choosing between being close to airport or Universal

[brooker]

We have a early return flight booked for our May trip. 7:00AM. We have our last 3 nights planned for an offsite DIsney hotel to take in Universal Studios for 2-3 days. Would you rather stay close to the airport or closer to Univeral? I am trying to decide between ...Western Airport Inn 8101 Aircenter Court, McCoy Road ,Orlando, FL 32809, or else ...The Floridian Hotel 7531 Canada Avenue ,Orlando, FL 34480. Both seem to have good reviews and both have a good rate. Is a a big deal getting from International drive area in the the early AM....around 4:30 -5:00 AM to the airport?

 

[spiceycat]

not really - just remember construction at the airport - so leave at least 2hours early - after our last stay I would make it 3 hour early.

we arrived at the airport at 5:00am for an 8:30am flight (okay I always arrive early generally 4 hours). and unbelievable there was a line - a long line at the check in area.

and boy you should have seem security - later it was reported of taking an hour to get through security....

so this airport can be slow. I think it is just an awful lot of people.

 

[Darcy03231]

If you aren't renting a car I would definitely stay near Universal and take advantage of the hotel shuttle/International Dr. trolley system. Paying taxi fare back and forth from US/IOA to an airport hotel could get expensive.

 

[brooker]

If you aren't renting a car I would definitely stay near Universal and take advantage of the hotel shuttle/International Dr. trolley system. Paying taxi fare back and forth from US/IOA to an airport hotel could get expensive.

We are renting a car for the last 3 days of our trip. Thats why I was trying to decide whether to stay closer to the airport or Univeresal. There seems to be a good number of decent hotels in the International Drive area so we may end up staying there.

 

[5mins2disney]

I wouldn't stay near the airport, it only takes me 15-20 mins to get there from Windsor Hills on a Sunday, middle of the day...and that's further away than Universal. At 4:30-5am the roads will be empty, you'll be there in 15 minutes.

There's really not much over by the airport anyhow, so why stay there?

I would enjoy your last night there!

 

[brooker]

I wouldn't stay near the airport, it only takes me 15-20 mins to get there from Windsor Hills on a Sunday, middle of the day...and that's further away than Universal. At 4:30-5am the roads will be empty, you'll be there in 15 minutes.

There's really not much over by the airport anyhow, so why stay there?

I would enjoy your last night there!

We have 3 nights off Disney property actually. I was only considering to be close to the airport because of the early flight out, and those 3 days will be my first ever driving in Orlando. I think we may stay closer to Universal though.....would you recommend the I-Drive area? It seems like you can get a decent 2-3 star like the Best Western Movieland for around $50 on HoltelKingdom.com.

 

[mmmagique]

You know, I'm thinking, that if you're careful, and choose wisely, a rental car costs about as much for a 3 day rental as for a week.
With a car at all times, you will have more control over where you want to stay.
Just a thought.

 

[5mins2disney]

We usually stay offsite since you can do SO much better than staying in any hotel....get a nicer place for less $$...or a much much nicer place (and I mean WAYYY nicer) for the same $$. If you're staying over by Universal (which I believe is by the convention center).... I might actually look into a 3 night stay in a brand new resort there called Vista Cay (built by Pulte...same builder as Windsor Hills Resort).

You can find places there on www.vrbo.com .

(Look in Orlando...then do a CTRL-F (find) in your web browser and search for Vista Cay...you'll find some properties listed then)... VRBO is one of the harder sites to navigate when it comes to searching for properties, but it's also the biggest.

I also found a few on www.cyberrentals.com by clicking in "Orlando" homes...the resort is so new they don't have it listed as a separate resort yet! It looks to be right next to Universal and the convention center though. Since it's new and most likely relatively empty (I looked at a few calendars and they look very sparse)... I would be looking to drive a hard bargain and get a great rate! hehe

 

[buzz2400]

easy way to get to airport from universal, you need to go down sand lake road towards the florida mall and just follow the signs to the airport. You then get on a highway for a short distance but you will see the airport.