Orlando International Questions

[januk]

Hi
We've only ever flown into Sanford before so I was hoping you could tell me what to expect on arrival at MCO - I believe it's huge compared to Sanford. We're flying in from the UK. Where do you go and how long does it take to get through on average. Also how long to drive to Disney and where is Dollar located to collect the car?
Cheers

[disneysaddo]

It's a bit of a nightmare to be honest. Depends on how many flights have arrived but queues can be long at immigration, although have got better recently.
The real annoying thing is you reclaim your luggage, clear Customs and then have to give up your luggage again. Then you get a monorail to the main terminal and pick up your bags again.
The Dollar rental place is then on the ground floor so you need to go down in a lift. There are loads of desks though so the wait shouldn't be too long. You then cross the main road and pick up your car on the ground floor of the multi storey.
To drive to Disney I would use the Central Florida Greenway toll road - takes I4 out of the equation and is much quicker. Should take you about 30 minutes.

All in all much more hassle than Sanford, especially with your kids

[PaulaK]

I believe you have the option of keeping your bags after the first collection now.

[katie]

Have a look here - it walks you through the arrivals process - h**p://www.kissimmee-us192.com/British/mco.htm
Personally, I don't find it a problem, just follow the crowd.

Katie :)

[Gilly]

We flew in on August 25 and for some reason we just flew through. The finger printing and eye think took the longest (10 Mins) they just waved us through no putting luggage through for a second time. We were off the plane and to dollar rental within 20/25 mins. I dont know why I think we were just lucky.

[renkadima]

That's good news if there is just the one reclaim now. On every occasion we've been so far, the second reclaim has taken so long that it negates any time you have made up earlier in the process (elbowing slower folk out of the way during the dash from the plane to the cheery chappies in customs etc.:lol: ).

We generally head straight downstairs and sort the car and then go to collect the bags. I don't believe the bags have ever got there first.

[Rosie0610]

The signs are very easy to follow to get to WDW from MCO. We never have a map (besides the one they give you at the car rental counter) and we've always made it there in one piece!
Good luck and have fun!

[jarretth]

The only thing to remember is that when you head out from the airport towards the Greenway, the turning is quite soon after the sign. Also, ensure you have some change for the toll booths. If you haven't got any left over from your last trip I would suggest going into one of the shops in the airport, buying something small and asking for quarters in your change.

As for Sanford, my mate who lives in Florida has been there a few times recently to pick up relatives. Each time it seems to take some time for people to come through now as there are a few flights arriving at once and the airport isn't up to handling them. He says it's much slower than it used to be. It took his sister in law nearly two hours to get through from landing a couple of weeks ago.

[tweenie123]

Yes, you can keep your luggage with you after the first collection. We chose to do this but I'm not sure I'd do it again.

Three cases, three lots of hand luggage plus a bag of duty free on a packed monorail does not equal a happy DS!

It did seem to speed up our exit out of the airport though.

[katie]

Isn't there an escalator to negociate as well?? I was wondering whether we would manage as we only have a trolley case and small hand luggage each.

Katie :)

[renkadima]

Good point - potentially a health and safety issue there. However, last time I went (last November), I remember that the security gates just before the monorail weren't in use anymore which prevented a build-up of crowds near the top of the steps/escalator. Have these been done away with completely now?

[PaulaK]

I thought the same about getting up the escalator or in to the lift. You can't take trolleys according to V-flyer so it sounds like it could get chaotic. I did read they were looking at an alternative to where we arrive now though to make it easier in the future. Last trip our bags were going round by the time we got down to the second collection point, so no wait at all.

[Slowhand]

Last trip our bags were going round by the time we got down to the second collection point, so no wait at all.
The same happened to us on our last trip. Mind you, any time saving made was soon lost in the queue at the car rental desk which took ages to negotiate. :blush:

[kiltedwarrior]

So is there still the option of using the second bag drop? Its hasn't really held us up in the past as one of us waits on the luggage while the other sorts out car hire. Its not a great distance to the other terminal but the less carrying of bags to be done the better really.

[hayleyneeyore]

That's good news if there is just the one reclaim now. On every occasion we've been so far, the second reclaim has taken so long that it negates any time you have made up earlier in the process (elbowing slower folk out of the way during the dash from the plane to the cheery chappies in customs etc.:lol: ).

We generally head straight downstairs and sort the car and then go to collect the bags. I don't believe the bags have ever got there first.

That's true! We got through in record time, and then our bags were one of the last ones through the second reclaim :rolleyes:

[PaulaK]

So is there still the option of using the second bag drop? Its hasn't really held us up in the past as one of us waits on the luggage while the other sorts out car hire. Its not a great distance to the other terminal but the less carrying of bags to be done the better really.

From what i've read on V-Flyer, yes you can still drop your bags again. :yes:

[ALLTIGGEREDOUT]

Just 1 reclaim,sounds good to me.:)

[tweenie123]

We staggered up the escalator along with most of the flight - I wouldn't do it again. It was pretty chaotic but we did get through the airport quickly.

[ALLTIGGEREDOUT]

I'm happy to do anything to get to WDW quicker.:lol:

[januk]

I'm thinking it could be a bit of a nightmare for us me, DH, 3 year old, 6 month old, a buggy, 3 cases, 2 car seats and 4 bags of hand luggage. We could take advantage of disneys magical express then DH could go off to hire a car from dollar when we get there - what do you reckon?

[val darnell]

I'm thinking it could be a bit of a nightmare for us me, DH, 3 year old, 6 month old, a buggy, 3 cases, 2 car seats and 4 bags of hand luggage. We could take advantage of disneys magical express then DH could go off to hire a car from dollar when we get there - what do you reckon?

Well we're not hiring a car but will not be lugging all our cases through security and will do the double drop and just walk down to DME, sounds like you're going to have a heck of a lot to carry especially if the children are grumpy after a long flight.