Lines at MCO?

[Bellesmama]

Haven't been down to WDW in over 2 years! I remember the last time we were down there we had a late afternoon/early evening flight and the security line was horribly long! A cast member at the Disney Store said that it usually builds as the day progresses.

We have a 7:50PM returning flight on a Sunday on JetBlue - can anyone tell me how long the lines are lately at MCO? We want to savor every last possible minute at WDW but also want to give ourselves enough time to return the rental car and make it through the lines at MCO!

17 days and counting!

 

[1000th happy haunt]

According to the TSA Security Checkpoint Wait Times, it shouldn't take long at all. But I like to arrive two hours before the flight, just to be sure.

 

[bradk]

i've heard the lines can get as long as 90 minutes or so. i've never encountered anything like that. i'd say 20 minutes at most for the bulk of my experiences. i also travel offpeak seasons.

 

[my3disneygirls]

In Dec. I had a flight departing MCO around 11:20. The lines were ridiculous. I don't know why, but the lines seem crazier and more confusing than at Newark. I've had earlier flights and the lines were not much better.

 

[heathermm]

I have traveled in and out of MCO several times and at different times of the day and have never waited more than 20 min. Maybe I have just been lucky.

They now offer a new service out of there called something like Register Clear, where it's a separate security line- much faster if you belong to it.

 

[katieandallycat]

Ok, our experience was from Jan 2006. Please keep in mind, we normally get to the airport minimum of 2 hours early whenever we fly. We had a 8:00am flight and left for MCO at 5:15. Took us about 30 mins to get gas, drive there, check in the rental etc. So it was about 5:45am, the security line was about 45 mins. When we have travel elsewhere around that time of day, you usually just walking up and going thru. Would allow at least 2 hours.

 

[OKW Lover]

It seldom takes us more than 15 minutes to go through security at MCO. Perhaps SafteyMom can give us some recent experience.

 

[warpdarkmatter]

the lines look insane but move quickly

 

[TaraPA]

Lots of variety in answers to this thread, but I'll put my 2 cents in...we've waited anywhere from 10 to 45 min. at MCO, usually mid afternoon. Arriving in MCO, if you are using ME, we waited about 5 min. in line to check-in, then about 10 more min. in the queue for the bus to arrive, then we sat on the bus about 15 more min. waiting for it to fill.

The worst I've seen MCO was the week of 9/11 - oh my word, everyone was in a panic & desperate to do anything to get home. Since flights were cancelled for about 3-4 days they were cramming people on any flight available by Sunday after 9/11. Lines were at least 90 min. everywhere, and everything was so overbooked people were sleeping all over the place (even in the bathrooms), entire families were sprawled out in halls, around check-in kiosks, etc. for hours if not days. Total chaos. People were aggitated & aggravated & irritable. Lots of security people breaking up screaming matches between guests and airline reps. We found a spot in a hall near the phones & parked it & thankfully had a small board game to play with the kids. We were lucky to actually get out that Sunday on a flight re-booked from 9/13, but we still waited in that hallway playing Sorry for about 5 hours.

 

[safetymom]

There are times that the security lines can be very long at MCO. They did hire more screeners but you can be in line for half an hour or so.

Clear is a great program if you fly a lot. I love bypassing the lines. They are adding it at more airport.

I would allow at least 1 1/2 hours to go to the ticket counter, through security.

 

[Debi]

Hello!

This is more of a question for the Transportation Board, so I am moving it there. Please check the Transportation Board for further replies.

 

[lynninpa]

Just returned June 27th and going through security at MCO took all of 5 minutes. Of course, that was a Wednesday evening flight.

 

[Donald is #1]

Hi! During my May trip I had a 1 or 1:30 PM flight back. I left for the airport about 3 hours early and the lines at security were fairly short and moved quickly. I think that I probably spent at most 20 minutes in line. During my trip last October however, the lines were much longer. I was probably in line for about 45 minutes or more. I think that the biggest problem was that people didn't fully understand the liquids ban. I saw at least a couple of people trying to carry snowglobes onto the plane. Every time this happened, it really slowed up the lines as TSA tried to explain to them that they couldn't carry the snowglobes.

 

[lynninpa]

Hi! During my May trip I had a 1 or 1:30 PM flight back. I left for the airport about 3 hours early and the lines at security were fairly short and moved quickly. I think that I probably spent at most 20 minutes in line. During my trip last October however, the lines were much longer. I was probably in line for about 45 minutes or more. I think that the biggest problem was that people didn't fully understand the liquids ban. I saw at least a couple of people trying to carry snowglobes onto the plane. Every time this happened, it really slowed up the lines as TSA tried to explain to them that they couldn't carry the snowglobes.

What happened to the snowglobes?!

 

[Donald is #1]

What happened to the snowglobes?!

I believe that they had to go back out to ticketing and send them through as luggage.


Recommendation to anyone buying snowglobes at WDW: Have the store ship it (them) home for you. You won't have to worry about security and they will be insured.