Fastest transportation from MCO to WDW

[scotty s]

Our flight arrives at MCO at 11:55am. So that we may make the most out of our 1st day at DW, what is the quickest way to get from Airport to CBR and how much faster is it really than taking DME?

 

[Missytara]

Really no faster.

ME normally takes about 90 minutes from the time you deboard.

Think of all the time you will use up retrieving your baggage from baggage claim, dragging it down to the rental car place, filling out paperwork and picking up the keys, etc. Probably the same amount of time.

The only way I would not use ME is if I treated myself to a limo ride, which is what I plan to do when I retire.... in 2025.

 

[Jestocost]

Agree with the PP. If you are doing carry-on bags only, you likely can save time by using a car service or catching a cab vs. going on DME. However, if you are checking bags, any time you save on the drive itself by using a car service or cab vs. DME is going to be eaten up by the time you have to spend at baggage claim vs. having DME handle your bags for you.

 

[shannon006]

It took 3 hours for us to get to our hotel. I'm not so sure we will use ME again.

 

[Brian Noble]

On *average*, a towncar or your own rental car (using something like National's Emerald Aisle where you just go grab a car) will be a few minutes faster, but not much. But, a towncar/rental can also be viewed as insurance against those times that ME has a hiccup. They aren't common, but they do happen, and if you are really raring to go, standing in a long ME line, or being the third resort to drop off, etc. can be really annoying, even if it doesn't actually take much extra time objectively.

The only time a towncar/rental will be signficantly slower will be if the airline loses/mis-routes your bags. But, in that case, I'd rather be in the airport in the moment dealing with it than waiting until later that night to find out that ME didn't deliver my bag because they never got it from the airline.

 

[Jestocost]

It took 3 hours for us to get to our hotel. I'm not so sure we will use ME again.

And I've waited two hours for luggage. I'm also sure that there are people who have had town cars or cabs break down, get into accidents, etc.

There are extremes possible in any scenario and I wouldn't base my decision on an extreme DME time or an extreme baggage wait time.

DME generally gets you to your resort within 90 minutes of when you leave the plane and on average the time is close to 70 minutes. Taking a town car or cab after stopping to collect bags will take about an hour or a little more.

 

[goofy4tink]

Here are my quickest times to date...gate to resort checkin:

DME....50 mins (longest was 90, average has been about 70mins)
Towncar, checked luggage......60 mins
Towncar, carryon only....45 mins

As you can see....a towncar with no checked luggage is fastest. If you have checked bags, it will take about 15 mins to get your bags first.
DME is only about 15 mins longer than a towncar with checked bags. Now, you could run into a longer time that is closer to the 90 mins, but that would be unusual.

 

[francie57]

We always rent a car with Alamo. We put in all our information through their website before hand, go to the kiosk and are done in about 5 min. Last trip we had luggage and car and were out of the airport in less than 30 min. and at the Boardwalk in under an hour total.

 

[67mike]

RENT CAR>>>>>DRIVE FAST.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It took 3 hours for us to get to our hotel. I'm not so sure we will use ME again.

Us too. In fact, our plane arrived 8:20 pm. We finally got to WL at 11:30pm after stopping at 3 other resorts 1st.
We usually stay off site and could have easily picked up rental car, checked into our timeshare condo, and done a quick grocery stop in that amount of time.
Maybe it's better when you have a morning arrival. It didn't feel magical nor express to us.

 

[mickey2000]

Rental Car ..................
The freedom of not being trapped on property because of a magic bus!

 

[Edd]

Car service, without a doubt, is the quickest way to WDW. Using car service you can get there in approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the procedure you use. If you are arriving at 11:55 am you are arriving at a peak hour. If it is during the season you will be waiting around a while for the DME. A car service driver picks you up at the escalator, accompanies you to the carousels to pick up your luggage or leads you straight downstairs to his vehicle which is about 75 feet from the carousels, loads you and your luggage into the vehicle and you are headed to WDW. If you are in a hurry you could possibly get to WDW 45 to 60 minutes before any bus can get you there.

If you use DME are arrive on Southwest or Jet Blue you will be walking about 3/4 of a mile before you get to the DME counters, which are on the other side of the terminal and at the opposite end. If you arrive on U.S. Air or United you go right downstairs to the DME. Using the car service you walk to your vehicle which is parked one story below the carousels on the inside of the terminal.

Arriving during peak hours means you will be standing in line longer for the busses. The peak times run something like this. 11:30 am to 1:30 pm for the morning, 3:30 to 6:00 for the afternoon and 8:00 to 11:00 for the evening. If you arrive those times your bus transportation may be longer due to the passengers coming in at those times.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hey Edd...where have you been???
But, I'm going to have to disagree on some of your points. I always fly in on either SW or JB. It takes me, total time, 10-15 mins to get from my gate to the DME counter. I don't see where it is a huge difference over the other airlines..you may save about 4 mins of walking time.
As for the buses taking longer during the busy times..nope, not so. I have had the quickest times during the busy times of day, or peak seasons. There are more buses up and running at these times. If you land later in the evening, you are going to face longer wait times..there just aren't as many buses running.

Like I said...I have taken as little as 45 mins to get to my resort using a towncar service, with carryon bags only. With checked bags, it takes about 15 mins longer.
The difference in time spent walking to a towncar vs the DME bus is about 2-3 mins.
For me, as long as I don't have money to burn, I will take 15-20 mins longer to get to WDW and use DME. But...sometimes, a car service is just a nice treat.

 

[kjs1976]

I send DH to check in at the rental car kiosk while I get the luggage. We have only ever had to wait for luggage more than 15 min. at MCO once. Then we hustle to get into the car and go. We always have directions printed out ahead of time if we are staying at a new resort so we know where to go. This is usually from deplane to resort, an hour at the most.

 

[Edd]

Diane, been doing great and working hard. How are you? Your walking times are probably good for gownups with one or two persons, but it is a different story when you are dragging kids and older family members around, restroom, stores, kid fits and wheelchairs can be problems, or slower legs. In fact the distance that is walked, which can get to older legs and already tired passengers, may be a big decision maker for a choice between DME and private car service.

As you know the private car service provides a much more convenient way to get to WDW, but it costs money. Many different companies provide service for any size families. There are many families that would rather pay for that convenience, and find it is well worth the extra money, to be able to get someone to help you with your luggage, cut down on the distance from luggage to transportation, speed you off to WDW and to just welcome you to Orlando and WDW in a more personal way than is currently provided by the DME.

The return from WDW to Orlando International Airport is much faster also. A car service can be waiting at the door of the resort as you walk out and take approximately 25 minutes to return you to the airport. Most travelers schedule the car service for pick-up 2 hours before your departure time and to this day I have never heard of any problems being late for the airline departure. If you are cautious you can schedule transportation pick-up 3 hours before departure as the the DME procedure does.

The DME is a good service, but for efficiency and fast service, which is not a service of any bus system, it is hard to beat the car service, taxi or rental transportation that is in place at Orlando International Airport.

As far as the bus service during peak times, we are going to have to agree to disagree. I have been around the DME many many times during the peak hours and I must tell you they do have the lines, they do pile up the people inside the terminal and the busses do have more trouble getting back to MCO because they are picking up a lot more at WDW and tranferring back to the airport. I feel because you travel into Orlando quite a few times each year you may not see the same situations I see and experience 3 or 4 times every week. There is only a certain amount of busses that work the circular route and many times I have seen the loading dock and queing area void of busses during those times. At the resorts I have been around many families who were not very pleased with the waits for DME heading back home.

 

[goofy4tink]

I think that my time at the DME counter, one Sat morning in early Dec..back in '08, qualifies me to speak about busy times. It was the arrival day for PopWarner families. I have never, repeat never, seen lines like that outside of midday at Soarin'!!! The DME checkin line was back to the car rental counters. It was massively crazy. I found an empty spot to sit and lean against a pole, while my friend got into the line to checkin. It took 25 mins for her to get through that line!! Actually, I expected it to take longer. Our overall time, from gate to resort, was about 80 mins. Our wait in the bus line wasn't too bad at all..about 10 mins.

You and I have had this discussion before....and we agree to disagree. Yes, I do tend to walk quickly, as do my dh and dd. I'm the 'short' one at 5'8"!! We do usually make a 'pit stop' along the way. I would add on an addtl 5-10 mins for those with younger kids or elderly in wheelchairs, but I just don't see a huge difference in time from tram to DME.

But...as I always said...sometimes I want a treat and use a car service. Other times, a bus is going to be fine. And there are going to be some people that would never ride the DME bus..they always want the towncar service. And that's great.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Helicopter

 

[Edd]

Too expensive!! That service not offered at MCO.

 

[scotty s]

I should have been a liitle more specific on a few things. We are a party of 6 with the youngest being 13. The plan is to only have carry on luggage but may end up with 1 checked bag. How much would a towncar (average) run me to haul us to WDW?

 

[MommyJack]

I should have been a liitle more specific on a few things. We are a party of 6 with the youngest being 13. The plan is to only have carry on luggage but may end up with 1 checked bag. How much would a towncar (average) run me to haul us to WDW?

Go to mousesavers.com, they have referrals to car services. Most of them have their rates posted on line.