Orlando - Pick up car or take shuttle to hotel?

My wife, son (4 1/2) and I are arriving at MCO very late (or early?) in the evening (12:52 AM). Not knowing how my son will take the travel and be wide awake or dead tired, I am unsure if it would be easier to pick up a rental car right off and head to a MCO located hotel or find a hotel with a shuttle bus and worry about the rental car the next morning whatever time we wake up.

I will add that we are not staying in Orlando the next day, but driving the 2 hours to Stuart. We are arriving at MCO instead of PBI due to availability of miles tickets.

I would appreciate recommendations on affordable MCO located hotels (with shuttle?) as we are just sleeping and heading out.

Thanks!

Even without my kids, I'd pick up the car next morning. I've had bad experiences with rental car desks late at night - waiting a long time being the least of the problems I've encountered.

My suggestions is to get up a little early and let mom and junior get some rest, and go pick up the rental car then.

I don't know. If the rental car counters are open (and I'd bet they are), I'd pick it up upon arrival.

Unlike most US airports, MOST (but not all) of the rental cars are right at the airport. So it's very fast to walk over and pick up the car.

How long will you wait for a hotel shuttle bus at that hour? If my experience is typical, you'll save at least a half hour getting the car and driving yourself. And then you'll be "good to go" in the morning.

Now if money was no object, I'd skip the car and stay at the Hyatt IN the airport terminal and pick up the car the next morning. A terrific airport hotel. Can be expensive, however. Frequently available on priceline, but obviously you'd have to get lucky to snag it that way.

I appreciate the input. I think we are going to choose a very close airport hotel and either shuttle or cab it to the hotel. I'll pick up the rental car the next morning while mom and son relax.

What car rental agency are you going with?

You pick up the airport shuttles essentially where you go to the garage to get the rental cars. There will be more people getting cars there at that time of night than you think.

If you go with Alamo be prepared for a wait at the counter. National's Emerald Isle is worth the extra cost to avoid having to deal with that line. If you do go with a close hotel, be sure they will pick you up that late.

Not sure yet - something mainstream I suppose. That's the next task is to secure a decent rental. I've had mixed experiences with all of them.

Not sure yet - something mainstream I suppose. That's the next task is to secure a decent rental. I've had mixed experiences with all of them.

Hertz is off airport and requires a shuttle, the rest of the majors are in the parking garage.

Hertz is off airport and requires a shuttle, the rest of the majors are in the parking garage.

That sounds right. If you go to Orbitz, I believe it lists "on airport" and "off." In the case of Orlando, it makes a big difference (to most people) because being able to walk to the garage to pick up your car is a huge convenience.

Which is why I was counselling the OP to just pick up his car at the garage. I really can't imagine a scenario where it would be easier to leave the airport and come back. Airport hotel shuttle buses are pretty notorious for being slow: indeed, almost all my "bad arrival experiences" center around waiting for a slow hotel shuttle bus. And Americans (especially in the Sunbelt) don't really use taxis much, and the taxi drivers usually don't want the short distance fares to airport hotels (not sure what the practice is in Orlando).

The only times I've ever returned to a US airport to pick up my car from an airport hotel was when I was trying to save a day's rental. I have generally regretted that decision, as it has wasted considerable time.

I agree. Back and forth to the airport is going to waste a lot of time. If staying off-airport I'd just rent from Hertz and cab it directly to their off-airport location in the morning. Otherwise I'd pick up the car on arrival at the airport and drive to the hotel.

My preference would be to stay at the Hyatt and pick up the car in the morning, but it can be pricey.

I am a local and use Thrifty rent a car for long-term parking and even a few rentals. They are located off site, about 1-2 miles north on SR 436 (Semoran Blvd.) the main access road into and out of the airport. They are also located very close to several airport hotels including a Marriott and a Holiday Inn Select. In addition, there is a very nice La Quinta close by on Frontage Road.

Thrifty has frequent shuttles picking up from both the "A" and "B" sides of the airport. They are blue and white and are always circulating. At that hour of the night you could just wait for one (on the street level outside baggage claim), call them on a courtesy phone or call them yourself at 407-380-1002. If you want a direct line to the shuttle driver, call the gate attendant at 407-857-2604. You will have no problems getting them out quickly if you use one of these last two numbers. Oh, by the way, the gate attendant's number (407-857-2604) is unlisted, but very effective.

You could then, pick up your rental car at Thrifty and go from there to your hotel or motel in 5-10 minutes tops!

Thanks, Orlando Vic for the very detailed info. It is much appreciated.

You could then, pick up your rental car at Thrifty and go from there to your hotel or motel in 5-10 minutes tops!

That said, for most people, there is very little reason to use Thrifty at MCO unless they are substantially cheaper than everyone else. The vast majority of car rentals at MCO are available from the garage at the airport (aka, no shuttle bus).

BTW, when you do run into a period of high demand at MCO, it pays to consider Hotwire and Priceline before going off airport. I have a family member flying into MCO next week, a few days before the Super Bowl in Tampa. The published rates for a week's car rental from the larger companies is about $250 all in for that time period, which is high for MCO. By bidding on priceline, I got him a car for half that. One of the car rental companies the opaques use is Hertz, which (surprisingly) is off-airport, so there's a little risk. This is why I generally don't recommend bidding unless there's a significant differential.

I like Alamo at MCO. I have gone with the 10% prepay discount and checked in at the self service kiosk and was picking out my car in no time. The last time I used them I had a problem checking in at the kiosk because my credit card had my maiden name but my license had my married name. My own fault but didn't take too long to get on our way when I showed my marriage license. Mousesavers.com has a lot of discount codes for MCO car rental agencies.

I like Alamo at MCO. I have gone with the 10% prepay discount and checked in at the self service kiosk and was picking out my car in no time.

Yeah, surprisingly, Alamo can work well at this airport. I was a bit afraid of using them due to their leisure focus -- I thought the line would be huge in a place like MCO. But they had a great deal that I couldn't match elsewhere, and I remembered they had self-serve kiosks. So I went to their website in advance and put all my personal info into my record (so I wouldn't have to peck at kiosk keyboard).

Sure enough, long line at the counter, but no wait at the kiosk. I had my rental agreement in about a minute.

I still don't think Alamo would be my first choice at MCO, but if they had the best deal, I'd use them again with the kiosk option.

I have stood in some godawful lines at MCO waiting for rental cars, and not during particularly busy vacation times.

A 45-minute sojourn at Budget comes to mind, with sloth-like counter employees who seemed to think that doing who-knows-what in the back should take precedence over actual human customers with actual reservations, actually standing in line. Infuriating.

I have video of that one.

I am a local and use Thrifty rent a car for long-term parking and even a few rentals. They are located off site, about 1-2 miles north on SR 436 (Semoran Blvd.) the main access road into and out of the airport. They are also located very close to several airport hotels including a Marriott and a Holiday Inn Select. In addition, there is a very nice La Quinta close by on Frontage Road.

Thrifty has frequent shuttles picking up from both the "A" and "B" sides of the airport. They are blue and white and are always circulating. At that hour of the night you could just wait for one (on the street level outside baggage claim), call them on a courtesy phone or call them yourself at 407-380-1002. If you want a direct line to the shuttle driver, call the gate attendant at 407-857-2604. You will have no problems getting them out quickly if you use one of these last two numbers. Oh, by the way, the gate attendant's number (407-857-2604) is unlisted, but very effective.

You could then, pick up your rental car at Thrifty and go from there to your hotel or motel in 5-10 minutes tops!

I have just learned that Thrifty is shutting down their parking operation effective May 5, 2009.