WDW-KSC-DCL Strategery

[Winston Wolf]

Hi all,

 

About 1 year on CC, but new to the DCL board.

 

We're considering a DCL/WDW trip next fall, but would like to fit in a visit to KSC in between them. Anyone have any tips for how to get to/from all these places? The easy answer is rent a car, but that feels like a waste considering how little time we'd use it. Just wondering if anyone had any slick solutions. Ideally we'd fly into Orlando, spend 2 days in the Parks, do KSC for a day, then sail out of PC. We'd fly home as soon as the ship comes back as our kids would have school the next day. Thoughts?

 

-WW

[meatloafsfan]

you have to get from WDW to Port Canaveral somehow. I would suggest the car rental but don't pick it up at the airport.

 

Do the parks (taking Magical express from the airport) and then pick up a rental car the morning you want to go to KSC / Port canaveral. Do a one way rental so you pick up the car that morning (they will pick you up from your disney hotel and the car rental location is near the magic kingdom), load up your luggage, head down and see KSC. Stay at one of the Port Canaveral hotels and use the car rental to go to dinner / pick up bottled water or sodas or alcohol for onboard and then drop your family at the port on the morning of the cruise and go return the rental car. Most of the companies have shuttles that will take you back to the ship (or spend the $10 on a cab).

 

There's no free shuttle from WDW to DCL and this would probably cost the same as transfers for all of you (if not a little less).

Edited June 9, 2014 by meatloafsfan

[dexddd]

Hi all,

 

About 1 year on CC, but new to the DCL board.

 

We're considering a DCL/WDW trip next fall, but would like to fit in a visit to KSC in between them. Anyone have any tips for how to get to/from all these places? The easy answer is rent a car, but that feels like a waste considering how little time we'd use it. Just wondering if anyone had any slick solutions. Ideally we'd fly into Orlando, spend 2 days in the Parks, do KSC for a day, then sail out of PC. We'd fly home as soon as the ship comes back as our kids would have school the next day. Thoughts?

 

-WW

 

Welcome back from you BA trip - saw your post on the NCL board. We always just rent a car. KSC is great to see. We've been there several times and it has a lot of neat stuff. The layout is there is the main area with the shuttle launch experience, rocket garden, exhibits, IMAX with 2 movies and then the outer area where coach buses drop you off at the various sites.

 

You can adjust the trip to your schedule and stay as long or skip any of the outer areas.

 

The rental places by the port are only about a 5 minute ride.

[moki'smommy]

Budget rents from the Doubletree at the Good Neighbor hotel row near Downtown Disney. There are also rentals available from the Swan/Dolphin complex. You pay for a 24 hour rental regardless of whether you keep it for 1 hour or 23.

 

SO, Magical Express to WDW. On morning of last day pick up rental car, check out of hotel, and drive to KSC. For that night, get a room near the cruise terminal and space center. You MIGHT be able to retun the car early enough to pay for only one day OR stay at a hotel that offers a complimentary shuttle to the cruise terminal and return the car the afternoon of the KSC day. Worst case, you'll pay for 2 days of car rental.

 

In any event, that is a bargain. DCL transportation to the terminal is $35 per person each way. Our recent car rental was $43 + gas and tolls.

[meatloafsfan]

For that night' date=' get a room near the cruise terminal and space center. You MIGHT be able to retun the car early enough to pay for only one day OR stay at a hotel that offers a complimentary shuttle to the cruise terminal and return the car the afternoon of the KSC day. Worst case, you'll pay for 2 days of car rental.

 

[/quote']

 

If they pick up the car rental at 10am on one day, and return it at 10am the next day, it's 1 day (24 hours). No need to return it after only 8-9 hours, they'll still get charged for the full day.

[Winston Wolf]

Budget rents from the Doubletree at the Good Neighbor hotel row near Downtown Disney. There are also rentals available from the Swan/Dolphin complex. You pay for a 24 hour rental regardless of whether you keep it for 1 hour or 23.

 

SO' date=' Magical Express to WDW. On morning of last day pick up rental car, check out of hotel, and drive to KSC. For that night, get a room near the cruise terminal and space center. You MIGHT be able to retun the car early enough to pay for only one day OR stay at a hotel that offers a complimentary shuttle to the cruise terminal and return the car the afternoon of the KSC day. Worst case, you'll pay for 2 days of car rental.

 

In any event, that is a bargain. DCL transportation to the terminal is $35 per person each way. Our recent car rental was $43 + gas and tolls.[/quote']

 

I was thinking about this, but we'd still need to do the DCL shuttle then from PC to MCO to the tune of $140 for my family of four.

 

After doing some checking it looks like I can rent a car for less than $200 for the week. The crappy part would be paying to park it at the terminal for $60.

 

We'd want to head to the Cocoa Beach area the night before to hit KSC first thing in the morning and spend two nights in the Port Canaveral area, so I'm guessing my rental car would be $100+ if I just did the one way deal. At that point with the DCL shuttle and rental car, I might as well just rent a car once and have the convenience factor of picking the car up when we fly in and dropping it when we fly out.

 

That $35 per person for the DCL shuttle seems like a pretty good profit center for Disney!

[dexddd]

I was thinking about this, but we'd still need to do the DCL shuttle then from PC to MCO to the tune of $140 for my family of four.

 

After doing some checking it looks like I can rent a car for less than $200 for the week. The crappy part would be paying to park it at the terminal for $60.

 

We'd want to head to the Cocoa Beach area the night before to hit KSC first thing in the morning and spend two nights in the Port Canaveral area, so I'm guessing my rental car would be $100+ if I just did the one way deal. At that point with the DCL shuttle and rental car, I might as well just rent a car once and have the convenience factor of picking the car up when we fly in and dropping it when we fly out.

 

That $35 per person for the DCL shuttle seems like a pretty good profit center for Disney!

 

Just get another one way rental from PC to MCO on the day you get off the ship. That should run around $50-$60 roughly plus gas and toll.

 

On the day you get on the ship, drop the family off at the port and have them wait for you in the terminal - make sure you have your IDs for each group. Return car, take car rental shuttle to ship, check in as a family.

 

On the last day, the car rental shuttle buses park under a canopy type area close to the Disney buses and you can all go to car rental place and pick up car and then drive to MCO.

[moki'smommy]

If they pick up the car rental at 10am on one day, and return it at 10am the next day, it's 1 day (24 hours). No need to return it after only 8-9 hours, they'll still get charged for the full day.

 

This is correct....but if I were going to KSF, I'd want the car as early as possible in the morning (I'd wan't to be there well before 11!). And they are dealing with small rental offices--you need to check both their hours and their shuttle available hours. If you have an 8:00 return at an office that doesn't open till 9, you're out of luck. I do believe that an 8:00 pick up and drop off will work at both locations.