I really liked Alamo the one time I used it in Knoxville. My experiences with Alamo have been pretty good in smaller cities (Knoxville, Nashville) when the choices are a corporate Alamo location versus a licensee Avis/Hertz/National location. Not so good in places like Chicago (reserved with a cancellation penalty a minivan on a Friday evening, the minivan was nowhere to be found. They finally were able to accommodate me at Dollar (which was a story in itself...) In a nutshell--Alamo fine in smaller cities, a challenge in bigger cities.

Jamiel ~ That's actually kind of what I figured, because in smaller cities, like Knoxville and Huntsville, AL for instance, all the agencies tend to be the same, all in airport and the cars right out side. My only worry is that when I get there they won't have the SUV I reserved ready, but maybe I'm just being paranoid. Well, hopefully the weather will be fine and if I don't get it no big deal ... we'll see!

Kevin's Car Rental Rules

1) Sign up for all the express clubs. Don't rent from anyone you don't have an express card with - it's just not worth it (ever see the lines at Denver?)
2) Shop the websites. Good deals to be found!
3) Use discount IDs: AAA usually shaves 10% off any rate. National's Emerald Club offers 15% off the QUOTED rate - can really be a savings on weekly rentals.
4) Forget miles these days, not worth the hassle for the small return. Hertz points are the way to go.
5) In terms of service, I usually go with Hertz then National. But National's Emerald Aisle always seems to have the "choice" of picking one of 50 of the same model of car.
6) STAY AWAY FROM ALAMO!!!!

That is all. Enjoy the road.

Thanks for the car rental tips, Ken. They
all are worthwhile.

Maybe what ALAMO needs to do is concentrate
on the smaller cities as something like "the
official car rental company of Knotsville."
And get some more staff and faster computers.

Good luck with your trip Beckles and let us
know how it goes. CATMAN

NJDavid: You realize that upgrade is worth about 2 bucks a day? Is that worth it?

Aubie: You don't call Alamo to dispute the charge. You call the credit card company. You get an immediate credit while the cerdit card company does the research for you. I've never had one of these turned down, but I think that's when you start talking to Alamo.

Just to report back to everyone, Alamo worked out great for my trip to Knoxville.

Check out took all of two minutes, including signing the Quicksilver agreement since it was my first rental, and the car I reserved was waiting for me, and was quite clean (not exactly detailed, but pretty darn clean as far as rental cars go). Return was just as quick and efficient ... overall about the best experience I've had from any agency!

Hey, it even had carpeted floor mats! I don't know about other car rental companies, but my usual agency, Avis, seems to be putting cheap black rubber floor mats in all of their cars these days ...

MJDavid: I rented from National about 2 weeks ago in Orlando. They just switched to a new computer system and I got a brand new agent--seems like many of them are around these days. Anyway, it was a one-hour ordeal. Hope you have better luck there. By the way, I would advise against Herts in Orlando unless you have the express card. It's off-site and all the foreign tourists seem to prefer Herts--they must have watched a lot of OJ's commercial. The line could be very long for babies. You may want to consider Budget, they are on site and seems to have short lines every time I could remember,

MJDavid: Sorry, just noticed that your posting was 11/3. Hope you did have a good experience with whoever you rented with. By the way, since we were on this Alamo topic,it's thumb down based on my experience.

Thanks for the info, but as you realized, I already had my bad National experience. Excerpt below - incase you didn't see it:

**************snip*******************

National car rental was just awful.

We arrived on time, our luggage came out first (CO Priority tags actually worked for both the flight out and the return!) I headed with cart, wife, 2 yr old and 4 yr old in tow to the National counter.

Months ago I had reserved an intermediate car and intended to use a double upgrade coupon as I desperately needed a 4 door for the kids. I confirmed multiple times, up to the night before, and added a child car seat request the day before, as we made a last minute decision not to take ours.

At the counter I'm told they "only have convertibles and minivans". What is the point of the reservation if they don't have any cars. I ask if one of the minivans is a Caravan (which I know has built-in child car seats). They do, so I agree to take it at the same price. All done, right?

WRONG. They have "new software" they are just getting used to. The minivan comes up at the
minivan price. 15 minutes later they figure out how to manually put in the agreed price, but don't know how to cancel the car seat. 20 minutes later, with my 2 yr old climbing the benches and screaming like a banshee, I finally tell them to charge me whatever the hell comes up and I'll just work it out with American Express and their corporate office. Then we begin the trek down the building, across the street, into the garage, up the elevator, and to the most unfriendly rental staff I have ever met. They toss me the keys and say "A5", as if I had lived in that garage all my life and would just know where it is.

Never, never, never again do I use anyone but Avis or Hertz. I never wait, the car I requested is always ready and you get what you pay for.

*********************snip*******************

It seems your experience was similar. THe official car of WDW is definitely a must to avoid - it's a Mickey Mouse operation.

Dave

How necessary is the car if your staying in the "Disney Villiage" (as opposed to a "Disney property")? Hilton says they have free shuttles to all the parks and a taxi from the airport is about $35 each way (best value for a family of four). I have assumed that a rental car would be a waste in my case...am I fooling myself?

PS- if you are one of those who detest seeing 4 and 5 year olds or adults with Goofy (as in the dog) hats (complete with ears and teeth) in 1st class, avoid this saturday's 5pm IAD-MCO flight!!!!!

How necessary? Well, I have a different question:

Q: What are the four most common words spoken by parents in Orlando?

A: "we have to wait" (usually preceeded by honey, dear or the childs name, as in "...now Johnny, I know you're hungry and all you want is a pretzel, but the line is very long and everybody takes a turn so we have to wait...")

A rental car means there's one less thing you have to wait for - you don't have to wait for the shuttle, you don't have to wait for transportation to and from Disney properties, you don't have to limit your dining and shopping choices, etc.

It was worth it for me.....

David

Alamo? No way! Add Houston Hobby to the list of rental car Bermuda Triangles. 40 minutes to process 2 customers -- that's four counter people and 3 computers. Apparently the job description includes a requirement to have NEVER touched or observed a computer in general, with no training provided for Alamo's software. I only booked it (took 3 tries, at that) to take advantage of extra credits offer on Southwest, but I won't make that mistake again.

Matt: If you plan on seeing anything other than the Disney World, and there are many others indeed to see, get a rental car. It also allows you to take a break during the day and eat at much cheaper places. For future references, I have been going to Orlando for the past decade at least 4 or 5 times a year, the week after Thanksgiving is definitely the week to go. NO LINES anywhere. Have a great vaction.

Matt, as one who flys to Disney World up to 4 times a month let me offer you a bit of advise. If you have patience and just want to go from your hotel to the Major Theme Parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM, Animal Kingdom), the Village shuttle (operated by Mears) is fine. But you have to have patience as you have to wait for it and at peak times it often arrives already full! If you plan on hitting some of the secondary parks or the resort hotels for meals etc, a car rental is a must. Just try getting from say, the Grand Floridian to Dixie Landings...talk about connections! I estimate that a rental car would save you at least 2-3 hours a day. I'd say go for it.