Part of the answer to your question depends on what hotel you are using.
WDW is about 30 minutes in the wrong direction from the port. If you are arriving early enough in the day to enjoy the time at WDW, you can make a reservation at a WDW resort. In that case, you can go from MCO to WDW free on Magical Express (the bus to WDW). This is not public transportation in the "city bus" sense, it is operated by Mears for Disney.
We typically fly in after work/school the night before. We get a 2.5* room on Priceline. At this level, the hotels all include a complimentary shuttle to/from MCO and complimentary breakfast. We typically pay about $42-45 including all fees and taxes. Hotels we've had recently include the Amerisuites and the Hyatt Place...both about 5 minutes from the airport.
Your transportation choices are
DCL transfers (a bus), a towncar/limo service, or a rental car. You can do DCL transfers from either the airport or WDW.
SO...if you go to WDW, you can take the DCL transfer from there. If you stay at a hotel near the airport, you can take their transportation back to the airport and catch the bus (again, not like the city bus.) Cost of DCL transfers is $35 per person each way. If you choose to rent a car, the rental is for a 24 hour period. You can rent it when you get to MCO, drive to your hotel, and in the morning drive to the Cape Canaveral area where you drop it off. The car rental companies have free shuttles back to the port. Companies in the Cape Canaveral area are Budget, Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, and Thrifty. Discount rental codes are available at mousesavers.com and rentalcodes.com.
A limo service would pick you up at your hotel and take you to the terminal. Cost would be about $100 - 130.
Ask again when you're narrowed your choices a little, and we can give a lot more help!
It is cheaper to stay in the MCO area if what you want is a clean, safe room and breakfast. Hotels in the Cape Canaveral area are more expensive. For convenience, a private limo/towncar service is easiest, a rental car is cheapest. DCL transfers are convenient but expensive. If you go to the port area when you arrive, be sure you either have your car (turn it in the morning of the cruise and use that shuttle) or if using a limo service, be sure the hotel has a shuttle to the port...some hotels have free shuttles, some charge for a shuttle.
Also, is it easier to stay at a WDW hotel the night before or do you stay closer to the port like in Cape Canaveral?
