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#942140 by mdhayes
14 Mar 2018, 15:41
Hi, I know a lot of you are frequent Orlando visitors and wonder if any of you had thoughts/experiences of using uber instead of hiring a car. We are staying by Disney but will actually only be going to universal/volcano bay and also just having a couple of days by the hotel pool. With the cost of the higher car/petrol/parking at the theme parks it might actually not work out too different just using Uber/Lyft. Plus as we're on holiday we like to have a beer or 3 with our evening meal and this will mean we'll want to get an uber in the evening anyway so neither of us have to drive. Another point means we can also fully enjoy the lounge before we go and a few beers/G&T on the plane. So currently I am leaning on cancelling the hirer car and just going for Uber over there. Anyone else tried it?
#942141 by buns
14 Mar 2018, 17:17
I have come to love uber when in Orlando, (for those nights out when we both like to partake in adult beverages ;-) ) I do opt for the Uber XL or higher - still saving against cabs or limos!

I have never used them for theme park visits and for the initial airport pickup I prefer to use a regular limo service (such as Mears or Quicksilver) - although i do understand Uber can now access MCO. The reason for choosing a regular limo service is the price is confirmed up front and there is the ability to contact the operator, should you not be able to find your driver - who is usually within the Terminal with a name board.

buns
#942142 by mdhayes
14 Mar 2018, 17:32
thanks Buns, I think were going to go for it, I know roughly what a hire car would have costs so will be good to compare when we are home. Plus we switch hotels near the end to the Waldorf and the parking there is $35 a day so we'd save that too.
#942143 by buns
14 Mar 2018, 17:56
mdhayes wrote:thanks Buns, I think were going to go for it, I know roughly what a hire car would have costs so will be good to compare when we are home. Plus we switch hotels near the end to the Waldorf and the parking there is $35 a day so we'd save that too.


:-O :-O at $35 a day to park at the Hotel, I don't blame you!

As I said, we use Uber to go to our "special" restaurants so as to be able to enjoy the evening. I have found the Uber XL Drivers tend to be those looking to earn a little extra income, so do keep their vehicles in good condition.

buns
#942146 by David
14 Mar 2018, 18:16
There's a tweet from @orlandoinformer in the past few hours that

"CONFIRMED: #DisneyWorld to start charging for hotel overnight parking. Beginning with reservations made on 3/21 and thereafter, Value ($13), Moderate ($19), and Deluxe ($24) resorts will implement the change."

This could put a whole new different slant on things.

David
#942150 by David
14 Mar 2018, 19:56
David wrote:There's a tweet from @orlandoinformer in the past few hours that

"CONFIRMED: #DisneyWorld to start charging for hotel overnight parking. Beginning with reservations made on 3/21 and thereafter, Value ($13), Moderate ($19), and Deluxe ($24) resorts will implement the change."

This could put a whole new different slant on things.

David


Now on Orlando Sentinal

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/a ... story.html
#942152 by mikethe3rd
14 Mar 2018, 20:18
Wow. I thought that was a big selling point of staying on site.

Personally, we stay in a villa and will always Uber to the parks. You avoid the fee and usual long walk to the front gates. Truthfully, the main reason is so we can drink around the world. We do still rent a car but mainly to get to Publix, BestBuy, outlets etc.

If anyone is looking for alcoholic entertainment in Orlando, I highly recommend JellyRolls at Disney's Boardwalk hotel. Piano sing-along bar playing whatever you ask (tip) for.
#942170 by VS075
15 Mar 2018, 13:35
I've used Uber on my last 2 visits to Orlando. The only problem I had was with one driver who religiously stuck to her Sat Nav when trying to get to Magic Kingdom from Universal Cabana Bay and took a load of back routes to an entrance that clearly didn't exist (think it was a staff car park!) instead of using nous and local knowledge. I put in a complaint to Uber and I got a partial refund so I only paid for the time/distance that it should have taken instead of the actual fare. Other than that, I've never had any other issues and would use again.

It's personal choice whether to rely exclusively on Uber/taxis or hire a car or do both. I find hiring a car useful to go to places such as the shops or if you want to head out of Orlando or doing a multi-destination trip, plus I like driving in the US. That said, If it's just the parks you're going to or go out to eat a lot and if you're staying at a hotel that imposes nightly charges, I'd be giving serious consideration to relying exclusively on Uber.

The only thing to watch out for is the "surge" prices during peak demand periods and if you need to be somewhere for a particular time.

From looking online, it would seem MCO (assuming you're flying into there) have relaxed their policy on Uber pick-ups.
#942172 by Kraken
15 Mar 2018, 15:01
I used Uber in Orlando throughout our last trip in September - completely faultless & cheap. The resort we were staying at would book a cab for you to Discovery Cove (under 3 miles) for $20+tip. Uber was $7.50 & no tip expected. An Uber from South International Drive (near Premium Outlets) to CityWalk was generally about $14.

Do be aware of their burst-pricing though... I've had an Uber in Nottingham that would have been cheaper in a Hackney Carriage taxi.
#942173 by mdhayes
15 Mar 2018, 15:18
Thanks Kraken, yeah we'll watch out for surge, usually by switching between Lyft and Uber in the states you can usually avoid any surge prices.
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