Eating dinner at MCO

[kandb]

We are arriving at MCO this Wednesday. After arrival, we wanted to eat at On the Border which is at the airport. I started wondering if this was going to be possible since we have to retrieve our luggage? If we pick up our luggage is it then possible to then eat at On the Border? I have a feeling we would have to go thru security again? which isn't going to happen.

 

[darth sansa]

You can always grab your bags and go back upstairs. I'm not sure why anyone would go out of their way to eat at an airport, but to each their own I guess. If Tripadvisor is any indication, grab a sandwich at a gas station on your way to your room instead?

 

[kandb]

We are picking up a rental car and are trying to pick it up as late as possible, as to not have to return it on the earlier side.

 

[seashoreCM]

.. I'm not sure why anyone would go out of their way to eat at an airport, but to each their own I guess.

One good reason: Because it is dinner time*.

Not sure where On The Border is but if that restaurant is in the center of the main terminal (after you take the tram) or in the Hyatt Hotel then you don't have to go back through security to get baggage, go to Magical Express, etc.

Caution: If you are tardy picking up a rental car, the agency might cancel the reservation out from under you. Usually you will get a grace period if the incoming flight you entered into the car reservation is late.

* Lame way off topic comment: You don't trade a car in because it is time to trade it in. Such a time does not exist, except as a figment of the imagination of a car salesman who wants to sell you a new model every year.

 

[darth sansa]

We are picking up a rental car and are trying to pick it up as late as possible, as to not have to return it on the earlier side.

If you're picking up a rental car, head out of the airport on 436 and instead of getting on 528 go another 1/4 mile and you'll find that there are lots of food options around Frontage road. Check a couple of those and see if they're open around your schedule.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you're picking up a rental car, head out of the airport north on 436 and instead of getting on 528 go another 1/4 mile and you'll find that there are lots of food options around Frontage road. Check a couple of those and see if they're open around your schedule.

Another lame off topic comment: Then, after dinner, take Frontage Road (west), go a little over a mile, then left at light onto Conway and instantly another left onto 528 West. This skips one of the tolls. If you are going to pay cash for the other toll (about a dollar), watch for and go down what looks like an exit ramp to do so. At the end of 528 get onto I-4 west for Disney or east for Universal.

 

[karly05]

I checked MCO site to be sure, but On the Border is post-security out near the lowest-numbered gates (I've been by there when flying AA).

You might want to get on the airport website and see what is in the terminal building (pre-security). I had lunch in the food court this year because of my travel timing.

 

[Jimsig]

Is Chili's Too still there in the main terminal? That way you can retrieve your bags and then eat without having to worry about bags going round and round on the carousel and something happening to them.

 

[kandb]

Thanks for all the good advice, we might just pick up the car and then drop it off an hour early, we will figure it out, thanks.

 

[nkereina]

I've always had my bags take forever to make it out to the luggage carousel at MCO. Frankly, depending on where On the Border is in relation to the gate you're exiting from, you may have time to grab food to go or even eat it quick-like before heading down to baggage claim.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

We are arriving at MCO this Wednesday. After arrival, we wanted to eat at On the Border which is at the airport. I started wondering if this was going to be possible since we have to retrieve our luggage? If we pick up our luggage is it then possible to then eat at On the Border? I have a feeling we would have to go thru security again? which isn't going to happen.

On The Border Mexican Grill Cantina is at Airside 1 at Orlando International Airport. It's on the secure side of the TSA checkpoint. You cannot go back through the TSA checkpoint after you claim your bags.

If you arrive at Airside 1 (gates 1-29, primarily used by international airlines, but also by JetBlue), just look for the restaurant.

If you arrive at Airside 3 (gates 30-59, used by American, United, and various other airlines), you can go to Airside 1. Once you get off train from Airside 3 to the main terminal building, go directly to the train to Airside 1. Do not exit from the secure area toward baggage claim.

In both cases above, your bags will go around on the baggage conveyor until your airline locks them up. You would then have to go to your airline's bagage office to get them. Or, if you can use Disney's Magical Express, just attach the yellow tags before you depart from your home airport. You can then skip bagage claim entirely.

Orlando International Airport has two separate secure area, which are not connected to each other. If you arrive at Airside 2 or Airside 4, then you're in the wrong secure area. On The Border Mexican Grill Cantina would not be an option for you.

 

[kandb]

Thanks Horace. We are arriving on JetBlue and have to claim our luggage and don't want to leave it while we were eating dinner. I have a On the Border gift card that is why we wanted to eat there plus I wanted to pick up the rental as late as possible. No big deal, we will get the car and then find a restaurant. Thanks for all the great info. everyone

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I would call the car rental and let them know you will be an hour with luggage issues, not a lie.....then pack sandwiches from home, some fruit and snack packs. Buy your drinks then find a place to eat. I would do it after you get the luggage, sit and eat. Then head over for the car. Off topic, but I have had my husband or son get the car and left the luggage go through ME with us riding the bus. We were able to rent a smaller car and they didn't need to worry about hauling all the luggage to the rental. That is if you are on site.
If you are not onsite, another option may be to leave Disney near bedtime the night before getting a hotel with a shuttle. Have your husband return the car at the after hour drop and then get picked up at the airport by the hotel shuttle. Then you don't need to worry about the hassle in the morning.

 

[nkereina]

Buy your drinks then find a place to eat. I would do it after you get the luggage, sit and eat.

Frankly, unless it's a real budget conscious trip, I think it would just be easier to buy the entire dinner rather than bring food along for everyone. And in trying to recall the baggage claim area at MCO, I believe they would have to proceed upstairs, with their luggage, to find a table to eat the food they brought. Not worth the hassle, IMO.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

OP wanted to eat at the airport to delay their rental car pickup time. Rental cars rates are based on 24-hour day, not calendar days. The hourly rate is typically half the daily rate, so keeping a car for just 2 hours beyond the 24-hour mark means paying for another rental day. By eating at the airport on arrival and at departure, the OP can apparently time their rental car pickup and return to avoid an extra day's charge.

Some airports have all their dining options before the TSA checkpoints. Some have all their dining options after the TSA checkpoints. Orlando International Airport has dining options in both zones.

OP hoped to use a gift card for On The Border Mexican Grill Cantina after retrieving checked bags. But this thread has already established that's not an option because On The Border Mexican Grill Cantina is at Airside 1 in the secure zone after the TSA checkpoint that serves gates 1 to 59.

However, Orlando International also has dining options in the Landside Terminal on Level 3, including table service and food court options (just not an On The Border). OP can save the gift card for another time.

http://www.orlandoairports.net/concessions/images/shopping_landside.pdf

There's no need to pack a meal.