Hidden Treasures of MCO

[joe1946]

We’re flying into MCO the night before and spending the night at the Hyatt Regency in the airport -- then getting up at the crack of dawn to head out to, oh, probably AK to do EE before checking in at VWL.

Couple questions:

I forget, and I think the rules keep changing -- are you allowed to take a cigarette lighter and/or matches with you on an airplane -- either in your carry-on stuff or in your checked luggage?

Can the Disney Store at MCO scan our old park hoppers and tell us how many days are left on each of them?

Any tips for fun ways to spend an evening at the airport?

Thanks in advance!

-- Joe

 

[cranbiz]

OK,

Lighters No, Matches yes up to 4 books per person.

You can take a new unused lighter that has not been fueled at all in your checked baggage.

Only guest services can tell you what is left on an old hopper ticket.

There are lot's of shops and stores at MCO to look thru. I try not to spend the night at any airport, so I'm not much more help.

Some off the top of my head are the Harley Davidson store, The Sea World store, The Disney store (yeah, I know you already know about that one )

 

[joe1946]

Thanks, cranbiz -- I see you are (or were?) from Massachusetts -- I'm from Massachusetts too.

Go Sox!

-- Joe

 

[CTCouple]

There is a book which I believe is entitled, What to do when stranded at the Airport. It lists different unique things at several airports and includes MCO. You can probably get a copy from a local library. I recall some fun things to do at MCO, but do not know what times they close.
Of course are you flying with significant other, solo, or with kids? Different replies based on what your group is.

 

[joe1946]

I'll have to look for that book, CTCouple. Our group consists of just me and our 12-year-old twin DS's. DW is sitting this trip out.

 

[dznyacct]

We flew in the night before our Disney cruise a few summers ago and spent the night at The Hyatt. We shopped, ate dinner at Chili's Too and then spent the evening enjoying the rooftop pool. My son and his friend (14 at the time) thought it was really cool to see/hear the planes landing and taking off.

 

[Corryn]

If you're taking Southwest, when you take the tram into the Southwest terminal, there is a costume jewelry store maybe 50 feet from the tram.
I forgot the name....But (almost) everything in there is $10.00! Beautiful stuff, too!
Whenever we go down, my husband knows, I always save a little extra money to get some trendy jewelry. Living up here in NY and going into Manhattan often, I can easily get the trendy stuff here - but even the Chinese ladies get expensive and this store has different looking jewelry.

The rooftop pool sounds so cool! Forget just the little boys liking to watch the planes take off and land - This mom loves it, too!

 

[Michael623]

I don't know how late you'll be getting to the airport but I usually try to trade a couple of pins at the Airport Disney Store. It makes me feel like I'm already there. Have you considered maybe staying on site for that one night. I have stayed at Pop Century for one night a couple of times. It is probably cheaper than the Hyatt (unless you're using points) and you wake up at the World. And as a bonus if you're really planning to get up at the crack of dawn you can take advantage of the EMH. Just a thought.

 

[donkthemagicllama]

If you're looking to kill a couple minutes in MCO, try find the INCREDIBLY lifelike statue of a tourist asleep on the floor. I couldn't tell you where it is, but I stumbled across it last time we were there. It's been there since '84 (or so the plaque near it said), but from 4 feet away, you can't tell it's a statue and not a real person.

 

[o2bacelt]

There's a LUSH and a Sea World Store, I think Universal's got one too.

Here's a link to the store directory at MCO http://www.orlandoairports.net/goaa/property/shops.htm

Hope that helps!

 

[keishashadow]

As for determining the "value" of old PH or MYW tix before you arrive...

there is the option of calling WDW & asking to speak to Ticket Research. I wanted to trade in old tix last year toward AP purchase but, didn't know exactly what they were worth (confusing when you have park hopping & water parks, etc. added to tix).

They'll have you FAX or read them the numers off the back of the tix & can tell you exactly what's left on them. I FAX'ed ours & got an answer, by phone, within a week.

Good luck.

 

[joe1946]

Thanks, everyone! This is exactly the sort of great info I knew I could count on from you guys! We actually don't leave for another 18 days, so if anyone thinks of anything else...

 

[Corryn]

As for determining the "value" of old PH or MYW tix before you arrive...

there is the option of calling WDW & asking to speak to Ticket Research. I wanted to trade in old tix last year toward AP purchase but, didn't know exactly what they were worth (confusing when you have park hopping & water parks, etc. added to tix).

They'll have you FAX or read them the numers off the back of the tix & can tell you exactly what's left on them. I FAX'ed ours & got an answer, by phone, within a week.

Good luck.

I have park hoppers with one day left on them. I can trade those in towards another 7 day park hopper, but just pay for the six days (or something like that) ?

 

[heathrow42]

We’re flying into MCO the night before and spending the night at the Hyatt Regency in the airport -- then getting up at the crack of dawn to head out to, oh, probably AK to do EE before checking in at VWL.

If EE stands for early entry - you will have to check into VWL before going over to AK in order to get your room key (with the date on it) so that you can get into the park early. As someone else posted, it might be worth the $70 or so to stay at Pop/AllStar.

hrmm.. on second thought EE is for Expedition Everest, duh! Is that why Disney changed it from "Early Entry" (EE) to "Extra Magic Hours" (EMH) they needed the acronym!?

The statue of the sleeping guy is over by the starbucks by A - walk past the starbucks toward the bathrooms.

--heather

 

[heathrow42]

I have park hoppers with one day left on them. I can trade those in towards another 7 day park hopper, but just pay for the six days (or something like that) ?

Read the mega ticket FAQ here - 2 sections in particular "Unused tickets" and "Upgrading WDW tickets"

http://allearsnet.com/pl/ticket.htm

In general though, I believe the ticket will be worth less as a credit toward a new ticket than as admission for 1 day into the park.

For example (hyptothetical numbers):

You bought a 5 day parkhopper back in the day for $150 - each day is worth $30. You have 1 day left, it is worth $30 toward the price of a new ticket **OR** it is worth 1 day admission with parkhopping.. they will not credit you $109 for it (which is the price of a 1 day MYW with hopping)

You are probably better off using your ticket for entry and buying a new ticket to cover the rest of your days. It's then up to you if you want to get the non-expiring option and 'bank' your extra days for a future trip.

They don't sell parkhoppers anymore - it's all Magic Your Way with or without the hopping option and with or without expiration.

--heather

 

[disney queen]

i agree w/Michael623--staying onproperty at a value resort is a good way to go. already "there" and ready to go. love the LUSH store!! and there is a DelSol shop there also. cool stuff there. have a great trip!

 

[dbarker]

Thanks for the links. It is so nice to see ahead of time what I am getting into.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

there is also a NASA store in the Airport, very cute! we could easily spend all day at the airport disney store adn it's not that big!! we just like soaking in the atmosphere

 

[mazzarafe]

We had a few hours to kill at the airport last month and we found alot on interesting stores to stroll thru. The NASA store is neat and the Seaworld one. Between the shops, the pool and plane watching the time can go by pretty painlessly.

But, I just wanted to add that DH was told to thow out his lighters and matches when going thru security at BDL in Connecticut. This was extremely hard for him to do because I added extreme stress to the beginning of our vacation by leaving my drivers license behind at home and we were waiting for my parents to rush to the airport in time for our flight which they missed by 5 minutes. DH had to go outside and lurk for someone who had not gone inside yet and bum a light. Coming bach from Orlando he was told to toss them also going thru security. They are also very hard to get at the airport because they do not sell lighters or have matches.