Pros and Cons of flying into Tampa Vs Orlando

[NjRon]

Flights into Tampa seem so cheap when compared to Orlando. Besides an extra hour drive, why would I not choose Tampa over Orlando?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

If you're staying at a Disney-operated WDW resort, you can use Disney's Magical Express for free transportation and luggage transfers -- but only if you fly into Orlando International.

If you multiply the extra hour by 2 (for arrival and departure) and further multiply by the number of people in your party, you're giving up many hours of vacation time if you fly into Tampa.

Depending when you hit the road at Tampa International, it can be a real mess to get through the city of Tampa. It can be a lot more than just "an extra hour drive."

Gasoline is mighty expensive these days.

 

[DiscussDisney]

I love Tampa airport. It's always cheaper to fly into. Much less crowded than MCO which leads to much less wait time for things like check-in, security, luggage pick-up, car rentals, etc...

The only negative I can think of is the travel time, as you can hit some major traffic on I-4, so you will need to allow extra time if you will also leave out of Tampa on your return.

 

[CarolA]

I have a flight scheduled into Tampa and the ONLY reason I chose it was SEVERAL hundred dollars. Sat after Thanksgiving and the BOS to MCO late night was $400 and BOS TPA was $89.

 

[goofy4tink]

Since my ds just moved to the Tampa Bay area, I see a lot more flying into Tampa and driving to WDW in our future!! He drove down and said he was surprised at how easy the drive past WDW and then on to Tampa was...expected much more traffic and congestion. He drove from Jacksonville to Tampa on a Sat morning, so probably hit Orlando area around 2:30 or so, since he arrived in Largo at about 3:45.
I'm looking forward to flying into Tampa and then driving around Orlando. We had decided that our next 'family' vacation we would see all the other parks in Orlando for a change, as well as WDW.

 

[rlduvall]

I have done both. If you plan on renting a car anyway, I see no problem with flying into Tampa. It will cost you about 45 minutes each way in time at WDW. Not that big of a deal, if a great savings. The Tampa airport tends to be less congested also.

 

[JDietz40]

We have flown into Orlando and Sanford a number of times and will fly into Tampa in November. We have driven from near Chicago the last few times but with a Southwest fare of $ 118.00 round trip each for 3 of us it will be cheaper than putting gas in our 12 MPG conversion Van and with a good rate on the rental car by flying into Tampa we are saving about $ 100.00 and 30 hours on the road.

 

[DisFlan]

We prefer the Tampa airport to Orlando's. It's much more user-friendly, and airfare is usually cheaper. We rent a car anyway and they're right there at the airport for pickup. We've never had a line. Very fast in and out. The drive to WDW is longer, but we don't mind. The trade-off is worth the effort.

DisFlan

 

[Brian Noble]

We rent a car no matter what, so our rule-of-thumb is that we need to be saving at least $200 (total) to justify a round-trip to TPA rather than MCO. I'm slightly more willing to fly into TPA than out of it, just due to the psychology of trips: everyone is excited on the way there, and the extra drive time doesn't seem awful. On the way home, everyone is tired, and the extra time seems much longer!

 

[NjRon]

Thank You.