Tell me about driving/parking

[achinforsomebacon]

I'm pretty sure any EZ pass should work. We've used ours quite a bit. We did the toll pass once but prefer to use our own. I think we made the switch when one time the toll pass machine wasn't working right and it was taking forever. We happened to have our EZ pass with us and found out it should work so just went with it. When dealing with kids and all the luggage we found it's easier to have one less thing to worry about picking up/returning at the airport.

One other thing to note is make sure to check your credit card statement for the card used for the rental. We got charged their daily rate for a day when we must have missed a toll (a downside to using your own and holding it up vs the sun pass that hangs from the mirror). It was surprisingly easy to get the charge removed. We just had to submit a form and our EZ pass statement showing we had other FL tolls charged during the rental.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

By the way since I have all you car rental drivers on the thread...this would (obviously) be my first time renting down there since it's a short trip and it'll cost me less than my usual car service. It's worth it yeah? One kid in tow. Won't even have large suitcases. Might end up getting an inflatable booster seat so as to avoid paying the daily charge for theirs. I have the AMEX that gives me the presidents circle with Hertz so I'm hoping it's as easy as it seems.

 

[Disdreaming479]

I always rent a car. The toll pass bill will come in the mail with a $5 charge for each day you use the toll roads plus the actual toll charge. Super easy. No need to bring anything. Takes about a month to show up in mail.
The parking at jambo is really not far from the building imo. Personally I don’t drive to the parks but I don’t mind the buses. I don’t have anyone in a stroller or scooter.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

By the way since I have all you car rental drivers on the thread...this would (obviously) be my first time renting down there since it's a short trip and it'll cost me less than my usual car service. It's worth it yeah? One kid in tow. Won't even have large suitcases. Might end up getting an inflatable booster seat so as to avoid paying the daily charge for theirs. I have the AMEX that gives me the presidents circle with Hertz so I'm hoping it's as easy as it seems.

BTW national will match your president's circle which I believe would be executive elite. I've done executive elite and had large suvs and mini vans. You should definitely check it out.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Maybe someone can speak to this who uses Hertz, but there may be a way to avoid having to wait in line at the counter and go directly to the garage/lot to pick up the car. The one time I rented a car at MCO, the Avis line was literally 2 hours long. I was with my DD (who was an infant at the time) and I nearly lost it. I found out after the fact that Avis has QuickPass - you just can’t get it for your first car rental. So the next time I knew I needed a rental on vacation, I did an hour long rental by my house before we left for $50 - registered for QuickPass - and it took about 10 min to grab the keys and go once I arrived at the airport. Well worth it.

I’m weird about using car seats that aren’t mine so I ended up buying the Evenflo Maestro Sport Harness Booster - it’s super lightweight and I just checked it at the gate.

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[TheDailyMoo]

BTW national will match your president's circle which I believe would be executive elite. I've done executive elite and had large suvs and mini vans. You should definitely check it out.

Maybe someone can speak to this who uses Hertz, but there may be a way to avoid having to wait in line at the counter and go directly to the garage/lot to pick up the car. The one time I rented a car at MCO, the Avis line was literally 2 hours long. I was with my DD (who was an infant at the time) and I nearly lost it. I found out after the fact that Avis has QuickPass - you just can’t get it for your first car rental. So the next time I knew I needed a rental on vacation, I did an hour long rental by my house before we left for $50 - registered for QuickPass - and it took about 10 min to grab the keys and go once I arrived at the airport. Well worth it.

I’m weird about using car seats that aren’t mine so I ended up buying the Evenflo Maestro Sport Harness Booster - it’s super lightweight and I just checked it at the gate.

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My AMEX gives me status for all three big car companies and when I priced them out Hertz came out much cheaper than the rest. They do mention getting an upgrade and it would be a grab and go type situation so no waiting in lines...at least that's the idea! For National when you've gotten the big SUVs did you get a slight upgrade...meaning you reserved a small SUV but got a larger one or are you talking about reserving an economy car and getting that huge of an upgrade?

As for the booster seat I just looked it up...looks good! I was thinking of just getting one of those backless ones. So you check it at the gate just like you would a stroller? Because that would make life super simple!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

My AMEX gives me status for all three big car companies and when I priced them out Hertz came out much cheaper than the rest. They do mention getting an upgrade and it would be a grab and go type situation so no waiting in lines...at least that's the idea! For National when you've gotten the big SUVs did you get a slight upgrade...meaning you reserved a small SUV but got a larger one or are you talking about reserving an economy car and getting that huge of an upgrade?

As for the booster seat I just looked it up...looks good! I was thinking of just getting one of those backless ones. So you check it at the gate just like you would a stroller? Because that would make life super simple!

Yep - just like the stroller. I also bought a bag for it (they’re about $15) so that I could carry it on my back through the airport/security. Added bonus: it’s super easy to install!

 

[foodiddiedoo]

My AMEX gives me status for all three big car companies and when I priced them out Hertz came out much cheaper than the rest. They do mention getting an upgrade and it would be a grab and go type situation so no waiting in lines...at least that's the idea! For National when you've gotten the big SUVs did you get a slight upgrade...meaning you reserved a small SUV but got a larger one or are you talking about reserving an economy car and getting that huge of an upgrade?

As for the booster seat I just looked it up...looks good! I was thinking of just getting one of those backless ones. So you check it at the gate just like you would a stroller? Because that would make life super simple!

Yeah I rent economy or mid size and can still pick anything from the executive elite section. I asked for a minivan and they let me have one. Other time there was a three row suv in the executive elite section.

 

[BrianLa]

We've been renting cars for the last 10yrs and prefer it over the buses. Buses get very crowded towards the end of the night and having to stand while holding a sleeping child is not fun. For us, between the transportation from the airport and occasional Lyft or Minnievan it doesn't cost that much more to rent a car especially because we like to dine at the other hotels. There is no great way to get to other hotels directly from the hotel you are staying at unless you are staying on the monorail loop or Crescent lake and dining at the hotels there. WRT to MNSSHP, like others have said, getting to the TTC at the end of the night or after the party is painful. That is the only time we consider using a bus which is what we did last month for the MNSSHP. I've primary rented from Alamo and Budget and you can join their rewards programs for free. That will allow you to download the apps an skip the counter and go directly to your car which can save over an hour during busy times.

 

[zackiedawg]

One workaround you could consider for parking at MK - of course only works if it's something you might want to do anyway - make a breakfast ADR at one of the MK-resort properties. Drive over for your morning ADR, park at the hotel, enjoy your meal, then walk (or boat or monorail) over to MK. Saves parking at TTC and having to ferry over. Contemporary would be the most convenient since you can simply walk over to MK and back.

Parking at AK Lodge CAN be a longer walk - depends on where you get a spot. The parking lot is roughly the same distance from the front door of Jambo as the bus stop - you just walk across the valet, down a few steps through a little wooded area, and you're there. If you can snag a spot up front, you're close - the parking lot stretches back a ways, so you may end up having to be farther back in the lot - but you're only adding a hundred or so yards at most to the back of the lot.

 

[D-Trick]

One workaround you could consider for parking at MK - of course only works if it's something you might want to do anyway - make a breakfast ADR at one of the MK-resort properties. Drive over for your morning ADR, park at the hotel, enjoy your meal, then walk (or boat or monorail) over to MK.

YMMV, but earlier this year I did this at Contemporary and the guard gave me a printed paper with a 3 hour time limit that he ordered me to put on my dash.

Not knowing if Disney had recently installed license plate readers (since nearly all Vegas garages have them now), we left after our meal.

We've since been back to WDW and I'm confident they don't have readers, but still, that was an odd one off that had me thinking "oh, the Mouse is once again closing a loophole."

 

[TheDailyMoo]

YMMV, but earlier this year I did this at Contemporary and the guard gave me a printed paper with a 3 hour time limit that he ordered me to put on my dash.

Not knowing if Disney had recently installed license plate readers (since nearly all Vegas garages have them now), we left after our meal.

We've since been back to WDW and I'm confident they don't have readers, but still, that was an odd one off that had me thinking "oh, the Mouse is once again closing a loophole."

Yeah not sure I'd try this anyway but I guess if someone was going to eat there anyway they could try it and see what happens. It is a great reason to eat at SH71 if it works!

 

[DisTravels]

National with Emerald Aisle is where it's at at MCO. Super easy get in a car and drive to the exit where they check ID and drivers license.

Emerald Aisle is very convent most of the time. Not specific to MCO, but have had instances were National had slim pickings in the Aisle, but limited inventory could happen with any rental car company.

 

[keishashadow]

Many of us type A sorts prefer to have a rental car for a myriad of reasons.

The line for buses back to the resorts after FW, near park close & after special events & DS can be extensive, often standing room only. Not for us

Actually enjoy a boat ride back in the dark to TTC, can be downright romantic, if you squint.

MK has the shuttles running in MK parking lot again

PS when it’s busy/late at night, you quickly find out AKL parking lot is far bigger than you think ‘width-wise’. There’s always valet.

Always surprises me so many DVC frequent visitors don’t venture outside the bubble, even after decades. It’s nice to be able to do a quick grocery stop, eat offsite, visit the outlets etc. without dealing with rideshare.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

My AMEX gives me status for all three big car companies and when I priced them out Hertz came out much cheaper than the rest. They do mention getting an upgrade and it would be a grab and go type situation so no waiting in lines...at least that's the idea! For National when you've gotten the big SUVs did you get a slight upgrade...meaning you reserved a small SUV but got a larger one or are you talking about reserving an economy car and getting that huge of an upgrade?

As for the booster seat I just looked it up...looks good! I was thinking of just getting one of those backless ones. So you check it at the gate just like you would a stroller? Because that would make life super simple!

Hertz has usually been the cheapest for us and we have Presidents Circle where you just pick whatever you want from an area and go. One thing to note is the first time we did this we still had to see someone at the booth in the garage. They weren't sure why but thought it was because we didn't have our drivers license or credit card on file ahead of time. I thought we did but maybe it wasn't linked correctly. It's been a while so I forget the details but I would try to have it all straightened out ahead of time.

 

[jlstwinmommy]

I just got back from a 5 day trip (9/13-9/17) to WDW and stayed at Jambo (not the villas, regular room, but still Jambo). We rented a car and drove to every park. For us (mind you no kids involved for this trip), I find it easier to drive to the parks than wait for buses. I know the buses have gotten better, but ever since COVID and the horrible bus experience we had combined with the end of magical express, we just rent a car and drive.

The parking lot at Jambo is pretty big, but not terrible. We didn't have any trouble finding a space to park, and most nights we found a space that wasn't horribly far away. We did drive to MK and park at T&T. The trams were running and it was easy to get to and from our car. We were also park hopping so sometimes drove from one park to another. The only WDW transportation we took was from HS to EP (skyliner). From AKL, I like having the car.

We are going again in a couple of weeks for a longer, extended family trip but we will be at BLT for this one. I do enjoy the walk from BLT to MK, especially on a party night. If I was staying at AKL for a party night, I would definitely drive as the lines for buses can be long. The line for the ferry across to T&T moves pretty quickly (in my experience, but we haven't done a party since COVID so maybe things are different).

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Hey so got the rental and drove and it’s worked out great! Leaving tomorrow and wondering about returning car to hertz at Mco specifically for taking a delta flight. What do we do with the bags? We’re just carrying on but have a lot and a stroller and booster! I’ve heard the drop off location can be hard to find. Any tips on how this will work best? Thanks!

 

[D-Trick]

Hey so got the rental and drove and it’s worked out great! Leaving tomorrow and wondering about returning car to hertz at Mco specifically for taking a delta flight. What do we do with the bags? We’re just carrying on but have a lot and a stroller and booster! I’ve heard the drop off location can be hard to find. Any tips on how this will work best? Thanks!

When approaching Terminal A or B, stay in the far left lane for the rental car drop off. OR-- for the less taken 2nd drop off exit, stay in the middle lane towards the Terminal A (or B) arrivals/departures and then just before the road inclines and turns left you'll encounter the 2nd rental car return ramp on your left hand side. It doesn't matter which side you return the car to.

After returning the car, there's an underground tunnel that leads to an escalator/elevators to the ticketing level. Pretty straight forward.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

When approaching Terminal A or B, stay in the far left lane for the rental car drop off. OR-- for the less taken 2nd drop off exit, stay in the middle lane towards the Terminal A (or B) arrivals/departures and then just before the road inclines and turns left you'll encounter the 2nd rental car return ramp on your left hand side.

After returning the car, there's an underground tunnel that leads to an escalator/elevators to the ticketing level. Pretty straight forward.

Awesome! Thanks. So first or second drop off doesn’t really matter much? And bags…gonna have to just schlep them from drop off to ticketing level correct? But otherwise sounds good

 

[D-Trick]

Awesome! Thanks. So first or second drop off doesn’t really matter much? And bags…gonna have to just schlep them from drop off to ticketing level correct? But otherwise sounds good

The "first" and "second" exits I mention go to the same place. If you happen to miss the first exit for rental car return, there's the second one you can take. Sometimes, there's a backup of cars waiting to get into the rental car return via the first exit-- when this happens you can bypass the backup by going to the 2nd rental car return exit. Both rental car return exits are clearly labeled and aren't a secret.

Note: The A and B terminals are exact mirrors of each other so the directions are applicable to both, depending on what direction you're coming from. I'm not familiar with Terminal C.

In regards to bags-- not sure what kind of advice I can give. You can always drop off part of your party at the departures level to offload some bags/weight before dropping off the car but you'd have to make the loop back around. The directional signage is pretty clear to return back, though I do admit there's a lot of signage to visually sort through.