Transportation Suggestions

[calismic]

My husband, daughter and I will be flying down to Orlando the night before our cruise and staying at a Disney Resort. I know Disney has Magical Express service to and from the port but paying $70 for a two year old who will undoubtedly sit on my lap seems a bit steep! I've looked at towncar services but they don't seem to save much money with only 3 of us. I would love to hear what everyone else has used in the past and what they found the most convenient.

If you rented a car, what company would you suggest going with? We've used Alamo in the past due to some great coupon codes, but we've run into a lot of problems with their service. Should we do two one-way rentals or a 4 day rental and pay the parking fees? We plan on visiting the Magic Kingdom the day we return so the quicker we can get to the park the better! =) Any tips or suggestions would be great. Thanks!

 

[lanejudy]

Just to clarify...Magical Express is the free service that runs between MCO and WDW resorts. DCL Transfers is the service that runs to the port with a cost of $35 per person each way.

As for cost - with just 3 of you probably the only "cheaper" option is going to be a one-way car rental. There are limo services or town car companies, but they tend to cost about the same as 3 on DCL transfers. So if you are looking for convenience, your time schedule, a stop on the way - then a car service will likely cost about the same but offer you those other benefits. A one-way car rental can be very inexpensive - shop around and watch for deals. They come out frequently and you can change your reservation with no problem. Just watch that you don't end up with an additional fee for the one-way rental as some will tack that one. I believe National is on-site at WDW.

We did one-way car rental with Thrifty from MCO to Cocoa Beach and stayed in that area the night before the cruise, then sprung for the DCL transfers post-cruise to get us to our WDW resort.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[kcashner]

Unless things have changed, there is no charge on DCL transfers for children under 3.....so you would not be charged for a 2 year old.

$70 for your family is about as cheap/easy as you can get it. A one way car rental would be a little less IF you got a "no charge for car seat" situation. I'd use Budget for a rental OR whoever is cheapest--we've used several companies, and Budget usually wins out. They run 2 shuttles on cruise days and are close to the terminal. Discount codes are at rentalcodes.com and mousesavers.com

Another option...depending on when you will arrive....there are several hotels in the MCO area that offer a package of an overnight stay, breakfast, and transportation to the cruise terminal (or round trip transportation!). Those that I have experience with are the Hyatt Place NW (different from Hyatt MCO, book under "specials" tab at their web site), Wyngate (changed service time...check on it before you book!). I've read that one of the Hampton Inns also offers a similar package, but no personal experience.

My opinion is that if I get in early enough to enjoy being at WDW, that's great. If I'm just looking for dinner and a bed, I'll save time and money by staying in the MCO area.

 

[MichelleVW]

My husband, daughter and I will be flying down to Orlando the night before our cruise and staying at a Disney Resort. I know Disney has Magical Express service to and from the port but paying $70 for a two year old who will undoubtedly sit on my lap seems a bit steep! I've looked at towncar services but they don't seem to save much money with only 3 of us. I would love to hear what everyone else has used in the past and what they found the most convenient.

If you rented a car, what company would you suggest going with? We've used Alamo in the past due to some great coupon codes, but we've run into a lot of problems with their service. Should we do two one-way rentals or a 4 day rental and pay the parking fees? We plan on visiting the Magic Kingdom the day we return so the quicker we can get to the park the better! =) Any tips or suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Unless you have other places you want to go/stop on the way to the ship I really recommend DCL transfers for convenience. We flew down the night before our cruise a few weeks ago, stayed at the MCO Hyatt and took the Disney transfers to the ship. There were only 3 of us, so basically the same cost as a one way rental. It was SOOO convenient.

We've used Thrifty in the past and the first time it was painless, but a few weeks ago on our return trip to WDW it was horrible and took forever for us to get the car.

 

[calismic]

If they do not charge for my daughter then I'll definitely be doing DCL transfer. Our travel agent seems to think she'll be charged though.

 

[MichelleVW]

If they do not charge for my daughter then I'll definitely be doing DCL transfer. Our travel agent seems to think she'll be charged though.

Pretty sure they charge for everyone, but even for the extra $35, the convenience is totally worth it. If it were me, I would take DCL to the port and then rent a car for the return trip.

 

[calismic]

Now I'm thinking I should change my hotel reservation and just stay at MCO. Going to a Disney resort is going to add 20 minutes to the transfer and they apparently leave later. Bah!

 

[kelzow]

Car rental is the way to go...$25 right now! alamo, dollar, enterprise (NOT HERTZ!) all will drop you off and bring you to the port!!! cant beat the deal! save your money for the cruise!!!!! priceline.com

 

[kelzow]

I was referring to the Miami port. Not sure about PC. sorry.

 

[kshark1958]

My husband, daughter and I will be flying down to Orlando the night before our cruise and staying at a Disney Resort. I know Disney has Magical Express service to and from the port but paying $70 for a two year old who will undoubtedly sit on my lap seems a bit steep! I've looked at towncar services but they don't seem to save much money with only 3 of us. I would love to hear what everyone else has used in the past and what they found the most convenient.

If you rented a car, what company would you suggest going with? We've used Alamo in the past due to some great coupon codes, but we've run into a lot of problems with their service. Should we do two one-way rentals or a 4 day rental and pay the parking fees? We plan on visiting the Magic Kingdom the day we return so the quicker we can get to the park the better! =) Any tips or suggestions would be great. Thanks!

We are doing the same thing as you minus the child. Our biggest concern was what time we would be getting to the port. We were told that DCL would pick us up between 11 and 1. From other threads I read about DCL transportation we may not have gotten to port till about 2 depending on what time you are picked up at the resort. I wanted to be at port between 11 and 12. This was not gonna happen with the DCL bus. So we rented a one way from budget at airport Friday drop off at PC Saturday. We got a discount number on another thread which made the car cheaper then DCL transfer.We control our own schedule along with stopping for a couple things on way to port. We are going to airport after cruise so we will use DCL bus then. If time was not a concern then I would have done DCL transfer to port. As a first timer I want to get to port early enough to take my time, not feel rushed and take my time to look around once on board. If you don't find your answer on this thread I found quite a few answers on other threads in this forum.

 

[kcashner]

We are doing the same thing as you minus the child. Our biggest concern was what time we would be getting to the port. We were told that DCL would pick us up between 11 and 1. From other threads I read about DCL transportation we may not have gotten to port till about 2 depending on what time you are picked up at the resort. I wanted to be at port between 11 and 12. This was not gonna happen with the DCL bus. So we rented a one way from budget at airport Friday drop off at PC Saturday. We got a discount number on another thread which made the car cheaper then DCL transfer.We control our own schedule along with stopping for a couple things on way to port. We are going to airport after cruise so we will use DCL bus then. I

You will not get to the port between 11 and 12 on a DCL transfer from WDW. They don't even start picking up at resorts till 11:30. Each bus picks up from as many as 3 resorts (the exact system depends on how many guests have transfers booked at each resort.)

IF you are on a participating airline with a flight in the appropriate time window, I'd highly recommend DCL transfers on the way home--it is so easy to not have to deal with luggage, especially when you are dealing with children!

 

[MichelleVW]

Now I'm thinking I should change my hotel reservation and just stay at MCO. Going to a Disney resort is going to add 20 minutes to the transfer and they apparently leave later. Bah!

It was pricey to stay at the Hyatt (we paid $171) but since we had a late arriving flight the night before it was TOTALLY worth the convenience of collecting our bags and walking to our room. We got on the second bus leaving the next morning and I think we arrived at the port around 11. It was SOOO easy, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Especially since you have a little one.