I have rented cars before, but never for a Disney Trip. But, I think I want to on our trip Memorial Day Weekend.
I need tips. What company is best? How to get deals? Tricks for getting around. Let me have 'em.
Go to https://www.mousesavers.com/ . They have a link to all kinds of transportation discounts and advice, including rental cars.
2 Likes
I think it depends on what is important to you. I want a second driver. I book early with Costco, and rebook every time I see a lower price. I always book Alamo and do the online check in-
Direct to car option.
4 Likes
I use National Emerald Aisle for many years now, as I already belong for work purposes. You simply select a mid-size car (when the price is the best) and get to select from any vehicles in the aisle when you arrive. They usually only have full-size and larger vehicles in the aisle. On our last trip a few weeks ago, I was picking from full-size cars, standard SUVs and trucks. It really works great if you need a bigger vehicle for a family, as you don’t have to pay the upcharge for the larger vehicles.
I use Costco also, and I book on Budget through them. Get a FastBreak number, and you have to include it when you make the reservation. If you do this then you don’t have to stop at the desk…you can go right to the kiosk in the parking garage, and it will save soooooo much time. 
Edit: I forgot to respond about @PrincipalTinker’s comment about the second driver. If you book through Costco you get a second driver at no charge. This can save between $5 and $25 per day, depending on the rental company.
1 Like
I used Alamo and felt like they had great customer service and were very easy to deal with.
3 Likes
We did this a couple of years ago. So easy. Zero stress.
Turned out the car had a slowly leaking tyre. No problem — exchanged at the Disney on-site car hire centre. Simple.
I didn’t know it worked like that! Great info!
1 Like
I want to thank you for reminding me to rebook if I see a lower price. I saw this post, and remembered I hadn’t checked in weeks- the price went down by $250!!
3 Likes
It is so random! My next trip is August and I know I should not expect the price to drop before July. I have a 9 day rental and it has been $353 since I first booked it. I found an economy booking for $240 last week. I grabbed it and checked again an hour later and it was back to $340.
2 Likes
I have to say, our price was confiscatory- $695 for 5 days!! That might be the most expensive I’ve ever had.
But it was a one-way rental from NC where my DD24 is graduating, to Disney, so I thought part of that might be a penalty for not returning the car to the same location (and also because it’s graduation weekend with a huge influx of parents, probably!). I’m sure some of it is still down to that, but I have the exact same rental now for $425. Thank you again.
Alamo through Costco, and you can check both airport and on-site at Disney. I ended up booking two options but got a larger full size SUV at MCO for less than at Disney. The price also dropped $225 over a few weeks so i just rebooked.
3 Likes
I use Costco also, and I book on Budget through them. Get a FastBreak number,
Does this mean you book on Budget.com and select the option to show you have a Costco membership? And in the process there’s somewhere obvious to get a “fastbreak number”? Thanks!
No, I book on the Costco travel website, and enter my Budget FastBreak number on the same page that asks for my name, etc. There’s no penalty for cancelling last minute, or even if you don’t show up at all. Costco doesn’t ask for a credit card guarantee, and you don’t have to pay for anything in advance. I think if you book on the Budget site they require a credit card when you book, even if you don’t pay at that point? I also like being able to take a quick glance at the fees from the other car companies, but the difference is almost always low enough that I use Budget.
Edited to add: You have to set up a FastBreak number on the Budget website before you book on Costco. It’s not possible to edit a reservation to include that number once you are booked. You could always cancel the reservation and create another one, but if there is a price difference you’d have to pay the new price.
With Alamo I book on the Costco site. It gives you the Costco and the Alamo reservation number. I then link the number on the Alamo site,
2 Likes
Dollar, Thrifty, and Hertz have offered free 2nd drivers when you book with the AAA discount code (which often works out to the the best price on its own), provided both drivers are AAA members.
I don’t know that you’ll always find the best rate this way, but it’s worth checking. I’ve found better rates with Dollar/Thrifty than I have with Alamo in Orlando in recent years.
2 Likes
The best advice I can offer from my experience booking rental cars is to keep checking rates often and at different times of the day. Rates can suddenly drop dramatically, but only for a short period of time, and you have to be ready to take advantage of that.
There’s no one source that always yields the best discount. Websites folks have mentioned already are great resources, but it still pays to check regularly. Sign up to receive email alerts from the big companies, check the AAA, costco, BJs, and autoslash websites. Check Cashback Monitor to see the best clickthrough site to use before you book your reservation. Then whenever you have a free moment at the computer, check your dates again to see if anything has changed. Also, be sure to scroll through the different car types, because every so often a larger vehicle is cheaper than a smaller one.
As for what companies to use, I still with the larger companies that have locations in the airport. They’re reliable and it saves a little time not having to catch a shuttle to an off-site location. Which one I pick is almost always based of the best rate.
1 Like
Free 2nd driver is important to us. For this we use Hertz Gold, and Alamo through Costco. Neither requires both drivers to be members, like AAA does.
Hertz Gold is free, and Costco just requires the booking party to have a membership.
1 Like