Time from MCO to your resort?

[Louis morrell]

We have always driven to Disney World. This time We are going to fly. I am just trying to plan our first day but I have no idea how long it will take to get to our resort. I also have not decided on the best transportion option. Our flight is scheduled to land at 10:05am on a Sunday.

 

[Micca]

We rent a car and it's usually under 30 minutes. I guess if you hit a "drive time" you could encounter some delay

 

[Louis morrell]

Thanks but I should have stated we will not be renting a car.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Are you thinking car service or Mears? I usually assume the ride will take an hour by car - it's never actually been that long but I like having the buffer. For the bus, it's somewhat dependent on the resort. In some cases, Mears offers express, in others it makes multiple stops (and depending on the # of people/luggage, it can take much longer).

 

[sndral]

If you take shared transportation such as Mears assume worst case 90 minutes+. You have to collect your luggage & then board the bus & wait for the bus to fill & leave. The bus stops at several resorts & if you’re the last stop it can take awhile. Assuming an on time arrival of 10 a.m. I’d plan on reaching my resort around noon.
Because our last several Mears trips (including when they were DME) always dropped our resort last, I got tired of all that touring other WDW resort parking lots on the Mears bus, so I tried a car service last time & it was a quicker & more pleasant experience - I think it was under an hour from deplane to drop off at our resort lobby, but it took us a while to locate our driver at the baggage carousel. I will say the new terminal C which we arrived at was very nice & far less hectic than terminals A & B at MCO.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

If you take shared transportation such as Mears assume worst case 90 minutes+. You have to collect your luggage & then board the bus & wait for the bus to fill & leave. The bus stops at several resorts & if you’re the last stop it can take awhile. Assuming an on time arrival of 10 a.m. I’d plan on reaching my resort around noon.
Because our last several Mears trips (including when they were DME) always dropped our resort last, I got tired of all that touring other WDW resort parking lots on the Mears bus, so I tried a car service last time & it was a quicker & more pleasant experience - I think it was under an hour from deplane to drop off at our resort lobby, but it took us a while to locate our driver at the baggage carousel. I will say the new terminal C which we arrived at was very nice & far less hectic than terminals A & B at MCO.

Also just to add that if you’re traveling with 4+ people, it’s almost a wash cost wise (especially once you factor in convenience).

 

[Lumpy1106]

If you take shared transportation such as Mears assume worst case 90 minutes+. You have to collect your luggage & then board the bus & wait for the bus to fill & leave. The bus stops at several resorts & if you’re the last stop it can take awhile. Assuming an on time arrival of 10 a.m. I’d plan on reaching my resort around noon.
Because our last several Mears trips (including when they were DME) always dropped our resort last, I got tired of all that touring other WDW resort parking lots on the Mears bus, so I tried a car service last time & it was a quicker & more pleasant experience - I think it was under an hour from deplane to drop off at our resort lobby, but it took us a while to locate our driver at the baggage carousel. I will say the new terminal C which we arrived at was very nice & far less hectic than terminals A & B at MCO.

^THIS

I will say we flew into terminal C on our last trip and baggage took a LONG time - all tolled about an hour before we got to the Mears desk. Terminal C Mears is pretty disappointing compared to the old DME. Return to airport was far worse. We were told to be waiting in front of our resort about 45 minutes before the bus even got there (6a), then we had to stop at 3 more resorts before heading to the airport. No excuse was offered for the bus arriving late and the driver played Christian rock the whole way. We wrote to Mears and complained and got no response. We are done with Mears - will look into a car service or rent a car on our next trip.

 

[Louis morrell]

Thanks all. What about lyft or Uber? Anyone have experience with that?

 

[Sandisw]

We use Lyft and it usually takes about an hour from getting off the plane to the resort. That gives time to get bags, and order the Lyft…plus traffic…

We find it the easiest way to get back and forth. And the least expensive.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Thanks all. What about lyft or Uber? Anyone have experience with that?

If you don't need a car seat this is the way to go, IMO. You'll be picked up within 5 minutes just steps away from baggage claim. Private car with no waiting, directly to your hotel with no other stops, for the same price or less than the bus? Yes please.

Like @Sandisw said, we figure on about an hour or a little more from the time we step off the plane to pulling up to the resort. We've done it this way at least 5 times to and from MCO and it's always been great.

 

[beccasmom]

We typically use a car service (Happy Limo most recently) and it can really vary. On our trip in September, we had to report missing luggage after our flight (which was delivered to the resort the next day) and that held us up. I would say normally it’s 45-60 minutes after retrieving luggage (45 being about average).

Last week it took quite a while (well over an hour) to get to our resort. Our flight landed at 4:30 on Monday and it was probably just plain bad timing. Traffic was horrendous (could have been an accident), but our driver went around it as much as possible. But that was an outlier in our experience. We’ve been fortunate in that regard.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Last week it took quite a while (well over an hour) to get to our resort. Our flight landed at 4:30 on Monday and it was probably just plain bad timing. Traffic was horrendous (could have been an accident), but our driver went around it as much as possible. But that was an outlier in our experience. We’ve been fortunate in that regard.

Rush hour in Orlando is no joke, and you hit it right on the nose! Sorry you had to sit through that traffic.

 

[beccasmom]

Rush hour in Orlando is no joke, and you hit it right on the nose! Sorry you had to sit through that traffic.

Very poor planning on my part for sure! I just booked our September flights and didn’t make the same mistake!

 

[LoveDaisy]

Are you looking at driving time or the whole process. Last time we flew we were at the gate for 25 minutes before they let us off the plane. It took about 15 minutes to get off the plane, use the bathroom, and get to the luggage area. We waited almost 90 minutes for our luggage. We then called a ride share, took them about 5 minutes (same time to walk to the pick up area) and the drive was about 45 minutes. It was about 3 hours in total.

 

[sam_gordon]

Are you looking at driving time or the whole process. Last time we flew we were at the gate for 25 minutes before they let us off the plane. It took about 15 minutes to get off the plane, use the bathroom, and get to the luggage area. We waited almost 90 minutes for our luggage. We then called a ride share, took them about 5 minutes (same time to walk to the pick up area) and the drive was about 45 minutes. It was about 3 hours in total.

I was going to say, there's a lot more involved than just the drive.
Using Budget numbers from the arrival time:
+30 minutes to deplane, bathroom, and get to luggage (might be shorter, but decent budget number)
+30 minutes to get luggage (again, budget number)
+5 minutes if private transportation/+15 minutes if rental car/+20 minutes if shared transportation
+45 minute drive

So figure around two hours from "arrival time".

BUT, keep in mind, the scheduled arrival time doesn't always mean the actual arrival time. I would not plan anything for that day that's going to cost extra money (dinner reservations) if I don't make it. However, with a 10a arrival, I would think I could be at a park by 1p.

 

[Louis morrell]

Thanks to all. Gives me some things to think about. As someone that has not flown since 1976 I have a lot to learn.

 

[Lewisc]

Averages for luggage are worthless. If all goes well luggage will get there about the same time as you, assumes you're in the middle to back of the plane with a quick bathroom stop.

Afternoon thunderstorm...you could be waiting an hour or so

 

[sam_gordon]

Averages for luggage are worthless. If all goes well luggage will get there about the same time as you, assumes you're in the middle to back of the plane with a quick bathroom stop.

Afternoon thunderstorm...you could be waiting an hour or so

IMO, you need to factor SOME time in for luggage. If you assume needing to wait 30 minutes and it's there when you get there, bonus! If you factor 30 minutes and need to wait an hour, you're only 30 minutes behind. If you assume zero time and need to wait an hour, you're an hour behind. If you don't want to budget any time for it, that's fine.

 

[_19disnA]

Are you looking at driving time or the whole process.

I agree, there are a number of other things that take time in addition to the actual drive time to Disney. MCO tends to be very congested with families/small children who are perhaps infrequent flyers and often seem unfamiliar with how things work, where to go, what to do, etc. that means it takes longer in general. What mode of transportation you choose won't have any bearing on how long it takes between landing and when you are exiting with your luggage.

What is 'best' to some may not be for others. Fast & cheap are often different options. Buses often stop at multiple resorts so if you are looking for the fastest, won't necessarily be the cheapest. We like having a rental car since it gives us more flexibility if we decide to shop or eat a few times off of Disney property, but sounded like you don't plan to rent.

If arriving around lunch time you also need to eat somewhere. 2-3 hrs from touchdown seems like a good number to work with regardless of what transportation mode you use. Do you plan to race off to a park the minute you arrive or eat lunch, relax at the pool, etc.?

 

[han22735]

For us Uber/lyft is the only way to go..30ish minutes and you're at the hotel.