From where? As I'm sure you can imagine a one way rental from WDW to Seattle will be more than a flight.Has anyone done this? Did it cut down significantly on the cost of the trip or did you break even?
There are WAY too many variables to say whether this would/would not work.Alamo is cheap right now for this. just for comparison I got a full size one way rental from MCO to Portland ME for two days. Price was $36 for the rental. Gas would be $150-$200, and one night at a hotel $150ish. About half the cost of flying in april for a 1400 mile trip.
If you live within a one day driving window, you could probably pull this off for less then $150.
Timing is everything. Every year, some of the car rental companies run "Drive Out" specials in order to move vehicles of out Florida. Here's an example from Alamo:
Between March 26 and May 31, 2018, you can pick up a car in Orlando and return it to a participating location outside of Florida and only pay $9.99/day for an economy through full size vehicle. SUVs are $19.99/day and minivans are $24.99/day.
Link to Special: https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/deals/deals-details/featured/florida-one-way-drive-out.html
Typically, if you have access to an airport location in a city somewhere east of the Mississippi River, you can use this type of promo. Other companies have similar promotions.
Avis is offering a rate of $14.95 to $24.95 per day (based on vehicle class) between April 1 and May 31, 2018. They list the return cities, which include destinations as far away as Seattle. If you want to drive cross-country in a rental car, this is your chance. (I'm thinking of you, StageTek!)
Link to Special: https://www.avis.com/en/offers/us-offers/one-way-out-of-florida?ICID=av-all-180214-op-onewayflorida
Even if a company doesn't list an advertised special, it's worth checking the rate. They may have a small number of cars they need to move northward. About two years ago, I got a $5.95/day rate going from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta with Hertz in the spring. It wasn't an advertised special.
[Slightly Off Topic: Rental car companies also usually offer "Drive Out" specials in the spring to move cars out of Arizona. With some planning, doing that can create a fun road trip vacation that doesn't break the bank.]
Do you know if they ever do this in August?
No, not that I've ever seen. The Drive-Out promotions are always in the Spring.
That said, it's worth checking occasionally. You may get lucky and find that a certain rental company needs to move cars out of Florida. If it's just a handful of cars, they'll just offer cheaper than normal rates instead of doing a formal promotion. In those cases, you'll just see the cheaper rate appear in the normal search process.
Also, sometimes you can find cheap rates just by changing the rental locations. For example, try changing the pick-up or drop-off location. For example, I can walk to a neighborhood Avis office from my apartment. But, sometimes I can save $60+ per day on a rental if I pick up the car at the airport. (Sometimes it's the reverse.) If you're trying for a one-way, multi-day rental leaving Disney World, be sure to check prices at the airport as well as some of the locations at nearby hotels. It might be worth paying $15-20 to take a cab to pick up a car if it saves you hundreds on the rental.
it might work in reverse in that you drive to Florida and fly home as they would be wanting to move cars to florida for the winterDo you know if they ever do this in August?
Not really, they do the same specials every year. Drive into Florida from after labor day through mid December and Drive out of Florida 4/1 to 5/31. There are some minor variations on dates by agency but it is has been like that for years.I would do this in a minute BUT you have no idea if they are going to run this special about cheap one way car rentals and we usually buy our airline tickets months before we are going to use them. Guess it's a crap shoot!!!