{"id":1459,"date":"2022-07-05T12:02:52","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T12:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/?page_id=1459"},"modified":"2024-01-09T16:04:07","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T16:04:07","slug":"should-we-rent-a-car","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/?page_id=1459","title":{"rendered":"Should we rent a car?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1459\" class=\"elementor elementor-1459\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e76d010 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e76d010\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f522c68\" data-id=\"f522c68\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88025ec elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"88025ec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Should we rent a car, and from whom?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1959001 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1959001\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4c4eed1\" data-id=\"4c4eed1\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-264becf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"264becf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding to rent a car or not whilst on your Disney\/Orlando vacation really comes down to, in our opinion, whether you\u2019re prepared to pay for the extra flexibility that a rental car brings.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Either way, you\u2019re going to need some transportation on your vacation:<\/p><ul><li>Getting from the airport to your house or hotel<\/li><li>Travelling to some, if not all, of the Disney parks, if you\u2019re staying in a rented house or most of the Disney hotels<\/li><li>Getting up to Universal Orlando (and other non-Disney theme parks)<\/li><li>Going out to non-Disney restaurants, evening activities, and shopping areas<\/li><\/ul><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>Of course, if you\u2019re flying into Orlando\u2019s MCO airport you can pick up a bus, shuttle van, taxi or limo to get from the airport to your hotel\u2019s location. You can find details of the options and the indicative rates on the <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandoairports.net\/parking-transportation\/\">Orlando International Airport<\/a> website.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disappointingly, Disney\u2019s Magical Express, that used to provide complimentary transport for guests from Orlando airport to Walt Disney World resort hotels, is no longer offered. A similar paid-for service is available from other coach operators.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re flying into Miami or Tampa airports, then you\u2019ll definitely be renting a car, due to the 3h 30m and 1h 30m journeys to the Walt Disney World, respectively.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, if you\u2019re renting a house in the Disney area, then you\u2019ll want and need to rent a car because of the daily trips you\u2019ll be making to the parks, shops, grocery stores, and other activities.<\/p><h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>You could take the bus<\/strong><\/h2><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re flying into Orlando and you\u2019re staying at one of the Disney resorts, then you do have the option of skipping the car rental and relying on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.disneyworld.co.uk\/guest-services\/bus-transportation\/\">Walt Disney World Bus Service<\/a> to get you between the resort hotels and the parks (and Disney Springs).<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a very comprehensive, well organised, safe bus service that runs at all of the times that you need, with rarely much of a wait or queue.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only downside can be that sometimes a bus from your resort hotel to your destination park (or vice versa) can make other stops along the way, somewhat extending your journey! And just before park opening and just after park closing the buses can be quite busy.<\/p><h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We favour renting a car<\/strong><\/h2><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whenever we\u2019re in the Disney\/Orlando area we ALWAYS rent a car. We just love the flexibility of being able to go wherever we want, whenever we want, without waiting for a bus or booking a taxi cab.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s worth noting that to park your rental car in one of the Disney theme parks does cost $30 for the day. If you visit more than one theme park in a given day &#8211; perhaps one in the morning and one again in the evening &#8211; you are only charged once. So keep your first parking receipt of the day, just in case!<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re staying in a Disney resort hotel, then there is no charge for parking at the theme parks. So, every day that you stay at a Disney hotel and park in a Disney theme park saves you $30!<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, further good news: Disney no longer charges you for parking at one of their the hotels &#8211; unbelievably Disney used to!<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, if you are going to rent a car, then our best recommendation to help you find the best car and rental deal is to follow Martin Lewis\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneysavingexpert.com\/\">MoneySavingExpert<\/a> website\u2019s car rental booking advice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneysavingexpert.com\/travel\/cheap-car-hire\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p><h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Book as far in advance as you can<\/strong><\/h2><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, booking as far in advance of your vacation as possible is going to secure the best rate.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And because nowadays most of the reputable rental companies and brokers offer very good cancellation policies (i.e. no charge if you cancel up to a week in advance of your rental start), you can always re-book your car rental, and cancel your original booking, if you find a cheaper alternative before you fly.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of our recent can rental bookings have been through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qeeq.com\/\">Qeeq<\/a> (a car rental broker), because of their great value.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up with a 100% refund, they\u2019ve been prompt in refunding us in the last 24 months when covid has cancelled our trips, they offer the major car rental brands, and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qeeq.com\/price_drop_protector\">Price Drop Protector<\/a> feature will (for some bookings) automatically rebook your reservation if the price drops by a certain amount.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve had this happen a couple of times and what a great, positive surprise it\u2019s been!<\/p><h2 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Book the major car rental brands<\/strong><\/h2><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ll only book major car rental brands (Budget, Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, SIXT etc.) \u2013 either direct or through brokers \u2013 where we can pick up the car at the airport\u2019s terminal. It\u2019s too much hassle, in our opinion, to get on a shuttle bus (after you\u2019ve been on a plane for 10 hours) and go to an off-site rental company, and maybe save \u00a350.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Picking up rental cars in both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandoairports.net\/parking-transportation\/rental-cars\/\">Orlando<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miami-airport.com\/car-rentals.asp\">Miami<\/a> is very straightforward.<br \/><br \/><\/p><h2 style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/?page_id=1779\"><strong>Next up \u2013 Step 1.9: Summary<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Should we rent a car, and from whom? Deciding to rent a car or not whilst on your Disney\/Orlando vacation really comes down to, in our opinion, whether you\u2019re prepared to pay for the extra flexibility that a rental car brings. Either way, you\u2019re going to need some transportation on your vacation: Getting from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1459","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1459"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2474,"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1459\/revisions\/2474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdwtripplanning.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}