). However, figure out whether it is worth the whatever time you may lose during the day to get to the Care Center.

 

[Minnie1976]

We stayed at POP twice. Once we flew in and never had a car and didn't miss it. This time we drove, parked the car and never used it again til we left to come home. I would think in October it shouldn't be too busy. I could be wrong since it has been over a decade since we were there in October.

 

[lilclerk]

Thanks everyone, we are actually taking ME from the airport to POP then renting the car from the car care center the next day. Is this a good idea?

I've often found renting from the car care center or Dolphin is more expensive than just getting the car from the airport.
For example, through Alamo, my trip 5/8 - 5/19 getting the car from the airport is $151.38 plus tax for an economy car. 5/9 - 5/18 from the CCC would be $263.58 plus tax.
If you want the car for the majority of the trip, I'd do some pricing before you decide on just getting it from the car care center. If you only want the car for a day or two, then the CCC is definitely the way to go.