Car Rental ???

[Paul T]

Hi all,

I am staying on International Drive when I go over to Orlando and was wondering would it be better to rent a car for the holiday or is it easier to use the shuttle services, taxis etc ......... ???

I was thinking a car might be best as we intend to travel all over i.e Busch Gardens, Water Mania and the Kennedy Space center on the days when we are not going to Disney or Universal.

Just thought some of you with past experience would be able to help :wink:

[Kitten]

Go for the car Hire!!!!

It just gives you more freedom of when you want to go to and leave the parks.... Last June was my first trip to Orlando without my parents and I had to get the shuttles to the parks, and I had a whole 2 weeks, not getting to see the fireworks at Disney once.

Which hotel are you staying at on I-drive?

[Paul T]

Which hotel are you staying at on I-drive?

I was looking for ages at loads of different places but finally ended up going with The Best Western Movieland, which from what I am told is right across the road from Wet n Wild ??? which is just ideal for me as I love swimming and the water :D

Yeah I think I will definetley get the car so, although what type to go for is now the next big question :confused:

So just off subject for a second Kitten, but been from The Wirral, I do hope you have "RED" blood in your veins when it comes to football ??? :wink:

[Dawn]

Yeah I think I will definetley get the car so, although what type to go for is now the next big question :confused:
How many people in your group and how many bags/cases will you have. The latter is important as luggage space in US cars is generally smaller than our cars.

[Paul T]

Heya Dawn, there is going to be 5 of us in total and I suppose you could say one big case/bag each and then with buying presents and some clothes etc ........ there will probably be an extra 2 bags on top of that on the way home.

[PaulaK]

We usually use airline network, but this year we tried Alamo UK online and got a great deal on a 4 x 4!

If you weren't sure about driving after a long flight, you could get a transfer/town car to your hotel and pick your car up the next day or even a few days later if you don't want the car everyday. There's an Alamo/National desk at the Sheraton Studio on I-Drive. :thumbs:

[Kitten]

Theres also a Dollar rental place on i-drive aswell.

And I do have red blood in my veins, well someone in my house has too, My dad and sister are evetonians, and my mum supports Man City, well she is a manc....

[Paul T]

Sounds good .....thanks Kitten & Paula :wink: !!!! I might wait until I get over there to sort out the rental or would it be better done before I go ??? sometimes talking to them face to face id imagine might be better ???
as was said it might not be great driving after a long flight (and then the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road and all that)

Ah poor Kitten :( .......... how do you survive in a house with Evertonians in it ??? haha and as for your mum, well it could be worse as she could have been the other half on Manc land (and that wouldnt be good at all). :wacko:

[PaulaK]

and my mum supports Man City, well she is a manc.... :clap: I like your Mum Kitten! :D

We tend to book before we go paul, that way all your insurance is done and it's easy to turn down upgrades. When you're stood in front of them, they tend to persuade you to upgrade to a gigantic car with extortionate insurance! :eek: DH was allowed to go to the rental desk alone on his first trip and came back with a huge Lincoln town car for 3 of us, it was so long it hung over the end of parking spaces and sat 3 in the front :lol:

[Paul T]

I understand what you mean, and I suppose if you do see this bigger and better car in front of you then it could be the ol` case of "ah sure why not where on holidays" and you end up paying a fortune :(

I have checked around a little bit on some of their websites and I have got quotes of on average € 700 for two weeks for a (full size 4-door) which they say holds 5 people and 3 luggage ........ but the price is shared between 4 of us so its not too bad really I suppose, or is it ???

Id love to go for the 4x4 but I dread to even think what the price would go up to for that !!!! :eek:

Another football fan ??? well Man City :rotfl:

[PaulaK]

I just checked ours and it's classed as an SUV (Chevrolet Blazer type) 4 doors/automatic/air con for 16 nights with all insurances and taxes $661. :thumbs:

[Paul T]

Thats a great price :thumbs: where did you get that price if you dont mind me asking ???

[PaulaK]

It was direct with Alamo UK. We thought it sounded too cheap so we phoned to double check and the guy said they seem to have dropped their prices to compete with 3rd parties and that the price was correct! www.alamo.co.uk
Try these too, we usually use them http://carhire.airline-network.co.uk/carhire/index.asp :thumbs:

[Paul T]

Thanks Paula .......... :thumbs:

I will definetley try them out and see what they come up with. I can see myself driving a nice 4x4 or a convertible or something like that :D

Oh by the way its August when I travel over (should be nice and cool then) :lol:

[OKWTink]

If you are coming in August, you'll want something that holds the road well in the rain. You will get rain. Lots of it.

Try to get something that gives you a good view, too. A smaller car makes it less comfortable to drive, and makes it trickier to see given all the huge trucks, buses, RVs and other vehicles on the road.

If you get the chance, really consider an SUV like Paula had, or the like. :)

[Paul T]

If you are coming in August, you'll want something that holds the road well in the rain. You will get rain. Lots of it.

Try to get something that gives you a good view, too. A smaller car makes it less comfortable to drive, and makes it trickier to see given all the huge trucks, buses, RVs and other vehicles on the road.

If you get the chance, really consider an SUV like Paula had, or the like. :)

RAIN :sigh: Yes I have heard about the "showers". I think I will take your advice on board and get something like that. Still get plenty of sun in August aswell though I presume ??? and some nice high tempetures ??

[OKWTink]

Oh yes. The sun will fry your little body to the prettiest shade of scarlet if you don't cover yourself in sunscreen on a regular basis. Temps will be HOT, and the humidity will make it seem moreso.

Think of those times you've stood in a wicked hot shower, the sort that get the bathroom all fogged. That's kind of like Florida in August when it rains.

The rain can come down so hard that it seriously obscures your driving vision.

Then the pavements steam for a bit when all is said and done. :unsure:

It's not that it rains all day (once in awhile, but not often) but when it rains it is really quite heavy. Sometimes (because it is central Florida) you will get double rain storms. The ocean breeze brings them in from the east coast and the gulf breeze pushes them in from the west coast.

Sometimes they converge and collide. That's called pull over and wait it out. :wink:

You'll be fine, just be forewarned.

[orangebreezer]

I was looking for ages at loads of different places but finally ended up going with The Best Western Movieland,
Hi Paul,
Thats were we are staying in October, let us know what it is like when u get back. We hired a 4 x 4 last year, very easy to drive. If there are 5 of you it might be worth looking at a 7 seater. They are about the same size as a 4 x 4 but more seating room inside. Makes it a bit more comfy for longer journeys.

[Paul T]

Hi Paul,
Thats were we are staying in October, let us know what it is like when u get back.

Will do, no problem !!! you could do likewise for me now though as I am travelling to London in April and was very unsure as to where to stay as it is so big. I want to be close to things in the city as we are going to go to a show in the West End on the Friday and then off to Highbury on the Saturday.
I got a very good deal to stay in a hotel in Kensington, is it a good location ??? and is it handy to get too ??? Im flying in to Stansted ?? :thumbs:

[ukwdwnut]

hi paul

i would defo go with the car, and if you dont want a van, then i suggest the buick park avenue from alamo if your gonna go with them, it seats upto 6, 4 big cases and 2 smaller ones, so it must be huge, this is trhe car i was gonna go for until another 2 ended up coming withus so i had to get a van, i dont think the dollar equivalent is big enough with cases should be ok if not, the new 300m looks a real nice car :wink: :)

hope you get sorted ok :)

mick

[OKWTink]

That Buick is a nice sized car, ukwdwnut. It would be quite comfortable for adults (kids too). The only thing an SUV would have over the Buick Park Avenue is the higher point of vision. But all in all, that's one nice Buick. :yes:

[Paul T]

Thanks Mick and Ms Poppins :wink:

Its great to get a good idea of the different types of cars that are available and which would be the best to use. I am not overly keen on the van simply because I have never driven one before (although I am sure I would have no problem with it, better to stick with what your comfortable in).

I believe the added height is a great thing to have when driven over in Orlando so maybe for that reason I might look into the SUV :thumbs: but the Buick can be a good alternative for me if needed.

Any ideas on prices for either of these cars for the two weeks (including insurance etc .........) ??

[ukwdwnut]

i've only driven minivan over there paul and i luv em, as tink says high point of vision which is good

the three i have driven is in 2000 1st trip

8 str chevy astro very good for luggage and has 2 opeing door at the rear, and can be opened independently, side doors too very convenient

2002 8 str dodge ram 1500 huge on space, for passengers and luggage

2004 7 str voyager, my fave people carrier over here, never driven one until last oct, but i was hugely disappointed with its luggage space very poor indeed if you have the full quota of passengers and we didnt, and the fuel consumption was very poor too :nono: wont want one of those again

dont be put off by a minivan they a very nice to drive and the higher vision is good so for space wise i liked the van, chevy astro was the one i liked driving the most and never used so much fuel either :D i only remember filling up a few times get the :thumbs: up from me, and we went to clearwater and cocoa beaches, and busch gardens too. so there was a lot of driving involved

[Paul T]

Im going to go to the places you have mentioned aswell plus Kennedy SC on the other side so with all you have said about the Chevy, looks like it could be the one for me :thumbs:

Thanks Mike :wink:

[PaulaK]

That price I quoted ($661 fully inclusive) was for the Chevy Blazer SUV for 16 nights October 05, so I guess you'll pay a bit less than that for 14 nights :D You pay when you get there too, so if the dollar goes up any more, it'll be a Brucey bargain! :hehe: if it goes down......it wasn't me who advised ya! :hehe:

[Paul T]

That price I quoted ($661 fully inclusive) was for the Chevy Blazer SUV for 16 nights October 05, so I guess you'll pay a bit less than that for 14 nights :D You pay when you get there too, so if the dollar goes up any more, it'll be a Brucey bargain! :hehe: if it goes down......it wasn't me who advised ya! :hehe:

Thats great Paula thanks. That works out at €456 euro with the exchange rate at the moment and if you split that between 4 of us then it works out really really cheaply :thumbs:

[ukwdwnut]

FYI paul heres a piccy of the chevy astro :)

and the one on the right is similar to the one we had in 02 but its the 12 str version

[triciacarole]

I've just been looking for myself in March and ebookers.co.uk have got some good rates.

[ukwdwnut]

holiday autos look even cheaper :)

[triciacarole]

I didn't find that but I am looking for a one way rental, it certainly pays to shop around though.

[ukwdwnut]

I didn't find that but I am looking for a one way rental, it certainly pays to shop around though.

you can find them Here (http://www.holidayautos.co.uk/cgi-bin/liveweb.sh/QSearch.w?tlocation=orlando%20airport&area=132&DriverAge=47&FromDate=19/10/2004&ToDate=2/11/2004&FromTime=04%3A00&ToTime=04%3A00&FromTimePart=pm&ToTimePart=pm#) trish :D

[triciacarole]

Sorry Mike in this case ebookers was cheaper, airline network also have good offers but there are no hotels close by to return the car to.
Thanks Trish

[ukwdwnut]

all depends on dates and so on and so forth, i just looked at dates when i would be going and holidayautos were cheaper than all :D, not necessarily yours :D

[Paul T]

I checked loads and loads of websites for something big and nice for the 5 of us i.e (minivan or 4x4) and I the best prices that I got was 390 euros on a 7 seater "Voyager" and 436 euros on a "Grand Jeep Cherokee" with insurance, taxes and a full tank of fuel.

Not bad eh !!!!!

[triciacarole]

Who did you use?

[Paul T]

I havent got the info with me (its on my pc at home) :( but I will make sure and post up the details either later tonight or tommorrow morning :thumbs:

[Paul T]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to this (I was a little sick the last couple of days) :( but ok now :D

The company that I got the very reasonable prices off was direct from "dollar" although there were others that were only about € 50 or so dearer for the 2 weeks.

I hope you get sorted ok :thumbs:

[ukwdwnut]

remember that voyagers do not have much luggage space and are very juicy :)

[triciacarole]

Thanks Paul