Renting A Car Could Cost MORE Than Disney World Tickets — Here's Why

If you’ve paid attention to travel news recently, you may have noticed that demand for travel is on the rise. And if you’ve traveled at all recently and needed a rental car, you may have run into an eye-popping realization: rental cars have gotten REALLY expensive. In fact, News 6 Orlando has reported that your rental car could actually wind up costing MORE than your airline ticket.

Magic Kingdom Entrance

Bringing a car to Disney World is already a pricey decision, with hidden costs like those pesky overnight hotel fees adding up over the length of your stay. And with Disney World expected to be a bit crowded this summer, upping demand for rental cars in the Orlando area even more, renting a car could only cost you MORE than you’re anticipating.

Back in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, demand for rental cars plummeted 90%. In order to survive, rental car companies began selling off their inventory, resulting in a MAJOR shortage of cars.

Who remembers empty airplanes in 2020?

According to Jonathan Weinberg, CEO of AutoSlash, major rental car companies sold off on average 30 to 40% of their fleet, which amounts to “hundreds of thousands of cars.” And once travel started to pick back up, these companies were caught off guard and without enough supply to meet rising demand.

Parking at Hollywood Studios

As more Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine and look to resume regular travel (especially as the summer travel season approaches), travelers are discovering rental car rates as high as $300 per day, if not higher. That adds up to a MAJOR line item in your Disney World vacation budget.

Animal Kingdom Entrance

There are lots of decisions to make when planning a Disney World vacation, and typically the rental car conversation happens AFTER airline tickets and hotels! For now, you may want to consider making your rental car the FIRST thing you search for when planning your next vacation to Disney World.

Driving a rental car under this arch could cost you MORE in 2021!

Planning a trip beyond 2021? Keep in mind that Disney’s Magical Express will no longer be in service as of January 2022, so a rental car may be something your family considers adding to your vacation experience. At this time, it’s hard for the industry to predict how long they anticipate inflated rental car costs to last, so hopefully by 2022 rates return to normal.

Disney’s Magical Express

Also, keep in mind that Disney World provides a variety of complimentary transportation options to their guests. From the Monorail to the Disney Skyliner, you can navigate throughout the parks and resorts for the length of your stay, no rental car needed. If a rental car is easier for your travel party, just be prepared to pay a little more than what you’re typically used to!

Click here to read just HOW busy Disney World could look this summer!

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