New to Orlando & WDW driving. Toll question.

[MainMom]

We are headed down to WDW in 2 weeks for 2 weeks. We are flying and will have a rental car staying at Windsor Hills. In our many trips we have always stays onsite using WDW transportation from the airport and to the parks. Driving is a new experience.
What kind of tolls will we run into from/to the airport to Windsor Hills? Any tolls in the immediate area around Publix, fast food, etc?How about Windsor Hills to the Parks?

 

[leebee]

There are no tolls in the immediate area around where you are staying, so no worries about having to pay tolls to go from Windsor Hills to the grocery store, WDW, etc.!

IIRC, the only tolls you will run into are on the highway near the airport. Who are you renting your car from? Florida does a variety of toll passes, and SOME of their toll booths also use EZ-Pass, like I have here at home. HOWEVER... if a pay-by-cash toll lane isn't available/used and you don't have a system transponder, Florida will use toll-by-plate (or something like that), which automatically charges the toll to the "person" to whom the plate is registered... in this case, the car rental agency. The catch here is that different companies charge different rates to pass that cost on to you. You'll always have to pay the toll, but then there's the "service charge" or whatever they call it. I know that if you use the toll-by-plate even once during your trip, Dollar will charge you ~$13 a day for each day of your rental period, additional to the toll itself, even if the car never incurs another toll. Hertz charges ~$5 a day, but only on the days you actually incur a toll (in addition to the toll itself, of course). MY PLAN is to take my EZPass and use it when I can (toll lanes are clearly marked, but don't think that E-pass is the same as EZPass), and take a roll of quarters for when I need to pay with cash (cash toll booths won't make change).

Check cfxway.com for more details. You can see a map of which roads in the Orlando area charge tolls, what the costs are, etc. Good luck... it's kinda confusing. There IS a sticker that you can order (free) for the rental car windshield. You attach the sticker and then log on and enter the plate information, along with your own credit card info, and the toll charges go directly to your card, bypassing the rental agency. Unfortunately my sticker hasn't arrived yet, and we leave tomorrow, so I'm out of luck.

 

[Cheburashka]

We are headed down to WDW in 2 weeks for 2 weeks. We are flying and will have a rental car staying at Windsor Hills. In our many trips we have always stays onsite using WDW transportation from the airport and to the parks. Driving is a new experience.
What kind of tolls will we run into from/to the airport to Windsor Hills? Any tolls in the immediate area around Publix, fast food, etc?How about Windsor Hills to the Parks?

We've rented cars a few times in Orlando in the past year, and we never stop at the cash lanes of the toll roads; we just drive on by. The toll roads electronically (or whatever) get the rental car's info, and the rental car company will charge your card for the tolls plus a little fee- I always get a 2nd bill from the rental company emailed detailing the toll charges from our trip- usually about a week after the trip.

It's standard practice from what I know, nothing you have to sign up for, although some rental companies might offer a cheaper option if you add a toll road option thing (I'm really articulate today lol) when you rent the car. If you want a cheaper option, you might look into getting a Florida toll pass, but I'm not sure how that works with rental cars. When I'm traveling I want things to be as hassle-free as possible, but to each his own.

 

[MainMom]

There are no tolls in the immediate area around where you are staying, so no worries about having to pay tolls to go from Windsor Hills to the grocery store, WDW, etc.!

IIRC, the only tolls you will run into are on the highway near the airport. Who are you renting your car from? Florida does a variety of toll passes, and SOME of their toll booths also use EZ-Pass, like I have here at home. HOWEVER... if a pay-by-cash toll lane isn't available/used and you don't have a system transponder, Florida will use toll-by-plate (or something like that), which automatically charges the toll to the "person" to whom the plate is registered... in this case, the car rental agency. The catch here is that different companies charge different rates to pass that cost on to you. You'll always have to pay the toll, but then there's the "service charge" or whatever they call it. I know that if you use the toll-by-plate even once during your trip, Dollar will charge you ~$13 a day for each day of your rental period, additional to the toll itself, even if the car never incurs another toll. Hertz charges ~$5 a day, but only on the days you actually incur a toll (in addition to the toll itself, of course). MY PLAN is to take my EZPass and use it when I can (toll lanes are clearly marked, but don't think that E-pass is the same as EZPass), and take a roll of quarters for when I need to pay with cash (cash toll booths won't make change).

Check cfxway.com for more details. You can see a map of which roads in the Orlando area charge tolls, what the costs are, etc. Good luck... it's kinda confusing. There IS a sticker that you can order (free) for the rental car windshield. You attach the sticker and then log on and enter the plate information, along with your own credit card info, and the toll charges go directly to your card, bypassing the rental agency. Unfortunately my sticker hasn't arrived yet, and we leave tomorrow, so I'm out of luck.

Than you for this information. We are renting from Alamo.

 

[JimMIA]

There are a number of threads on this topic, so you might try the DIS search feature. Here's one of the more current ones: https://www.disboards.com/threads/epass-or-sunpass-is-one-better.3784734/

Be sure to check the dates of the posts because this is a rapidly-changing situation in the Orlando area.

One thing to watch is those rental car company charges. A couple of years ago the Florida Attorney General went after some Orlando rental companies for their practices regarding tolls. A fee may seem like a small charge, but it might change a $1 toll to a $5 toll with the "fee," so be a knowledgeable consumer.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Than you for this information. We are renting from Alamo.

Alamo made it easy, about 3 weeks after our trip they auto deducted the toll charges from our bank.
We only used it once and it was by mistake so it was the 4.95 convenience charge plus the tolls.
I found by using Google maps I avoided the tolls and sometimes the route was only a few mins longer.

 

[JimMIA]

We only used it once and it was by mistake so it was the 4.95 convenience charge plus the tolls.

This is exactly what I was warning about. You probably paid $6 for a $1 toll.

You were careful and smart, and avoided most tolls but most WDW visitors have enough trouble just getting from A to B without even thinking about whether their route takes a toll road.

 

[EACarlson]

I probably wouldn't worry about it. I would either plan to pay cash at the toll plazas or take the longer route on Google that doesn't have tolls.

 

[Monykalyn]

Some exits are going cashless FYI...so cash is NOT always an option. The sticker option is cheaper but needs to be removed if rental car.
IF you plan to do any exploring frankly I’d just get the $20 removable transponder. Set the account up you can add the rental car. You have the option of putting in a stop time too- so if you accidentally forget to grab the transponder it won’t be able to be used by the next person. Bonus is being able to reuse if you ever drive around the area again. Georgia and ?North Carolina I think it is all recognize each other’s toll passes too now. Very nice when we drive down from MO and can zip through Atlanta traffic in the express lane (so worth the money!).
We have the sticker on the car we usually use to drive down and a transponder we use when we fly and need to rent a car (or a kid is down there for internship or school with a car).
Lookup “SunPass” to see your options and estimated fees for the rental cars.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

This is exactly what I was warning about. You probably paid $6 for a $1 toll.

You were careful and smart, and avoided most tolls but most WDW visitors have enough trouble just getting from A to B without even thinking about whether their route takes a toll road.

Just like everything else I bought on that trip.. paying $6 for something that cost $1 haha.
I'm just thankful the bill was not in the double or triple digits.

 

[JimMIA]

Just like everything else I bought on that trip.. paying $6 for something that cost $1 haha.
I'm just thankful the bill was not in the double or triple digits.

Yep. In the context of the total expense of a Disney trip, $4.95 isn't gonna tip the scales!

 

[WorldOfPooh]

You could always just bypass the tolls by taking the local roads. Fuqua up to Frontage road which becomes McCoy and then West Sand Lake. It's really not that big a difference in time and you can stop by walmart, etc to buy supplies.

 

[joelkfla]

IF you plan to do any exploring frankly I’d just get the $20 removable transponder.

Uni only costs $15, and works everywhere SunPass does, plus E-ZPass roads.
https://www.cfxway.com/uni/

 

[MainMom]

Some exits are going cashless FYI...so cash is NOT always an option. The sticker option is cheaper but needs to be removed if rental car.
IF you plan to do any exploring frankly I’d just get the $20 removable transponder. Set the account up you can add the rental car. You have the option of putting in a stop time too- so if you accidentally forget to grab the transponder it won’t be able to be used by the next person. Bonus is being able to reuse if you ever drive around the area again. Georgia and ?North Carolina I think it is all recognize each other’s toll passes too now. Very nice when we drive down from MO and can zip through Atlanta traffic in the express lane (so worth the money!).
We have the sticker on the car we usually use to drive down and a transponder we use when we fly and need to rent a car (or a kid is down there for internship or school with a car).
Lookup “SunPass” to see your options and estimated fees for the rental cars.

We’re not planning on exploring. We’re just going to stay in the Windsor hills/WDW bubble besides the to/from airport trip.

 

[juju]

When we drive from the airport to Boardwalk, we take 417 and go thru 2 tolls. We find it easier to go thru the cash lanes and pay them. We bring our loose quarters with us, but we were there in November and the 2 tolls both had attendants.

 

[joelkfla]

When we drive from the airport to Boardwalk, we take 417 and go thru 2 tolls. We find it easier to go thru the cash lanes and pay them. We bring our loose quarters with us, but we were there in November and the 2 tolls both had attendants.

That's good if you exit 417 at International Dr/Epcot. Those 2 toll points also accept E-ZPass.

If you go one exit further to Osceola Pkwy, following signs for MK/AK/DHS, there is an exit toll which does take cash but exact change only, and does not accept E-ZPass.

But you can easily get to any park from the I-Drive exit. It will just take a little longer for DHS & AK.

 

[Sha259]

I’m driving from the airport also staying at WH for 9 days, I’m getting the Uni because I want the flexibility to drive my son to Kennedy Space Center on a non park day, and I’d rather pay no surcharges and have the transponder for future rental trips!

 

[joelkfla]

I’m driving from the airport also staying at WH for 9 days, I’m getting the Uni because I want the flexibility to drive my son to Kennedy Space Center on a non park day, and I’d rather pay no surcharges and have the transponder for future rental trips!

FYI: People have said it took as long as a month to get it after ordering from the toll agency's web site.

If you need one in a hurry, they're also available on Amazon for fast Prime delivery for a couple of dollars more.