Flying out of MCO at 11:20am on final day - Enough Time?

[Impromark]

Hi everyone, been reading the forum with immense interest as we plan our first cruise! We're eager to try this out after our so-so honeymoon cruise on Princess in 2009. But now with our 8 year-old DD (did I get that right?) in tow, we're raring to get back into the Disney of things in the US after trips to Disney Paris, Shanghai, and TDS in Tokyo.

First question: how much time is ENOUGH time to get back to the Orlando airport to fly home? We dock at 7:30am on the Saturday, and the most convenient flight back home (to Canada in this case) leaves at 11:20am. Is that too tight for a typical transfer, or would it make more sense to have the extra day and head home on Sunday?

I've read about the service DCL offers to check in before the flight and so on, but it states a limit of 11:30am flights. I'm guessing that's for domestic US flights, but it SHOULDN'T matter that much as we Canucks do all our customs stuff on the Canadian side. Regardless, does a 11:30am for Disney suggest that a mere 10-minute difference be negligible? And how long DOES it take to get back to the airport from Port Canaveral, anyway? I'm assuming we wouldn't be leaving at 7:30 sharp, after all!

Thoughts on this? Happy to be here, everyone - it's a super exciting time!

Mark

 

[Capang]

Rule of thumb seems to be nothing before noon. You'd be cutting it extremely close.

 

[Impromark]

I see... That's too bad, that flight (which I haven't booked, thankfully) is pretty convenient to get the fam back home on the same day.

Granted, I haven't seen any stories of failure to catch a flight, so I'm sure that's good advice..!

Mark

 

[jeanmonti]

We had a flight out of MCO at 11:00 after one of our cruises and it was no problem. You just have to make sure you’re ready to get off the ship right away. We even had time to spare at the airport. It was a domestic flight and in theory it shouldn’t matter however we have been stuck in horrendous international lines at o’hare. Do you have global entry? That might hedge the potential for long lines. I would do an 11:30 flight though.

 

[dclpluto]

You should have plently of time. Mco security can have very long lines. With the economy doing really good MCO has seen a lot more travelers. a Lot more. You should be fine thou as long as you get off early.

 

[WIDisCruiser]

I think you’d be fine. We just got off today and we’re through security and at our gate by 9:30. We’ve done the same thing in the past and have had no issues.

 

[Impromark]

Wow, so many answers so quickly..!

For those of you who took early flights, how does one ensure you're off first thing? What travel option did you transfer and would you recommend it? Price is one thing, but a missed flight is another entirely...

Mark

 

[WIDisCruiser]

We did Disney transfers. It is a well oiled machine. No wait to get on bus and head to airport. More expensive than private transfers, but for me is one less thing to worry about. (Unlike our flight which is currently delayed 5 hours, giving me time to answer posts.)

 

[Impromark]

>.<;;

Well, thanks for your responses anyway, this was obviously meant to be. I hope the actual cruise part went off well!

Mark

 

[jeanmonti]

We also did the Disney transfer. There’s a line that starts to form to get off the ship. A lot of people like to take their time and eat breakfast but if you get in the line right away you’ll be off the ship quickly. I know Disney has a cut off flight time for bringing and checking your bags for you at the airport. Check the website for that. It’s been a few years and I can’t remember if we brought our bags with us because of the cut off time.

 

[Impromark]

Okay then, thanks.

So regarding disembarkation, is 7:30 about when they start letting people off the ship? And if that's the case, would we be able to make that AND still have time for brekkie, whenever that starts?

Mark

 

[WIDisCruiser]

We were on the fantasy 7 night western. For main dining, the set breakfast time was 6:45. I believe cabanas was open as well. If you skip breakfast express walk off started at 7ish. Once done with breakfast you can walk off the ship.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We will be on the Fantasy in March and we have a 10:40 am flight home from MCO. I plan on printing our boarding passes the night before, not putting our luggage out the night before and skipping the seated breakfast time (we'll get something at the buffet or just eat at the airport). We will do express check-off as soon as it opens in the morning and carry our own luggage off. We have hired a private car to pick us up and take us to the airport (Park Avenue Limo). We don't check luggage and we have TSA pre-check (which I know isn't an option for you). As long as the boat docks on time, I'm not expecting any issues!

 

[Impromark]

That sounds great. We were wondering about getting the three of us back and a hired limo service is an option for us. I hope you'll post back here in March with a tale of your successful trip back to the airport - and rest of the cruise too.

Thanks for the anecdotes, everyone! I feel much safer now in booking an 11:20 flight. This'll be for November 2018, by the way - I'm guessing that since it's the off-ish season it means that the domestic terminal at MCO on a Saturday won't be at hub-level insanity as it would be at say Houston, Denver or Chicago...

Mark

 

[kiford]

I've read about the service DCL offers to check in before the flight and so on, but it states a limit of 11:30am flights. I'm guessing that's for domestic US flights, but it SHOULDN'T matter that much as we Canucks do all our customs stuff on the Canadian side.

Just FYI - are you talking about the service that allows you to check your luggage while still on the ship? If so, that's only available for flights in the US. You can't do that for flights to Canada. I believe that the luggage is transported before they even start allowing people off the ship so that 11:30 am time limit has nothing to do with whether or not you can make a flight around the same time. Personally, I would never take a flight before noon; we usually take the 1 or 2 pm flight to Toronto. There's just too many potential factors that can cause disruption.

You may be able to make it in time if you skip breakfast and leave carrying your own luggage as soon as they allow people to disembark. Note that there's no guarantee that the ship will dock on time, however. If you don't have TSA Precheck (Nexus card) you can spend a lot of time in security lines (or not - you simply never know). Before we had our Nexus cards we once spent nearly 90 minutes in line. We've never had any traffic issues but if there are any, it can greatly impact your schedule. I'd make sure you have a plan B in place.

 

[Shanti]

Okay then, thanks.

So regarding disembarkation, is 7:30 about when they start letting people off the ship? And if that's the case, would we be able to make that AND still have time for brekkie, whenever that starts?

Mark

The breakfast buffet at Cabanas opens early enough for you to have breakfast before leaving at 7:30. I would take the morning flight, rather than sit around the airport all day.

DCL's operation at Port Canaveral is a well-oiled machine. You'd be surprised how quickly they can get a large number of people off the ship.

 

[Cheerio]

In 2012, we were on the Magic. We were spending the night at MCO as we had an early flight home the Sunday, we got off the ship just after 8am and we were sitting in our hotel room just after 9:30am. Especially since we don't do customs until we get back into Canada, you should be okay. Buses leave as they fill up, so I'd just make sure I'm off with my stuff asap, Disney transport is super smooth (of course, assuming the ship docks on time, no accidents etc)

 

[tvguy]

MCO is an airport that my Travel Agent says is on a list of airports that you should plan to be at 3 hours before your flight. We barely made a 12:35pm flight, but that was entirely due to TSA security issues that trip and that WAS in 2004. Disney got us to the airport by 915 am, and we had our bags checked and boarding passes in hand by 930 am.
We went to WDW last year and used Magical Express, and their time tables had us at the airport 2 1/2 hours before flight time.
So lots of folks have made 11 am flights, but one hiccup with the ship docking, clearing customs, a crash on the road to the airport, or a delay at the airport, and you might have an issue.

 

[Impromark]

This is all such great information. So many factors to consider for the return to Real Life after a cruise!

In my case we'd be heading back to Calgary via Winnipeg (seriously - WINNIPEG?! No offense to any 'Peggers here of course!). I'm guessing that WestJet would consider to book the time to allow the maximum number of cruisers disembarking on a Saturday morning (as there probably should be a bunch) to fill their plane along with all the other turistas. This makes the most logical sense, unless they figure that 11:20am is just enough for all the WDW people heading back north.

Mark

 

[FigmentSpark]

This is all such great information. So many factors to consider for the return to Real Life after a cruise!

In my case we'd be heading back to Calgary via Winnipeg (seriously - WINNIPEG?! No offense to any 'Peggers here of course!). I'm guessing that WestJet would consider to book the time to allow the maximum number of cruisers disembarking on a Saturday morning (as there probably should be a bunch) to fill their plane along with all the other turistas. This makes the most logical sense, unless they figure that 11:20am is just enough for all the WDW people heading back north.

Mark

I'd rather have to change planes in Winnipeg than Toronto. Sure, more connections in Toronto, but it's huge. The Winnipeg airport is a nice size. I haven't been to Calgary lately, but I expect about the same size. You won't have to worry about a missed connection unless Customs wants to take a thorough look at you.