taking cab instead of ME back to airport?

[mh1973]

Has anyone done this to get more time at Disney? How much does a taxi cost from Disney to MCO? I know it wouldn't be a whole lot more time, is it worth it?

 

[Robo]

Has anyone done this to get more time at Disney? 1- How much does a taxi cost from Disney to MCO? I know it wouldn't be a whole lot more time,

2- is it worth it?

1- $40-$65, plus tip.
2- Only you can answer what 60-90 minutes more at WDW is worth.

 

[mh1973]

1- $40-$65, plus tip.
2- Only you can answer what 60-90 minutes more at WDW is worth.

I don't think it's worth $40-$65!!!!! There will always be a next time.

 

[PAcpl]

We use Tiffany Town Cars and they have been great. A round trip from the Airport to the resort and back is $110 in a town car. The bigger the car the higher the price. We have used them to go from WDW to Universal as well with the same great service.

http://www.tiffanytowncar.com/

 

[disguy11]

We've used Marty of Orlando Taxi Service and it is like being driven by your dad! He charges Taxi rates ($45-$60) and unlike normal taxis he schedules your service. He's very nice, has fun videos for the ride and has two car seats (many services only carry one). Search google for Orlando Taxi Service and look for the picture of Marty.

 

[seashoreCM]

You might get a lot more park time by taking a taxi or towncar back to the airport when you bring all your stuff to the park that day and leave from there directly to the airport.

Whereas for DME you have to be back at your resort and all ready to board 15 minutes before your scheduled bus time.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[jamstew]

You might get a lot more park time by taking a taxi or towncar back to the airport when you bring all your stuff to the park that day and leave from there directly to the airport.

Take all your luggage to the park? What would you do with it?

 

[tourguidepat]

THe magical exspress is free!!! Plus it is part of the fun to ride the ME. I have been to WDW 13 times and I have deffinently realized that the cabs are not worth the mooney or time.

 

[dburg30]

You might get a lot more park time by taking a taxi or towncar back to the airport when you bring all your stuff to the park that day and leave from there directly to the airport.

Whereas for DME you have to be back at your resort and all ready to board 15 minutes before your scheduled bus time.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

I dunno, you may want to classify "a lot"

 

[pooh4evr]

I don't think you'll be getting that much more time-- The security lines at Orlando are notoriously long and slow with all the families- ME picks you up 3 hours before your flight I am not sure I would push it much closer than that. We usually do a morning at DTD when we leave- final souvineer shopping, Earl of Sandwich... -- what are you going to do with your luggage??

 

[jamstew]

Took a town car last trip, and they pick you up 2 hours before your flight instead of 3. For me, free is better than an extra hour since I usually take noon-ish flights and wouldn't be doing park time on departure day anyway. I'm still trying to figure out what you'd do with all your stuff if you took it to the park

 

[maxie]

We did this back in January. It cost us no more than $35 including tip. That was from the Beach Club. It was an early morning flight and the extra hour was worth it. We would have had to get up at 3:30 to be ready for ME pickup for 4 a.m. for a 7 a.m. flight.

Instead we caught at taxi just after 5 a.m. Well worth it with young children.

 

[snowwhitenyc]

I think I'll probably skip ME for the return trip to the airport and take a cab next time. For our December trip, our flight was at 6:45 and Disney put us on the 3:40 ME. We didn't make any stops at other resorts, and we got to the airport at 4:15. It took 2 minutes to check in at a JetBlue kiosk, then we were stuck sitting in the food court for 2 hours. While 75-90 minutes doesn't sound like a lot of time, I would have much rather spent that time doing a few more rides at the MK or having an ice cream at Beaches and Cream rather than reading tabloids at the airport.

 

[Robo]

I think I'll probably skip ME for the return trip to the airport and take a cab next time. For our December trip,

1- our flight was at 6:45 and Disney put us on the 3:40 ME.

2- We didn't make any stops at other resorts...

3- It took 2 minutes to check in at a JetBlue kiosk, then

4- we were stuck sitting in the food court for 2 hours.

1- Typical.
2- NOT typical.
3- NOT typical.
4- NOT typical, due to the time it can take to go through security at Orlando.

With all things at WDW,
it's best to be very cautious about judging what will happen on
most trips based on the experience of only one or two trips.

 

[seashoreCM]

I dunno, you may want to classify "a lot"

You should aim to be back at your resort for your DME trip home an hour before the time on your confirmation.

Take all your luggage to the park? What would you do with it?

Tongue in cheek comment from a mass transit advocate, or you're flying an airline that participates in resort baggage checking.

then we were stuck sitting in the food court for 2 hours. .

If your last Disney activity is a meal, better to plan that for the airport. This can gain you some park time too.

 

[LandChildWorldAdult]

1- Typical.
2- NOT typical.
3- NOT typical.
4- NOT typical, due to the time it can take to go through security at Orlando.

With all things at WDW,
it's best to be very cautious about judging what will happen on
most trips based on the experience of only one or two trips.

True dat! Our ME in December was at 3:25. *We* made the bus late at the Contemporary, but ended up stopping at the Poly & GF before getting underway to MCO and then ended up going to B instead of A terminal first due to traffic. Then there was a line at check in and the fiasco that is getting through security with 3 youngish kids and 3 bags of souvenirs. I will not risk my souvenirs to checked luggage, even when I got them at 60-70% of retail .

Bottom line? After getting to the gate, we had just enough time to convert 2 of our security slips to boarding passes confused3 No clue why there were 2 instead of 5) DH got a cup of Starbucks and a bunch of McD's nuggets and fries for the kids and we were being called for family boarding. I barely had time to tell the kids to be quiet and settle down.

 

[NJ2Boardwalk]

I'm not a fan of ME...we've done both private car service and ME and I personally like car service better. Both our ME experiences were long. From waiting in line, to stops at other resorts, to having to leave 3 hours before our flight, etc...I fully knew what to expect but after experiencing it, it's just not for me. Also, only the Disney buses have the video. The 2nd and 3rd time we used ME we got Mears busses and no video. It may seem corny, but the video kinda added to the trip.

 

[goofy4tink]

Let's say the return flight is at 6:00pm..you scheduled it that way so as to have some park time on your last day. If you use DME you will be picked up around 3ish. You may, or may not, make subsequent stops. In over 6 trips with DME, I have only gone directly to MCO from my resort one time. Let's assume there will be at least one stop. So...with that in mind...you should get to MCO by 4:00...just the amount of time MCO has stated you leave for checkin. Of course, if you have already checked your bags, you don't need to worry about that. So....you have about 90 mins to kill now. Most airlines start boarding about 30 mins before departure time.
If you use a car service, or a cab, you could conceivably leave your resort about 3:45-4pm...gives you about an addtl hour. I figure that if you need to be there, at the gate, by no later than 4:30. But others will say you don't need to be at the gate until one hour before your flight. For me...that's cutting it way too close. Security could take you much longer than you figured on, there could be traffic along the route, maybe an accident..who knows.
So, you may get an extra hour at the parks if you use a car service or a cab. It just isn't worth the expense to me. I suppose that if you have checked your bags that morning, with RAC, and have only small carryons, then you might be able to get picked up right at the park...but that's just nothing I would do. I hate having to use a locker and some bus drivers won't let you on the buses if they think you have 'luggage' with you.
You do need to be back at your resort about 30-40 mins before your pickup time. You should plan on it taking 10 mins to get your carryon bags from Bell Services, then you should be out and waiting for either your DME bus, or your car service, 15 mins before your pickup time.
To me, spending an addtl $60+ in order to spend an addtl hour in a park is silly..but that's just my opinion.

 

[disneyfans3]

We just experienced this December 25th...we did have to leave 3 hrs before our flight, however we needed every minute! With security measures in place we had only 10 minutes before we boarded our plane. We fly Southwest. Disney has planned everything out...all you need is faith, trust and a little pixie dust!

 

[PAcpl]

We just experienced this December 25th...we did have to leave 3 hrs before our flight, however we needed every minute! With security measures in place we had only 10 minutes before we boarded our plane. We fly Southwest. Disney has planned everything out...all you need is faith, trust and a little pixie dust!

Im sure the airport is busier and security is tighter on Christmas day. So you're right, I would probably try to leave at least 3 hours before your flight Christmas day.

MCO is about 40 minutes away from Disney. I cant imagine it taking over 2 hours to get through security and board your flight on an average day. DW and I left two hours before our flight took off on our last trip (10/6). We made it to the airport with enough time to have a sit down meal at Outback and still had to wait about 30 minutes before our flight started boarding. Keep in mind this was also with no kids.