Driving to Disney - Toll roads in Florida

[Theaberdeenkid]

We are taking the auto train to Florida, then driving from Sanford to Disney.
My question is I have been told that Florida does not accept cash on many of its toll roads.
Does anyone know if this is true and if it is what methods can I use to pay the tolls.

 

[skelooch]

The two fastest ways would be to take either I-4 without tolls or 417 which has manned tolls (exact change not required).
417 generally has much less traffic than I-4 which can have very heavy traffic during rush hours, but is a few miles shorter.

 

[pjzkent]

Just came back from there today, we were able to avoid the tollway from MCO to WDW. I believe the system is converting to a cashless system, but it doesn't appear to have happened in Orlando just yet. You can take a look at http://floridasturnpike.com/TRI/index.htm and figure out what the toll would be as well

 

[A Mickeyfan]

If you are worried about having cash or not taking cash for tolls, you can purchase a mini transponder.. here is a link that will give you all the info you need about them... where to get them, how much they are.. and even a place to calculate tolls....

https://www.sunpass.com/index

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Keep repeating this: ALL TOLL PLAZAS AROUND ORLANDO ACCEPT CASH* AND THERE ARE NO PLANS AT THIS TIME TO GO CASHLESS.

BobK/Orlando

*-all mainline toll plazas around Orlando are staffed 24/7 and accept currency and give change; all tolls at exit and entrance ramps are unstaffed and are coin only.

 

[twinmommyks]

Another toll question.....we are driving from MCO to Windsor Hills. Will there be tolls?

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We will be hiring a car in Miami & driving up to The World, is my understanding correct that there is no way to do this without paying tolls?
Most of the car hire companies see to want to charge a per day rate for tolls but once we are up there other than the odd journey up I-Drive we will not be doing that much driving untill we head back down to Miami to fly home.
Any help / advice anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

We will be hiring a car in Miami & driving up to The World, is my understanding correct that there is no way to do this without paying tolls? Most of the car hire companies see to want to charge a per day rate for tolls but once we are up there other than the odd journey up I-Drive we will not be doing that much driving untill we head back down to Miami to fly home. Any help / advice anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Some car rental companies have a SunPass transponder in the car in a little metal box that you open if you're opting to use their toll service. Keep the box closed if you don't want to use it and pay cash at each toll booth you encounter. Other rental companies participate in a toll-by-plate scheme. When people go through a toll booth without paying a photo is taken. The toll authority then runs the tag number, finds out it's a rental company and bills them. If you opted to use the rental company's toll program, they pay the toll and bill your credit card later. If you opted out, then they'll still bill your credit card later and hit you up with a large penalty fee. If you opt out of either system, make sure you stop at each toll plaza and get a receipt to prove you paid should the rental company try to bill you later.

It is possible to drive from Miami to Orlando and not pay tolls, but very impractical. The Turnpike is most direct and most expensive. You can save a lot of money by taking I-95 north to Cocoa and then TOLL 528 west to I-4 in Orlando.

Another toll question.....we are driving from MCO to Windsor Hills. Will there be tolls?

Yes, use the airport's SOUTH exit and then take TOLL 417 southbound to Exit 3. Follow the signs to US 192 which you'd take west. Once your past I-4 and the Disney exit, you'll turn left on CR 545 to Windsor Hills. There are 2 mainline toll plazas on TOLL 417, staffed 24/7, @ $1.25 each. At Exit 3 there is an exit ramp toll, not staffed, exact coins only; I think $.50.

BobK/Orlando

 

[goofy4tink]

When in the Orlando/Sanford area, you will have no issue with paying cash at the toll booths. You will head off to the right, where you will find cash/attended booths. Not an issue.
It is only when driving further south, in the Miami area, that you have to worry about cashless tolls. When I drove from Pompano Beach to the Keys last month, I paid one toll..in the Pompano Beach area on the Turnpike. AFter that .....no stopping. Evidently they have overhead cameras that record your plate and send you a bill. I'll have to ask my father what his bill looked like since it was his car. But, if it's a rental?? Who knows.

 

[Danibelle]

Keep repeating this: ALL TOLL PLAZAS AROUND ORLANDO ACCEPT CASH* AND THERE ARE NO PLANS AT THIS TIME TO GO CASHLESS.

BobK/Orlando

*-all mainline toll plazas around Orlando are staffed 24/7 and accept currency and give change; all tolls at exit and entrance ramps are unstaffed and are coin only.

Yes, this is true on the Beachline and the 417. The only cashless toll plazas at this time in in Miami/Dade.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Evidently they have overhead cameras that record your plate and send you a bill. I'll have to ask my father what his bill looked like since it was his car.

I don't think they send you a bill. I believe the owner is supposed to call a specific toll free number and pay the toll within a few days of the transaction.

Yes, this is true on the Beachline and the 417. The only cashless toll plazas at this time in in Miami/Dade.

TOLL 618 (Selmon Crosstown Expressway) in Tampa is also cashless, using toll-by-plate for cars that don't have a SunPass.

BobK/Orlando