Towncar and rental car same price~ which would you do with an autistic child??

[Carrieberry]

Ok, I got a midsize rental from Jan 21-28 (8 days) for $121.15 through Alamo so it is onsite at the airport. We already are Quicksilver members as well so that should cut down on time. The town car with tip both ways is the same price. Which would you do? We will be at POFQ 2 nights and OKW for 5 nights. We will probably use wegoshop.com so we don't have to go off property for groceries, but we will be traveling with our 6 year old son (he is deaf and autistic) and our 8 year old son. I am leaning towards rental car just in case of meltdowns my little one might have, but the thought of driving around Orlando makes me a little nervous. Oh, and anyone know how much the tolls are from MCO?

 

[Figment1964]

If it were me, I would choose the rental car for the reason you stated, meltdowns. My ASD son is 11 and we've gone to WDW numerous times and I don't think we'd want to try it without having our own transportation. Too many times that the unexpected has come up that we've had to improvise and do our own thing!

 

[AJKMOM]

We always rent a car in case of emergency, or in case our autistic son "needs" Pizza Hut! He does communicate, so it is helpful to have a car to go places other than Disney. We can vary our trip and make it interesting for him, able to take spur-of-the-moment side trips. You also need to think about how your son would be waiting for Disney transportation, both on the way to the parks, and getting home. We only take a bus to MK, and drive to the other places.

Depending on how what time you land in Orlando, it's not that hard. Get a good map from AAA and check out the routes ahead of time. Have some quarters, $5 should cover both ways, available for tolls, and basically follow the signs to WDW. We prefer to follow the tolls roads becasue there is less traffic, and it seems worth it for a $1. Stay off I-4 if possible, there is a lot of traffic. The back roads to WDW can be quiet.

 

[BethanyF]

I would get the rental car. Driving around Orlando isnt all that bad (but this is coming from a Chicagoan). And having the car gives you a lot of freedom to explore the other resorts, move at your own pace and venture off property.

 

[MadisonMom]

Definately a rental car for the flexibility, but use Disney transportation if your son wants to use it, occaisionally. On our last trip, we stayed offsite, so the rental car was a must for us. But one of the highlights for my then 7yo ASD son was the day he and I drove to MK, took the bus to Beach Club for dinner, took the boat to Epcot, then rode the Monorail back to the TTC (while the MK fireworks were going off). I think he enjoyed the Disney transportation as much as any ride in the parks. Oh, another tip - when you are picking up the rental car at the airport, take your ASD son with you. That way your DH and older son can get the bags and then you drive to pick them up. My ASD son loved riding all the elevators, moving sidewalks and escalators on the way to pick out the car. It was also easy to keep track of him since I didn't have to worry about the bags, too.

 

[Carrieberry]

Thank you for the advice! My DH will have to pick up the car because it is rented in his name and he is the Quicksilver member at Alamo.My son will more than likely want to stay with me. I know my son will love the Disney transporation so we will more than likely end up using the buses the whole time. Pice wise it just was not worth it to pay a towncar service when the car is about the same price. We are a bit nervous since we have never driven there before, but I am sure it will work out fine. I know my sn will also love the moving sidewalks and esp the little monorail they have MCO to go from the terminal to baggage claim!! Wish us luck, it is our first trip with him!!

 

[mbb]

on a different note...

we've always gone with the Town Car...(though this trip we're trying off-site, and will have a rental)
...just because it's a "whole new world" so to speak.

No pun intended...

We ended up with a DVD player in the van - FLTours - which the kids just loved They've never been in a vehicle that "had movie magic, mommy!!!"

Either way, it will be wonderful!!

Have fun!

 

[Carrieberry]

We have a TV in our minivan here at home. Honestly I don't know how we are going to go without! AHHHH a whole other thing to be stressed over!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

[Carrieberry]

Did they charge you more for the van? Did you request that or was it just by chance that you got it? Are tips included in their rate? I can't remember if that was one of the compnaies that did that. Thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

Another vote for the rental vehicle.
It's really not that hard to get from the airport to any of the Disney resorts (keep reminding yourself that millions of other people are trying to get to the same place as you in the course of the years, so they really have things quite well marked). The biggest thing you need to know is which turn-off to take - so watch the signs.
Getting back to the airport is pretty easy too. There are signs with an airplane on them to mark the route, so it's not that hard. The hardest part is getting the correct turn-off to get back to the rental car return garage. If you are one lane over too far in one direction, you will end up in the regular parking lot. If you are one lane too far over in the other direction, you will miss the turn. That's not so bad though, it just means another circle around the airport and watching more closely the next time.

Good luck and have a great time.

 

[mbb]

Did they charge you more for the van? Did you request that or was it just by chance that you got it? Are tips included in their rate? I can't remember if that was one of the compnaies that did that. Thanks!

www.fltours.com
We had originally booked a town car, and a van was what was available to pick us up.

If you do decide to go with a town car service, I''d let Andy know that your little guy has autism, and if he could arrange the "movie van" for you, it would be good Andy will really do his best for you

And don't panicLOL!
We found that if we were stressed over things, the boys were too

We're excited to be using a rental car ourselves this time...lots of freedom
I've printed off the directions from www.mapquest.com

HTH!!

 

[tmli]

Just to give you another point of view. My 8 year old ds is ASD amongst other things. The towncar idea worked best for us. Help at the airport with luggage, no stress ride to the resort. Mein the backseat with him helping him get familiar to the different weather etc. (often it is just the 2 of us). The disney transportation is his favorite attraction at the world. I found when I had to leave the MK in a hurry, it was much quicker to take the resort bus than try to get the monorail and parking tram.

All in all I like the laid back feeling of it, no stress no rush. Never waited too long for busses.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I opted for a car rental because I'm worried about melt downs on the bus if it's too crowded. We will try the bus a couple of times to see how it goes though.