Departing from Toronto

[Mummy2Sydney]

We have a 6:30am direct flight on Jan 22nd. I know the recommended time to get to the airport is 3 hrs early but really? What do you seasoned Disney folks recommend?

 

[stefanospops]

We flew out at 6:30am on Nov 28. It took us about 45 minutes to get through customs. However, there were a lot of flight cancellations throughout the US for bad weather so this was unusually quick. I suggest you get 3 hours early because the line to check in then get through customs can be quite long.

 

[tone.def]

3 hours in advance is a TSA recommendation. I'd follow it - you never know what could happen.

 

[4stroke]

I agree with the three hours, but the bottle neck typically is the customs hall. It doesn't open until 0430, so once you checkin and drop bags, you may be waiting to enter the hall for a bit.

I would say if you plan to be at the checkin by 0400, you'd be fine.

Enjoy the trip!!
4stroke

 

[Gigi22]

I would go with the recommended 3 hours too--in early Dec. it took the two of us 2.5 hours to get through Montreal Trudeau airport for our non-stop flight to MCO. YUL was having everyone go through the full body scanners or submit to an enhanced search.

 

[Nahanni]

I think you're flying Terminal 3 where there is nobody to assist "late" passengers through US customs so you should leave plenty of time.

With Air Canada they will escort late passengers and current flights to the front of the line but be prepared for daggers from those you jump.

 

[yxe dad]

If you fly on Air Canada I believe the flight has been changed to 7am. I was to be on the same flight on Fri Jan 21st and it changed from 630 to 7, then 7 to 1015. After the last change I called aeroplan and switched to fly all the way on Thursday the 20th from Saskatoon to Orlando instead of overnighting in TO.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi we flew out of Pearson, Term One on Dec 28/10, 7AM flight on AC to Orlando. We arrived at the airport at 5am and walked right up to the AC counter. 10 mins at most then on to US customs, you have to bring your luggage through customs. There was a good size lineup at customs only 3 agents on duty and one was dealing with someone who seemed to have a problem with paperwork. Some other agents showed up and the line started moving. Still took 40 mins. Check the bags after customs then through security. Took another 15 mins. Walked to the gate with lots of time to spare. Have a good trip!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I agree about getting there 3 hours early to be on the safe side. Now if you check-in online and print your boarding passes that will save you time so you can line up right away to get your checked bags tagged, instead of using the self serve kiosk machines that Air Canada has.

 

[mountain man]

Last year and in previous years when we had a 6:30am flight there was no customs service in Toronto. We had to clear customs in Orlando. We flew from terminal 3, not sure if there is a difference between terminal one when customs opens.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Last year and in previous years when we had a 6:30am flight there was no customs service in Toronto. We had to clear customs in Orlando. We flew from terminal 3, not sure if there is a difference between terminal one when customs opens.

I am going to assume you flew an Airline that requires you to clear US Customs in Orlando because Terminal 3 does have US Customs and if you fly on WestJet which is out of Terminal 3, you will clear them in Toronto.

 

[Mummy2Sydney]

Thank you everyone for your responses, we're flying with West Jet so it looks like we're safer getting there at 3:30

 

[mountain man]

Our planed started check in before US customs was open. I was pretty surprised the first time it happened that we didn't clear customs in Toronto. And then of course the airline had only French Customs forms which they handed out and helped translate. This resulted in a huge delay at Customs. We spent over an hour in the customs room. There were only passengers from our flight in the room.

 

[Jay*Dub]

If we fly from Calgary to MCO with a layover in Toronto, will be clear customs in Toronto or MCO?

Has anyone flown Westjet 1166 from Toronto to MCO before? It is schedule to land in MCO at 10:56pm. How long will it take to collect luggage and clear customs? Should we stay at a hotel close to the airport that night or should we try to get to our WDW resort that night?

Any help or insight you can provide would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ccudmore]

If we fly from Calgary to MCO with a layover in Toronto, will be clear customs in Toronto or MCO?

Has anyone flown Westjet 1166 from Toronto to MCO before? It is schedule to land in MCO at 10:56pm. How long will it take to collect luggage and clear customs? Should we stay at a hotel close to the airport that night or should we try to get to our WDW resort that night?

Any help or insight you can provide would be appreciated. Thank you.

You will clear customs in Toronto. There's a whole section on the GTAA web site with details on connecting through Pearson at http://www.gtaa.com/en/travellers/connecting/.

There's also a video walk-through at http://www.airportwayfinder.com/wayfinders/yyz/. Click Terminal 3 Connections and then Canada to U.S.

Give yourself 2 hours to collect luggage, clear customs and then re-clear security in Toronto. But it may take less. If it looks like it will be tight to make your connection just let someone know working around US customs and they'll often move you to the front of the line.

When you get to MCO you'll be considered a domestic arrival. Because you'll be arriving after 10pm your baggage won't be collected for you by Disney Magical Express. But the bus will still take you to the resort. According to flightaware.com WJ1166 has recently arrived anywhere between 10:46pm and 12:10am.

I'd say grab your bags (the terminal should be fairly quiet at that time of night) and either jump on DME, or better yet rent a car or take a taxi. I'll cut down your time to the resort by a fair bit. I'd personally prefer to just get to the resort (I'm assuming you're paying for the night already) no matter how late it is and enjoy being there. Sleep in the next morning and don't even worry about getting to a park.

 

[Jay*Dub]

Thank you for the links and your insight.