Tampa airport

[pickers1982]

thinking of flying here. any views versus orlando international?

is immigration ok?

 

[disneyholic family]

Wayne has flown through tampa.
hopefully, he'll come in to answer this one...

 

[katytrott]

Just got back few weeks ago and for the 1st time used tampa both in and out. Can't praise it enough! We will be using every visit from now on

For one it's a lot cheaper - always a plus! I had read the immigration was better than at MCO and it really was. Whizzed through so quickly. Bag collection all straight forward and car hire also straight forward and no queues, even with popular company like Alamo (don't need to bother with fast track even though is available - from what I could see same with the other companies).

The drive to Orlando was very simple. Our car had sat nav so made much easier, however I'm sure we could have easily navigated without it (we did just that back to the airport). When coming out of the airport you're pretty much straight on the I4 which obviously you can't go wrong once on that. It only took just over 1hr to get to the apartment in Davenport which is just off I4 - add on further 10mins to get to WDW also just off I4.

Coming home just as easy. I would say not many shops at the moment and not masses of restaurant options, however what is there is perfectly good and the airport is in process of big redevelopment and will eventually have more shops etc.

We realised that the extra time it takes to travel from Tampa to Orlando is the same amount of time it takes to get through MCO - so same amount of time door to door UK to Orlando for much cheaper price! No brainer!

Hope that helps! I was hunting for info like this myself before our trip

 

[poppyberry]

We flew into and out of Tampa just last week. I'd agree with everything above. So quick compared to Orlando and none of that faffing about on entry with collecting and dropping bags. We'd do it again in a heartbeat, in fact on return there were loads of brits on our connecting flight

 

[Tanzanite]

Love Tampa airport spent all night there on a flight had 24 hour starbucks .Immigration very good not as busy as Orlando.

 

[janeyb]

We have flown into Tampa many times due to the cheaper flight prices. I agree with all the above and immigration is far better than MCO. It's a great option until things go wrong however! Especially with three young children, two with additional needs. The ground staff at Tampa were awful. We arrived for our direct flight with BA 3 hours before departure to be handed a peice of paper in the check in queue to say our flight was was cancelled! No apology. Absolutely nightmare trying to get everyone home as obviously far less options from Tampa and certainly no direct flights available. Eventually we boarded an indirect flight over 24 hours later (back in Orlando) and my daughter spent her 7th birthday in the air and missed her party I had arranged for the next day! The plus point was that the captain had her in the cockpit on landing and handed her the map of where in the air we were when it turned midnight and she turned 7! Obviously this is rare (I'd like to think) but it is something to consider. It was such a horrendous experience and the way we etc treated so terrible that we've stuck to MCO since. This is was just our experience however, this isn't to put anyone off, but obviously with the cheaper option there are potential risks - like cancelled flights and far less options of available seats on other aircrafts to get home and certainly not direct if that is something that is important to you. Just something to bear in mind.

 

[pickers1982]

thanks for all the feedback guys. Went ahead and booked it for august next year woohoo. Main reason started looking is that i had a companion voucher which had no availability on the orlando flights (given popularity i assume) but by the sound of it should hopefully work out better. flying BA so hopefully if there are any issues such as Janey B had they fly daily. Managed to bag business class back which is a result.

We were thinking of flying via dublin just to avoid immigration in orlando which hate with young kids post a long flight at a the equivalent of the middle of the night. even find hire car pick up stressful in orlando. at moment the flight into tampa due in at 2pm which is a good time too

 

[poppyberry]

Good for you, I think you'll like it. We are flying into Orlando in December and I'm dreading it, especially as there's some construction there currently that I'm not sure when its complete. I'm already looking into alternative airports for next summer!

 

[iris1910]

We flew into Tampa on a companion flight this year. We were through customs, picked up our bags and out into our car within 25 mins. It is a great airport. It's also good for getting through security on the way back. The only downside if you are hiring a car is lack of choice.