Nervous about flight after cruise

[Eeyores]

I booked the Delta flight at 11:30 am, latest suggested time. Thinking this was perfect. But is it cutting it too close? If we miss the flight and can't leave until the next day, my daughter will miss out on the first day of Space Camp. I called to try and get a later flight, but the price is ridiculous for changing.

Has anyone had a flight this close and had issues? We are using Disney bus to go to the airport.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Barring a major accident on the roads going to the airport, you should be fine. People take flights at that time frequently and I've never seen any reports of issues.

 

[Eeyores]

I booked the Delta flight at 11:30 am, latest suggested time. Thinking this was perfect. But is it cutting it too close? If we miss the flight and can't leave until the next day, my daughter will miss out on the first day of Space Camp. I called to try and get a later flight, but the price is ridiculous for changing.

Has anyone had a flight this close and had issues? We are using Disney bus to go to the airport.

Should say EARLIEST time, not latest.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

As long as there are not any delays in the ship docking or road closures on the way to the airport, you should be okay. Just do express walk-off and get off the ship as soon as it is cleared by customs for debarkation. I've been hearing about massive back ups at the security check points so make sure to get off right away.

 

[Eeyores]

Yes I had planned to do that. Eat breakfast and be ready to go.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Security lines have been very long. Hopefully you will catch them at a quieter moment. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[poohs4me]

American airlines has changed my flight a couple times. Yes I could have requested a later flight on both changes but I did not want to stick around in Orlando for hours and hours if at all possible and yes if I missed my flights I would have been but for me it was worth the risk.

First they moved me up to a 10:55 flight. I booked a town car and skipped breakfast and made the flight. This was off a 5 night Dream Double Dip Cruise. The second they moved me up to an 11:23 flight. I again booked a town car but this time grabbed breakfast in Cabanas because it was opened at 6:30. This was a 7 Night Fantasy Eastern Cruise. I made this flight as well. I did not do express walk off on either. The Fantasy cruise it appeared we cleared customs later than normal but according to the porter it was normal for the Fantasy and the longer cruises always take a little longer to clear customs. Express Checkoff was off earlier so if you can do this you may want to.

We did not hit any traffic or incidents on the trip from the port to the airport. With the early flight I prefer the town car so I do not have to wait for the bus to fill up and the town car drops me right at the checkin place for my airline. If I had my way, I would use Disney transport so they can deal with my luggage but with those early flights its not an option. I am not sure on an 11:30 flight.

Security was a mess both times but I do have TSA PreCheck so this helps immensely.

 

[sanglee23]

i asked a similar question and i got some helpful feedback here: http://www.disboards.com/threads/mco-flight-time-after-disembarkation.3509835/

basically, it sounds like you would be fine, but there have been instances where security has been out of control. since you can't easily adjust your flight time, it seem like you'll be ok.

 

[Eeyores]

What is the express check off? Can I use it with the Disney transportation? Will we have time to eat before leaving? We are already not eating lunch on time because of the flight time.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Express check off means you lug any and all luggage with you off the ship. You don't put it out the night before. You then go queue up to be one of the first off.

 

[Eeyores]

Seems the night before would be quicker than me lugging it off. Good to know.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Seems the night before would be quicker than me lugging it off. Good to know.

If you put your luggage out the night before, you will likely have to wait once you exit the ship for the luggage to be unloaded. They allow the express walk-off people to leave the ship while they are still unloading the luggage into the customs terminal. That's why you are instructed to keep your bags with you if you are doing express walk-off.

 

[belac]

express walk off is faster, get breakfast at Cabanas, get bags and go. We left luggage in the room when we went up to breakfast. Easier to move around that way for breakfast. Tell your SR host you will be back for bags. Having a car waiting also helps a great deal and we did a car to airport and was a bit less for the 3 of us than the transfers by DCL.
EDIT: Also had TSA pre-check so that helps a great deal.

 

[Sytrace]

Since OP is using Disney transportation, they would have to wait until 9 AM before the bus would leave the terminal anyway.
Which means they would arrive at airport by 10 :00 and have to go thru security. It would be cutting it really close.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Since OP is using Disney transportation, they would have to wait until 9 AM before the bus would leave the terminal anyway.
Which means they would arrive at airport by 10 :00 and have to go thru security. It would be cutting it really close.

Buses to the airport leave as they fill. Many, many buses will have already departed before 9:00am.

 

[belac]

It would be cutting it really close.

Yes I would reconsider the transfers at this point, I don't know when they are scheduled for cruise but they can cancel the transfers up to 3 days before sailing date. Hopefully they can still do that and get a private car.

I was caught once at MCO Security (that was the day I decided to get TSA Pre-Check) for almost 2 hours. If I had a flight before noon I would have missed it. We were off the boat by 8:45 and waited almost 20 mins. to leave port on the bus.

 

[Sytrace]

Buses to the airport leave as they fill. Many, many buses will have already departed before 9:00am.

I could have sworn I recently saw a thread about busses leaving starting at 9 AM. Hmmm...maybe it was for something else though.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I could have sworn I recently saw a thread about busses leaving starting at 9 AM. Hmmm...maybe it was for something else though.

I believe that was referencing buses going to WDW resorts. There aren't as many people taking those and they probably try to group passengers according to which resort they are headed to. Buses to MCO fill up and depart quickly.

 

[Eeyores]

I still have time to cancel, but there are only 2 of us. I hate dealing with private transportation and barely trust them. I don't typically take taxis. I've already scheduled so much for this trip and it makes me nervous. Disney buses seem safer to me. Ugh. Just wish I scheduled the flight later! I was hopeful my daughter could relax and rest before her camp the next day. So quicker was better.

 

[apathetic]

I think you will be fine. The buses for airport should still leave as they fill. It was buses that go to WDW that wait until 9am. I can't see them keeping a full bus around when everyone is going to the same place. Just be ready to move. Get to breakfast in Cabanas as soon as it opens. Eat quickly. Also, be ready for the elevators to be full with others lugging their stuff around. When the ship opens, get right to a bus. At the airport, just check in and head to security. Security can be a pain, but my experience is it moves pretty smoothly for the most part. I know it is getting killed in the media, but usually the worst lines are late afternoon when a lot more flights are leaving. Just be ready to rush if needed. Don't plan for last minute souvenirs or a cup of starbucks. Just get to the gate.