How early do you arrive at the airport on your way to Disney ?

[maryj11]

I have flown to Disney before and it always seems we are to early and have to wait. What time do you usually arrive at the airport on your way to Disney ?

 

[dancin Disney style]

I still stick to the old 2 hours before your flight rule. I would much prefer to be sitting in the airport too long than stressing out about being late and maybe missing my flight. I like to get a drink and just sit and people watch. My DD and I will start inventing stories about where people are going or we will wander through the shops.

 

[Peg]

always there at least 90 min ahead (usually 2 hours!) Just in case! We arealways early too, but I find it cuts the stress level considerately (even though we are a small airport (buffalo). Just get some food and a good book and the time will pass quickly
Peg

 

[DVC-Don]

2 hours.

 

[tjmw2727]

Depends on the airport but no matter where I fly - I usually follow the 2 hour rule. You never know when you will hit a snag! We flew to CA from Philly in March and there was an issue with my ticket that took a manager almost 1/2 hour to fix. You may have long lines to check bags and/or long lines for security clearance.

IMHO I would rather chill at the gate than miss my flight

 

[maryj11]

Ok thanks all. I guess I will stick with getting there early. I will have to get up way early but oh well, we are going to Disney !

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We leave to head to the airport from home 3 hrs before our flight, even though it's really only 1/2 hr drive. I like to have plenty of time so I don't feel rushed and we can park the car without running around. We eat at the gate, use the rest rooms, etc. all feeling very relaxed. Excited but not stressed. Why take a chance? Vacations should not be stressful.

 

[MHSweb79]

We fly out of Providence, which is a very small airport. Most times we're through security in less than 10-15 minutes, but we've had a couple if instances where the lines took 45+ minutes or more. Once we arrived at our gate just 10 minutes before boarding, which is WAY too close for our comfort.

You just never know. I like to use the extra time to get a snack (gotta hit Dunkin' Donuts) and use the restroom.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Ok thanks all. I guess I will stick with getting there early. I will have to get up way early but oh well, we are going to Disney !

I totally get what you mean. I'm sooooooo not a morning person but really how much difference does 30 or 45 minutes make? or even an hour? Aren't you totally excited on flight day anyway? I find the night before I travel I can't sleep at all.....I'm doing well if I get 4 hours.

 

[MissManda]

We always get to the airport at least 2 hours before our flight. I would rather have to sit and wait for a while rather than have to rush through the airport in a panic. We grab a bite to eat and something to drink and people watch until it's time to board.

 

[Hopefully]

Another, at least 2 hours before the flight. There are too many uncontrollable variables between me and the plane. I would rather sit and wait than stress in a line somewhere.

 

[aubriee]

We always arrive at least two hours before the flight.

 

[maxiesmom]

I get there 2 hours before. I'd much rather be sitting happily at the gate than in a panic in the security check point. I fly out of a pretty small airport, but sometimes the lines for security are long!

 

[OKW Lover]

It really depends on the airport and when we are flying. Flying out of PVD is a lot easier than out of BOS so we cut that closer. We aim for 90 minutes before the flight but don't stress too much about it. Despite long security lines we have never had a problem getting to the gate before boarding starts.

 

[HookdonWDW]

Another one who says it depends on the airport. If we're flying out of White Plains, about an hour. If we're flying out of Windsor Locks/JFK/LaGuardia, 2 hour minimum.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

My wife thinks I'm a bit crazy. When leaving our home, I account for:

Travel from home to airport: 45 minutes without traffic
Potential traffic: 30 minutes
Extra time (to account for things like small accidents or flat tires): 75 minutes (basically double travel and potential traffic)
Time at airport: 120 minutes

Total time: 270 minutes (4.5 hours)

 

[dancin Disney style]

My wife thinks I'm a bit crazy. When leaving our home, I account for:

Travel from home to airport: 45 minutes without traffic
Potential traffic: 30 minutes
Extra time (to account for things like small accidents or flat tires): 75 minutes (basically double travel and potential traffic)
Time at airport: 120 minutes

Total time: 270 minutes (4.5 hours)

We do...
2 hours before flight +
travel time(90 minutes) +
30 minute cushion for delays
= 4 hours

 

[andymattmom]

Minimum of 2 hours before flight.

Last year arrive at IND 2 hours before flight....find it was canceled (first flight in morning after Memorial Day--Indy 500 weekend). Couldn't get flight out to PHX until the next day due to all 500 visitors leaving. Thankfully they could get us out of Cincinnati (had to get to PHX to graduation) so we did have enough time to drive there and fly out on a morning flight. We did have to pay for rental car...expensive but we made it!

Anymore I wouldn't do less than 2 hours with security lines, lines to check in, etc. Would rather sit at airport for an hour before flight than sit for hours after missing flight!

 

[delmar411]

We leave the house 2hrs before the flight (we live close to the airport) and we always have to sit and wait at the gate. I try to wait as little as possible at the airport. But we also take the first flight of the morning which is at 7am so the airport is just starting to wake up then.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

To me it would depend on the airport your flying out of.....we fly out of Islip, NY which is a smaller airport...usually short security lines...so usually 1 15 min before our flight.....if we were to fly out of JFK or LGA we'd get there 2 hrs before