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Old 16 Jan 20, 07:54 PM  
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PumpkinKing
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Lightbulb Full Size SUV rental - DIBB Tips Summary

Hi all,

Firstly, as a long time reader, first time poster, thank you all for the help you've shared! The DIBB is a wonderfully friendly place, and you regular contributors in the Car Hire section are a great font of knowledge.

Hugely excited for our first ever Orlando holiday in April with the Disney-mad gf and her family in tow. Particularly thrilled about the full size SUV I've booked as I love driving something big and new with lots of toys. Honestly I'm almost more excited about the car than the rest of the holiday combined!

We went for a full size suv because we're staying "off-site" in the in-law's private hire villa three nights, then before the arguments start we're moving to Disney's All Star Music resort for the remaining seven nights. Their villa isn't far and I'm planning to do a bit of ferrying to and fro to make use of our free Disney park parking when we're staying on Disney property for the 7 nights, particularly when me and lady will have been up early using our extra magic hours, then can drive over for lunch and wiz over to a park with the kids in the afternoon.

The point of this long post is because I wanted to summarise the DIBB advice I have used and noted so far on the car rental front, partly in case anyone else found it useful, and so that the experts could let me know if I've misunderstood or missed anything. Here we go..
  • We've booked a Full Size SUV from Alamo MCO, via AutoEurope, £330 for 11 days, Tahoe or similar. Feels like a great deal, really hoping for an Expedition... more of that later. I had already canceled and rebooked 5 times before I found this price just after New Year!
  • Following the advice on the Alamo Guide sticky, I've completed "Online Check In" and "Skip The Counter" on the Alamo US website. The latter was a struggle... To make STC work I had to use the suggested trick: complete the Alamo online check in but not close the confirmation page, then open new tab using the link in the DIBB Alamo Guide.
  • We have reserved the Visitor Toll Pass as it looks like an easy win! Search google for it - Only available from MCO at the moment, it is free to sign up and collect from the airport before you go to your hire car. You hang the tag on your rear view mirror, drive straight through the electronic toll lanes and your card is charged automatically at the end of your trip. Seems it’s usually only 5 mins detour after customs to collect it and totally worth it for not having to use cash lanes (a great source of stress for me!). The automatic toll lanes are often cheaper, too. A good tip was not to leave it hanging on your rear view mirror the whole time as it screams "I'M A TOURIST!" pretty loudly, if that matters to you. Just put it up when you're on the toll roads. Alternatively, Alamo do offer a simple and easy toll scheme, where you simply drive through the electronic toll lanes and the card you swiped when you picked up the car is automatically charged, plus a small Alamo admin fee for each day you pay tolls. Personally, I'd rather use the VTP and save the $20 or so admin fee that the Alamo system would cost me over 11 days.
  • I have driven SUV's in the US and Canada before, and drive vans and big vehicles for work, but searching "Driving in Orlando" on the forum has yielded many rules and tips that I'd forgotten, well worth a read for some peace of mind.
  • As mentioned, I'm really hoping for an Expedition purely for the third row extra leg room and lower floor (thanks to Ford's rear independent suspension!), but tbh anything that will make our nephews eyes pop out of their heads will be absolutely grand. My preference: Expedition, Tahoe, Yukon... just please not a Nissan Not expecting or hoping for an extra long / max version as I understand these are in the premium categories. The standard versions have limited boot space with the third row up, but as there's only two of us driving this from and to the airport, we can flatten the third row to give plenty of room for our bags.
  • Collecting the car... the bit I really want to get right! Skip The Counter is done, so straight to the garage we shall go (after collecting our Visitors Toll Pass). Full Size SUV's don't have the keys in them so I will need to ask for them. Depending on whether we're intercepted by Alamo staff before we get to the full size SUV row to choose, it will be a smile and, before they dash off for the keys, a polite request for an Expedition if they have one, or the option of waiting for one. Tipping guarantees nothing and is discouraged. Ultimately, car hire fleets tend to be only one or two years old on average, and I'm hoping that the chance of arriving to a long line of Armadas is low in the grand scheme, so a beefy American SUV with Apple CarPlay feels well within reach. Charm offensive all the way!
  • Once we've loaded our shiny American machine, off to the exit gate. My credit card will have changed by the time we get there, but I'm informed that they won't mind if it's different the one listed on your STC document. I haven't decided if we'll pre pay for fuel... seems pretty 6 to one, half dozen to the other in terms of price and convenience. Will do more reading on this and update with our decision!
  • Parking - as above, we're staying at Disney All Star Music for the final 7 days of our holiday. Overnight parking will cost us $13 per night. Note that if you made your reservation after 18th July 2019 and are staying in 2020, it'll be $15. Parking at the Disney Parks is free while we're staying on Disney property, so I'm planning on acting as taxi as needed for the family for the final week. Parking charges show on the My Disney Experience app during your Disney stay, but not before or after (they'll be on your hotel bill).
  • Finally, not strictly a car tip, but I've got a pretty good deal on our phones with EE - a single extra payment of £10 for the Roam Further Pass means we can use up to 15GB of our data allowance and all of our calls and texts in the US for up to a month, so I'm definitely planning on using my phone for sat nav rather than hoping for it to be unlocked in the car. Any experiences of arriving in Orlando and using Apple Maps or Waze to navigate would be much appreciated! Plus I've never really found in-car satnav as good as Apple Maps, google, etc.. but that is around central London's winding streets. Planning and learning the route as much as possible in advance always trumps glueing your eyes to the satnav in any case.

I think that's everything I've learned from the great DIBB encyclopaedia so far... sorry for the long post, I hope people find this useful rather than irritating, and please let me know if you think I've missed anything or could plan to do things better. I will update this thread as I learn more!

Oh and of course, if anyone has been or is renting a car through Alamo MCO in early 2020, please let us know what Full Size SUV's you've seen in the row...!

Best,
G
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Old 16 Jan 20, 08:31 PM  
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DanLees
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We didn’t have a visitor toll pass when we were there in 2018 because they weren’t a thing then. Alamo toll service is the cheapest of the car hire toll services so you might decide it’s easier not to bother/display your tourist status.
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Old 16 Jan 20, 08:38 PM  
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Welcome to the DIBB and, as you say, most of us regular contributors to the car sub-forum are a helpful bunch.

In 36 trips to Florida we've not spent a single night in a WDW hotel and we've not been to a park since 2010. So you won't see me ever contributing to either the hotels or parks threads as I have absolutely minimal current knowledge.

We have however hired a car on every visit and maybe driven in excess of 50,000 miles so I do pop on to this forum now and again We love the 47 square miles that WDW has to offer but now tend to explore the other 65,700 square miles of Florida.

You certainly seemed to have got most of the car hire stuff covered and I can only make one or two minor comments.

Not sure how you did OLCI through the US site but all you need is the bar code. Absolutely no need to do the second separate STC process. The only card Alamo are interested in is the one they swipe at the barrier. They have no interest in how you paid. You can go to either garage A or B at MCO. Done OLCI seven times in last 4 years and never done that process involving having two tabs open

The VTP process took us less than 5 minutes and don't forget that MCO handles over 800 flights a day and only a handful are from the UK. So the vast majority of "tourists" using it are American.

We only use satnav when we go off the beaten track and maybe use "Here we go" on Joan's mobile once every visit. Free and doesn't use data if you download maps before you go.

If I remember anything else I'll post again

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Old 16 Jan 20, 08:43 PM  
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Echoing the above - I have no idea what a Toll Pass is. On every Alamo hire we've had including the two we had in 2019 - I've just always driven through the auto tolls (ie not stopped at the cash lane).

Alamo then charge my card, but it's never been much at all.

Just querying this bit also...

"we're staying in a villa with the fam for three nights, then before the arguments start we're moving to an All Star resort for the remaining seven nights. The villa isn't far and I'm planning to do a bit of ferrying to and fro to make use of our free Disney park parking"

...I'm not sure what you're trying to say there. We stay on site so it's been a long time since we've had theme park parking to pay for, but if I'm reading you correctly, I'm not sure why you think you'll get free parking when you're staying in a villa. Only those staying onsite when they visit the theme parks with a car will get free parking.

Maybe I've misunderstood what you are saying there, but I thought I'd flag it just in case.
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Old 16 Jan 20, 08:49 PM  
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We visit next month and are hiring a full size SUV. I fully intend on taking pictures for the appropriate thread so I'll try to update here.

We've (I've!) also gone for the Visitor Toll Pass. It looks cheaper than Alamo's default offering so that's always a bonus
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Old 16 Jan 20, 08:57 PM  
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Originally Posted by dpmcalister View Post
We visit next month and are hiring a full size SUV. I fully intend on taking pictures for the appropriate thread so I'll try to update here.

We've (I've!) also gone for the Visitor Toll Pass. It looks cheaper than Alamo's default offering so that's always a bonus
The VTP is certainly cheaper than any car company's Sunpass scheme.

The current VTP trial period is totally admin fee free and some tolls are actually cheaper. For instance we were charged 52 cents leaving the 417 at j3 onto the Osceola and the "pay cash" rate is $1.

Alamo is the best of the Sunpass schemes and their daily charge is $3.95 per USAGE day with a maximum for the period of $19.75

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Old 16 Jan 20, 09:08 PM  
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G

If you post what villa community you're staying in I'll happily offer some directional advice if it's in the Davenport area.

If you look on Google Maps you'll see that MCO is surrounded by a gyratory road system. MCO is split into two sides A and B and is basically a symmetrical mirror image with car hire garages both sides.

We always collect at B for two reasons. Firstly it's nearest to gates 70-99 APM 4 where all direct flights from the UK land. Secondly our car is on auto-pilot on to the 417 south which you access very close to leaving garage B

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Old 16 Jan 20, 09:19 PM  
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Originally Posted by Bozza View Post
I'm not sure what you're trying to say there. We stay on site so it's been a long time since we've had theme park parking to pay for, but if I'm reading you correctly, I'm not sure why you think you'll get free parking when you're staying in a villa. Only those staying onsite when they visit the theme parks with a car will get free parking.

Maybe I've misunderstood what you are saying there, but I thought I'd flag it just in case.
Sorry Bozza, I didn't write that bit very clearly - we are staying off-site with family in their private hire villa for three nights, then staying on Disney property for the remaining 7 nights of the trip. So for the last week we will have free park parking as we are staying on the Disney all star music resort. At least, thats what I've understood we can do. And granted we will be paying for overnight parking each night at Disney All Star Music.


As for toll pass, interesting reading both schools of thought. I totally get the convenience of letting Alamo deal with it all, but for me the Visitor Toll Pass wins with no admin charge or daily fees compared to the Alamo Sunpass. Saves the cost of a few drinks or a meal

And Mick I believe the in-laws have hired a villa in Crystal Cove Resort, Kissimmee...? Google maps and Apple maps are both giving me three route options depending on what time of day I look...
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Old 16 Jan 20, 09:26 PM  
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Originally Posted by PumpkinKing View Post
And Mick I believe the in-laws have hired a villa in Crysatal Cove Resort, Kissimmee...? Google maps and Apple maps are both giving me three route options depending on what time of day I look...
Crystal Cove is a new one to me I'm afraid. We always stay at Highgate Park which is west of Disney on the US27. I would recommend the 417 option rather than the 528/I-4 though. After a long tiring flight the 417 has maybe 20% of the traffic of the Interstate.

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Old 16 Jan 20, 09:42 PM  
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We stayed on Crystal Cove Resort on Poinciana Blvd on our 2017 trip - it's a very nice resort - but at times the traffic and junctions can be busy - you can choose either to go to the 192, Osceola Parkway or the i4 - we were there in July so it was very busy.

That year I had a Full Size SUV booked through BA Avis, but they never had any and I had to make do with a 7 seat van.
2018 for our East Coast road trip I had a Dodge Journey.

This March we are arriving and picking up in Atlanta - have now changed my booking several times, went down to Std 7 seat SUV with DFCH and hertz, 17 nights £614, but changed today for Alamo Full Size for £635 - mainly as tolls with Alamo are cheaper.

Hope you get a nice motor, and I picked up a few things from the thread - can you go up the Full Size SUV line and tell them the vehicle you want?
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