Question about flying into Tampa instead of MCO

[helenk]

The rates from Phila to Orlando have not been that great, the lower rates are for the really awful times, like getting to MCO late on your first day and leaving early on your last.
But the flights going into Tampa are good along with good times. How far is Tampa from WDW. Would we have to rent a car or are there any Town Car companies that service that airport?

 

[debster812]

I'm not sure about towncars from TPA to WDW, but I can tell you the drive is a nice easy one. Straight across I4 heading east. A bit more than an hour.

 

[rsschneck]

The drive is easy. I know there are no shuttles from Tampa to WDW. There might be a towncar, but the cost would be farely high. There are rental car agencies at the airport. We are flying into Tampa in August and have a compact rental with Dollar using code KISS3 (mousesavers) for $134.99 base price.

We fly from the West Coast which takes all day anyway, so what is an extra hour drive. We do not hit the parks until the next day anyway!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I really like Tampa, nice airport, easy to get to and to get out of, many of the same rental car agencies. Not a bad drive at all.

 

[kfigment]

One caution about I-4 from Tampa to WDW is the construction. It looks like they are adding lanes and might be under construction for a while. Just be prepared

 

[DisFlan]

helenk - we just did the same thing! We opted to bypass the MCO crush and fly into Tampa. We got a great price on tickets and exactly the times we wanted. As for the towncar, try the Tampa Airport site (search google). They have listings for rental cars and ground transportation. That's probably where you'd find shuttles and towncars. (We're renting a car.)

DisFlan

 

[helenk]

Thank you for the input.
I did a google search and there does not appear to be a town car service that would take us to WDW, but I did do a search with Dollar Rent a Car and they have a good rate for a minivan for when we want to go.
I am going to wait for Southwest to post their schedule from PHL, to see what times they are going to fly and hopefully it will make the other carriers prices go down. If nothing better price wise comes up, I am going to fly into Tampa.