Our flight arrives at 10:30 p.m. and I'm wondering if any car rental offices will be open that late. Plus we are 7 people so need to be guaranteed a minivan will be available. Will probably do Alamo but thinking maybe we should stay near the airport the first night and pick the car up in the morning. Our flight out departs very early (7:20 a.m. I think) so we're thinking about doing the same thing when leaving. Does this make sense?

Orlando is the largest rental car market in the world and most of the biggies are open 24 hours. That being said they don't have much staff late at night. One time I had to wait an hour at the Dollar desk after a 1:00 flight arrival because they only havd two clerks. All the others were the same way. So be prepared to have to wait.

There's a Hyatt that is part of the main terminal that could be an option for both legs.

Also; 7 people and luggage in one minivan will be a very tight fit.

We always use Dollar rental car at Orlando airport. Check online for cheap rates. There are certaint codes you can use to get cheaper rates. Try GLOBE.
Sign up for their express check in and you will have very little wait. Their location is right at the airport.
I would not stay at the airport. You would still have to travel to a hotel check in (all that luggage) and all that stuff. i would just drive to my destination and get it over with. The same on the way back.

Raineyday: Thanks for the advice. I was starting to come to that conclusion myself. I will definitely check out Dollar. The other thing I've seen is that some hotels have on-site car rental so we might take a cas) to the hotel when we arrive and then pick up the car in the morning.
Dweebe: 2 of the 7 are children so I hope we won't have any problem. We'll just have to watch what we pack. Maybe I'll check the cost of two compact cars vs. one minivan.

Ya know - as I look over your post, I'm thinking the stay at the airport both ways is a good idea. Cut off the worry about a car and enjoy the vacation - shoot, you don't have to be very far to be away from home, so just relax where you are and enjoy!

Quote from raineday33: I would not stay at the airport. You would still have to travel to a hotel check in (all that luggage) and all that stuff. i would just drive to my destination and get it over with. The same on the way back.

I agree but the Hyatt is actually part of the Orlando airport complex. All you do is ride the elevator up to your room. That's the only reason I give it as an option. For more info check out http://orlandoairport.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

When I arrived at Orlando at 1:00am and got my car by 2:30am I so wished I would have stayed at the Hyatt for the night and just gotten a fresh start the next morning.

BTW: Dollar seems to usually have the best rates at Orlando. Plus their cars are "on campus" (which is becoming less and less common).

We had a very similar itinerary on our trip to Orlando in Feb - arriving about the same time. We joined the Emerald Club of National (one of the on airport agencies) so that we could avoid the line at the desk. In the past we have waited up to 40 minutes in line. We just walked over to the garage across from the terminal, picked out the car from the Emerald Aisle and stopped on the way out at the booth and we were on our way. We will never wait in line for a rental car again after that experience.

We choose to stay at the Amerisuites West (just outside the airport)that night because it was only $50 compared to the $170 a night at Disney. It didn't make any sense to pay Disney for amenities that we couldn't enjoy that night. The kids were asleep earlier than they would have been had we driven to Disney that night. Plus it included free breakfast. The room at the Amerisuite was okay and the breakfast was very good. So between the cheaper rate and the free breakfast I figured we saved about $140 by staying near the aiport.

check out disboards for more tips on traveling to Orlando.

Bennie: That's exactly what I was thinking about wasting money on a Disney Hotel that night. I figured the airport would be cheaper and we'd be very tired by the time we landed and got our luggage and the car + trying to navigate in the dark in a place we're not familiar with. The Hyatt actually sounds like a great alternative. I'll check the costs. It would save us the cost of cab fare if we don't pick up the car until the next day.