Best route from MCO to AKL?

[MrsHammer]

Planning on renting a car for our next trip. When I pull up directions from MCO to AKL on google maps, it gives me a couple of different routes. Any opinions out there on what the best choice is? We will be driving on a Saturday late afternoon, so hopefully 'rush hour' wouldn't be a factor.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Orlando traffic can vary so wildly, even on the weekends, that I’d go with whichever route Google Maps or Waze says will be quickest when you leave the airport. I’m a local; I’ve seen standstills in the middle of the day or even in the middle of the night.

 

[FCDub]

1. Get in car
2. Open Google Maps and enter AKL
3. Follow directions

Anything else is overthinking in my book.

 

[Lewisc]

Your route will be longer if you set your map program to avoid tolls.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Orlando traffic can vary so wildly, even on the weekends, that I’d go with whichever route Google Maps or Waze says will be quickest when you leave the airport. I’m a local; I’ve seen standstills in the middle of the day or even in the middle of the night.

Yeah, x2 on this. I don’t plan my drive at all - I do whatever Waze tells me to any time I’m driving to/from MCO/WDW.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just don't pick the route that one of my Uber drivers did! He'd never been to AKL, so he followed Google maps, which took him through the DAK parking lot!

 

[georgina]

Looking at it right now, Google maps has the northern rte (528) as 2 minutes faster. I personally prefer the southern route (417) avoiding I4 and would pick that if the time difference was small.

 

[MrsHammer]

Looking at it right now, Google maps has the northern rte (528) as 2 minutes faster. I personally prefer the southern route (417) avoiding I4 and would pick that if the time difference was small.

Yes, those are the two routes I was looking at. I wasn't sure if one was typically less congested than the other. Thank you for the input!

 

[Lewisc]

FWIW Car service drivers like the N route and internet boards favor the S route. Obviously traffic conditions may change. I guess professional drivers don't mind I4

 

[CarolynFH]

FWIW Car service drivers like the N route and internet boards favor the S route. Obviously traffic conditions may change. I guess professional drivers don't mind I4

Are the tolls lower on 528 than on 417? That could be a reason.

 

[kwdw]

Note, your route might differ if you plan to make a stop, too, so factor that in. When I rent a car, unless I plan to rush to a park, I always stop at the grocery store on my way to my resort. I’ve got a couple that are my local favorites and I’m certain the route would be different depending on which one I wanted to go to that day. I personally prefer the south option on 417 when headed to AKL directly. It just feels less congested to me and I like that as I’m getting used to the rental car.

 

[rwdavis2]

Never ig

Yeah, x2 on this. I don’t plan my drive at all - I do whatever Waze tells me to any time I’m driving to/from MCO/WDW.

Never ignore mister Waze and Google.

 

[gharter]

We take 417. Part of that is that we stop at the Target off 417 and get our breakfast and snack items. As well as any thing else we forgot.

 

[Lewisc]

Car service drivers frequently schedule a stop at a publix in Williamsburg , N route. The stops adds a few minutes to driving time. It's probably the most time effective stop/ routing.