Doing Disney World before Miami Cruise - any experiences to share?

[b2k1121]

Sailing on the Magic in January out of Miami and being AP holders we are planning a couple days pre-cruise at WDW. Right now the plan is to rent a car at MCO when we arrive and drive down to Miami the morning of the cruise after a couple days staying onsite. We would drop the car off at MIA and take a free shuttle to the port, then fly home out of MIA after the cruise.

How's the drive traffic wise? Anyone taken Uber/Lyft this long of a distance? Are there usually drivers available willing to go that far? A Lyft estimate is actually only slightly more expensive (Rental price, gas, tolls, parking fees at WDW) would eliminate some of the headaches of renting a car and it would be somewhat of a relief to not have to drive, worry about tolls, etc.

Are there any other options we haven't thought of? Experiences in general sailing out of Miami?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It is about a 4 hour drive in optimal traffic. Quote aside, that is the kind of job few Uber/Lyft drivers will pick up and I'd not count on finding a ride in a timely way.

Best way is to drive, and leave early, or go down the night before and find a hotel near port.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I would be way too stressed about potential traffic issues to leave the entire 4 hour drive for the day of the cruise. The traffic there between ft. Lauderdale and Miami can be really awful. Can you leave wdw the evening before and get at least half way there?

 

[b2k1121]

I would be way too stressed about potential traffic issues to leave the entire 4 hour drive for the day of the cruise. The traffic there between ft. Lauderdale and Miami can be really awful. Can you leave wdw the evening before and get at least half way there?

Yes, we likely could, I haven't considered this. The parks probably won't be open late in January. Any suggestions of where to stop?

 

[greensombrero]

We are doing something similar in Jan and I’m curious about the drive too. We are flying into MCO more because we got a killer deal on airfare and won’t be doing more than Disney Springs before driving down. We got a hotel in Miami for the night before. It looks like it has a view of the port which should be fun. We plan to rent a car. I was curious what traffic is like on a weekday afternoon coming from Orlando? Will we be in the direction with or against most of the traffic? What time does it get really bad? We probably should try and leave early enough to avoid hitting rush hour as I’m not a fan of sitting in it. We do plan to just take the toll road which I’m hoping is better.

 

[jrabbit]

Taking the Florida turnpike from WDW to Miami is about 4 hours. There's "nothing" between WDW and the Vero Beach / Fort Pierce area (about 2 hours - so half way). If going to Vero Beach you would exit Florida turnpike much earlier than if heading to Fort Pierce (without having to drive north to Vero Beach).

That being said about every 30 - 40 miles there are very nice rest areas with quick food and clean restaurants. We did the reverse - got off the ship in Miami and drove to the World. Was a pleasant and pretty easy drive.

If driving to the Miami airport vs. the cruise port, I would plan on at least another hour for the dropping of the car and getting to the shuttle. If you could drop off at a location closer to the port it would be easier.

If I were doing this in the morning, I would be in the car and on the road leaving WDW by 8am if going to the port and by 7am if going to the airport. That will give you about 3 hours of "whoopsie daisy" time in transit.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I think I would want to get to at least the Jupiter area or south of there to feel comfortable. Of course the worst of the traffic will still be ahead of you, but at least you will have cut out a couple of hours for that morning.

 

[hrhdhd]

Note that not all of the rental car places have a free shuttle from MIA to PortMiami.

 

[ktate82]

We have done this a few times. I agree with not trying to drive down the morning of. We did that once, and it was very stressful with everything running behind. We like to do all of the drive in one part so the next morning, it's done. Alamo is who we have always used due to their free shuttle, plus they are usually the cheapest. I wouldn't depend on a Lyft as PP said, it may be difficult to get someone to drive that far. You could return the car when you got to Miami though and take a Lyft back to the hotel and then to port the next morning to free up some time. It's only about 20 minutes from MIA to the port.

 

[party-of-five]

We’re planning to do this in February - fly into Orlando, pick up a rental car and visit the parks for a few days, and then drive to Miami the day before our cruise. I’m still working thru the logistics of dropping off the rental, getting transportation for 6 to the port and then back to a rental car for the drive back to MCO for a 5:30pm flight. (from MCO we can get a direct flight home to New England and I would rather the drive than connecting somewhere in the winter). We plan to use National - does anyone have a link to information regarding the “free shuttle” mentioned above?

 

[greensombrero]

We’re planning to do this in February - fly into Orlando, pick up a rental car and visit the parks for a few days, and then drive to Miami the day before our cruise. I’m still working thru the logistics of dropping off the rental, getting transportation for 6 to the port and then back to a rental car for the drive back to MCO for a 5:30pm flight. (from MCO we can get a direct flight home to New England and I would rather the drive than connecting somewhere in the winter). We plan to use National - does anyone have a link to information regarding the “free shuttle” mentioned above?

When I looked at it the extra fee to pick up in MCO and drop off in MIA seemed to be enough it made sense to just park at the port and then not worry about a shuttle or anything. Parking didn’t seem unreasonable from what I saw. I think I’m leaning that way to not stress about getting the car on the return. I’m curious if you found it would be cheaper to return and rent again vs port parking.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We have stayed in WDW and rented a car to drive to Miami for a cruise twice without problems. We’ve used the rental car shuttle from the airport to the port both times.

 

[Lynne G]

Eh, we stayed in Universal with our rental car, then drove down to Miami, parked at the pier the same day we sailed out. Used the turnpike and stopped midway to use the restroom and get some breakfast. We left around 7:30 am, and were on the Magic by noon. I had no traffic at all on the turnpike. On the way back, we stopped for restroom, and filled up the car's gas tank. I also have the Sun Pass, so no stopping for tolls. We drove back the day we got off the cruise, and enjoyed some lunch at Disney Springs, and shopped until we had to return our car for our flight out of MCO. We found it not a bad drive at all.

Have fun, the Magic was a nice ship, and we enjoyed sailing with her, and the Marvel stuff they had. 3rd week in January, now almost a year ago. No matter, we'll be sailing the 2nd week of January, this coming January, though going out of Tampa, But since Tampa was cheaper to fly out of, we're driving to Universal for a few days, then back to Tampa. We will park at the port there too, as thanks to SW Air to change our dinner time flight to late morning. You can bet no leisurely stroll out of the ship that we did this past January.

 

[cvjw]

We did the drive to the Miami port from Disney last March. We were on the road by 7:00 am. We had no issues at all. It was a very easy drive - we only encountered traffic once we reached Miami. We were on the magic by noon. We just followed waze and it led us directly to the port.

 

[Dug720]

We did the drive to the Miami port from Disney last March. We were on the road by 7:00 am. We had no issues at all. It was a very easy drive - we only encountered traffic once we reached Miami. We were on the magic by noon. We just followed waze and it led us directly to the port.

Yes, it worked for you. But what if an accident shut down the roadway for a few hours (it CAN happen)? Then you're up that famous tributary without means of locomotion.

Always better to have contingency plans and think ahead. It would stink to miss your cruise because there was a major incident that shut down the road someone else had assured you was never a problem.

 

[b2k1121]

Thanks to suggestions above we are leaning towards heading down to either Fort Lauderdale or all the way to Miami the night before, getting a cheap hotel, then drop off the Alamo rental at the airport in the morning and take the free Alamo shuttle to the port. I don't mind driving late at night so we can stay in parks until close and then head down.

 

[Dug720]

Thanks to suggestions above we are leaning towards heading down to either Fort Lauderdale or all the way to Miami the night before, getting a cheap hotel, then drop off the Alamo rental at the airport in the morning and take the free Alamo shuttle to the port. I don't mind driving late at night so we can stay in parks until close and then head down.

Just as a note...There are not really "cheap" hotels in that area that are also nice. Especially the night before a cruise. And a lot may already be booked - especially if your "January" is remotely close to the Super Bowl as that has Miami booked up for a while.

 

[b2k1121]

Just as a note...There are not really "cheap" hotels in that area that are also nice. Especially the night before a cruise. And a lot may already be booked - especially if your "January" is remotely close to the Super Bowl as that has Miami booked up for a while.

It's in early January and by cheap, I just meant the price will be our biggest consideration since we will only be there to sleep for a night.

 

[Dug720]

It's in early January and by cheap, I just meant the price will be our biggest consideration since we will only be there to sleep for a night.

Ok. Just saying that it is really not a cheap area. On several groups I'm seeing people struggling to find anything in Jan/Feb for less than $200-$250 a night.

 

[Arianabtd]

Last december me and my mom were at WDW and ended up flying from MCO to MIA the day before our cruise. We got an evening-ish flight and spent the night at the airport hotel.
It was really nice to have a half day at WDW before we needed to go, and not having the feeling tired from a long drive. The flight was so short we loved it
Just an option!