Fly to TPA for $200 less, then rent a car OR pay to go to MCO and use ME?

[3PRINCESSMOM]

I am having a heart attack waiting for Southwest to open up dates. As of now the cheapest fares they're showing are $124 each way, anyway. I can book JetBlue now into Tampa for $89 each way, or MCO for about $210 r/t. If we go into Tampa we'd get a car, which in essence would eat up the savings. However, we'd then have use of the car for our 8 days. Resort hopping in the evening, while on the dining plan may be a convenience...???

Everything I've read says fares are not going to get discounted this summer with gas prices the way they are. YIKES!!!!

What should I do?

 

[disneyagain]

I was just looking at the same thing, from upstate NY. We've always rented a car from MCO and like the convenience of it....But, I'm not sure I want to drive back and forth to Tampa, especially if we have an early morning flight out or late night in......

 

[Hockeymommy]

Why are your flights so expensive? We are flying from a small town in Wa state for $286pp. I would have thought flights out of Ny would be so much less due to the distance. Guess we are getting a better deal than I thought.

 

[FINFAN]

Personally, I would fly into MCO. The drive from TPA to WDW takes at least 1.5 hours, gas for the rental car won't be cheap...but we like using the WDW transportation..DH has a killer commute everyday for work and when on vacation... the last thing he wants to do is drive. Not sure what the day of the week/time is for the TPA flights, but traffic can be BRUTAL...would allowing for that cut into your arrival/ departure days activities? Although, using DME requires you to be picked up around 3 hours before you flight anyway...I don't know...I think we would still do MCO.


Pam

 

[sanjoe]

Flew into Tampa this past March for Spring Break. Arrived around lunchtime. Stopped for groceries and then off to POR. The drive was not bad at all. Most of the savings in flying into Tampa went toward the car rental but that price kept going down as we neared the beginning of our trip. I highly recommend flying into Tampa depending on the arrival time. I wouldn't want to arrive at 11pm and have to still drive. It took barely an hour I think but we had a grocery stop along the way and lunch.

Our rental car went down to $103.00 for the week in March which was nice since we had 4 people. The difference in price adds up in airfare between Mco & TPA x 4.

Good luck.

 

[3PRINCESSMOM]

I am still betwixed and between...???

Seeing a post about SWA rates from Chicago coming down gives me some hope.
I am thinking about a Thanksgiving trip, too. So booking SWA when they are relatively high and hoping for a reduction is an okay option for us since we could then use credit in November. Oh, I don't know!

 

[zurgswife]

When I fly into Tampa I only rent a car for 1 day. The cost usually isn't too bad.

 

[debden]

Just for the convenience of it all I would fly into MCO.There doesn't appear to be that big of a difference in the airfare to Tampa and MCO...
I would pay the slight difference and save my self the time and trouble of driving from Tampa.If you were going to be staying in Tampa then it would be worth it but since your going to be in Orlando the whole trip then that's where I would fly into..
Good Luck.
I hope everything works out good for you!
Debbie

 

[drogerstn]

How many are in your party? The thread title indicates a $200 difference.

There was some information in another thread about how bad the construction traffic has been between Tampa and WDW. If the route is clear, the drive from TPA to WDW is less than an hour longer than the drive from MCO to WDW; however, the construction on I-4 can make it a couple of hours longer. Are there major differences between the flight schedules to MCO and to TPA (non-stop vs connections, departure times, arrival times)?

Having a rental car can be very convenient and you would essentially be getting it at no cost. As mentioned in another post, the ME bus is inconvient because it goes to different resorts and can eat up as much or more time than dealing with a rental car and driving from TPA.