If you’re looking to rent a car at the Orlando, Florida airport (MCO), you could be in for a big surprise. Over 57 million passengers flew into MCO last year, making it one of the busiest airports in the world. You’ll find a large portion of those passengers renting cars, spelling long lines and extravagant waits at rental car pickup counters.
This leaves many visitors to Orlando wondering if renting a car at Disney World is worth it? While renting a car at MCO has its ups and downs, heeding a few car rental travel tips for your Disney World vacation should help you avoid many of the hassles.
Always Make a Reservation When Renting a Car at Disney World (or Anywhere)
It isn’t uncommon for high traffic airports to run out of available cars, even if you make a reservation. This happens because rental agencies, like airlines, overbook their inventory counting on cancelations and no shows. At other times, inventory can be depleted by late returns.
When this happens, your reservation can’t be honored, or the agency will need to move you to a different class of vehicle. This happened once to us in Salt Lake City where we reserved a Toyota Camry or similar. When we approached the ticket counter, we were informed that the only available vehicle was a Dodge Challenger, a car wholly unsuited to our needs.
If booking a car rental reservation won’t guarantee a vehicle is waiting for you, why go through the trouble? Because lines at Orlando airport rental counters can be long. It isn’t uncommon to find 10-30 people standing in line to pick up a car, leading to waits of over a half an hour or more.
While there are many reasons for long airport rental counter lines, one major impetus is the lack of reservations. In our experience, the vast number of travelers simply pick an airport rental agency after arriving and ask for a car.
Since agency personnel must gather all of the information related to your rental onsite, including details travelers don’t always have at the ready, creating each reservation takes an inordinate amount of time.
Making a reservation ahead of your arrival streamlines your pickup and reduces the amount of time you’ll stand at the counter before being handed the keys to your rental car.
Provide as Much Information When You Make Your Reservation as You Can
Depending on the company, rental car agencies may not ask for much information when you make your booking. That doesn’t mean they don’t require more information before they hand over the keys.
A time-saving travel tip for Disney World car rentals is to look up your reservation online using the confirmation code sent to you by the company. In most cases, you can add your drivers license, insurance information and other details the agency may require before your arrival at the airport.
This will save you time and hassle at pickup and get you on your way faster.
Always Join Rental Agency Loyalty Programs When Renting a Car at Disney World
Even if this is your first time renting a car at Disney World (or anywhere), take some time to join the agency’s loyalty program. Similar to airline and hotel loyalty programs, you can earn free rental days and enjoy other perks that will enhance your rental experience. One of these is an expedited service line.
Consider it a Lightning Lane to your car, and it’s offered to loyalty members at many rental agencies operating in Orlando and other major airports in the U.S. I’ve been promoted to the head of a line of 20 or 30 people before, simply because I am a loyalty member. Just look for the separate queue when you arrive at the rental counter at MCO
Look for Ways to Skip the Rental Car Counter
No matter how short the line, picking up your car at the rental counter is always going to be a time sink for your vacation. One of the biggest travel tips for Disney World is to skip the experience entirely, but it will require you to rent from specific companies.
Rental car agencies, such as National, offer loyalty program members the chance to skip the line at the counter and go right to the garage to select a car. Once you’ve loaded your luggage, simply drive to the exit where you’ll be checked out in a flash.
Utilizing these programs usually requires you to reserve your car through a special program. At National, loyalty members have the option to book a mid-size car and pick any car from a special Emerald Aisle. Available vehicles are guaranteed to be mid-sized, but larger or premium vehicles are often available.
Avis offers a similar program, but you will be required to download the app and select an available car when you land at the airport. Upon doing so, you’ll be given a parking space number. After picking up your luggage, simply head to the assigned space in the parking garage where your vehicle with keys is waiting.
While not every airport or rental car agency offers a skip-the-counter program, you will find many agencies offering this perk when renting a car in Orlando, Florida. These include:
No matter what your Disney World rental car budget is, you should be able to find an agency offering skip-the-counter benefits.
Make Sure to Add Your Flight Details to Your Reservation
When you book your rental car reservation, you’ll be asked to provide flight arrival numbers and departure times. This helps the rental car company manage inventory to help ensure your reserved class of vehicle is ready when you arrive, but it has added benefits for early and late arriving passengers.
Like other businesses, airline rental counters have established operation hours. However, companies will be certain to staff counters when they know your flight is arriving late. Adding your flight number will help ensure agencies keep staff on hand.
While agencies at Orlando airport are commonly prepared to facilitate very early arriving or departing passengers, you should be made aware of closures when you make your reservation. If you receive such a notice, it’s a good idea to call the company or choose a different agency.
Be Aware of Fees When Making Your Reservation
When quoting rental prices, some agencies have been known to play a bit of a shell game. The initial price shown may only reflect the base fare without required taxes and fees. This means you could compare several offers and select one that seems the cheapest, only to receive a much higher price when taxes and fees are added in.
In fact, Orlando airport began assessing rental car customers a customer facility charge of $9 per day in 2024. This rate was increased from $6 a day to help support the construction of a new consolidated rental car facility, and now comprises the second highest fee of its kind in the U.S.
Prepare for Tolls When Renting a Car at Disney World
No matter how you slice it, your drive to Disney World is likely to be interspersed with toll roads. When renting a car in Orlando, or anywhere tolls are common, cars may come equipped with a box on the windshield. Activating this box will incur you a daily charge from the rental car company in addition to any tolls you incur.
However, you don’t need to activate a device to incur rental car company handling charges for toll fees. Now that many toll booths have been eliminated in favor of self-scanning overhead gantries, rental car companies regularly receive charges for customers who drive these roads.
They’ll be sure to pass any assessed tolls along to your credit card, along with a daily processing charge. If you’d like to avoid these added fees, you can always purchase a SunPass or similar device and set up an account.
Answering Some Frequently Asked Questions About Renting a Car at Disney World
Is MCO the closest airport to Disney World?
While Orlando International Airport (MCO) is nearly 17 miles away from Disney World, it is still the closest airport when flying in to visit Mickey and friends. Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) is 47 miles away, providing travelers with another option, though travel time will be longer.
Can you rent a car at Disney World?
Guests wishing to take a day trip from their Disney World resort hotel will be happy to hear that rental cars can be reserved and picked up right from Disney World’s Car Care Center. Drivers will even pick guests up at their resort and bring them to pick up their waiting car.
Can you hire a car at Disney World?
There are many car services available for guests visiting Disney World. Most focus on providing airport transportation and rides to popular local attractions, such as Universal Studios or Kennedy Space Center.
Ridesharing is also an option, with Uber and Lyft drivers plentiful around the resort.
Do I need to rent a car at Disney World?
If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, complimentary transportation to and from the parks is included in your resort stay. With this added perk, many guests do not feel it is necessary to rent a car at Disney World, especially when airport transportation options are plentiful.
If you’re looking for a travel tip for getting around Disney World, remember you can always order an Uber or Lyft if you need to leave the Disney campus.
Other Disney World Tips and Tricks
