For those who RECENTLY rented from Alamo @ MCO....

[Mickey&JoshNut]

I am very confused about renting from Alamo at MCO...we normally rent from the WDW Car Care Centre. There you go into the office and the agent selects the keys based on the type of vehicle you have reserved. Sometimes they will say we have "this" or "this", which would you prefer. This time I have reserved a mini van, which is more than a standard or full size car or some SUVs. I am reading about people skipping the line and just going an choosing a vehicle. How is it that people are getting mini vans when they have reserved a standard or full size car? If I have reserved a mini van, am I guaranteed to receive a mini van?

 

[dina444444]

I am very confused about renting from Alamo at MCO...we normally rent from the WDW Car Care Centre. There you go into the office and the agent selects the keys based on the type of vehicle you have reserved. Sometimes they will say we have "this" or "this", which would you prefer. This time I have reserved a mini van, which is more than a standard or full size car or some SUVs. I am reading about people skipping the line and just going an choosing a vehicle. How is it that people are getting mini vans when they have reserved a standard or full size car? If I have reserved a mini van, am I guaranteed to receive a mini van?

At MCO they don’t assign cars, you go out to the garage and find the aisle for the car type you rented. A lot of times that aisle will have vehicles from different classes on it such as mini vans being parked in the mid size aisle. Also, they don’t have a standard aisle at MCO so you automatically go up to the full size car aisle.

 

[scrapquitler]

Just curious.....Please post size you reserved and what you were able to get when you got there. I am looking for general Make and Model of vehicles in the Alamo aisles. I would like an idea of what are in the compact...midsize...standard...full-size aisles. We always post and discuss our reservations but hardly post what we got. So lets start a thread....what did you reserve and what did you pick....Go....

I reserved the smallest one (is it economy or compact? I dunno, it was the lowest grade one) and I had a Ford Focus. I picked the red one because I figured it was going to be easier to find a red car in the sea of white/silver/grey cars in the parking lot, and I was right, except that there was another red ford focus parked right next to me in the TTC parking lot one day and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the door to open finally I realized that I was trying to enter the wrong car.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I am very confused about renting from Alamo at MCO...we normally rent from the WDW Car Care Centre. There you go into the office and the agent selects the keys based on the type of vehicle you have reserved. Sometimes they will say we have "this" or "this", which would you prefer. This time I have reserved a mini van, which is more than a standard or full size car or some SUVs. I am reading about people skipping the line and just going an choosing a vehicle. How is it that people are getting mini vans when they have reserved a standard or full size car? If I have reserved a mini van, am I guaranteed to receive a mini van?

Yes, since if you have a minivan reserved, you will pick your car from the minivan aisle. You will pay the price quoted on your reservation. Many Alamo renters play car choice roulette at MCO, renting a lower cost standard or full size car when they really want to drive a minivan or SUV. These would have ahigher rental cost than the reserved sedan. Their hope is that they will find what they want on the full size aisle and just pay the lower standard car cost. In many cases they are successful, since at MCO, there are sometimes an excess of vans, pick-up trucks, and SUVs that get parked on the full size aisle. When you rent at the Car Care Center or the WDW Dolphin, they assign your car at the counter from their available inventory. If you reserve a minivan (or SUV), they will hold back a minivan (or SUV) so they have it on hand when you pick up your car. They may give you a choice from the small number of vehicles they might have on hand that fit your reservation. When I’ve rented a full size for pick-up at the Dolphin, I have sometimes been assigned a premium sedan or an SUV. This is a result of the inventory they have from cars being returned at that location. I usually refuse vans and SUVs, since I have not been happy with gas mileage or the driving experience. I have had to drive a Dodge Charger rather than my reserved full size car because it was all they had left at the time. I felt like I was in the sights of every police car I passed. I imagine inventory at the CCC is greater than at the Dolphin, so choices might be better there, but it’s unlikely theoptions are as good as might be found at MCO.

 

[Rich M]

A little off topic but curious to know what all of us who rent cars are thinking about the new parking fees at resorts? Is anyone else thinking of skipping the rentals now?

 

[scrapquitler]

A little off topic but curious to know what all of us who rent cars are thinking about the new parking fees at resorts? Is anyone else thinking of skipping the rentals now?

We usually rent when we stay off site, and skip the rental when we stay on site. So the parking fee will only affect us if we choose to drive (which is definitely not my preference with a 22 hour one way drive), in which case we usually stay offsite anyway.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

A little off topic but curious to know what all of us who rent cars are thinking about the new parking fees at resorts? Is anyone else thinking of skipping the rentals now?

DVC members here, so we will not be impacted. We already pay maintenance fees that include upkeep on common areas at our DVC resort. Parking lots are part of the common areas, and we cannot be charged for upkeep and then be charged again to access said common areas. Also, the common areas are included in the declaration of the condominium association so cannot easily be separated out. The parking fee announcement already notes that they will not apply to DVC members staying at DVC resorts. That’s already true at the DVC at Aulani and Disneyland where parking fees have been in place for a number of years.

 

[Bbbethei]

How much of a difference is there in size between an intermediate and standard/full with Alamo at MCO? We are a family of four and want to make sure we have enough room for our luggage.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

How much of a difference is there in size between an intermediate and standard/full with Alamo at MCO? We are a family of four and want to make sure we have enough room for our luggage.

An intermediate might be a Toyota Corolla-size car, essentially the same as the Honda Civic I drive at home. I usually rent what the rental companies describe as a full size car, actually Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima size, similar to the Honda Accord that DW drives at home. I don’t see a family of four with luggage fitting in an intermediate/midsize car as designated by the rental companies unless you are each limited to a true carry-on size bag, ones that would actually fit in the bag sizers that the airlines have in the terminal but never seem to actually use.

 

[Bbbethei]

An intermediate might be a Toyota Corolla-size car, essentially the same as the Honda Civic I drive at home. I usually rent what the rental companies describe as a full size car, actually Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima size, similar to the Honda Accord that DW drives at home. I don’t see a family of four with luggage fitting in an intermediate/midsize car as designated by the rental companies unless you are each limited to a true carry-on size bag, ones that would actually fit in the bag sizers that the airlines have in the terminal but never seem to actually use.

Ick. I was afraid of that. Thanks for your input!

 

[Rich M]

How much of a difference is there in size between an intermediate and standard/full with Alamo at MCO? We are a family of four and want to make sure we have enough room for our luggage.

Honesty in most cases I have noticed that Mid-size and full size have very similar trunk space. There might be a little more but not much in the full size. If each of you have one carry on size bag then you will be ok with either but if you add any of the bigger size suitcases even the full size can be tough for trunk space. Stay away from Mid Size SUV as they have no space for luggage after 4 pieces. If your renting from Alamo sometimes there is vans in the Mid Size or Full size so if you can grab one of those I would grab it just for the luggage space.

 

[Bbbethei]

Honesty in most cases I have noticed that Mid-size and full size have very similar trunk space. There might be a little more but not much in the full size. If each of you have one carry on size bag then you will be ok with either but if you add any of the bigger size suitcases even the full size can be tough for trunk space. Stay away from Mid Size SUV as they have no space for luggage after 4 pieces. If your renting from Alamo sometimes there is vans in the Mid Size or Full size so if you can grab one of those I would grab it just for the luggage space.

Thanks for this feedback. I just found a standard size SUV for only $20 more than the intermediate car. Costco shows it as holding five suitcases. This seems to be a pretty good option, right?

 

[Rich M]

Thanks for this feedback. I just found a standard size SUV for only $20 more than the intermediate car. Costco shows it as holding five suitcases. This seems to be a pretty good option, right?

I have a Nissan Pathfinder at home that seats 7. If I have 7 seated and used the rest for luggage I could maybe get 4 suitcases if I am lucky. I am assuming that the Standard would be a little smaller then my car but the back space I am sure is a little more so I would think that the space should be good. My advice though is to hold both reservations or if you can find a full size for cheaper then book that and the Standard SUV. Then go to the garage and look and see if there is a van or something that will work in the full size section for you. If there is take the cheaper option and take the one you want. With Costco they don't require a credit card to hold it so don't worry about being charged or anything. I am sure the closer you get to the date you will find the full size cheaper then the standard SUV.

 

[Patsfan13]

I currently have several reservations with Alamo for my trip April 27 - May 10. From reading through everything, it appears that I can wait and check in from the garage for the reservation that I want to use - are people having success with that? Obviously if I can save a few hundred by doing that, but still get a minivan, then I would like to go that path! If I need to pay extra to get a minivan, that's ok too.

Slightly related question: In November, I was told by Alamo they were phasing out the Town & Country, and replacing with the Pacifica. Anyone happen to notice if their minivan rental had a DVD player? My kids look forward to that almost as much as the visit to Disney!

 

[Rich M]

I currently have several reservations with Alamo for my trip April 27 - May 10. From reading through everything, it appears that I can wait and check in from the garage for the reservation that I want to use - are people having success with that? Obviously if I can save a few hundred by doing that, but still get a minivan, then I would like to go that path! If I need to pay extra to get a minivan, that's ok too.

Yes you can do this. Just do the online check in and skip the counter on your phone while you sit in the car that your choosing. I recommend a Mid Size and Full Size reservation to be safe as long as the Mini Van. Just show them on your phone the email or thing the need to scan. You just give them your credit card and DL and then your good to go. Shouldn't have a problem at all. Good luck

 

[Patsfan13]

Yes you can do this. Just do the online check in and skip the counter on your phone while you sit in the car that your choosing. I recommend a Mid Size and Full Size reservation to be safe as long as the Mini Van. Just show them on your phone the email or thing the need to scan. You just give them your credit card and DL and then your good to go. Shouldn't have a problem at all. Good luck

Thank you! We go in 2 weeks, I'll update with my (hopefully) success story!

 

[TinkTink78]

Does anyone have any most recent experiences to share? I booked a drive happy deal for this weekend!

 

[scrapquitler]

Does anyone have any most recent experiences to share? I booked a drive happy deal for this weekend!

I just used Alamo at MCO again April 5-10th. I booked the cheapest (Economy) and when I arrived, I didn't see the row labeled Economy. I asked the guy in the suit standing there where the economy aisle was, and he said "oh, its way over there (gesturing towards the other side of the area I was in) but go ahead and grab a car out of this aisle (I think it was Compact?)" So I did. I ended up with a Hundai accent. When I drove to the check out, the lady never questioned why I had a different car that what I reserved.

 

[goofy4tink]

I usually go with a mid-size, which gets me an Elantra. The last time I rented, about a month ago, there was very little to choose from...I think there were three. But, the lane was full of pick up trucks. So, I have to ask, the next time this happens, if it does, what is my recourse? Can I choose one level up? What happens when I get to the gate to leave? I love my skip the counter ability, but man, sometimes the available cars aren't that great.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I usually go with a mid-size, which gets me an Elantra. The last time I rented, about a month ago, there was very little to choose from...I think there were three. But, the lane was full of pick up trucks. So, I have to ask, the next time this happens, if it does, what is my recourse? Can I choose one level up? What happens when I get to the gate to leave? I love my skip the counter ability, but man, sometimes the available cars aren't that great.

When this happens to me, I tell the attendant that I don't drive trucks, SUVs, or vans because I'm not used to the different sight lines compared to my usual sedan. I have always been directed to choose a sedan in the next available class at no extra cost. It has never been questioned at the exit booth.