Flying Into Tpa Vs. Mco Questions

[cindala]

I'm looking at airfares for next July 4th week and from all airports in our area, it appears to be cheaper to fly into Tampa instead of Orlando. I know I have some time, but our experience has taught us that the best prices for that week are usually booked as far out as possible. Have any of you flown into Tampa? How was it? How far from WDW? MCO use to take us about 30 minutes to get to Disney. How much more time to allow for TPA? Any info appreciated!!

 

[ducklite]

You'll need to plan on two hours getting from TPA to WDW although it's probably going to be closer to 90 minutes.

On the way back when time might be of the essence to catch a flight, I'd plan on three hours travel time--traffic on I-4 and I-75 can be brutal, and construction is ongoing.

Anne

 

[rlduvall]

We have done this several times due to much cheaper airfares. Each time was a Saturday and we would land in Tampa around 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon. It would only take us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to the entrance of DisneyWorld.

Most people indicate what Ducklite said and I have no reason to believe otherwise. Maybe we were unintentionally breaking the sound barrier. Last time we did this, September of 2003, there was some construction that slowed us a down a little, but nothing bad. Possibly construction is much worse than when we did it.

It would have to be a pretty substantial savings for me to want to use an extra hour to 3 hours of my vacation time.

Good luck!!!!

 

[cindala]

We would be traveling on weekends both coming and going, so I'm guessing we would at least be avoiding commuter traffic. But construction stinks.
I really like the convenience of MCO, so I guess I'll just watch a bit more and wait for Jet Blues rates to come out and see what I am up against.

 

[goofy4tink]

Since my ds moved to Tampa last year, we intend to use Tampa Intnl. more often now. In fact, we drove from WDW (POP) to Tampa in May. We left POP around 9:00 a.m. on a Sat. We got to our hotel (Doubletree Guest Suites just outside the airport) around 10:30. I drove moderately, about 55 mph or so, since I didn't know exactly where I was going.
We flew out of Tampa at the end of the trip. It was wonderful!! Such a nice, well laid out airport. Very easy to get around. I'm hoping for some great airfare there more often.

 

[safetymom]

Most of the construction is done between WDW and Tampa. I did that drive several weekends ago. It would take about 90 mins. on a good day from WDW.

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

Cindala, I noticed you are from Northern N.J. as am I, do you usually fly out of Newark? Have you checked out the flight cost if you flew out of a different airport? When Disney was running the free dining we considered going again as we did last year, I started searching some other airports other than Newark and was amazed in the price difference. If you fly into tampa you'll need to rent a car if you fly out elsewhere at a better fare and into MCO you could use DME from the airport and save money there as well. Have fun planning!

 

[ducklite]

Most of the construction is done between WDW and Tampa. I did that drive several weekends ago. It would take about 90 mins. on a good day from WDW.

Is it done down in Tampa around Ybor? I haven't been through there in a few months, last time it still looked like they had a long way to go.

The construction between Lakeland and ZH is pretty well done (thank God!)

Anne

 

[safetymom]

I stayed 2 miles from the airport. No construction from WDW to there.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Construction continues on I-4 in the Ybor City area between I-275 and the area around Orient Road. Construction has been completed the rest of the way in to Osceola County. At that point there is ramp construction for the connection to the new TOLL 429 Western Expressway and the new ramps for US192.

But Cindala, you don't need to be buying tickets for next July now. Airlines rarely post good fares this far in advance. Unless the fare you're seeing to Tampa is $69-89 each way, it's not worth buying now as those kinds of fares will be available next April-May.....and into Orlando.....from northeast airports such as NYC, PHL, BWI. Airlines run sales 2-3 months before the dates you wish to travel. Buying this far in advance is rarely a good idea. There are thousands of airline seats daily to Orlando; they are not going to sell out.

BobK/Orlando

 

[Corryn]

We're also flying Into Tampa and Leaving MCO.
We got $49 one way Into Tampa and $99 Leaving MCO. (SW)
We figured we would stop and see family in Tampa for a few hours and then take our time getting to Orlando.
But I insisted on leaving out of Orlando because I don't want to have to worry about hitting traffic and missing our flight!

 

[cindala]

Cindala, I noticed you are from Northern N.J. as am I, do you usually fly out of Newark? Have you checked out the flight cost if you flew out of a different airport? When Disney was running the free dining we considered going again as we did last year, I started searching some other airports other than Newark and was amazed in the price difference. If you fly into tampa you'll need to rent a car if you fly out elsewhere at a better fare and into MCO you could use DME from the airport and save money there as well. Have fun planning!

We usually fly out of LGA (LaGuardia) because it is always cheaper than Newark. JFK is also a better price, but much more inconvenient. I put in the search to check for nearby airports up to 50 miles, and so far the best prices are going into Tampa. We plan on renting a car regardless of what airport we fly into, so that's not an issue.

 

[cindala]

But Cindala, you don't need to be buying tickets for next July now. Airlines rarely post good fares this far in advance. Unless the fare you're seeing to Tampa is $69-89 each way, it's not worth buying now as those kinds of fares will be available next April-May.....and into Orlando.....from northeast airports such as NYC, PHL, BWI. Airlines run sales 2-3 months before the dates you wish to travel. Buying this far in advance is rarely a good idea. There are thousands of airline seats daily to Orlando; they are not going to sell out.BobK/Orlando

We usually travel the week of July 4th each year and have always found the best prices for our airfare were booked in August, or the latest by October. I'm guessing that because it is a holiday week, that influences the price more as the time gets closer (like Christmas week, President's week, Easter week). Other dates to Orlando probably do come down, but that is a really popular week, so I have only seen them go up.
Our travel dates are from a Saturday to a Saturday, so I am really hesitant to wait until April or May to book.

 

[Slsguy]

I have flown in to TPA a few times - it's well laid out, easy to get around and all that. I also did a day trip to WDW from Tampa and it took us about an hour and 20 minutes each way. No traffic jams or anything....

 

[cindala]

I guess I'll just keep on looking for now and see what happens. Seems like there are less time openings/slots to fly since the last time we flew in 2004. I guess it's consolidation on the part of the airlines to manage costs. We prefer to fly out early in the morning, and also return in the morning as well. These times seem to cost more too! What to do, what to do????