Originally Posted By Tiggirl I'm am in the very begining stages of planning a trip to WDW in January. I'd also like to do one day at IOA. We're not renting a car and just doing Magical Express. Is there a shuttle that you can hop to get to IOA from WDW or is a taxi a better option? Or maybe renting a car one day if there is an easy way to do that. Has anyone had any experience doing this? It seems like it would be fairly common. Thanks in advance! ~Beth
Originally Posted By hopemax Renting a car for the day, may be the easiest option. You can rent from Alamo/National from the Car Care Center. They will send a shuttle to your hotel to get you. They also have a desk at the Dolphin, if you are staying at an Epcot resort. Other rental places have desks at some of the hotels on Hotel Blvd, but that requires a bus to Downtown Disney and then walking. Mears does operate a shuttle bus, but I don't know times and cost. On MouseSavers, it says a taxi runs about $35 each way.
Originally Posted By Bolna A taxi will most likely get you there quicker, but there are shuttles which you can book through Mears. I haven't done it yet, but will do it in October. I can certainly report back after the trip how it went. So far we are planning to take a shuttle. If you want to find out how expensive a taxi would be, there is this fare calculator: <a href="http://www.mearstransportation.com/services/taxi-fare-estimator.asp" target="_blank">http://www.mearstransportation...ator.asp</a>
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Thank you both! We are planning on staying at the Boardwalk so the Dolphin is near if we pick that route. Bolna, I'd love to hear your experience with Mears once you try it out! ~Beth
Originally Posted By Bolna Beth, I will report back! And I will even be able to tell you how it works from the Boardwalk. We will be staying there in October. If you rent a car I think you need to also factor in the cost for parking at Universal. I think I read recently somewhere that it is $15.
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Fantastic! I've never stayed at the Boardwalk before. I've only ever done the Value resorts. We decided to splurge this time. I'll be excited to hear your review. And good tip about parking. I didn't even think of that. ~Beth
Originally Posted By Bolna Will be my first time at the Boardwalk as well and I am very excited about it. Even though I have stayed at deluxe resorts before (AKL is my great love), I am very much looking forward to being able to walk to two parks. I just hope the busses to AK and MK won't be too bad.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Beth, my understanding of many recounts I have heard, I think I would be inclined to opt for the Mears route.
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Thank you for the input Dave! I think I will be cheching out Mears as a viable option for sure. ~Beth
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I use to work for Alamo/National and had to make people reservations for one day rental car trips from Disney to IOA all the time. It can be pretty spendy to rent for just one day. Spending at least a hundred for one day is not out of the ordinary especially if it's not booked far in advance and they are limited in inventory. Plus you'd have to figure out if you want to get protective insurance for the day which runs another $20 bucks, and you'd have to fill it up before you brought it back. Plus the parking charge at IOA like someone else mentioned. I don't know anything about the shuttles, but I think personally I'd go with that option if it was a good deal.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Sounds like even a taxi cab is a better option than a car rental. Although you could look into a rental for the week. I've gotten deals for like $12.50 a day on the weekly rate.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb No, but I've signed up for car rental insurance with American Express, $17 for length of rental only billed to me when I use the card to rent the car and covers everything. The $12.50 doesn't cover all those taxes and fees that get tacked on. Even so, it's a good rate.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance There definitely are deals out there. Although, those on site car rental places at Disney who are guaranteed to get lots of business normally don't offer as many. But if you check car rental rates, check them for all the different days you'll be there and the entire length, like Deb mentioned. Some days will be much better deals than others. And if you find a good deal, book it. You can cancel car rental reservations with no cancelation charge UNLESS you prepay with Alamo.com which saves you 10% and they precharge your card, and have a $5-$10 cancelation fee.
Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum Take a taxi. Easiest and quickest. We've done this several times for the Halloween Horror Nights.
Originally Posted By Bolna I think mousesavers.com has quite a lot of information about deals for rental cars. You might want to check that out if you decide to get a car.
Originally Posted By Bolna <<Take a taxi. Easiest and quickest. We've done this several times for the Halloween Horror Nights. >> Do you remember how long the trip takes and what the fare was? And also a maybe stupid question: But what kind of tip is customary for a taxi driver? Tipping in foreign countries is always a bit difficult... I have figured out how it works in restaurants in the US by now, but other areas are still a bit unclear.
Originally Posted By disney pete Beth you will have to let us know what it's like to stay at boardwalk weve always fancied it there,we always spend an evening there for a meal and to soak up the atmosphere you can see illuminations from there too HAVE FUN
