Uber in Orlando

[Simba UK]

Hi

Has anyone used Uber in Orlando, getting conflicting reports on whether it is legal there.

If so how was it? We don't drive so usually get taxi's to malls when we want to have a break from the parks.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Uber is perfectly legal in Orlando. The issue is using Uber to pick up at the airport (MCO); I believe that technically it is not allowed.

 

[Pegasus928]

Apparently a hack is to use one of the free shuttle buses from the airport and arrange your driver to pick you up from somewhere close to, but not on, the airport.

 

[JCTurner]

My wife and I never take a car in Orlando, this year we wanted to visit the VIneland Outlets and used Uber. Service was great (about $19 each way for XL from YC to the outlets) and the drivers were friendly , helpful etc.

Highly recommend Uber (at least the two drivers we had).

J

 

[2Tiggies]

Is $19 each way a good deal? I recall us paying just over $40 return including tips with a regular Mears taxi last year. Or is Mears more expensive now?

 

[Gazzzwilliams]

We had a brilliant experience using uber last year! We used it to get from Disney to Universal and it cost half the price than a regular Taxi.
Also if your a new member uber sometimes credit your account so i used every person in my group to set one up for some free rides.
The drivers we had where all lovely! one was an accountant who did this on the side to top up his income and another was a lovely Mexican lady who kept us amused with all her stories.
They also gave us free bottled water and told us the great places to eat in Orlando.

 

[RossK]

Is $19 each way a good deal? I recall us paying just over $40 return including tips with a regular Mears taxi last year. Or is Mears more expensive now?

Mears can be a lot more expensive than Uber. Just use the Mears fare estimator on their site for an idea and compare it to the Uber in-app estimator. I find that Uber's estimations are pretty accurate (and tend to come out on the lower end of their estimation bracket).

 

[mellowyellowuk]

Are uber drivers vetted? I can remember. I'm would be on my own so part of me think I'd rather pay more get mears and know what I'm getting into.

 

[wayneg]

I don't have a clue what Uber is but ate in Chili's the night in Homestead Fl. Their on table kiosk was offering $30 Uber credit if you signed up thru their app. Don't know I the same offer is available in Orlando but might be worth doing some research.

 

[Simba UK]

Thank you all for the replies. I have downloaded Uber onto 2 phones with $30 coupon credit on each.

We fly off on Tuesday, ready to go to Heathrow airport hotel tomorrow.

Family in need of this break, we can't wait.

 

[BagOLaughs]

I've never used Uber but this is a really good blog post on it:

http://www.disneytouristblog.com/uber-disney-world-rental-car/

 

[RossK]

Are uber drivers vetted? I can remember. I'm would be on my own so part of me think I'd rather pay more get mears and know what I'm getting into.

Uber drivers are generally vetted to the same standard as any other minicab driver (which is very little other than a driving license check and in some jurisdictions a background/criminal records check). 'Bad' people can get in to any business - going with Mears doesn't provide any more security than Uber. One could argue that Uber provides more safety than the majority of providers, given that it tracks and records the precise GPS location of all of its cars and you receive the drivers name, photo and registration number well before they arrive. You are also automatically emailed at the end of the journey with all that information, along with a map showing the exact route you took (so you can be sure you didn't take a route to inflate the fare). If there's any dispute over the fare, you can contact Uber directly and they will re-calculate the fare based on the optimum route and refund you the difference. There are way more checks and balances in place with Uber.