Use Alamo at Dolphin or Avis at Hilton in Disney Springs?

[frannn]

We've always gotten a car at the airport in the past, but using ME this Aug and will rent/return on property. Is one of these two places better than the other? We rented from Dollar last year and they tried to charge us for a pre-existing scratch the size of a quarter , so we want to go with the most reputable and customer-service friendly place. Would we just take the boat to the Dolphin to pick up? Is it usually very busy there & can you choose your car like they do in the airport? I'm leaning towards Alamo but maybe Avis at the Hilton is better? Both are midsize for same price; Avis would be a Chevy Cruze while Alamo would be a Hyndai Elantra.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi @frannn - FYI, I moved your post to the Transportation Board. The folks here can help.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We've always gotten a car at the airport in the past, but using ME this Aug and will rent/return on property. Is one of these two places better than the other? We rented from Dollar last year and they tried to charge us for a pre-existing scratch the size of a quarter , so we want to go with the most reputable and customer-service friendly place. Would we just take the boat to the Dolphin to pick up? Is it usually very busy there & can you choose your car like they do in the airport? I'm leaning towards Alamo but maybe Avis at the Hilton is better? Both are midsize for same price; Avis would be a Chevy Cruze while Alamo would be a Hyndai Elantra.

We have always had excellent service renting with Alamo at the Dolphin location. The principal drawback compared to airport pickup (where I always do online checkin with the skip the counter option) is the fact they assign the car, even if you check in online. A couple of times, I’ve been offered “upgrades” to midsize or large SUVs in place of the full size sedan I prefer to drive. I usually refuse these and ask for something closer to my reserved car size. Once, they had to bring a different car over from the Car Care Center because they did not have anything suitable that had been dropped off at the Dolphin at that time. I waited about 15 minutes, and was given the fuel service for the inconvenience (so I didn’t have to refuel before dropping off the car).

 

[kaytieeldr]

Avis would be a Chevy Cruze

Or similar.

while Alamo would be a Hyndai Elantra.

Or similar. Car make/model isn't a guarantee, just an example.

 

[writerguyfl]

I've started/ended one-way rentals at both of those locations. Although, I have a lot more experience with the Avis location at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista. I've easily rented there a dozen times over the past 5+ years.

I did have one issue at that Avis desk. I picked up a car just before they closed. When I went to use it later that night, the gas was only half full and the contact said it was full. Since the desk was closed, I couldn't fix the problem right away. Once I was able to talk to someone, they made fixed the problem without investigating. (They could have looked at the miles driven and current gas level to see if I was telling a lie.)

Based on the way that problem was fixed, I do recommend that Avis desk. (It was an honest mistake, as far as I'm concerned.)

Over the years I've been on DisBoards, I've never heard of any of the Disney World car rental desks running the "bill every customer for an existing tiny scratch" scam. That would be something that people would report here.

So, I'd recommend going with what's most convenient. If you're not already planning on being at Disney Springs, go with Alamo.