tampa airport

[DisneyNeophite]

Another thing to remember.... MCO to Disney took us 25 minutes.

Flying to Tampa may only add a little travel time and a lot of money

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation board.

 

[JB2K]

checking around I noticed that flying into Tampa would save me about 50 per ticket..We are renting a car regardless.. How far is Tampa vs Orlando?? Is it a easy trip or not worth the savings?

It's an easy trip -- for starters, Tampa's airport is a LOT easier to navigate/get out of (as compared to MCO). Then, just a straight shot east on I-4 will get you to WDW.

 

[wmharley]

Just to echo everybody's sentiments...I go to University of South Florida in Tampa and my girlfriend goes to University of Central Florida, so I make the Tampa to Orlando drive back and forth all the time. Disney's even closer than Orlando. Not a bad drive at all, 90 minutes with no traffic...you get to see some cool things on the way, like the "Hidden Mickey" Power Line, the plane from Fantasy of Flights, and Dinosaur World!

As a kid...I always considered this drive to be synonymous with Disney. It's actually really hard when I drive to see the GF and I pass by Disney, knowing we won't be going that weekend!

the power line is our mark of arriving. When we pass Champion's Gate, I tell my daughter to be on the lookout... Squeals of delight when she sees it.

I fly to and from Tampa all the time... and drive to and from WDW from Tampa all the time. If I was just going to WDW, though, for $50 I'd fly to Orlando. If you have 5 or 6 people and you're going to save $250-$300 total, though, then consider Tampa.

As others have pointed out, the traffic can be awful. I-4 at Himes is actually considered the central point in America's Worst Commute, according to Fortune or some other magazine earlier this year. But you can hit bad traffic anywhere along the route. Doesn't mean you will -- but you certainly could.

Without traffic, I can make it from Tampa airport to WDW in about 70 minutes without breaking too many laws. If you've got a leadfoot (and no traffic), you could do it quicker.

I-4 doesn't hit Himes.. you mean I-275. I-4 ends at the downtown area.

There is massive construction in the area youmentioned as they are redoing the lanes.

Another thing to remember.... MCO to Disney took us 25 minutes.

Flying to Tampa may only add a little travel time and a lot of money

If you use a rental car, other than $20 for gas, there isn't more expense. Cars are cheaper, generally. TSA checks are quicker too.

I do the flip side for vacation. I usually go to MCO as where I go (Puerto Rico) there are more flights to SJU than from TPA, which has only 1 direct at 6am. MCO has at least several to choose from.

But when TPA had more, I had to look at the cost of parking or rental car to MCO combined with the ticket price to see if it made more sense to drive there or stay in TPA. $50 difference after all the expenses were added would be enough to go to MCO.

 

[rich7214]

I'm seeing the same differences in airline fares between MCO and TPA - it could make a big difference. However, I am seeing the opposite difference in rental car rates (the TPA rate is higher) - sometimes as much as $150.

I know that some of you have mentioned that the rates are normally lower in TPA, so am I looking in the wrong place? I've used various codes, but so far I've compared a few companies (Thrifty, Dollar, Budget, Alamo) and I'm finding that the base rates are much higher.

Any ideas?

 

[joe1946]

I just tried looking at nationalcar.com for a rental from May 8 thru May 15. An economy car was 276.86 at MCO and 228.89 at TPA; a compact was 283.26 at MCO and 233.89 at TPA; a midsize was 325.86 at MCO and 245.89 at TPA, etc.

 

[rich7214]

Just to add, I'm checking for dates at the end of August. I just tried National and found higher rates there as well.

 

[MrMarv]

I've never saved less than $100.00 when renting a car from the Hertz Local Edition station at the Waterside Marriott as opposed to getting gouged by 'junk fees' at Tampa's airport (and most other airports nationwide), having been an Auto Club member for 20+ years.

I'm flying into Tampa next month, and the difference in price for a full-size car between the Marriott location and the airport will be somewhere around $175.00!!!

I can drop off the car at the airport with no drop charge; can't complain at all.

Utilizing the same routine in Orlando, and utilizing the HLE station at the Orlando Airport Marriott would save me approximately $40.00 on a one-week rental for the same car, which isn't too shabby either.

 

[mmmgood]

I've never saved less than $100.00 when renting a car from the Hertz Local Edition station at the Waterside Marriott as opposed to getting gouged by 'junk fees' at Tampa's airport (and most other airports nationwide), having been an Auto Club member for 20+ years.

I'm flying into Tampa next month, and the difference in price for a full-size car between the Marriott location and the airport will be somewhere around $175.00!!!

I can drop off the car at the airport with no drop charge; can't complain at all.

Utilizing the same routine in Orlando, and utilizing the HLE station at the Orlando Airport Marriott would save me approximately $40.00 on a one-week rental for the same car, which isn't too shabby either.

This may save you money renting from Hertz but Hertz is expensive. Using discounts and coupons you can find generally find better rates at bigger airports due to competition. For example: June 4th to June 11th - picking up at the Marriott - using AAA discounts, a fullsize runs $255.64, certainly much cheaper than using Hertz at the airport but :
visiting here http://www.carrentalsavers.com/costco_discounts.html and using Budget, your rate for a fullsize is $200.58.

It is good to compare both as sometimes off airport can be cheaper but the myth that off airport is always cheaper is certainly not true.

 

[My3kiddos]

We flew into TPA last year and rented a car there at Thrifty and saved a bundle compared to flying into MCO and renting a car there. The drive was very easy and TPA seemed very non hectic and was super easy to navigate.

 

[snowy76]

Last fall we flew in and out of TPA and rented from Alamo. If it's saving that much money per airline ticket, go for it. The difference in gas to/from TPA versus MCO will not going to eat up all those savings and you avoid I-4 through Orlando (which ALWAYS seems congested to me no matter what time of day).