Advice on car rental. Is it worth it to keep a car rental while staying at resort?

[kadydid]

I am trying to be a bit frugal about this considering we are splurging by staying at the Contemporary. We HAVE to rent a car for the first few days. We have rented a condo on Cocoa beach and are visiting the Kennedy space center.

1st day travel/arrive at MCO/pick up car/Drive to coast

2nd Nasa

3rd beachy day

4th AM drive to WDW



If we keep the car for these 4 days and drop it off near Disney World, at the Double Tree (and then I guess take a cab to our resort) according to BUDGET (if we pay now) it will cost us 167 dollars. (41.75 a day)



If we keep the car for our entire trip, these 4 days plus an additional 9 days, and drop it off at the airport it will cost us 293 dollars (for the “intermediate” vehicle) or 270 for the compact. (22.53 a day)



I know some people like using their own cars at WDW to get around instead of waiting for buses. What do you think? Is it a mistake to drop the car off early? Or is Disney transportation enough and it would be a waste of 100-130 dollars that I could be spending on Dole Whips?

 

[nacho113]

I am trying to be a bit frugal about this considering we are splurging by staying at the Contemporary. We HAVE to rent a car for the first few days. We have rented a condo on Cocoa beach and are visiting the Kennedy space center.

1st day travel/arrive at MCO/pick up car/Drive to coast

2nd Nasa

3rd beachy day

4th AM drive to WDW



If we keep the car for these 4 days and drop it off near Disney World, at the Double Tree (and then I guess take a cab to our resort) according to BUDGET (if we pay now) it will cost us 167 dollars. (41.75 a day)



If we keep the car for our entire trip, these 4 days plus an additional 9 days, and drop it off at the airport it will cost us 293 dollars (for the “intermediate” vehicle) or 270 for the compact. (22.53 a day)



I know some people like using their own cars at WDW to get around instead of waiting for buses. What do you think? Is it a mistake to drop the car off early? Or is Disney transportation enough and it would be a waste of 100-130 dollars that I could be spending on Dole Whips?

We're big fans of having a rental car, off-site it's a necessity and on-site it's our preference to have a vehicle.
Love the freedom to take a couple of days off from WDW and visit the world outside the Disney bubble.
That being said, you are already doing your exploring before arriving at WDW so turning in the rental car and relying on WDW transportation would probably work for you.

In regards to rentals, I generally don't recommend a pre-paid rental unless it's down to the last couple of days before your trip and your plans are basically 100% set.
Pre-paid rentals generally have change/cancellation fees which can quickly negate any savings from the pre-paid rate if plans change at all (think bad weather, flight delays etc.).
Try using a site like carrentalsavers.com to search all the major rental agencies at once. Try a return location at Disney's Car Care Center, they will shuttle you back to your resort after dropping the car off.
We always book a regular (cancellable) rental and recheck the prices often. Prices will drop, so re-book at the lower price and cancel the original rental...rinse and repeat.

EDIT: We are leaving in the morning and I just checked rental prices one last time, price just dropped another $20 for our 10 day rental, now down to $188 incl taxes for a Full-Size car (originally booked several months ago at over $500 and have re-booked as the price dropped at least 6 or 7 times)

 

[DLgal]

I would keep it the whole time. The Transportation at Contemporary isn't THAT great. You have to share buses with WL and getting to Disney Springs or the water parks is a huge hassle, and driving yourself is much easier.

 

[Judique]

I think the extra $100 might be money well spent - if - you have plans to eat at other resorts, go to Disney Springs, go to a water park, go shopping at the outlets, have little ones that might necessitate you returning to the room for parts of the days, or are planning to do a lot of park hopping.

Also, if you have a desire to get off property to eat non Disney food and/or visit Celebration or any other local attractions or drive to Tampa or the west coast of Florida. These are all things I like to do when I am there more than 2 or 3 days. Your mileage may vary. I burst out of the bubble long ago and like to keep my perspective by freeing myself once in a while.

Sometimes it is more efficient to use Disney Transportation. And sometimes I enjoy riding the boats. Its rare I enjoy a bus ride.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like having a rental car.

But I've never done a prepaid rental car.

 

[CarolynFH]

I have another alternative for you to consider. On day 4, drop the car off at MCO & take DME to WDW. What would that do to the price? I agree with PP that having a car at WDW gives you more flexibility, but you’d need to decide whether the $ saved (you say you’re trying to be frugal this trip) was worth not having that flexibility.

 

[PixieT78]

I really like having a rental car. We like to be in control of coming and going and with free parking at Disney it makes it a no-brainer for us. It is a bit frustrating to have it at universal, our first stop, since we do have to pay for parking and basically don't move it the entire time. But I've experimented with various options and we still pay the same price to pick it up after universal and drop it off at mco. We prefer not to take DME since as an international flight means we have to leave earlier than we'd like. And we save on the cost for an Uber to get us from the airport which helps offset the parking fee at universal.

We will still use the Disney transportation to go to Disney springs one day so I (the driver) can enjoy some adult beverages without worrying about driving.

 

[kadydid]

I have another alternative for you to consider. On day 4, drop the car off at MCO & take DME to WDW. What would that do to the price? I agree with PP that having a car at WDW gives you more flexibility, but you’d need to decide whether the $ saved (you say you’re trying to be frugal this trip) was worth not having that flexibility.

I thought about that, but if I am not flying in, would they still take me there?

Also, does the DME have a schedule? I thought I read once that they wont leave the airport until its full.

 

[kadydid]

I like having a rental car.

But I've never done a prepaid rental car.

Do you just walk out of the plane and straight to the car rental without a reservation...I think that would kill me lol

 

[kadydid]

We're big fans of having a rental car, off-site it's a necessity and on-site it's our preference to have a vehicle.
Love the freedom to take a couple of days off from WDW and visit the world outside the Disney bubble.
That being said, you are already doing your exploring before arriving at WDW so turning in the rental car and relying on WDW transportation would probably work for you.

In regards to rentals, I generally don't recommend a pre-paid rental unless it's down to the last couple of days before your trip and your plans are basically 100% set.
Pre-paid rentals generally have change/cancellation fees which can quickly negate any savings from the pre-paid rate if plans change at all (think bad weather, flight delays etc.).
Try using a site like carrentalsavers.com to search all the major rental agencies at once. Try a return location at Disney's Car Care Center, they will shuttle you back to your resort after dropping the car off.
We always book a regular (cancellable) rental and recheck the prices often. Prices will drop, so re-book at the lower price and cancel the original rental...rinse and repeat.

EDIT: We are leaving in the morning and I just checked rental prices one last time, price just dropped another $20 for our 10 day rental, now down to $188 incl taxes for a Full-Size car (originally booked several months ago at over $500 and have re-booked as the price dropped at least 6 or 7 times)

Thanks for the tip! currently that website is expensive for our trip. But it sounds like it goes down as you get closer to your trip! Thanks!!

 

[kadydid]

I would keep it the whole time. The Transportation at Contemporary isn't THAT great. You have to share buses with WL and getting to Disney Springs or the water parks is a huge hassle, and driving yourself is much easier.

I think we're leaning towards this!!

 

[kadydid]

I really like having a rental car. We like to be in control of coming and going and with free parking at Disney it makes it a no-brainer for us. It is a bit frustrating to have it at universal, our first stop, since we do have to pay for parking and basically don't move it the entire time. But I've experimented with various options and we still pay the same price to pick it up after universal and drop it off at mco. We prefer not to take DME since as an international flight means we have to leave earlier than we'd like. And we save on the cost for an Uber to get us from the airport which helps offset the parking fee at universal.

We will still use the Disney transportation to go to Disney springs one day so I (the driver) can enjoy some adult beverages without worrying about driving.

Good points, I never realized that about the DME.

Thanks!! I love your dog, I love Bostons!! I have one too!

 

[bumbershoot]

Do you just walk out of the plane and straight to the car rental without a reservation...I think that would kill me lol

No. I make a reservation, but I don't prepay. Prepaid reservations cannot generally be cancelled or changed. So I make a reservation that requires nothing down, and then I keep keeping back for price drops.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Before our trip last week, I would have said to ditch the car and save the money.
Something was off with Disney buses, wait times were crazy. I would keep the car. The time saved will be worth it.

 

[LYSE]

If you dont mind driving you will generally save time driving your self around wdw.

 

[nightskygal]

Car is easiest for me. The convenience makes it worth the expense.

 

[CarolynFH]

I thought about that, but if I am not flying in, would they still take me there?

Also, does the DME have a schedule? I thought I read once that they wont leave the airport until its full.

Yes, DME will take you to WDW even if you don’t fly in that day. People do it frequently for many different reasons, and it’s not considered cheating (part of what you pay to stay at a Disney resort goes to pay for DME). There are usually multiple threads on the Transportation board discussing how to arrange it.

And no, there’s no DME schedule. But during the day it usually doesn’t take long to fill a bus. There are lots of threads about that on the Transportation board too!

 

[PixieT78]

Good points, I never realized that about the DME.

Thanks!! I love your dog, I love Bostons!! I have one too!

Thank you! We love them too! Pretty sure she was very hopeful to get chicken in this picture

 

[writerguyfl]

If we keep the car for these 4 days and drop it off near Disney World, at the Double Tree (and then I guess take a cab to our resort)

I've rented from the Budget location at the DoubleTree. They do have pick-up service. Depending on how busy they are and how generous the employee feels, they may be able to drop you off at your hotel if you return there.

If that's not possible, you can use the Disney Springs Hotels shuttle. It operates every 30 minutes all day long. They will take you to the Transportation and Ticket Center where you can hop on the resort loop monorail to Disney's Contemporary Resort.

(The shuttle service is for guests of the seven Disney Springs Hotels. Anyone using a rental car company based in one of those hotels would be considered a guest. So, no worries. Regardless, they don't require you to show a room key when using the shuttle.)

 

[Sunshine2U]

I guess we are much different! We drive to WDW, park the car and don't see it again until we leave. We love not driving. Since we like to park hop and go to MK often, the buses seem to be the best option for us.