flying in to Tampa

[dizneyfan]

Hey fellow Diz'ers--

Just wondering if any of you out there have flown into Tampa airport rather than MCO. The fares are much cheaper out of Memphis right now to Tampa than to Orlando.

How far is the drive? About how long would it take to get from Tampa airport to Universal Studios resorts? To Disney resorts?

Thanks for any input you can provide.

dizneyfan

 

[Lewisc]

A little over an hour drive to Disney (about 75 miles).

 

[zurgswife]

The traffic tends to drive on the fast side, as I was able to make in in about 55mins last Jan...and I was not leading the pack of cars..

 

[Lexxiefern]

We flew into Tampa in October. There was an accident on Route 4 (or I-4 or whatever the main road towards Orlando is called) it was a truck overturned and spilled something. Of course we didn't know what was causing the traffic at the time..... It took us over 3 hours to get to Portofino Bay in Universal!!

The trip back to the airport was painless - took about 50 minutes.

The whole thing left a bad taste in our mouths and we will only fly into Orlando from now on. (if I were you, I would map out an alternate route in case there is an accident or alot of traffic)

I don't want to discourage you - just let you know our experience.

 

[rsschneck]

We also flew into Tampa in October at 5:00 P.M. The timing was bad and it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get to Orlando.

Coming back was very quick, maybe 1 hour.

We already booked our August flight into Tampa because the times and prices were so good! We are getting in later! So, I would just advise to stay away from rush hour traffic!

 

[CarolA]

Having just spent parts of three weeks in Tampa. If you are arriving or departing during rush hours leave some extra time. The I-275 and I-4 Intersection is near some construction and is just plain busy which causes rush hour back ups.

 

[dizneyfan]

Thanks for this information, guys. It sounds like flying into Tampa is a positive possibility...of course I'm still hoping the fares into Orlando will drop!

Thanks again!

dizneyfan

 

[shady]

Word of advice.

Follow the speed limit on I4 between Tampa and Orlando. Some of the podunk little towns and bankrupt counties pay their salaries with speeding tickets.

No more than 5 over the posted limit. Trust me.