Flying into TPA instead of MCO

[jerseyjersey]

I've been finding that flights into TPA are about half the price of flights into MCO for an upcoming trip. I'm hoping that prices for the MCO flights will go down (we are still over 6 months out, some airlines haven't even released flights for our dates yet), but there are some much better fares flying to/from Tampa right now, and I'm afraid those will just go up, too!

Trying to decide if my desire to (a) make sure we don't pay
an arm and a leg for flights and (b) lock in our exact plans (resort is booked) is worth driving an extra ~hour (?) each way? Does anyone know how traffic usually is, and whether TPA is easy to navigate?

FWIW, we were planning to rent a car and not use Magical Express in any case. Thanks for any insight!

 

[barbliny]

Tampa is actually my preferred airport when going to WDW - unfortunately for my local airport the number of non-stop flights per day using Tampa is way down, thus driving the price up.

It is not an hour longer drive from TPA vs MCO. The drive from Tampa airport is about an hour.

It is a MUCH less congested airport than Orlando. Car rentals are often less expensive (I believe the fees are also lower) and car rental counters are less crowded.

Way less family boarding than Orlando

Traffic to/from Tampa airport is no worse than MCO - but, the same rules apply and try not to book a flight time that requires driving to/from the airport during rush hour. It is an easy, straightforward drive from Tampa -basically one road.

 

[Capt_BJ]

try not to book a flight time that requires driving to/from the airport during rush hour.

YES, your route to/from the airport takes you on highways that are a MESS during weekday rush hours. AVOID.

 

[amw]

We are doing this on our upcoming trip as flights were available for us on points & the flight times were better. We always rent a car on our trips so the drive didn't matter. When you factor in the drive from mco to the resort, it's not all that much longer. We live in greater Toronto area so we are used to commuting.

However, if you are used to using magical express and not renting ... please price out rentals and factor that into your savings to see if it's worthwhile. I assumed car rental deals were similar at both airports. Unlike the previous poster, prices for rentals out of tpa have been double versus mco! Apparently they cater to the business travel. Just something to consider.

 

[KristinU]

We just flew in and out of TPA last week and it worked really well. Same reason - the prices (SWA points, but same thing) were so much less and we planned to rent a car anyway. Car rental prices were about the same as I was seeing for MCO. It took us about an hour to drive to WDW from TPA. Return was about 1.5 hours because of a traffic accident.

One thing we did that worked out great for us was to stay that final night at the Marriott at TPA airport. We checked out and hit the parks on Friday then drove over to TPA at our leisure. Returned the car and went to our room with our luggage, but not in a frantic rush - very nice! Our flight was at 8:20 am on Saturday, so we got up, went downstairs and there we were. We were home by noon on Saturday and honestly felt like we hadn't really traveled since it was so relaxed. I would definitely do it again that way!

 

[jerseyjersey]

Thank you all! We're flying in and out on weekends, so I'm hopeful that traffic won't be a major issue.

Thanks for mentioning the car rentals. I just checked, and TPA rentals are definitely pricier than MCO-the car would cost about $100 more for the week. Airfare is currently over $200 per person less per person r/t though as compared to MCO, so I think I may reserve a car now and check back to see if prices go down.

Going to look into staying at an airport hotel-that's a good idea to avoid traffic related stress!

 

[goofy4tink]

Most of the time, it takes me about 75-90 mins to get from WDW to TPA. The only time it has taken much less was early on Easter Sunday morning...about 7am!! No traffic at all....all the way! Took me 60 mins to get from TPA to the MK! My ds lives in Tampa, so we're there fairly frequently. I have to say that traffic in Tampa is crazy, and I drive in Boston!!! Those drivers are in a huge hurry to get to their destination!!!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Most of the time, it takes me about 75-90 mins to get from WDW to TPA. The only time it has taken much less was early on Easter Sunday morning...about 7am!! No traffic at all....all the way! Took me 60 mins to get from TPA to the MK! My ds lives in Tampa, so we're there fairly frequently. I have to say that traffic in Tampa is crazy, and I drive in Boston!!! Those drivers are in a huge hurry to get to their destination!!!

I agree about the drivers. It seems like there are far more fatal car accidents in the Tampa area than the other areas I follow. Scary!

 

[LAX]

I was in a similar situation last year while planning a family trip to WDW. Airfare to TPA was a bit cheaper compared to MCO when I started looking a few months out. However, the differential wasn't enough for me to pull the trigger at the time because I wanted to hold off renting a car until I arrived at WDW, which was cheaper than renting from the airport (either one). As time passed, airfares going to MCO eventually dipped below that to TPA and so we ended up flying to MCO. The point is that unless you don't want to keep watching airfares for a few more weeks or the price difference now is big enough to fly into TPA, then do it. Otherwise, watching for the dips to MCO may be worthwhile and end up not costing more.

LAX

 

[richmo]

Definitely price out the cost of the airline tix + car rental at TPA vs. MCO. My experience has been that car rates are somewhat higher at TPA, but I'm sure that isn't always the case. Also price out a split flight and car rental: arrive at TPA, leave from MCO or the opposite. Generally speaking, there is no specific drop off charge for car rentals within the state of Florida, but sometimes they get back at you by quoting a higher rate or not allowing you to use coupons...but its still worth pricing out. And if you're not sure of your air plans, it certainly doesn't hurt to put in a few car rental reservations to cover your possibilities, then of course check as time goes on.

I saw one post earlier that mentioned an hour drive to WDW from TPA. Considering that the distance from TPA to, for example, Epcot Center is 77 miles, I'd consider that a bit aggressive. I've found it to be between 1:15 and 1:30...still certainly doable.

 

[kristenrice]

Thank you all! We're flying in and out on weekends, so I'm hopeful that traffic won't be a major issue.

Thanks for mentioning the car rentals. I just checked, and TPA rentals are definitely pricier than MCO-the car would cost about $100 more for the week. Airfare is currently over $200 per person less per person r/t though as compared to MCO, so I think I may reserve a car now and check back to see if prices go down.

Going to look into staying at an airport hotel-that's a good idea to avoid traffic related stress!

Check the cost of the rental from UnderCoverTourist. We have rented from them in the past and got rates that were almost half of what was listed on the rental car sites. For example, we just rented an intermediate SUV for our spring break trip...April 1-9...and paid $314 total.

 

[jerseyjersey]

Check the cost of the rental from UnderCoverTourist. We have rented from them in the past and got rates that were almost half of what was listed on the rental car sites. For example, we just rented an intermediate SUV for our spring break trip...April 1-9...and paid $314 total.

Thanks for the tip! I normally use Costco for car rentals, and it wouldn't even have occurred to me that UCT offers them!

I was in a similar situation last year while planning a family trip to WDW. Airfare to TPA was a bit cheaper compared to MCO when I started looking a few months out. However, the differential wasn't enough for me to pull the trigger at the time because I wanted to hold off renting a car until I arrived at WDW, which was cheaper than renting from the airport (either one). As time passed, airfares going to MCO eventually dipped below that to TPA and so we ended up flying to MCO. The point is that unless you don't want to keep watching airfares for a few more weeks or the price difference now is big enough to fly into TPA, then do it. Otherwise, watching for the dips to MCO may be worthwhile and end up not costing more.

LAX

Thanks, LAX. I will probably keep an eye on airfare for a bit, I was just surprised at how much more expensive it is to fly into MCO vs. TPA. A function of that is that we're in the NYC area and heading down during Jersey Week, so everyone around here is heading to Disney then. Which is why I'm a bit concerned that prices may not come down as much as I'd like.

Definitely price out the cost of the airline tix + car rental at TPA vs. MCO. My experience has been that car rates are somewhat higher at TPA, but I'm sure that isn't always the case. Also price out a split flight and car rental: arrive at TPA, leave from MCO or the opposite. Generally speaking, there is no specific drop off charge for car rentals within the state of Florida, but sometimes they get back at you by quoting a higher rate or not allowing you to use coupons...but its still worth pricing out. And if you're not sure of your air plans, it certainly doesn't hurt to put in a few car rental reservations to cover your possibilities, then of course check as time goes on.

I saw one post earlier that mentioned an hour drive to WDW from TPA. Considering that the distance from TPA to, for example, Epcot Center is 77 miles, I'd consider that a bit aggressive. I've found it to be between 1:15 and 1:30...still certainly doable.

I'm not as speedy a driver as I used to be, so I'm guessing we'd be in the "a bit over an hour" category. Which, considering how long it took us to get through the entire giant MCO airport the last time we went to Disney, might not actually add as much time to our total door to door as I originally thought.

I'll definitely price out flying into one and out of the other, thanks for mentioning that! One segment is definitely much more expensive than the other for MCO flights, so that could be an option, for sure.

 

[NotUrsula]

The reason that TPA car rentals are higher is that the fees are higher there (and at PIE airport in Pinellas County, for those interested in Allegiant.) The Customer Facility Charge is $5.99/day at TPA, and there is no cap on the total fee. At MCO it is $2.99 per day, but it is also capped at around $30 per rental. I recently priced a long rental: out of TPA the CFC component alone was quoted at over $120, while the same fee at MCO was $28.95. (To be fair, they recently used that money to build a very nice rental car garage facility, along with the other improvements at TPA.)

The stretch of 295 that runs right past the TPA airport is the slowest stretch of highway in the metro area; you can easily spend 30 minutes doing just that 5 mile stretch in and out of the airport if you hit it at the wrong time of day or if there is a wreck. Best to build in a margin and count on at least 90 minutes to the WDW area.