How long to allow from Poly to MCO with car rental return

[nalacat]

Hello! We will be arriving at MCO in a couple of weeks and renting a car because we will spend the first few days of our vacation at the beach. We will then be moving to the Poly. I have two car rental reservations...first is to drop car off at Disney Car Care Center before the Disney portion of our trip starts with the plan of using ME to return to the airport. For $70 more, I can keep the car during our Disney portion of the trip and drop it off at MCO before our flight. I don't know that we would actually use the car as we are usually fine using Disney transportation. If I keep the car, how long should I leave Poly in order to allow enough time to return the car at MCO? We will plan on using RAC at the Poly. Our flight is scheduled for 6:10pm on a Thursday.

 

[Anthony1971]

I would allow the same time as ME which is 3 hours as you have added tasks which include getting gas and dropping the car off. How long depends on the route you take, time of day for traffic and if for any reason there are road closures... If non of these you take the suggested $$ toll roads avoid non of the tolls and are wiling to pay for the gas at the rental agency it is about the same time from any Disney resort around 30 minutes. Also unless you are DVC you will be paying for paring every night. I would not rent a car to drive to the MCO but have rented in the past and sometimes kept the car when traveling to different parts of Florida before or after... The Care car center BTW is no longer than 5 minutes via shuttle from the Poly so you will not loss any time except possible waiting for the shuttle but you can call and schedule the shuttle I believe it was 24 hours in advance.

 

[writerguyfl]

All of the major mapping websites have a feature that lets you enter a day and a time. You can either enter the time you want to leave or the time by which you want to arrive. Using historical traffic information, it calculates travel time.

Here's a link to Bing Maps. Using Wednesday, June 12 as a random date, I indicated the arrival time at the airport at 4:10pm. Based on those factors, Bing says it takes 43 minutes. So, you'd leave Disney's Polynesian Village Resort at 3:26pm.

https://binged.it/2JAY8wO

That website should give you a basic idea of the travel time based on your date.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'd assume a 45 minute drive + 15 minutes to get gas. That should leave a little cushion "just in case".

 

[Chrisizzle]

I arrived at Disney by Magical Express without a car on my last trip. However, I spontaneously rented a car on my last day because a friend was in town and we met at Kennedy Space Centre. So, I rented the car at Disney and returned to the airport.

The actual car return to the airport is efficient and smooth (at least with Alamo/National). However, I could do without the desperate search for a gas station near the airport while every single on-and-off ramp in the area is an exact-change-only toll booth.

If you don’t need the car while at Disney, I would strongly recommend returning it early and enjoying the stress free Disney transport at the park and to the airport.

 

[Dan Murphy]

However, I could do without the desperate search for a gas station near the airport

Every time I have rented a car there, I have always filled up at BW Speedway (or its predecessors) before leaving WDW. Never had a return problem.

 

[Donna M]

I have been keeping track of how long it has taken us to get to the airport with a rental since 2011. It used to be 2 hours was fine, but the last 3 years we have given ourselves 2 1/2 and that was been comfortable. My dh would probably like to shave off some time, but I would rather be a little early than a little late.

While using 417 to get to the airport you will pass a 7-11 at the intersection of 536 and 535 (will be on the right), and then a Speedway a little bit farther down on the right. We have never had a problem getting gas this far out from the airport, just fill it all the way up.

If you can get a local to chime in on what rush hour is like. It was pretty bad on 536 once when were heading into WDW around 5. I wouldn't leave any later than 2 1/2 at that time of day.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would allow an hour to get there. That gives you time to get gas and have a buffer if there is a problem on the way there. We always stop for gas at the Landstar exit on 417. It is the last exit before the airport which is 3 miles away . There are two gas stations a 1/4 of a mile from the highway and easy to get in and out of.