Persistence pays $

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2004
Persistence pays $
5
Wed, 11-15-2006 - 10:31am

I consider myself the ultimate bargain finder. We are renting a car for the 15 days we are in Orlando and I thought I had found the best deal, until yesterday.

What we had not decided on was whether it would be worth it to add an extra driver so both my husband and I could drive. This is an additonal fee of $120 - $150 over the whole vacation.

I was snooping at the mousesavers website and found a code for Walmart customers (which is everyone isn't it?) that would give you the additional driver for free. I went online and put this code into my original reservation and I got the additional driver free but also got an aditional $40 off!!

I laughed when my screen had the original booking and the updated booking side by side and I had to answer the question "Do you want to upgrade this reservation?" That was a tough decision.

I am thrilled - I just shaved $150 off what we were prepared to spend. Makes me wonder how much more I can shave off. At this point though I don't think it's worth the time.

The car rental business is quite the racket though isn't it!

Avatar for laurieh88
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 11-15-2006 - 1:11pm

Hey - great job!!!! We have never rented a car before, but I will have to point this deal out to DH. It might end up being cheaper than having a driver take us to and from the airport.

I do love the deal sites. It's amazing how much we've saved lately vs. the early years when I didn't know what I was doing.

Laurie in OH, mom to

Alex, 11 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10 years old
Audrey, 2 years old

WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005!
Currently planning a December 9-16, 2006 trip!

LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:


Alex, 1

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2004
Wed, 11-15-2006 - 1:30pm

We stayed at an offsite hotel last time we went and rented a car as well. We met a family of 4 staying at the that did not have a car. They went to Kennedy for 1 day and paid more for the transportation there then we paid for a full week rental on the car. They were also complaining about having to eat all their meals either in the park or at the hotel.

I know we actually saved money by renting the car and loved the ability to drive to the outlet stores, better restaurants, and not have to wait for a bus. We even enjoyed getting lost!

Avatar for laurieh88
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 11-15-2006 - 2:51pm

We are staying in the downtown Disney area, so we really don't *need* transportation during the week. I can guarantee we won't voluntarily leave Disney property during our trip! Basically, we'd rent a car just for the trip to and from the hotel. Right now, I'm looking at prices for my family of 6 around $125 round trip to transport us (privately, we don't want to wait for a group shuttle). It sounds like your car rental deal would be a money saver, huh? Although I'm not sure, because we'd need a van. I'll definitely be checking into it though.

Laurie in OH, mom to

Alex, 11 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10 years old
Audrey, 2 years old

WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005!
Currently planning a December 9-16, 2006 trip!

LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:


Alex, 1

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-1999
Thu, 11-16-2006 - 10:54am
Hi we rent vans and i usually get a deal if i search for about $189 or $200 a week, this year unfortuantly we could not use any of the discount codes because we are going during xmas week balck out dates but you try littlebitt
Avatar for laurieh88
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 11-16-2006 - 11:35am

Thank you for that information! Seems we can save by just getting a private driver to take us back and forth. I think we'll do that since we don't really need a van during the week. It's nice for DH and I to get a break on driving around for a week anyway. :)

Thanks again - you just saved me some time.

Laurie in OH, mom to

Alex, 11 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10 years old
Audrey, 2 years old

WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005!
Currently planning a December 9-16, 2006 trip!

LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:


Alex, 1