Timing Help!!!

[Jane VanTassel]

DL family, first time coming to WDW December 23-29th. Landing at 5:30pm, staying at the Coronado/Tower room. From MCO to hotel/check in and drop off bags: how soon/quickly will be realistic to get to EPCOT. I choose this park due to staying open later. We/I want to hit some of the food booths and a few rides. Coming from WA state, we want to get as much done as possible. Thanks for any suggestions. Side note: I've gathered that UBER/Lyft is my preferred way of transportation to get anywhere "quickly", so hopefully that will help us get into EPCOT quicker.

 

[nkereina]

From MCO to hotel/check in and drop off bags: how soon/quickly will be realistic to get to EPCOT.

Its a 30 minute commute from MCO to Disney property, not including traffic and construction. If you land at 5:30, let's say you're able to get your bags by 6pm (MCO is slow with bags in my experience and I would expect air travel to be busy that week), let's say you call an Uber and rush hour traffic is tolerable (if its a weekday), then my guess is you'd get to CSR by 6:45 in a best case scenario. If you Uber from CSR to Epcot, I think you could realistically be inside the gates around 7pm if you're just dropping your bags with bell services and not going to the room first.

If you're taking Magical Express, the rule of thumb is to allow 90 minutes from the time you land to the time you arrive at your resort. That time of year will be busy and its at the end of the DME service, so I would allow two hours. That means you should arrive at CSR around 7-7:30pm, putting you in Epcot around 7:45ish in my opinion.

One thing to consider is hiring a private car service like Tony Hinds, who is often recommended here. It will be more expensive than Uber, but they meet you at baggage claim, assist with luggage, and take you out a side door where they are parked very close by. No waiting/searching for your Uber or walking through the airport with your luggage. A private car would eliminate one variable at least.

 

[Gehrig1B]

I too suggest a car service… that would guarantee you getting to EPCOT around 7:00. You can eliminate about 20-30 minutes if you travel as we do, carryon only. I know for many that is not possible.

If you are willing to drop your bags with Bell Services and head straight to the park you could save considerable time as well depending on how crowded the front desk is at check in.

 

[CynBeth]

Do take into account there could be a flight delay.

 

[Jane VanTassel]

Do take into account there could be a flight delay.

I know: especially coming from the Pacific Northwest! I'm falling quickly into FOMO: I don't want to miss out on anything. Thanks for the tips!

 

[GoingSince1990]

To absolutely maximize your time if you don't mind spending a bit more money, you could ship your checked bags to the hotel a few days beforehand instead of bringing them on the plane. We have used a service called LuggageFree (https://www.luggagefree.com/) a few times and been happy with their service. You can then hop off the plane, into an Uber, and go directly to Epcot (go to the Beach Club if you want to enter through the International Gateway into World Showcase) and check into your hotel later when you are done with Epcot.