Toll Roads

[DISNEY1975]

Sorry for all the questions today! My trip is getting very close and my mind is racing.

I remember months ago reading something about the toll roads from the airport no longer accepting cash. We'll be picking up a rental car at the airport. Do I need to get any prepaid device to get to WDW? (Easypass / E-Pass etc..)

TIA

 

[DrivenByDisney]

No, they accept cash on your way in to the attractions from the Orlando airport. The cash lanes are to the far right when you approach the toll plazas. You could of course get an e-Pass/Sun Pass if you would like. I just came back home two weekends ago and I used cash on the toll road heading towards Disney from the Orlando airport. I cannot imagine they changed it in that time frame. Nothing happens that fast in Orlando

Also, your rental car may already have a pass on it and you may just have to pay to load it. I would ask the rental car company when you get there if they do have a pass, an option for a pass or not.

But again ... The toll plazas (you will go through two) DO accept cash for the tolls.

 

[bankr63]

You can still use cash on either the South or North approaches to MCO. The cashless is still mostly in Southern Florida near Miami based on the last SunPass newsletter I got.

Suggest you be careful about the toll programs for the rental cars. Some of the big names will charge a fee for every day of your rental if you use it, but you generally only really use it to and from the airport for a Disney only trip. Other rental companies will only charge a fee on the days you actually use the pass (so two days). That can be a significant difference in cost.

The cash tolls are easy, but we have a SunPass as we drive down and prefer some of the Orlando toll bypass roads.

 

[2Gma]

DON'T buy the Sun pass or pass from rental company unless you will be traveling back and forth along the toll route several times!! You won't need it traveling around Disney world. We have rented a car and stayed just past the Disney exit in a condo 3 separate times and the tolls are about $4 to get there and about $2.50 on the way back to MCO along I-4. Going between our condo and Disney there is NO tolls. I have always just brought quarters to throw into self pay lanes, moves quickly.

 

[njmousefest]

Here's my experience with a Budget rental end of April beginning of may. We land in Orlando late with 2 hungry screaming kids after flight delays. I go to the rental counter and sign everything, including the "I'm liable for any tolls" document. Get in the car and start driving. First toll both, pay cash. Same with all the others. Fast forward one week going back to the airport go through the cash lanes paying cash. The last toll booth before the airport the collector tells me sun pass paid the toll. I had no idea there was a sun pass in the car. Look up hidden underneath the rear view was a sun pass with an on-off switch in the on position.

2 weeks later checking credit card bills Budget charged me for the use of sun pass all week plus the tolls...so I ended up paying double tolls (at least until I called my credit card company to dispute and won that battle).

Just be aware and make sure sun pass is off if you're not using it.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Is there an on and off button?

We are renting through Hertz.

 

[JenLanDisney]

Sun Pass has a summary of rental company rules:
https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar

I would still ask at the counter in case something has changed, though.

 

[Woodview]

We have been renting cars in Florida for 14 years & never had a Sun Pass .

Pay cash at toll booth and back on Hwy with very little delay.

What is 5 min stopping time ,to hand over money at booth , out of Vacation time ?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We had a longer all FL trip in the past year. From MCO and Tampa- we normally pay cash for tolls. In Southern FL, we followed the GPS and found ourselves entering a toll road on-ramp with not much ability to detour.

Enterprise only charged a few $ above the tolls, and only for that day. It was convenient the rest of that day.

 

[Sytrace]

There is only one toll plaza that requires exact change or a sunpass/Epass on the 417 between MCO and Disney.
Be sure to use Exit number 6 to avoid that one toll plaza which is a bit further down the road and exits at Gaylord Palms.

The other toll plazas on the 417 from MCO to Disney have change/receipt lanes. The longest delay that could possibly happen would be if you are driving during rush hour (s) between 4 and 6 PM on a week night and if there is only ONE lane open during that time. Not enough of a delay to stress over though.

 

[rg35]

Some of the cars have sun-pass embedded in the license plates now, there's nothing to hang up that you even turn on/off.

If you're paying cash, just make sure to have lots of change. Not all the booths are manned, so you need to have exact change to throw into the basket.

 

[btowndude]

Before I leave for my WDW trips, I stop by the banks and get a roll of quarters. I split the roll into two Ziploc snack bags: one for MCO-WDW and one for WDW-MCO. The quarter bags along the boarding passes go into the travel tote. It's cheaper than paying the daily transponder fee to the rental car companies.

 

[NinaBella]

Some of the cars have sun-pass embedded in the license plates now, there's nothing to hang up that you even turn on/off.

Where are you getting your information about sun pass embedded in license plates? I have lived here since 2003 and have never heard of this and can not find a source for your information. The tolls will take a picture of your license plate and mail you a bill under the Toll-by-Plate but nothing is embedded into the plate. I am really curious since sun pass are read from the front of the vehicle as you drive under the sensor and the sensors are not placed facing backwards to read a plate. Only cameras are front and back to take a picture of the driver and the license plate.

Toll-by-plate charges a $2.50 administrative fee. I had a sun pass years ago, but really rarely take toll rolls, so I just let them bill me. Right now I have a class that is $0.75 to get off at the exit closest to my school and $0.75 to get back on. I could drive the long way to avoid the toll, but it's not worth it. For my class, I just grab some change out of our change jar as it is an unmanned toll booth.

http://www.floridasturnpike.com/all-electronictolling/TOLL-BY-PLATE.cfm

 

[NinaBella]

LOL. I was at my daughter's cheer gym on Tuesday and a couple moms were talking about a Toll-by-Plate they got in the mail for their teenager who wasn't suppose to be in that area. BUSTED! The daughter actually went through TWO tolls that got mailed to mom. It has the date, time and location, and picture of the driver so there is no way she could deny it. I am sure others have been busted by a spouse or parent from a Toll-by-Plate.

 

[NinaBella]

From Sunpass.com... there are the two types of transponders.

https://www.sunpass.com/pdf/MiniWebPDF_E.pdf

1) SunPass Portable
2) SunPass Mini

 

[GreatLakes]

If you are going to be driving around Orlando, and not just from the airport to Disney and back, just make sure to have plenty of quarters. I was caught out driving from Disney to an off-site event east of downtown because on of the toll plazas needed exact change and all I had was larger bills.

 

[BrianL]

Whenever I have rented they just told me to drive through the tolls and they would bill me later. That's what happened. It was only a few bucks. I haven't rented a car there in a while though. It was Enterprise when I did.

It may not be the same, but this is how Enterprise works in Dallas too, where I rent frequently. You just pass through the tolls and it hits my card, sometimes several months later though.

 

[minidis]

The surpass sticker is only 5 and you can load it as you need. It can be ordered on line or purchased at grocery stores

 

[nacho113]

The surpass sticker is only 5 and you can load it as you need. It can be ordered on line or purchased at grocery stores

The only problem with the Sunpass mini, that I see, is that it is a sticker and cannot be reused after it has been peeled off the windshield of the car.
You are required to load a minimum of $10 on to the card and top-ups seem to be in minimum $10 increments. Essentially once the Sunpass mini is removed, any money remaining in your Sunpass account appears to be lost at this point since the transponder sticker is no loner functional (once removed). I did notice that if you add another transponder to your account (say for next years trip) that you can transfer a balance. I didn't see any option to request a refund for the remaining funds in the account, although if you were to call and request a refund of the remaining balance they may accommodate you.

Depending if you take the North or South exit from the airport, you will use $3-4 in tolls each way to the airport.
Here's the 3 options:
1) If you don't incur any other tolls in the area, then your total tolls would be no more than $6-8 (if paid cash at the toll booths) from MCO and then back to MCO.
2) The Sunpass mini will cost you $5 + tax plus a $10 minimum load up = $15-16
3) Alamo, National, Enterprise charge $3.95 per day that you actually use the toll roads plus the cost of the toll, so 2days x $3.95 + $6-8 for tolls = $14-16

Notice above that for tolls back an forth to the airport, the cost of the Sunpass Mini and the program offered by Alamo and affiliates are pretty much equal.
Paying the tolls cash at the toll booths is definitely the least expensive.
*** now if you are going farther afield and may incur more tolls or are going to areas that have gone Cashless (Sunpass only) such as the Miami area, then the Sunpass or the rental company's program are the best option.
*** also note if you are a frequent visitor to Florida, a regular Sunpass transponder ($20) could be a good investment for the convenience and small savings on the toll costs (10-15%)