Disney before cruise leaving from port of Miami

[MrsBergs]

Hi. We are going on a Disney Dream cruise. We want to go to Disney 5 nights prior to the cruise. So our dilemma is how do we get to the port of Miami? Is there a shuttle service? Has anyone done this? Is it doable?
I appreciate all your knowledge

 

[hrhdhd]

A rental car is probably the best option; you could also fly.

 

[princesscinderella]

You could get a flight on SW airlines between MCO and FLL. Fort Lauderdale is about 30 minutes from the port of Miami if traffic is good. It’s almost the same from MIA it’s a different set of traffic. Have an Uber take you to the port.

 

[Marypoppins14]

I lived in Miami for five years... the trip from Orlando to Miami is a good four hour trip, so there’s that. FLL can be an easier airport, but the traffic from Ft Lauderdale to Miami can be a crap shoot... as little as 30 minutes, to major traffic jams, depending on the day of the week and time of day. If it’s just adults and teens, I’d say it may be workable. Not so sure, with younger children. Hope this helps...

 

[hotblooded]

I concur that rental car would be the way to go. I wouldn't recommend flying on embarkation day if you could help it.

 

[dtk07]

We did the opposite this for our last cruise. Our cruise ended in Miami (repositioning cruise) and we drove up to Disney World in a rental car.

I thought the Florida turnpike was easy driving. A little over 3 hours isn't bad. We also loved how much quieter the Disney Character Warehouse at Sawgrass Mills was compared to the two Orlando area locations, broke up the drive too.

Pick up a rental car on Disney property for a one way rental. After you do the drive, the drop off in Miami was near the airport and includes a shuttle to the cruise port. Pretty easy to do if you don't mind a little driving on vacation.

 

[hrhdhd]

We did the opposite this for our last cruise. Our cruise ended in Miami (repositioning cruise) and we drove up to Disney World in a rental car.

I thought the Florida turnpike was easy driving. A little over 3 hours isn't bad. We also loved how much quieter the Disney Character Warehouse at Sawgrass Mills was compared to the two Orlando area locations, broke up the drive too.

Pick up a rental car on Disney property for a one way rental. After you do the drive, the drop off in Miami was near the airport and includes a shuttle to the cruise port. Pretty easy to do if you don't mind a little driving on vacation.

Not all of the car rental companies offer a shuttle (free or otherwise) from the airport to the port. Be sure to check, or you can take a cab/Uber.

If you're going to drive the Turnpike, learn about SunPass and how the rental company charges for tolls.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Hi. We are going on a Disney Dream cruise. We want to go to Disney 5 nights prior to the cruise. So our dilemma is how do we get to the port of Miami? Is there a shuttle service? Has anyone done this? Is it doable?
I appreciate all your knowledge

We stayed at the Beach Club and rented a car from Alamo the night before our drive. Instead of taking the bus back from MK to BC, we took the bus for the Swan/Dolphin. IIRC, it's the Dolphin that has an Alamo office inside. This was a few years ago so I would double check that maybe things have changed but they told me they bill tolls separately on my cc after the trip. I was instructed to use the Sun Pass lanes and it would post to the license plate # and later I'd get a bill. It was maybe $8 or so.
This was also before Disney started charging for parking at their resorts.
At the car rental return center at MIA, they have a shuttle that takes you to the port free if you show a receipt for a car rental there that day so be sure to save your receipt. They did check ours.
I would do it again. It wasn't a bad drive but then again, it was a Sunday morning so there was no rush hour.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Not all of the car rental companies offer a shuttle (free or otherwise) from the airport to the port. Be sure to check, or you can take a cab/Uber.

If you're going to drive the Turnpike, learn about SunPass and how the rental company charges for tolls.

According to this, Alamo/National, Enterprise, Dollar & Thrifty all offer the shuttle to the port. Use the MIA location as your dropoff location. Things may have changed due to covid so I would call to confirm. My experience with Alamo was super smooth from start to finish.

 

[hrhdhd]

According to this, Alamo/National, Enterprise, Dollar & Thrifty all offer the shuttle to the port. Use the MIA location as your dropoff location. Things may have changed due to covid so I would call to confirm. My experience with Alamo was super smooth from start to finish.

We used Budget, and they don't have a shuttle. Some do, some don't.

 

[Weedy]

I know it won’t help you this cruise but ..,Train service is being built now. It will run from the Orlando airport. It’s supposed to be running in 2022

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We used Budget, and they don't have a shuttle. Some do, some don't.

Good point to know this in advance for anyone driving to the port.

 

[Arianabtd]

I did disney world before a miami cruise and ended up flying! We took a flight in the evening, so we had a nice day at disney before heading to MCO.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I could see how this could be so easy for a couple without children or a group of friends each paying their own way. For a family of 5 it could get expensive.
Dh and I once flew from Philly to Boston for a family party. We found RT flights for $81 so we offered to share a rental car with my inlaws. They said ‘Why fly when you can drive? It’s only a 6 hour drive.’ to which we replied, ‘Why drive when you can fly?’ It was a holiday weekend and they sat in traffic for hours; took them over 11 hours to get there. Our children were babies and didn’t come with us and we only had an overnight bag.

Really just depends on several factors but certainly doesn’t hurt to try both ways.
I probably would choose driving in winter monts just in case your airplane at MCO is expected to fly from Denver and they get snowed in.