Vehicle Rental for Six Adults

This summer, we will have all four kids together at WDW for the first time ever. So, there will be six in our party, all Disney adults (13-23), and the kids range from 5’4" to 6’0". (Tallest is the 13 year old, who is still growing, so he will definitely be bigger by August.) We’re doing WDW and also Vero Beach, so our car trips will range from quick hops from hotel to parks, all the way to a couple of hours on the highway to and from Vero. We will have six suitcases, one per person.

My question is whether anyone has travelled to WDW (or anywhere else) with a big party and their luggage - would you recommend a minivan, a large SUV, or a 12 passenger van? My husband is now seriously considering the 12 passenger van, but that’s the worst of the options for me because I’m the only other person who will be driving our rental vehicle and I’m nervous about driving something so big and tall. We’ve gone on the rental car sites to see the models they typically use, and then checked out the interiors on automotive sites, but are still having a difficult time figuring out what will fit us all comfortably.

Any suggestions, or stories from your own experience, would be much appreciated!

Guess it depends on how many bags y’all are bringing. If your very light packers then you might get away with a 7-8 passenger minivan.it will be pretty tight though. If it were me I would go with the 12 passenger Ford transit wagon. I know your concerns about being the only other driver. The Ford transit wagon is pretty low profile. It’s not like a bus or anything. I suggest to keep an eye out for last minute deals, or weekend specials and see if you can get hubby to rent one for a short spell before the trip so you can get the feel of it. Good luck

Let me throw another suggestion: two vehicles. Look at either a minivan or a large SUV to hold everyone on trips, and then have a second car on hand to help fetch the bags to and from the airport, as well as to allow the group to split up if people want to go different directions. The minivan or SUV will be easier to drive, and the combined cost could be less than the monster van.

We have a Buick Enclave, which officially seats 7, but I’m not sure how you get everyone’s bags on board unless everyone except the driver has a suitcase on their lap. And that’s about as big of an SUV as their is. It’ll work great for daytrips, but I don’t think it’ll work with luggage.

That’s a good idea - I hadn’t even thought about trying to rent one at home to see whether I feel confident driving it.

Except for my husband, we don’t usually over pack. We are DVC members, so we do laundry throughout our stay so we don’t have to bring as much stuff. But we do have the six suitcases mostly because it causes less friction with the kids when they are each personally responsible for their own stuff.

I’m going to check that out. If the cost is a lot less, my husband may be swayed. However, I have a temporary handicapped parking pass that will still be in effect when we travel, so he might not be moved from the one vehicle idea, especially when it means he will have to drive the vehicle without the parking pass.

If the second car spends virtually all of it’s time in the hotel parking lot, it can stay in the far reaches of the lot there, and use the spot for the vehicle you are usually riding in. You’ll probably only need the second vehicle day 1 and the last day. A big 6 person vehicle should be fine for going to the park and daytrips.

And if you are staying DVC, maybe just have your husband rent the vehicle (and schlep his own bag) while the rest of you go Magical Express and let Disney do the dirty work of handling the luggage.

We are a family of six and always get the 12 passenger van. I am 5’ tall and I have no problem driving it. It does take a while to get used to, but I park away from other vehicles and try to only go forward! The size of the vehicle and the amount of room and ease to get in and out makes up for the few times I have to drive.

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We are a family of 5 and we almost always drive. We have a minivan but I also have a luggage rack so we have a cargo roof bag we use. There’s tons on Amazon & they aren’t too expensive. They fold up easily too.