Car rental question...

[Main Street Jim]

So, we're already planning our next trip down for late January 2016 :)

Cheaper to rent at MCO, or at the Car Care Center, or does it really matter?

If we did the CCC, how would we get there from MCO?

[Fangorn]

There's isn't a one size fits all answer for this.

Generally, pick-ups off airport grounds will be cheaper, as there are additional fees associated with renting a car at MCO that don't apply elsewhere.

But, I've seen it both ways. For example, we're headed down in about 40 days. When I originally booked the trip back in March, the best way to go on a rental car was though Enterprise and pick up the car at one of the hotels by DTD - or rather have them pick me up. Over the course of the next few months, I continued to watch prices and it's gone back and forth. One week it's cheaper to rent at the airport and the next it's cheaper to rent from the CCC. I'm currently sitting with a reservation with Alamo and picking up the car at MCO. Same car, same dates at the CCC was about $200 more for a 2 week rental. My current reservation is also significantly cheaper than the original Enterprise one, and for 4 days longer.

Moral - check prices at all locations frequently in the months leading up to your trip. Prices will change, probably up to the day of your arrival. The good news is that if you book directly through the rental companies (as opposed to through a travel site) you can cancel without penalty and rebook as necessary.

As for getting back to the airport if you rent a car from CCC, that's not an issue if you're staying on property. In that case, you're still eligible for DME. Alamo at the CCC will take you back to your resort after you drop off the car.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[Janmac]

A few years ago friends rented a car for a day trip to the beach from the Swan/Dolphin (don't remember which it was). They were happy with the rental from the hotel. When dropping off the car late Bell Services received the keys.

They flew into Sanford. They checked prices and felt it was cheaper to use a car service to and from WDW and rent the car on property for one day rather than rent a car at the airport all week.

As Steve said, check prices. Next trip it was cheaper to rent for the week, instead of the car service and one day rental.

Jan

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

Four our 2012 trip we stayed on property at POR. I had signed up for the Alamo loyalty club, so was getting all the standard discounts. We ended up with a mid-size (Dodge Journey) and after pricing it out with all the coupon options, renting from the CCC was definitely cheaper than at MCO. Mostly due to the taxes and surcharges that were added on for airport pickup vs. CCC pickup.

By staying on property, we took ME from MCO to POR, which not only got us to Disney, but basically saved me two days on the car rental. Didn't need it for the first day, scheduled an early pickup by Alamo right at the resort on day 2, then saved a day by returning the day before we left as we took ME back to MCO. Alamo provided shuttle service to/from the Disney resort.

I would think, in general, it would be cheaper to rent away from the airport, in general.

[Main Street Jim]

Thanks for the replies, guys and gals. We'll be staying off-property for that trip, which is why we want to rent a car.

:thumbsup:

[WDWForever]

That's the tricky part, getting from MCO to CCC. Plus after your vacation, you'll have to drop off at CCC and find a way to MCO. I've had different Disney vacations either on or off property. When off property, it was easier to pickup rental from MCO and return back to MCO.