I have seen deals on the 12-pax, but they’re rare. Are you checking the Costco site, as well?
I don’t have a Costco membership. I do have BJs, but they don’t seem to have any special rates…
Does anyone know if a Suburban would hold 7 suitcases?
By chance, I was just reading an FAQ on TP website and they suggested a workaround if the only reason you need a bigger car is for luggage. You could have one person in your party ride MDE (edit: DME 
) and have them take the luggage with them. The rest of the party could ride in the rental car. Same on the way back to the airport. The rest of the trip, you have enough seats but don’t need to worry about luggage.
Of course this presumes you are staying on site, which I don’t recall whether you were planning on that.
I am not. I had thought of that though.
But thank you for brain storming!
1 Like
If a minivan is a lot cheaper you could rent one and hire an Uber XL from/to airport for the luggage and one or two people.
We have a 14 Odyssey and get quite a lot of luggage in even with the seats all up, but whenever we rent a minivan it tends to usually be a Dodge Grand Caravan. We love our Odyssey by the way!
Hmmmm. I wonder how this might work.
I’m taking my sister back to the airport ahead of us, so we won’t have as many people or as many bags at the end of our trip…
Most people LOVE their Odysseys, which is what led us to get this one two years ago. Sadly, it hasn’t impressed us.
1 Like
It sounds like you would only need one extra Uber at the beginning of your trip! That would probably be way cheaper than renting a 12-pax.
1 Like
If it’s just from the airport to your living area, would you be able to pile any suitcases between the back two seats and maybe put some carry ons on people’s laps? Not that comfortable, but it’s not like you’re doing it every day.
Also, can you do a dry run in your van? Get out all the suitcases you want to bring and see how they fit. Make sure to leave a bit of room, since they’ll all be full when you actually pack the van. This will give you a better idea.
Oh, and don’t forget the carseat kids can have luggage under their feet. They don’t need a lot of room.
1 Like
It should be lots cheaper.
But.
My mom and sister would probably be afraid to ride in an Uber. 
I’m going to really consider this TBH. I could save probably $200.
1 Like
Maybe. Maybe maybe.
I’d like to think so.
After we tell girls next weekend I will openly mess around with luggage. I just know we are overpackers to begin with. And we are going 10 days and princess dresses and Disneybounding means more shoes, etc. We are our own worst enemy.
1 Like
How big are your suitcases? We have a 2004 Odyssey and can fit 4 medium suitcases standing in the well and another 2 on top of them. We can get another one between each sliding door and middle row seat. You can get more under the feet of the kids in boosters.
We rented a Caravan minivan before for 7, no boosters. That was small compared to the Odyssey. People had to hold personal items and a couple of carry on suitcases went under peoples’ feet! It was a short ride to the house.
Stick your suitcases in your Odyssey to try them out.
Use packing cubes and or compression bags.
2 Likes
I totally get that, I had never Ubered and didn’t like the concept. But when we flew to NOLA this summer for our cruise with 8 people, 2 Uber’s was hands down the best/cheapest way to get our crew transported. We Ubered all over NOLA and it was so easy!! But I would still have qualms depending on time of day and if traveling alone.
Grand Caravan has much more cargo space than the Caravan.
We have a Chrysler Town and Country (same size as the Grand Caravan) and can fit 7 passengers plus have plenty of room for luggage since the back end is a “well” and there is a lot of extra storage under the second row seats due to the stow and go feature.
1 Like
Good to know so we won’t cram next time and feel like sardines in a can.
1 Like
I wonder if any of the agencies deal with strictly one minivan for their fleet. It’s probably highly unlikely.
@stlouie - My bags are the biggest ones allowed on a plane. I know this because DS19 just went to Costa Rica this summer and his (my) bag scarcely made it.
We are used to driving everywhere and therefore are notorious overpackers. (I’ve often taken my griddle and/or crockpots on vacation.) And even though we can do laundry in rentals, I don’t like wearing outfits twice on vacation. (I just admitted I’m nuts to strangers.) I also don’t dry actual clothes in the dryer (just underwear, socks, jammies, and towels) and nothing air dries in the FL humidity and A/C. In addition, the rare time I have flown, it has been Southwest, so I can take two bags.
So - basically - I need to do one of the following.
A) Suck it up and spend $900 to have a vehicle that easily accommodates all my peoples and luggage.
B) Convince Mom and Sis to take a cab or Uber/Lyft to the house and get a mini-van and save $200-300.
C) Work hard on packing less and cram us all and all our luggage into mini-van to save $200-300.
I like B the best. It seems unfortunate to have “free” luggage on SW and not use it. 
Actually - I will also experiment with packing less. But my girls really will have outfit changes. And I feel like I need to be prepared for multiple weather scenarios for November. I can probably get my family of 5 into two medium and two smaller (carry-on sized) bags. That would actually leave it for mom and sis to decide if they’d rather pack less or take an Uber?
My mom HAS actually taken a cab to a rental before now that I remember. It was $50 for her to get from MCO to Champions Gate. She landed a 3-4 hours before we drove in one year and she took a cab to the rental. She might be willing to do this again, especially with my sister.
True story.
In 2005 DH and I took our three kids and my mom to FL. We flew. (Last trip flying as family. Kids were 5, 3, 1 and I was pregnant.) The five of us drove to the airport in our Ford Windstar and my mom got her own ride to the airport. We could barely - and I mean barely get our strollers and luggage for the five of us into our van. I wondered what we would do when we got to MCO and our rental van with my mom and her stuff.
We got our rental in MCO - it was a Grand Caravan or Town and Country with the then-new Stow 'n Go. We got all our stuff into that van with comfortable seating and space to spare. That is three in car seats and my mom. We were very impressed.
Yes. We’ve owned a Monterrey (Mercury version of the Ford Windstar), a Chevy Tahoe, and a T&C. The T&C was the clear winner in terms of cargo space. Tahoe was pathetic. Worthless back end, so we’d end up having to use a car-top carrier. (The Suburban is the same as a Tahoe, but extended, so it has a lot more cargo space…but doesn’t have the added Stow and Go space.)
The Dodge Grand Caravan and the Chrysler Pacifica (which replaced the T&C) have similar storage. Not sure what is available for rental, though.
1 Like
We had a Dodge Grand Caravan last summer with 5 adults (in LA, not Orlando, but same thing) and 4 large suitcases (largest that can fly) and one medium suitcase (packed to the brim) and our carry ons (backpack size). We fit fine, but also only had one seat up in the back. I’m not confident all of our bags would’ve fit if the entire back row was up.
My vote would be to go the minivan route and attempt to fit everyone and their luggage into the car and if that doesn’t work, then use Uber/Lyft as a backup. I am an overpacker and don’t think I could sacrifice that just to avoid one Uber ride!
1 Like