Flying down the night before?

[Ringo73]

Hello! We're going on a 3-day cruise in November, leaving on a Thursday afternoon. If we fly down on Thursday morning, I understand that a Disney representative will meet us at the airport and take us to the shuttle bus to Pt. Canaveral.

My question is . . . What happens if we fly down Wednesday night and stay at an Orlando hotel by the airport? Do we just make our way over to the airport on Thursday morning and meet the Disney representative there?

Thanks so much & have a magical day!

 

[talicskai]

I like to fly down the day before and spend the night at the Radisson @ the Port. We either rent a car and drive over (50 minutes) or you can hire a limo company to transfer you one way. You can still purchase the Disney transfers for the return if you choose to. I have always used www.happylimo.com and had no problems but others on the DIS may disagree. Staying at the Radisson is a lovely way to start your vacation. It makes it last just a little bit longer!

Teresa

 

[lbgraves]

You can rent a car at Budget for 40-50 for the day. That would be cheaper than transfers or a towncar.

 

[Ringo73]

You guys are lightening fast! Since this is our first cruise, I still have some questions. Does the Disney shuttle cost anything from Orlando to Pt. Canaveral? How about the return trip? Please educate me as to the mysterious "Disney Transfer." Thank you again!

 

[daisy112878]

It's $59 per person round trip. We are renting a car from Budget for $40 and driving to the port the friday before our 7 night. We are stayind the night at the courtyard marriott (free on points). It saved us a little bit of money. I'm not sure how much it is for a one way but I know you can get transfers one way.

 

[kcashner]

Ok, your first question--the night before. We usually bid on Priceline for a room--get at least 3*. All the 3* and above hotels offer a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport if you stay in the MCO area. You can get information on Priceline at biddingfortravel.com. We usually pay about $31-35 for the room. You might even get lucky and get a room at the Hyatt.

Alternatively, you can have DCL book you a room the night before (this will not be included in your package if you book DCL air, but can be done at an extra fee). This is expensive.

As to the port. DCL transfers are about $30 per person one way. If you want to use DCL transfers, you can take the hotel's shuttle back to the airport and meet the DCL rep there. If you are at the Hyatt, there is a DCL pickup there. Alternatively, you can either rent a car or use a private limo service. The "break even" point for a private limo is usually 3 people. They will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the port. If you want to use them on the return, they will be there at whatever time you specify. One advantage of a private limo is that most services allow a 15 minute grocery or Walmart stop at no extra charge--a blessing if you forget something. You can also rent a car. Drop off at the port does not carry and extra charge. If you have a car, you can decide whether you want to stay in the airport area or the port area the night before. The car drop off places will shuttle you back to the port at no charge.

Have fun......

 

[SeaSpray]

Wow, I didn't realize that Disney transfers were $30 per person (adult), each way!

For our family of 4, that'd cost us $240. We pay that much for a stretch limo. Now I don't feel so bad about spending the money on a limo

I always just assumed that mass transportation would cost a LOT less than private transportation.

Edited to add: Ok, I just called the company that we always use, Tiffany Towncar, just to check on the limo rate from MCO to Port Canaveral. Last time we cruised we had 3 legs to our trip so I wasn't sure of the 2 leg price. He told me the price for the stretch limo is $250, plus the customary 20% gratuity, for a total of $300, round trip. Still not bad, only $60 more than mass transportation, and the driver waits for you in the airport with a sign with your name on it, helps you with your luggage, and then there are ice cold drinks in the limo, and a DVD movie playing! Makes me glad my DH insists on limos when we travel!

 

[woj68]

Hello! We're going on a 3-day cruise in November, leaving on a Thursday afternoon. If we fly down on Thursday morning, I understand that a Disney representative will meet us at the airport and take us to the shuttle bus to Pt. Canaveral.

My question is . . . What happens if we fly down Wednesday night and stay at an Orlando hotel by the airport? Do we just make our way over to the airport on Thursday morning and meet the Disney representative there?

Thanks so much & have a magical day!

We were going to fly down Saturday (from Buffalo) and arrive in the afternoon. But after reading these boards when changed our plans. We want to get to the port as early as possible so we can check in and explore the ship.

So we booked a room at the La Quinta Airport North through Travelocity ($60). It's only 1.5 mi from the airport with free airport shuttle service. We plan on meeting the Disney rep on Saturday morning for our transfers over to the port.

 

[ljql_5969]

Ok, your first question--the night before. We usually bid on Priceline for a room--get at least 3*. All the 3* and above hotels offer a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport if you stay in the MCO area. You can get information on Priceline at biddingfortravel.com. We usually pay about $31-35 for the room. You might even get lucky and get a room at the Hyatt.

Have fun......

Have you looked around at biddingfortravel much? I got on there once and was a little confused. Maybe I just need to hunt and peck some more. How do you look up what hotels are 3* in the Cocoa Beach are for example?

 

[kcashner]

Yes, I've used Biddingfortravel. That's how I learned to do priceline bidding. I've gotten some really good deals.

My 3* recommendation is for MCO. That is because there is a 2.5* LaQuinta that is a real dump (shouldn't be 2.5) and you don't want to stay there. 3* in Cocoa do not provide free shuttles!

Ok, go to Hotels, FLorida. For Cocoa, go to "South/Central Beaches. For Orlando, go to "Orlando/WDW Area." Then at the top, there is an area titled "Hotel List." There, scroll down to the area you want (MCO, Downtown Orlando, Lake Buena Vista, etc....or Cocoa). There, you will see a list of all the hotels that are known to participate with Priceline, including the category that they are in. Copy this list for the area you want to stay. Now, back out of the hotel list page and go to the page where people have put comments about their bidding. You will see posts about what someone bid for a hotel and whether their bid was successful or not. That will give you an idea of where to start your bidding.

On Priceline, each "profile" can do one bid every 72 hours. So....where you start bidding depends on how long you have to get a place and how many profiles you choose to set up (each requries a different credit card). For MCO, we usually start at about $29, because we are usually successful at $31-35....but read what people have paid recently in the * level that you are interested in. Places with lots of hotel rooms that don't fill (like Orlando) can be cheaper than places with only a couple hotels. You will always get AT LEAST the category you bid...although you can get a higher category.

Hope this helps.....if not, PM me with your questions.

 

[tvguy]

We took the Disney shuttle and I'm glad we did. You watch a briefing video on the way to the port, it just added to the whole experience.
We flew in the night before (actually, since it was 1 am by the time we got to the hotel, I guess it was the same morning!!), and stayed at the Sheraton, one of the dozen or so just off the airport hotels that offer free shuttle service to and from the airport. Morning of the cruise we got on the shuttle, it dropped us off at the Disney bus, they took our luggage, and our vacation was underway.

 

[lilo62]

We always fly the night before and we've stayed at The Raddisson and in May we stayed at Ron Jon's which we liked ALOT better. We also always rent a car from Budget instead of using the Disney shuttle.