March 9 Toronto flight @ 3:00pm -- what time to get to the airport?

[PinkMagnolia]

DH are going back and forth about this.

We have a 4 hour drive to the airport in Toronto and need to park the car at the Park N Fly.

What time would you feel comfortable rolling into the Park n Fly? -- I'm thinking around noon as it's the Friday before the March Break. I've never flown out of Pearson on this date, but I can only imagine it being chaotic and crowded. DH thinks I'm insane, but will do it for me as he also can't stand it when I'm frazzled.

 

[alohamom]

With this being one of the busiest days at Peason I would think you would want to be at Park and Fly by 10am. I know that sounds crazy but you can always get something to eat once you get through all the line ups etc. This is usually the day that TV stations go and film the line ups etc and every year they show people saying things like "I never thought it would be this busy" or " I have been here since blah blah blah". I know if it was me flying out of pearson I would be there extra extra early on this day.

 

[networktek]

you are going to want to be at the airport at least 4 hours early with park n fly if you use the shuttle service that is out side the airport they have very slow bus service if you go with the covered park n fly and take the mono rail system it is a much quicker but more expensive

 

[4stroke]

Hi Magnolia,

I would tend to agree with alohamom....earlier is better.

You should plan to be *AT* the check-in counter no later than 3 hrs prior to departure, so by noon. Depending on your airline and terminal, the midday customs and security lines get quite bad. Terminal 1 is the worst. It can take up to 1 hr just for customs, than another 1 hr for security screening.....that's on a REGULAR mid-day weekday. Add another hour because it's March Break.

With Park-n-Fly, I've never done it.....but I would suggest planning on 1 hour transit from when you enter the parking lot (that gives time to find a space, unload the car, then wait for a shuttle, then a drop-off at the other terminal before yours).

Especially with a 4 hour drive just to get to YYZ, you want to plan for the worst!! If it takes less time, even better, you'll be relaxed, and be able to leave the stress behind as you head to Disney!

There is a reason why the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, or GTAA, is affectionately known as "Go To Another Airport"

Good Luck!!

 

[Disney Addicted]

There is a reason why the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, or GTAA, is affectionately known as "Go To Another Airport"

I have not heard that term before. Love it!

I'm glad you asked this question OP. My parents & daughter are flying out that same Friday and I never thought of it being even busier than normal. Makes sense, I just hadn't actually thought about it. Hope my parents believe me when I warn them. At least their flight is early evening. Maybe most of the rush will be over?

 

[PinkMagnolia]

Thanks soooo much all of you for the great responses

I will plan to be there earlier - I'd rather be sitting at the gate for an hour waiting to board rather than stressed in a crush of people.

Thanks again... you guys are awesome!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Yep...I'm in the get there VERY early camp. I agree with being at the Park N Fly for 10am and checked in for the flight no later than 11:30-12:00.

The Wed/Thurs/Fri that week will be INSANE. It's usually wall to wall people.....it's something like 100,000+ people a day at that time.


Have you considered the possibility of getting a park/sleep/fly hotel package? Often it costs the same or close to the same as just the park n fly lot. You will also find that the shuttle service is better.

 

[mom_rules]

This was last year-Customs officials are sending in the cavalry to avoid a repeat of Wednesday's massive lineups at Pearson International Airport, they said Thursday.

Customs inspections booths at terminals One and Three will be fully staffed until the March Break rush is over, said Vanessa Barrasa, spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency.

That means 33 officers will be on duty at Terminal One, nearly double the number working Wednesday night, she said. Another 26 will man the booths at Terminal Three.

The agency met the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and Air Canada officials Thursday morning to discuss what went wrong Wednesday and prevent it from happening again.

Thousands of travellers who landed at Pearson's Terminal One were caught in a bottleneck at customs and forced to wait up to three hours.

Authorities blame the delay on a large number of flights landing at the same time.

The incident was a "huge red flag," said Scott Armstrong, spokesman for the airports authority.

Travellers occasionally experience delays of up to 30 minutes at customs, "but nothing like this," he said. "This is very out of the ordinary, luckily."

Still, Armstrong warned there could be delays this weekend as more travellers come back from vacation.

Airport officials will be looking at long-term solutions once they get through March Break, he said.

 

[Bertie9396]

With a four hour drive just to get to the park n fly, I would choose to stay do a parking package at a hotel. Especially with possible bad weather.

We are flying to Cuba towards the end of March Break. Our flight is schedule to leave at 6:30 am so we are getting a hotel and will be on the shuttle around 3 a.m. And I'm only just an hour away from the airport. But I am also an early at the airport person and would rather avoid a nasty drive on Hwy 400 in the dark!

The last time we flew to Orlando, we did the same thing. We just find it easier and much less stressful. And it gets our holiday started early.

Have a great trip.

 

[mom_rules]

With a four hour drive just to get to the park n fly, I would choose to stay do a parking package at a hotel. Especially with possible bad weather.

We are flying to Cuba towards the end of March Break. Our flight is schedule to leave at 6:30 am so we are getting a hotel and will be on the shuttle around 3 a.m. And I'm only just an hour away from the airport. But I am also an early at the airport person and would rather avoid a nasty drive on Hwy 400 in the dark!

The last time we flew to Orlando, we did the same thing. We just find it easier and much less stressful. And it gets our holiday started early.

Have a great trip.

Check with your airlines-I don't think check ins open until 4am earliest.

 

[Bertie9396]

Check with your airlines-I don't think check ins open until 4am earliest.

Well, they say to be there for check-in 3 hours before departure, that is 3:30 am so that's when we'll be there. The last time I flew to Orlando was 2010. Our flight was very early that time too and I'm pretty sure we were there in the verrrrrrry long line up at 3:30. I remember waking up at 2:30 and waiting for the shuttle at 3 a.m.

 

[papertraveller]

We leave Wednesday ... and I'm secretly booking the taxi for earlier than I tell DH. He does not like to wait at the gate. My line is, "It's departure time. Where would you like to be?"

The family humbly shuffles and looks around, and finally admits: "On the plane."

"Then we leave at my time," say I.

We learned this lesson the hard way just before Thanksgiving. We arrived early at the airport, and DH immediately said "Let's find a restaurant." I said, "Let's find out what this huge lineup is about."

And three hours later we were through U.S. customs and security after work-to-rule.

 

[mtmbyck]

Bertie, you should really make a call to your airline. Most airline desks aren't open until 4am and security and customs aren't open until 5am. I made this mistake once and sat very tired for 90 minutes waiting to get going. But I Do recall the line at customs was huge at 5am (thankfully I was at the front of it).

 

[Bertie9396]

Bertie, you should really make a call to your airline. Most airline desks aren't open until 4am and security and customs aren't open until 5am. I made this mistake once and sat very tired for 90 minutes waiting to get going. But I Do recall the line at customs was huge at 5am (thankfully I was at the front of it).

I appreciate the suggestion but I am sticking with my plan. It worked well for us last time. I know it sounds crazy but I'd rather just get to the airport. Besides, I know DH will be slow moving. DD and I won't sleep at all, we'll be too hyped up. I can rest on the beach.