How I saved hundreds on a car rental when combining it with theme park tickets

My mom loves a good deal. Her closet is full of clothes she didn't necessarily need (sorry, mom), but the sale prices were just too good to pass up. So when we asked her to come along with us on a recent family trip to Walt Disney World, I was on the hunt for any opportunity to save a few dollars and make her proud.

As you may already know, car rentals for vacations are not nearly as much of an afterthought as they once were. Depending on when and where you are traveling, availability can be sparse and prices can be much higher than you might expect.

Facing that exact situation on our recent trip to Orlando, I scoured the web to see if I could find a way to trim costs on our car rental. Here's how I saved us hundreds of dollars by bundling our theme park tickets and car rental using Undercover Tourist.

What is Undercover Tourist?

I already knew we could purchase discounted Disney World tickets through Undercover Tourist, which is an authorized theme park ticket resale site that often has tickets that can be slightly less than what you'd find by going directly through Disney, depending on the exact tickets you need.

For example, a three-day Disney World base ticket for March 28, 2022, is $402.43 with tax through Undercover Tourist and $416.13 with tax on Disney World's website. That's a savings of $13.70 per person. It isn't much by itself, but what happens after you add those tickets to your cart is the real money-saving surprise.

Related: How to use points for Disney World tickets

Car rental deals through Undercover Tourist

When I proceeded to the checkout screen, I was presented with a series of deals I could add to my cart. Usually, I ignore these sorts of things, but getting up to 50% off of car rental rates caught my eye.

With three adults and three kids (and the necessary car seats and boosters), I wanted the convenience of a rental car instead of just relying on Disney transportation. Plus, the free Magical Express Bus that used to run from the airport to Disney has been retired, so I needed to find a new way to get my family and all of our gear to our hotel.

I clicked through the deal that claimed it could save me "up to 50% off car rental rates" when bundled with my theme park tickets. Being the deal spotter that she is, my mom was already checking car rental discounts through Costco, but I figured I'd give this a shot so we could compare prices.

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My mom used the Costco Travel portal to price a minivan for three nights through Budget Car Rental, with pick up and drop off at Orlando International Airport (MCO). The cost through Costco for our days was $465.15 including taxes and fees, which was less than what I found searching directly through Budget's site but obviously still a chunk of change.

When I searched the same parameters through Undercover Tourist, I was thrilled to find it came through with its savings promise. The total cost for a comparable minivan for three nights was $228.75, which was $236.40 less than what my mom had sourced through Costco Travel.

There are a couple of downsides. You are required to prepay when you make your reservation, but Undercover Tourist offers free modification and cancellation prior to your pick-up date and time, so it was a low-risk, high-reward situation.

I can't speak for all rental companies, but when I called Budget, they were not able to add my Fastbreak rental rewards number to my reservation. That meant I had to wait in line at the rental counter instead of going directly to my car – a small luxury I've grown accustomed to. We waited about 20 minutes in line, but we're never in much of a hurry with three kids in tow so it wasn't a dealbreaker for us.

Related: How to never pay full price for a car rental

Bottom line

I often look for car rental deals when I travel, but I had never found a minivan when I needed one for only $76 per day ... until this trip.

The deep savings I received through Undercover Tourist are only available when you bundle your ticket and car rental together. The company has similar deals when you bundle your theme park tickets and a hotel reservation, which I plan to test in the future.

Although I only saved a few dollars on our Disney World tickets themselves, the hundreds of dollars I saved on our car rental was money I was able to put toward Disney souvenirs and snacks.

Trust me, we came home with plenty of both, including the all-important Little Mermaid bubble wand that made my kids' day. It was a much better use of the money than simply spending more on our vehicle rental.