Connecting in Montreal (YUL) ??? Update in first post.

[disneymath]

Has anyone connected in Montreal (YUL) to get to Orlando?

Right now, for our dates, it is cheaper to fly Toronto (YYZ) to Montreal (YUL) to Orlando (MCO) than direct to Orlando. We would also get to Orlando an hour earlier.

(Please don't suggest that we fly from Buffalo as this is not an option. )

How "chaotic" is the Montreal airport? Would our luggage be checked on through? We will be a party of 8 - five adults, a 3yo and twin 1yos. (We won't have carseats ... plan on using the CARES flight system ... and will have minimal carryon luggage.) In your opinion is it worth the savings of $320 or is it too much as a hassle?

ETA: The layover time is just over an hour. Also, would we clear US Customs in Toronto (which we are familiar with) or in Montreal (which would be a new experience - how does it compare with TO?)

Thanks in advance.

UPDATE (March 2) - So I decided to check out Westjet's flighs from Toronto a final time last night - I wasn't too hopeful as their prices had been much higher than Air Canada. Surprise - there was a seat sale!

So for basically the same price as our Toronto-Montreal-Orlando plan, we are flying direct from Toronto. The flight leaves about 10 minutes after the direct to MCO Air Canada flight, so really it is the best of both worlds. (We had snagged our return flights in November thanks to a great AC seat sale, so we're good to go!)

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

Have not connected, but we FLY from YUL all the time, as it is just a few minutes away.

You will clear customs in Montreal (we clear in Toronto when we connect) as it is a domestic flight to YUL for you. You will have to claim your luggage, walk through customs, drop off your luggage, then go to the US departures wing.

You should be OK as long as there are no big delays leaving for Montreal.

It is a hike now that the new wing is open, but the airline would not you book it if it was not dooable. Good Luck!

 

[disneymath]

Have not connected, but we FLY from YUL all the time, as it is just a few minutes away.

You will clear customs in Montreal (we clear in Toronto when we connect) as it is a domestic flight to YUL for you. You will have to claim your luggage, walk through customs, drop off your luggage, then go to the US departures wing.

You should be OK as long as there are no big delays leaving for Montreal.

It is a hike now that the new wing is open, but the airline would not you book it if it was not dooable. Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply ... I kinda figured we would have to clear in Montreal as opposed to Toronto which is a definite negative to this plan. (As five adults, we've juggled one baby, a stroller and all our luggage while clearing customs in TO to make a connection and it's not exactly fun - and this time we would be adding a second stroller and two more little ones to the mix.)

I have a love/hate relationship with Air Canada, it seems we either have a great experience with them or there is a major issue, so the comment "It is a hike now that the new wing is open, but the airline would not you book it if it was not dooable" made me chuckle!

 

[Gigi22]

We haven't connected in Montreal, but we take the train to Dorval, and stay overnight at an airport hotel, so that we can fly non-stop Montreal-Orlando, rather than flying into Toronto and going through the fun of the massive lineups there. It is a lot better flying from Montreal, IMHO!

 

[disneymath]

We haven't connected in Montreal, but we take the train to Dorval, and stay overnight at an airport hotel, so that we can fly non-stop Montreal-Orlando, rather than flying into Toronto and going through the fun of the massive lineups there. It is a lot better flying from Montreal, IMHO!

Hmm ... we're about 12 hours from Montreal (only 8 from Toronto). That extra 4 hours (to a place none of us is familiar with) is a lot. We'll probably just fly out of Toronto since it's way we know. We have some time before our trip so I will keep checking the prices day by day ... maybe we'll get a good seat sale in the next few days.

 

[siobhan1997]

We connected through Montreal from Ottawa. If you are flying Air Canada they will take care of the luggage transfer for you, so you will not have to collect it. The walk was really long from our arrival gate to our new departure gate and then when we got to customs the line up was rediculous. We spent around 50 minutes in line up for customs. If the time was very close they pulled you out of line. When we finally got to our new departure gate we only had about 5 minutes to spare before boarding began. We had an 1.5 hour layover and we needed every bit of it when we travelled in November. I would suggest you move quickly towards your new departure gate. Have a great trip!!

 

[disneymath]

We connected through Montreal from Ottawa. If you are flying Air Canada they will take care of the luggage transfer for you, so you will not have to collect it. The walk was really long from our arrival gate to our new departure gate and then when we got to customs the line up was rediculous. We spent around 50 minutes in line up for customs. If the time was very close they pulled you out of line. When we finally got to our new departure gate we only had about 5 minutes to spare before boarding began. We had an 1.5 hour layover and we needed every bit of it when we travelled in November. I would suggest you move quickly towards your new departure gate. Have a great trip!!

Yikes ... our connection time would only be about 1 hour, not 1.5. More the reason to put this option aside.

 

[princess pooh]

One positive is that the montreal airport has gotten very baby friendly. There was a special line for customs and security for people with wheelchairs and strollers. I got back from Florida last week and we got to bypass the crazy lines.

The CARES harness is great! It really kept my kiddo contained and it's much easier to deal with than a carseat.

 

[disneymath]

The CARES harness is great! It really kept my kiddo contained and it's much easier to deal with than a carseat.

Oh! I'm glad you posted this! Based on the photo in your siggie, your kiddo looks to be about the size the twins will be when we're travelling. They're already pretty tall and sturdy.