Please tell me about Tampa airport..

[chefmb]

I have always flown into MCO (Orlando Int.), but because I'm looking into a day at the Clearwater Aquarium, I thought I'd look at Tampa since it seems pretty close to that. I don't know much about either, but a quick check looks like SW flights are actually a little cheaper into Tampa. How long does it really take to drive to WDW from the Tampa airport? Is it easy to rent a car there? How long would it take to drive to Clearwater from the airport? I'm just trying to get information to see if this would make sense for us. Thanks for any info!!

 

[barbliny]

We usually choose to fly into Tampa when we go to Disney

• smaller airport
• easier security (fewer families, means less backup at the security lines)
• easier car rentals because of less competition for cars, especially larger cars, SUVs, and vans - and usually cheaper car rentals
• fewer travelers
• and most importantly - fewer pre-boarding families (which is a big deal on Southwest with unassigned seating)
• the drive to Disney is only slightly longer than from the Orlando airport - it is about an hour and usually has less traffic unless you are driving near rush hour (to add, the flight time (at least from the NY area is about 15 minutes longer)

 

[bumbershoot]

SO easy to rent a car.

Very decent airport to fly into.

Decent drive to WDW. Can't remember how long it took because we stopped at Trader Joe's before really hitting the road.

 

[goofy4tink]

My ds lives in Tampa...about 20 mins from the airport. It takes us about 70 mins to get to WDW from Tampa (the airport area) if there is little to no traffic. When it's busier, it's closer to 90 mins. It's an easy drive though...just kind of boring.
As for St Pete, it should take about 30 mins or so to get there from Tampa Intl.

I love flying in and out of Tampa...it's a nice airport, very user friendly, with a lot fewer families!!! Renting a car is fairly easy, with a decent selection.

 

[chefmb]

Thank you for the replies! It's good to know that this option is out there, especially if the flights are much cheaper. I'll have to check prices when we are ready to book our April trip.

 

[kristenrice]

We landed around 9:30am on a Thursday and had a rental car reserved from Alamo. We retrieved our luggage, went straight to the garage, grabbed our car and hit the road. We were staying at AKV and drove there first, but we only stopped in the parking lot to look up directions to the nearest Target. Then we drove towards Target and stopped at the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A. (I'm using our itinerary to give you an idea of a timeline). When we pulled into the parking lot at Target, I was stunned to see the text on the phone that our room was ready. I was surprised because it was 11:26am! So, we landed, got our luggage and rental car, drove to the resort, then grabbed lunch and headed to Target....all within 2 hours of landing! We were probably at AKV by 11am so, about 90 minutes from landing.

I returned the rental car to the CCC after we picked up and dropped off our groceries. That was our first experience flying into TPA and if the price is right, we won't hesitate to do it again. We saved about $200 in airfare, landed 6 hours earlier than we would have if we'd flown into MCO and the rental car was only about $30. On top of that, we were able to make our own grocery stop instead of spending $75 on an order from Garden Grocer. I have definitely added the option of flying into TPA to my list of transportation options.

 

[mieuxmew]

We flew into Tampa in May and will be flying into Tampa again in October. Very nice airport! You take a monorail from the gate, just like Orlando, but airport is smaller. Luggage came out quicker than Orlando. We walked across the street to car rentals. Alamo employees were very nice and helpful. Takes 70-90 minutes to get to Disney, depending on traffic. We stay offsite, so we need a car rental. Upon return, TSA lines MUCH shorter!

If the savings are significant and/or flight times are more convenient, flying into Tampa is no problem!

Car rental prices seem to drop more last minute at Tampa than Orlando.

 

[chefmb]

This is all great info!! Thanks so much

 

[stormer]

We flew into Tampa once because the fights were a lot cheaper. It was great and I would do it again if I could save money. The ride wasn't bad and it was very easy to rent a car there. The only downside was for the return flight we couldn't send the luggage ahead. We have gotten spoiled by that. It is definitely worth it of you can get cheaper flights.