Actual Car Rental Experiences at MCO

[Heather07438]

Has anyone seen the offerings for Alamo in the Luxury Elite SUV category?

Last time we were there they didn’t have an aisle marked for this category, the attendant had to help us.

We used Alamo for that category back in January (the price beat our usual pick Sixt).
There were a bunch of Infiniti QX80 to choose from. All were black or dark blue.

similar to this

 

[Heather07438]

HI
Arrived April 19th and had an Intermediate reserved for 11 nights with Alamo. Same rental I always get with the same company. Just as before, I just walk out to the Alamo area and go to the SUV aisle and took my choice. No muss and no fuss. Coming home on Apr 30th, it took longer for us to get our luggage out then get our check out receipt.

My next trip is on Sep 19th for 11 nights. But looking at different companies because my rental is 3+ times what it usually is. So I will be watching this thread with great interest.
Just booked with Budget because it was only twice the cost. I will continue to shop day in day out until I get what I want.

We’re going in Sept and went back to using Sixt. They now have a counter in MCO! We don’t need the shuttle offsite anymore.

We booked BMW x7 category Sun-Sat Sept 12-18 for $423. Not bad considering how expensive rentals have gotten. Goodluck getting something good

 

[ricosuave]

Most of the horror stories are from people having to wait in the lines at the counter. If you’re able to “skip the counter” and go right to the garage, you should be ok.

 

[SM1992]

Most of the horror stories are from people having to wait in the lines at the counter. If you’re able to “skip the counter” and go right to the garage, you should be ok.

I'm one of the ones with a horror story. We hardly ever rent but decided to this trip to avoid the busses. Booked with Thrifty through Expedia and got a great rate ($290 for 6 days, May 2-8) on a midsize. Arrived at the rental area at MCO and was greeted with a long line. Took over 2 and a half hours to get to the counter. Cars was fine, plenty to choose from and the woman working at the counter was nice. Just a frustrating expeience.

 

[CJK]

Hi all. How do you know whether you can go directly to pick up your car in the aisle, OR, have to go to the counter? We are Avis preferred members, and the reservation doesn't say one way or the other. TIA!

 

[ricosuave]

Hi all. How do you know whether you can go directly to pick up your car in the aisle, OR, have to go to the counter? We are Avis preferred members, and the reservation doesn't say one way or the other. TIA!

I use Alamo and made sure to sign up for an “Alamo Insiders” account. Like a rewards account. In order to “skip the counter,” I had to complete the account registration by adding my drivers license, address, etc. When we land, I just tap the “check in” box on the app and choose “skip the counter”. You’ll get a bar code and reservation info on your phone. We go directly to the garage and get any car in the designated row.

 

[k_hase]

We, among many others over the last week, waited in a tremendously long line at Thrifty, but they did have cars. I would suggest that people who rent ensure that they are able to the 'walk to the garage' option rather than wait in line, whatever that entails b/c the lines were long for everyone, but exceptionally long for Thrifty.

They also for reasons I did not understand, could not process our credit card, despite it being the one we pre-paid with on the website (we had to run it again for the damage deposit). Initially they clerk insisted it was our card/CHase but Chase insisted that no charges or attempted charges were recorded via Thrifty. It turned out it was their readers, or that reader? In any case, she was able to 'go in back' and get it work? It still makes not sense and with that 20 minute mess added on, we'd waited 2 hours for our car.

 

[Spartan86]

Hi all. How do you know whether you can go directly to pick up your car in the aisle, OR, have to go to the counter? We are Avis preferred members, and the reservation doesn't say one way or the other. TIA!

If you can sign into the app or to the preferred website and find your reservation I would go to the garage. If I recall, my first Avis preferred reservation I actually went to the downstairs counter,. It was 9:30 in the morning, probably July so it was pretty quiet. But the agent there, after pulling up my Rez sent me to the garage.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

We used Alamo for our trip on May 2nd. DH got in line at 7:14pm with 5 people in front of him and we were heading out to the garage exactly 10 minutes later. We did the manager's choice rate and we're told we could pick anything in either the minivan or truck section. The only line we saw was at the Thrifty counter and it was bad.

 

[richmo]

We've rented twice with Alamo at MCO recently. First was April 9-13, from midsize aisle late morning got a Nissan Rogue Sport from plenty to choose from. Second was May 4-5, Camry from standard aisle. Only about 4 cars to choose from that time, mid-morning. Made the mistake of not checking in over 24 hours in advance on the second trip, so I had to use the Alamo kiosk in the terminal instead of straight to the garage. Have another reservation for late June with Alamo. Rates are crazy expensive; hopefully the inventory will start to pick up and they'll open the B side. According to the MCO website, Avis, Budget and Thrifty are now also using the B side along with A. I think that was not the case but long ago...

 

[MIChessGuy]

I picked up from Avis at MCO this afternoon. Although I have Avis Preferred, I decided not to try to connect that to my UCT booking and just waited in the "regular" line. Most of the major companies were rather busy. I waited perhaps 15 minutes, mainly out of luck at having arrived between waves of customers. There was no upselling at all, which surprised me, and the whole counter process took only a few minutes. Then it was across the street to my assigned vehicle in the garage. Overall, a much better experience than I had thought likely.

 

[mousegear]

I picked up from Budget at MCO on 5/15 Saturday at 8:30ish. I bought a movie popcorn ticket and got a heavy discount on the rental car. I was really nervous after reading horror stories of having hours of wait for a car or no car during the spring break weeks. However, I held my breath as the 2nd/3rd week of May is less crowded. Our plane landed early and I went straight to the Fastbreak booth on the 2nd-floor garage while the rest of the family went to get our luggage. The line had about 5 people and a couple of people really took a long time because they didn't have the reservation tied to the Fastbreak wanted a car. The person there sent them back to the main building. I waited about 25 minutes total and was driving out of the garage by 9 pm. I thought it wasn't totally bad. I have only rented from Alamo all my previous rentals at MCO and spoiled by just walking to the garage and grabbing a car that I like on the aisle. However, I got an upgrade to a midsize SUV from just a midsize car and the price was $400 cheaper than any Alamo price for the duration so definitely worth a 25-minute wait.

 

[GDUL]

I picked up from Budget at MCO on 5/15 Saturday at 8:30ish. I bought a movie popcorn ticket and got a heavy discount on the rental car. I was really nervous after reading horror stories of having hours of wait for a car or no car during the spring break weeks. However, I held my breath as the 2nd/3rd week of May is less crowded. Our plane landed early and I went straight to the Fastbreak booth on the 2nd-floor garage while the rest of the family went to get our luggage.

I have a Budget rental through Costco and have a Fastbreak ID attached to it. I haven't used Budget in a long time, so if I have a Fastbreak reservation, I don't have to stop at the main rental desk or use the kiosks there? I can go directly to the garage booth and pick up my rental car there? Thanks!

 

[DsneyDude1]

We arrived on May 10 on Southwest. Had Dollar Fast Lane. Went right out to the garage. Saw our space. Got in the car and we were on our way. Back at MCO May 16 at 7:00 AM. Drop off took 5 minutes.

 

[*pixie*]

I have a Budget rental through Costco and have a Fastbreak ID attached to it. I haven't used Budget in a long time, so if I have a Fastbreak reservation, I don't have to stop at the main rental desk or use the kiosks there? I can go directly to the garage booth and pick up my rental car there? Thanks!

I came here to find the answer to this exact same question!

 

[mousegear]

I have a Budget rental through Costco and have a Fastbreak ID attached to it. I haven't used Budget in a long time, so if I have a Fastbreak reservation, I don't have to stop at the main rental desk or use the kiosks there? I can go directly to the garage booth and pick up my rental car there? Thanks!

I came here to find the answer to this exact same question!

Yes, you don't have to stop by the main rental desk on the first floor. You could go to the garage and on the second floor, there is a Budget Fastbreak booth. I didn't even bother to stop and see how long the line is at the main desk but I thought it's a little long compared to Alamo or National since you don't even have really anything to check except pick a car and drive out.

 

[*pixie*]

Yes, you don't have to stop by the main rental desk on the first floor. You could go to the garage and on the second floor, there is a Budget Fastbreak booth. I didn't even bother to stop and see how long the line is at the main desk but I thought it's a little long compared to Alamo or National since you don't even have really anything to check except pick a car and drive out.

Thank you so much!

 

[GDUL]

Yes, you don't have to stop by the main rental desk on the first floor. You could go to the garage and on the second floor, there is a Budget Fastbreak booth. I didn't even bother to stop and see how long the line is at the main desk but I thought it's a little long compared to Alamo or National since you don't even have really anything to check except pick a car and drive out.

Awesome! Thank you for the information!

 

[carlosalonsor]

If you have Avis Preferred I understand that you can skip the counter. Where should I go then if I arrive to terminal B. (I'm not familiar with the MCO airport)

 

[mousegear]

If you have Avis Preferred I understand that you can skip the counter. Where should I go then if I arrive to terminal B. (I'm not familiar with the MCO airport)

Avis Preferred booth is also right next to the Budget Fastbreak booth on the second floor of the rental car garage.