Questions Questions ?????

[Vivig]

HI there,

I have two questions for you all:

Has anyone flown into Tampa? And then back out of Tampa? How is the travel time? etc..


Also, has anyone added an additional day to the land and sea package and how have they gone about it...did they book at the same hotel or off site?

Thanking you all in advance for your usual helpfulness

 

[RagamuffinMom]

Can't answer the Tampa question but we did add an additional day onto our Land/Sea package...well, kind of.

We were in Orlando for a conference and the conference ended on Saturday morning but our Land/Sea trip didn't begin until Sunday. So we booked a night at the Beach Club. After the conference ended on Saturday morning we drove to WDW and spent the afternoon at Stormalong Bay. We ate at Beaches and Cream and then played minature golf in the evening.

On Sunday we drove over to the Grand Floridian where we checked in for our Land/Sea package.

I think we could have just added an additional day onto our Land/Sea package and stayed at the same hotel but we really wanted to try a different hotel for a night. We booked the extra night using a code we spotted on Mousesavers and since we didn't care about having park passes for that day it wasn't very expensive at all.

 

[ThreeCircles]

I live in Clearwater, FL, which is just across Tampa Bay from Tampa. (That sounds kind of silly, huh? )

Anyway, were you planning on flying in the day of your cruise or prior to your sailing date? This could be an important factor.

The travel time from Tampa to Walt Disney World can vary depending on traffic, congestion, accidents, and construction. Generally, it takes us anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to get to WDW from our home. (Of course, there have been several times when we started out heading for Disney and then hit major snags, got frustrated, and just gave up and went back home.)

The trip from WDW to the DCL terminal is much nicer and you're less likely to encounter major problems. (I-4 s just a mess compared to the Beeline.) This leg may take you another hour or so.

As far as delays at the airport, Tampa International is laid out exceptionally well. In fact, it's won Best Airport in the U.S. on many years. Probably won't have any difficulties here. But, then again, one can never tell.

 

[Vivig]

Thanks for the reponses..we are trying to leave one day earlier..you never know how the weather would be in March...we want to ensure that we make the most of our time at Disney.


Thanks again for your replies

 

[Ursula's Mom]

. . . and boy was I tired! Best advice is to try to get a good night's sleep beforehand, which is hard because you want to do alot the last night on the ship! And have something with caffeine (if you can) before you drive if you stay up too late. I went to bed after 1 am because the kids would not go to sleep and I was up at 6 am. I do not drink coffee, but I sure wish that I did that morning! The trip did not take as long as I thought; but it seemed longer because everyone else in the car fell asleep during the ride. There was not alot of traffic in August, 2003, but there was some construction and it took about 2 hours.

We were stopping at my aunt's house in Palm Harbor, FL, near Tampa and that is why we flew home from there. For our next cruise in August, 2004, this aunt is coming with us so I can fly home from MCO, but she'll have the drive home.

Have a great trip!

Kathy

 

[jrabbit]

We flew into Tampa a while back. It was really easy to get off the plane to baggage claim and then to the rental car place. Getting out of the airport grounds and onto the freeway system was a snap too. The road signs were plentiful, helpful and never left you guessing which way to go (which can NOT be said for the Orlando area!!).

Go with the recomendations on driving time from OOO (ThreeCircles) since they are "local" to the area.

It seemed to take us an hour to go from Busch Gardens to Clearwater (its a great beach - spent the day in the ocean, on the beach, watching a pod of dolphins in the swimmng area and around the pier, the street performers in the evening and we had a better sunset here than in Key West!!)

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

We flew into TAmpa for our 11/6 Wonder trip. THe airport was fine and we were able to rent a car for one way and leave it at Port Canaveral. We did encounter a major delay on I-4 at midnight! It took us an hour to go about four miles. Apparently they do major construction at night on the interstates and it really backed us up. We stayed in a hotel in Orlando and drove the final hour (slightly less) in the morning of the cruise.