Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

bigeck882

Just returned today from Florida. A watch word about Budget Car Hire. We booked with them as they came up cheapest on most search sites offering a free upgrade from an intermediate to a full size car. Well that did not happen as it's dependant on availability, and yep you guessed it there were none available. So the guy tried me to upgrade to a larger car at $9 a day, I declined,he said ok sir initial at 5 places on the agreement and sign at the bottom and your good to go. All went well till we took it back and discovered one of the places I initialled was to agree to additional insurance cover which we did not need. Had a hassle getting someone to look at this for me who said it was an agreement which I had signed and had to pay. I said if it had been mentioned at the time of hire I would be charged for additional unnecessary insurance I obviously would have declined. The rep went off presumably to see a manager and returned after a while and said it would be removed on this occasion. So avoid Budget like the plague, I have had little bother with Dollar or Alamo in the past

pandas66

ANNEGEDDES wrote: »

hi guys,

Right we are off on sun, so few last minute q's:

have not booked universal tickets, shall i do that before we go? is it too late? see when get there?

Am i really gonna buy lots of stuff so just take half a suitcase?

what shall we do on first day my itinery says ak, as we are staying akl any better suggestions?

:j:j we're coming soon too, hope its brill:j

I have booked the Universal, we should meet and swop them for a day as we haven't booked our Disney;)

ailuro2

So excited, we just booked 3 adult Disney Ultimate tickets, 14 day pass from https://www.undercovertourist.com after the e-mail from mousesavers directed us to it - not any cheaper than going straight to the site, I might add, but $1038 for all three of us is an acceptable price I'm happy to pay - real tickets, not vouchers and I couldn't find anyone saying anything bad about undercover tourist - either here or on tripadvisor. So we went for it. That works out about £211 each compared to £235 on disney official site..:D

Can't wait to get them now!!:j

(p.s. can't wait to go, but have to wait until Christmas.:o)

SimonVeness

Are any of these accessible through public transport from wdw. I.e. lynx buses?

Actually, without a car, you might struggle to get off the beaten track very much. I-Drive is well served with the I-Ride trolley, and you CAN get to most of the other main parks by Lynx from WDW, but fewer of the other places are covered by Lynx, unfortunately. There are some excursion services, though, that you might want to look at for an alternative day out. Try www.floridadolphintours.com or www.gatortours.com.

atro1

bigeck882 wrote: »

Just returned today from Florida. A watch word about Budget Car Hire. We booked with them as they came up cheapest on most search sites offering a free upgrade from an intermediate to a full size car. Well that did not happen as it's dependant on availability, and yep you guessed it there were none available. So the guy tried me to upgrade to a larger car at $9 a day, I declined,he said ok sir initial at 5 places on the agreement and sign at the bottom and your good to go. All went well till we took it back and discovered one of the places I initialled was to agree to additional insurance cover which we did not need. Had a hassle getting someone to look at this for me who said it was an agreement which I had signed and had to pay. I said if it had been mentioned at the time of hire I would be charged for additional unnecessary insurance I obviously would have declined. The rep went off presumably to see a manager and returned after a while and said it would be removed on this occasion. So avoid Budget like the plague, I have had little bother with Dollar or Alamo in the past

Who did you book the rental with? I think they ought to know you have been conned. Most car hire firms are straight and would not like to here of this sharp practice. I have used Budget on many occasions at MCO and Sanford. I have always been given the upgrade, its normally the smaller cars they run out of.They are also good if you want to change a car. I changed the Dodge Charger because I found it a boring car to drive. [No toys in it]
I know we are always in a rush to get going and when they say sign here and initial here there and there.Perhaps we should ask what we are signing to.
There are a lot of proffesinal bodies over there that would help with this I'm sure.;)

sturll

rommers wrote: »

I prefer St Petes

Ha ha ha, i thought you were serious for a minute then!

Mikepcon

pandas66 wrote: »

:j:j we're coming soon too, hope its brill:j

I have booked the Universal, we should meet and swop them for a day as we haven't booked our Disney;)

Dont know about universal, but when you first go in to Disney they scan your fingerprint, so there is no way anyone else can use you ticket.

Weggy

atro1 wrote: »

Who did you book the rental with? I think they ought to know you have been conned. Most car hire firms are straight and would not like to here of this sharp practice. I have used Budget on many occasions at MCO and Sanford. I have always been given the upgrade, its normally the smaller cars they run out of.They are also good if you want to change a car. I changed the Dodge Charger because I found it a boring car to drive. [No toys in it]
I know we are always in a rush to get going and when they say sign here and initial here there and there.Perhaps we should ask what we are signing to.
There are a lot of proffesinal bodies over there that would help with this I'm sure.;)

I have to say, we also had a bad experience with Budget when we went at the end of May this year.

Firstly, we had to queue for 2 hours at the desk (this is at MCO). Not that many people in the queue, the staff were just so slow and kept disappearing out the back. Not what is needed after a long flight.
We also had a 'free upgrade' that never materialised. Once at the desk, despite clearly having a 6 month old baby in tow, he started his 'sell an upgrade' routine, starting with a convertible! So, I queried the free upgrade, to which he said nothing was available in that size. Ok, we'll take what we've ordered please. Tap tap tap on the keyboard.... I can offer you an upgrade to a 3 door Mustang... yeah, I dare say you can, not too practical with a baby though, we'll take what we've got!

Finally out to the garage.... where we pick up a Chrysler Sebring with 46,000 miles on the clock! Fed up, we got in it and set off. On the I4, there was a downpour. I was fighting with the car, which was trying to pull hard to the left. Going right round corners felt very light. Not a nice experience. So, we popped down to Old Town the next day and arranged to swap it. We got a Hyundai Sonata... with 40,000 miles on it! Oh well, at least this one worked!

First time with Budget, always used Dollar in the past.... never again Budget. As my Mrs kept saying - Budget by name, Budget by nature.

Weggy

Oh, and we booked through US Car Hire. I contacted them from the US about the issues and they really weren't interested... suggesting it was all down to us to deal with Budget directly

atro1

I am so sorry to hear that.