Dollar Express & Alamo Save Time at Orlando Sanford

[anonymous-user]

Hi all, I know there's a few of you like I that visit Florida frequently - has anyone used the Dollar Express or Alamo "Save Time" online pre-registration facility and if so does it save you from having to join the normal queues at Orlando Sanford airports, or does it just save time when you get to the front of that queue?

We normally fly into Orlando international and I'm pretty sure by pre-registering there you can just go to the smaller booth/kiosk at the car park and collect a car there, but Sanford is of course smaller so I'm unsure if that facility exists.

I booked 2 vans in my name (obviously with additional drivers), and have just realised I may have to wait 30 minutes in the Dollar queue, then go to the back of the Alamo queue and wait another 30 minutes!!

[Easty-5]

Sanford car rental desks are never busy. Longest I have had to wait the last 3 times I have been there is 5 minutes. even if they are a bit busy when you arrive, the queues will have died down by the time you are ready to queue for you're second van. If not, then you could always have a member of your party queue for you.

[anonymous-user]

Easty-5 said:

Sanford car rental desks are never busy. Longest I have had to wait the last 3 times I have been there is 5 minutes.

I usually fly into MCO and it's always busy there, usually about a 30 minute wait - I booked through usrentacar.co.uk and they have an iphone app where people give feedback of how long they've waitied and the app calculates an average and posts it up - presently it's 30 minutes for Alamo and 57 minutes for Dollar

I've registered for both Dollar Express and Alamo save time however all the info I can find on t'intraweb suggests that there's no separate Dollar Express queue at Sanford and Alamo save time just saves time when you do actually get to the front of the queue but you still have to wait with everyone else.

I'm definitely getting one of my co-drivers to stand in line at Dollar (as it has the longest queue) whilst I go to Alamo!

We had to book through different rental companies as Alamo are the only that have 15 seat vans (with huge V8 engines however )

[Easty-5]

Have you flown into Sanford before? I flew into MCO for the first time in June and although it's closer to where our villa was, I much prefered Sanford purely because it was much quieter. We queued for approx. 40 mins for our car at MCO. Sanford rental desk area is much smaller than MCO but nowhere near as far away from baggage as MCO is. I will be very surprised if you have to queue 40mins.

[anonymous-user]

Easty-5 said:

Have you flown into Sanford before?

I have about 10 years ago and it was a nightmare, a small building with 1 restaurant and a completely inadequate amount of staff to deal with checking in planeloads of tourists, not to mention long queues on arrival at customs and the same again on departure at security - I trust it may have expanded since then and hopefully is much improved?!

Hopefully we don't have a long wait, there's 21 of us flying including a few young kids so it'll be a nightmare if after a long flight we have to wait a couple of hours in the terminal before we can get on our way.

I just want to drop everyone at the villa so I can test the 6.0L V8 in the minivan with no passengers or luggage on board!

[Easty-5]

yellowbentines said:

I have about 10 years ago and it was a nightmare, a small building with 1 restaurant and a completely inadequate amount of staff to deal with checking in planeloads of tourists, not to mention long queues on arrival at customs and the same again on departure at security - I trust it may have expanded since then and hopefully is much improved?!

Hopefully we don't have a long wait, there's 21 of us flying including a few young kids so it'll be a nightmare if after a long flight we have to wait a couple of hours in the terminal before we can get on our way.

I just want to drop everyone at the villa so I can test the 6.0L V8 in the minivan with no passengers or luggage on board!

Unfortunately, in my experience, arrival at customs doesn't seem to have improved much from when you were last there. Average wait is usually an hour. Obviously a bit quicker if you are near the front of the plane. MCO isn't much quicker though - especially when you land at the same time as another UK flight. Sanford is crap when heading back home. Still a lack of staff and facilities.

Fingers crossed you will get lucky and minimal delays. I'm super jealous!

[Terzo123]

When i flew into Sandford, i left the wife to collect the luggage whilst i headed over to rental place.

By the time the wife had collected bags, i had the car sorted.

Not long after i had completed the paperwork for my car, the queues in Dollar had built up, mainly consisting of all the folk on my flight.

Saved a load of time, and a lot of hassle, and the othr half didn't mind too much having to get the bags, as they were going onto a trolley anyway

[uuf361]

I fly into Sanford 3/4 times a year (the latest being last week).......no queues at immigration (you only get queues if you're at the back of the aircraft or if there is a flight landed just ahead of yours)........took me less than 40 mins from aircraft arriving at gate to driving from the car park.....my record is 20 minutes

Car rental queues as has been said only a handful of people for me so never been long......

The terminal itself on the return admittedly is not massive but plan right and arrive not that far in advance of your flight and you sail through and don't hang around..........

Compared to MCO where you can't take drinks through from an international flight that you have got/bought on board the aircraft (bonkers imo) and where 2 weeks ago I waited more than 2 hours for my luggage, and I would never use MCO out of choice......