Need a one way rental 12+ passenger van

[sukhakuli]

The day we disembark we are going to Kennedy, then to EPCOT for a firework cruise, then one night at a Value resort and fly home the next day. So I'm trying to rent a car to get us from the port, to KSC, store our luggage in, and then take us back to WDW. I tried Alamo and National, but they don't have any cars that hold more than 7 people. We are a party of 7, but my mom has a scooter, and we will have a ridiculous amount of luggage, so we need a larger capacity van. One that can be dropped off at WDW or will give us a shuttle to the resort.

If you rented a 12 passenger van for a one way, who did you rent it from?

 

[Juan M]

We got lucky with National from the WDW car care center. They only list 15 passenger vans, which don’t have the same cargo space as a 12 passenger. We were a party of 9 with tons of Luggage as well, and

When we got there and were offered a 12 passenger immediately or could wait an hour for a 15 passenger to be made available. On the way back from PC, we weren’t so lucky and had a 15 passenger, which didn’t hold all of the bags, to the point we had to rent a smaller SUV for someone to drive with a bunch of the luggage. It actually worked out cheaper than downgrading and doing 2 minivans

 

[mmouse37]

Be aware the newer 12 pax vans DO NOT have any storage at all behind the last row of seats. They are meant to carry passengers only, not luggage. We rented one at MCO recently and were so frustrated that we had room for people but absolutely no room for luggage. We could not even pass the luggage over the seats to the back seat because of the height of the head rests. I would suggest the 12 pax van and another SUV for luggage....or try to pile all the luggage in the first row or two and then people in rows behind that. Have no clue where you would put the scooter.

The last row seats do not fold down or do not come out. I asked several people at the rental place. It was a very frustrating experience.

We were just in Florida last week and I was checking out the 12 pax vans again as we went by them in the rental place and the seats were almost touching the back of the van so things have not changed since we rented two years ago.

My dream van is one of those Mercedes Sprinter vans with tons of cargo space in the back and plenty of room for people but I didn't see any of those for rent anywhere.

MJ

 

[sukhakuli]

I'm open to anything 12+. 15 would be great. I haven't seen anything larger to rent than a 7 passenger SUV. I have a 7 passenger SUV, and with all the seats up there's not much storage space back there.

I just don't see us renting 2 cars. I'd tie the luggage to the top with bungee cords first, lol. If we booked the Disney bus, would they take our luggage without us? We are staying at the Music resort that night. They bring your luggage to the resort, right?

The scooter comes apart in several pieces. But it still takes up space. My plan was to load up the back row with luggage, not people. We can probably stuff us all into 3 rows, then load up the back with luggage. My husband has a knack for getting stuff to fit in cars. It's like Tetris brain or something. But I can't find anything larger than a 7 passenger SUV to rent. a shuttle company recommended we book a hotel room nearby just to store our luggage for the day. Then we could use a shuttle company to drive us around. That just sounds like such waste and a hassle. But I do like having a shuttle company drive us.

 

[sukhakuli]

Wait a minute! Happy Hour Shuttle says they will store your luggage for the day for 40 bucks, and they will ferry you around to multiple places. That might be the ticket for us

 

[Rob1872]

If we booked the Disney bus, would they take our luggage without us? We are staying at the Music resort that night. They bring your luggage to the resort, right?

When we took the Disney bus, we put our luggage under the bus, and when we arrived we brought it from the bus to the bellhop to store until the room was ready. (They delivered it to the room later.) I don't think you can just put your luggage on the bus and then go off in a rental car even if you are staying at WDW.

 

[allison0523]

We book ours through costco with avis but I believe budget and alamo also had them. they are called "full-size van". That is the 12 passenger van. We pad $130 for a one day one way rental.

 

[mmouse37]

Just be aware that due to the head rests you may not be able to pass luggage over the seats to the back row...that's why I suggested putting luggage in front rows and people in back. The distance between the top of the head rests and the ceiling of van was very short. Your mileage may vary. Most of the vans that I saw at rental sites had the short height. There are some transit vans that are taller but I have not seen those for rent at any of the rental agencies. The side door does not open wide enough to expose all the rows...the first two and you have squeeze in the back rows. It was really frustrating. Another option is a limo company that pulls a luggage trailer. We did that once too. See above pic....that was from 2003 and the vans have changed a lot since then.

Good luck....I rent cars/vans all the time in Florida and was never as frustrated as the 12 pax van.

MJ

 

[sukhakuli]

So, we ended up renting the Happy Hour shuttle. They will take the whole crew of us from our resort to the port for a very good price. Then, on the day we disembark, they will haul us all to KSC, store our luggage for the day, and take us back to WDW. All for 300 bucks plus gratuity. I'll let everyone know how it goes, but right now this looks like a great option for people who want to spend the day touristing around and need a place to put their luggage for the day.

 

[n2mm]

Is there a reason why renting 2 vehicles is not an option? Much cheaper. We are a party of 8 and are renting 2 full size cars. Because of cruise luggage, plus 5 days at wdw, one vehicle won’t work.

 

[randumb0]

Is there a reason why renting 2 vehicles is not an option? Much cheaper.

I was wondering the same thing

 

[ktate82]

So, we ended up renting the Happy Hour shuttle. They will take the whole crew of us from our resort to the port for a very good price. Then, on the day we disembark, they will haul us all to KSC, store our luggage for the day, and take us back to WDW. All for 300 bucks plus gratuity. I'll let everyone know how it goes, but right now this looks like a great option for people who want to spend the day touristing around and need a place to put their luggage for the day.

That is really a good price for transportation to and from port with a stop at KSC. Have fun!

 

[sukhakuli]

Is there a reason why renting 2 vehicles is not an option? Much cheaper. We are a party of 8 and are renting 2 full size cars. Because of cruise luggage, plus 5 days at wdw, one vehicle won’t work.

It's a family vacation, we don't want to split up. I'd rather pay a little extra for the convenience. But every family is different.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Was that $300 for both trips and 12 people? Or just the one trip?

I'm interested in the "store your luggage" thing, but not 12 people, one. And only one way.

 

[sukhakuli]

The trip from WDW to the port is 165 for the whole crew (7 people loads of luggage and a scooter, plus port fees). 300 to pick us up at the terminal, take us to KSC, store our luggage, then take us to our WDW resort. Same family situation. I'm guessing fewer people is less money.

I've done a lot of reading about storing luggage for the day, and there aren't a lot of options. You can rent a car, but you have to take a shuttle to the rental car place (I've heard that can be a hassle with all the people getting off the ship at once), and then take it back, and after that get where you are going. But it's cheaper. It's hard to rent a car big enough for large parties with mobility scooters.

You could rent a hotel room for just the day. You have to get there, check in, go to your room dump off your luggage, go do what you want for the day, then do everything in reverse. And how do you get around? with a rental car?

So, for us, this shuttle is godsend. But all families and vacations are different.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Mmm... day rate at the Hyatt next March was $119 when I checked a few months ago. So something like this, if they are trustworthy, would be a good option.

 

[MouseOfCards]

We also prefer to keep our large group together in one vehicle. We have rented many full size passenger vans and have experienced similar scenarios as PP's. In many instances, the 12 passengers have much more storage space in the back. When we receive vans with very limited room in the back, like another PP, we would put our big luggage in the front passenger seat and use some space in the 2nd row as necessary.

We've stored folding wheelchairs in the vans and they do take up quite a bit of space, but can imagine a stroller would be much more difficult to accommodate.

Thanks for letting us know about the shuttle option. Hope you have a great trip!