Questions about getting to port

[Connecticute]

Sailing on the Fantasy, flying from New York to MCO. We are 2 parents and an almost 4 year old boy.

We're flying in late on Thursday night, plans for Friday are kind of up in the air.

We're thinking of staying at the airport Hyatt and renting a car to do whatever on Friday. Whether that's shopping, Disney World, Universal, or whatever.

If we decide to stay at a Disney hotel instead, what's our transportation option to the port? I know there's a bus that goes from the airport, so if we do the Hyatt, that bus is pretty convenient for us. Is the bus from a Disney hotel the same thing? If they're different, what is the price difference? Is there any reason this is better?

Or the other option would be to rent a car and drive to PC Friday night and stay in some hotel there.

Or some combination of any of these.

What would you do? For hotels, port transportation? What should we do on Friday? Is there anything cool that I'm not thinking of?

 

[bumbershoot]

The DCL bus from the resorts is basically the same thing as from the Hyatt, but perhaps less convenient. The buses from the Hyatt leave for hours starting at around 9:30am. The ones from the resorts leave ONCE per day, you find out when to meet the night before you go, and you're lucky if you'll get to the port by noon (we got there just before 1...we got onboard and they announced that rooms were open). If you're a "get all the value you can get" person (like me), that's not going to make you happy.

Same price, $35 per person each way, for resort or Hyatt DCL bus (you can leave from one and go back to the other).

You could still rent that car and stay at Disney and return the car to the port. (drop "checked" bags off at the port, and perhaps even one adult and the child, so you're not dealing with the big bags on the shuttle from the rental agency)

We have a Canaveral cruise in March and I'm looking at staying at one of the Cocoa Beach hotels like the 4 Points by Sheraton. (we, since our son is 11, would looooove to stay at Universal, but our cruise is Easter-ish-time and the hotel prices are insane)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sailing on the Fantasy, flying from New York to MCO. We are 2 parents and an almost 4 year old boy.

We're flying in late on Thursday night, plans for Friday are kind of up in the air.

We're thinking of staying at the airport Hyatt and renting a car to do whatever on Friday. Whether that's shopping, Disney World, Universal, or whatever.

If we decide to stay at a Disney hotel instead, what's our transportation option to the port? I know there's a bus that goes from the airport, so if we do the Hyatt, that bus is pretty convenient for us. Is the bus from a Disney hotel the same thing? If they're different, what is the price difference? Is there any reason this is better?

Or the other option would be to rent a car and drive to PC Friday night and stay in some hotel there.

Or some combination of any of these.

What would you do? For hotels, port transportation? What should we do on Friday? Is there anything cool that I'm not thinking of?

The DCL transfers operate both from MCO, as well as from the WDW resorts. Cost is the same $35.00 per person, one way. The biggest difference is from MCO the bus starts running at 9:00, departing every 20 minutes or when full, whichever is first. The busses from the resorts typically have one pick up somewhere in the 10:45-12:30 window. Transport time to the port from either location is about an hour.

Depending on how early you want to be at the port, would determine whether you'd want to stay at the Hyatt or a WDW resort.

For me, personally, I'd probably stay at one of the resorts, and do either Downtown Disney or a water park on Friday (or even, just enjoy the resort, as they usually have some activities going on). And take the DCL transfers to the port on Saturday. (for us it's not so important to be in the big mass rush of people who are there first thing in the morning).