Getting from Tampa airport to WDW.

[verlee]

I am finding great flights into Tampa for the end of Aug... $124! But I am not sure what would be the best way to get to WDW. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle or do I need to rent a car? I know ME does not run from there but maybe something else? If it costs more then $50 each way then I might as well fly into Orlando. So the cheaper the better.

 

[goofy4tink]

I love Tampa Intl..it's a wonderful airport. But...there are no shuttles to WDW. It is over an hour away..not a quick ride. You would have to rent a car. You could rent a car and then return it at WDW...Alamo/National are at the Dolphin and the Car Care Center by the MK. The other rental companies can be found in the DTD resorts....Budget, for instance, is at the Doubletree.
Then you could reverse it to get back to Tampa.

 

[Lewisc]

A rental car is probably going to be at least $50 each way. You have to include gas, tax and a possible one way "drop" charge.

I don't know if your $50 figure is per person or for your entire group.

 

[verlee]

I love Tampa Intl..it's a wonderful airport. But...there are no shuttles to WDW. It is over an hour away..not a quick ride. You would have to rent a car. You could rent a car and then return it at WDW...Alamo/National are at the Dolphin and the Car Care Center by the MK. The other rental companies can be found in the DTD resorts....Budget, for instance, is at the Doubletree.
Then you could reverse it to get back to Tampa.

Thanks for the quick responce. No shuttle huh? Shucks. So renting a car was the next choice. I found $40/day car rentals with just a quick look. Have not been over to mousesavers for codes yet. Maybe I can find it cheaper. If it gets too complicated I will just bite the bullet and pay the $171 into Orlando (which is still a good price). I just got so excited about $124.

 

[NotUrsula]

Normally there is no drop charge between locations in central Florida. IME, this pretty much applies for the entire swath between Daytona and St. Pete, including the Port and Sanford. Maybe it would apply during some holiday periods at some locations, but that hasn't been my experience.

Go over to Mousesavers and scope out the coupons. Depending on how many people are in your party, a short car rental (or two, if you need to return to TPA) might still be cheaper than flying directly into MCO, and you can use the car for an offsite supply run that may save you money on things like snack food, liquor and sunscreen.

PS: If you plan on picking up and returning the car to the same airport location, you might also look at Priceline or Hotwire, which could make it worth the money to keep the vehicle for your entire stay.

 

[JoeCathyAngelina]

We always look for the cheapest and best flight.
We're flying into Tampa non-stop round trip on Delta for our April 2010 trip, renting a Cadillac from National and driving an hour up Rte 4 to our 2 bedroom, 2 bath, full Kitchen Condo at Orange Lake CC in Kissimmee.
For us Flying into Tampa is no big deal because every time we go to WDW staying on or off site we rent a car. :
If you usually rent a car for the week flying into Tampa is no big deal.
If not , toss a coin it'll probably cost you the same to fly into Tampa or MCO.
Good luck all,
Joe

 

[WillCAD]

I am finding great flights into Tampa for the end of Aug... $124! But I am not sure what would be the best way to get to WDW. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle or do I need to rent a car? I know ME does not run from there but maybe something else? If it costs more then $50 each way then I might as well fly into Orlando. So the cheaper the better.

Sorry to say, but I don't think there is any round-trip option from Tampa to WDW that will cost you less than $50. In fact, most of the options will cost you $50 each way!

You can take a taxi, a towncar, or rent a car - all will cost you more than $50 round-trip.

You can try the Greyhound bus; fares from Tampa to Orlando appear to be about $10 each way, but you'd also have to add in cab fare from the Tampa airport to the Tampa greyhound terminal. By the time you're done, it would eat up a lot of that $50 savings, and still cause you a lot more headache.

Overall, I'd say pay the extra $50 to fly into Orlando, and take DME.

 

[speedyf]

We have flown into TPA on our last two trips in 2007 and 2008. Since we are a family of 3, I usually save enough money to justify the car rental.

We rent from National using a code from this list found on FatWallet...
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-deals/788985

I was able to rent a full size vehicle for $18 each way ($23 after taxes/fees) for our February 2008 trip...probably because it was off season. I usually pay around $30 each way ($36 after taxes/fees). I pick up at TPA and drop off at the Dolphin.

Use the information and link on Mousesavers.com to join the Emerald Club for free. You can then bypass the counter in Tampa. When you return the vehicle to the Dolphin, the Valet takes the keys and gives you a return ticket...so, you bypass the counter again. The valet/return is right down the sidewalk (maybe 200 feet?) from the bus stop to catch a bus to any park or to DTD.

We usually fly into Tampa and drive to WDW. Once we check-in, we take the car to Wal-Mart for a grocery bill (bottled water, snacks, breakfast stuff, etc) and then grab a bite to eat offsite. The next morning, we hop in the car ready to go to the park. We return the car and catch a bus from the Dolphin to the park we are visiting that day.

You probably won't be able to do a car for less than $50 each way, though....but, I did like the convenience of having the car at the beginning of the trip to grab some groceries and the end of our trip to hit the outlet for souvies....

For the February 2008 trip, we saved a ton of money. The prices out of New Orleans during Mardi Gras were ridiculous. We paid almost $100 cheaper per person to fly into Tampa and then had that cheap $23 each way car rental.

Speed

 

[Disney Dork in DFW]

My inclination would be to wait and see if the flights to Orlando get any cheaper. My wife and I just moved back to Texas back in August after living in Tampa for three years. Also, my mom's family has all lived in Tampa practically since Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders set foot there. Therefore, I have a lot of experience in traveling to and from Tampa.

My estimation would be that, probably 90% of the time, flights into Tampa are around 15-20% higher than flights into Orlando. For instance, when my wife and I flew into Chicago for Thanksgiving in 2007 (when we lived in Tampa), we booked our flight out of Orlando because it was so much cheaper.

So my recommendation would be to wait it out and see if the prices to each of the airports equalizes or switches back in favor of Orlando (which I would think they would).

Also, bear in mind that car rental in the state of Florida is absurdly expensive. To rent a subcompact for just one day, including insurance, will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of $60-$70.

Granted, the glorious anticipation of a Disney trip will make the drive to WDW go by very quickly. However, I can tell you from experience that after even just a couple of days at Walt Disney World, the 1 hour and 15 minute trip back to Tampa is one of the longest and most depressing drives in the continental United States.

Either way, have a blast on your trip!

 

[Jajone]

The drive from MCO to Disney is 30 minutes as well, so an extra 30-45 min is no big deal to us. Plus, we always rent a car anyway. This is exactly what we are doing at the end of August.

 

[amshowers]

I can find cheap flights into MCO, but I can't seem to find a decent nonstop flight home. All the flights are early in the morning or 1 stop. We always rent a car anyway, and I found cheap,nonstop, sat. evening flights out of Tampa. After reading others opinions, I think I'll go ahead and book out of Tampa.