TPA or JAX experience

[disneymagicgirl]

i need flights on southwest because we have a companion pass and points.
BNA to MCO is usually about 10k points round trip for me but is 40-60k for our oct cruise. Not cool.
Other options are TPA and JAX. I realize they are both a bit of a drive but half the points. We have rental car points too so that is not an additional cost.
Any pros/cons to these 2 airports other than the drive?

 

[OKW Lover]

The drive from TPA to WDW is very easy and will take about 75 minutes. No tolls involved. JAX is quite a bit further away and the drive is probably 3 hours. Plus, you may have to deal with I-4 during rush-hour.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

The drive from TPA to WDW is very easy and will take about 75 minutes. No tolls involved. JAX is quite a bit further away and the drive is probably 3 hours. Plus, you may have to deal with I-4 during rush-hour.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks, but heading to port canaveral, not wdw

 

[dcassetta]

I would recommend Tampa over Jacksonville. It's a nice airport, easy to navigate, the rental cars are right there outside the luggage area. It's easy to get to the port, I-4 to Orlando and then out the Beeline. About two hours from airport to Cape Canaveral.

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks, but heading to port canaveral, not wdw

Ahh, I missed that. In that case I'd think the drive from either airport is about the same. The more significant difference might be the need to take a toll road from TPA to the port, whereas from JAX you would just drive directly down I-95. I guess I'd check the time on Google Maps. If they are nearly the same, then go with the least expensive ($$$ or miles) option.

ETA: just checked Google Maps and the difference is only a few minutes. In that case, I'd go with JAX.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thank you both!

 

[KevinP1935]

My parents live in the Tampa area and we have flown into TPA. The drive over is fine. If you drive over the morning of your cruise you'll see the Disney Cruise Line buses headed to Orlando and possibly pass a few on the way to the port.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

My parents live in the Tampa area and we have flown into TPA. The drive over is fine. If you drive over the morning of your cruise you'll see the Disney Cruise Line buses headed to Orlando and possibly pass a few on the way to the port.

Thank u. Do you normally rent a car then? My biggest hang up right now is having to deal with dropping off a rental car at the port. Seems like such a hassle. But with MCO flights at $600-700 each I don't think we have much choice.

 

[OurOhana]

We are from Jacksonville, It is an easy 2 1/2 hour drive south on 95 to 528 right into the port.

 

[gatordoc]

I've lived in both cities. If it is a weekday the drive from Jax would likely be much smoother as you can get from the airport around the city and down to the port without dealing with rush hour/workday traffic. On the other hand, the drive from the Tampa airport goes through some pretty congested areas in both Tampa and Orlando. On a weekend, it's probably a push.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I've lived in both cities. If it is a weekday the drive from Jax would likely be much smoother as you can get from the airport around the city and down to the port without dealing with rush hour/workday traffic. On the other hand, the drive from the Tampa airport goes through some pretty congested areas in both Tampa and Orlando. On a weekend, it's probably a push.

Ok thx. We would fly in friday evening and could either drive to pc then or the next morning early.

I also thought last night we can consider flying out of Birmingham instead of Nashville and into MCO so we don't have to deal with a rental at the port. In other words, shift the 2hr drive to the front end of the flight instead of tail end.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank u. Do you normally rent a car then? My biggest hang up right now is having to deal with dropping off a rental car at the port. Seems like such a hassle. But with MCO flights at $600-700 each I don't think we have much choice.

I don't feel that it's a hassle. It's just a thing to do. Drive in, and either...

Go to the port and drop family and bags off. Drive to agency, return it, get on a free shuttle from your agency. Or if there's a line or you're getting antsy, call a cab or order lyft or uber.

Or...

Drive to the agency, return the car, load family and bags onto the shuttle to get to the port. If antsy call a cab or get a shared ride.


You DO want to price it all out though for your exact trip. Rentals like that can vary widely and you don't want to make a financial decision without the financial information.

 

[ldo]

Jax is much smaller and easier in/out and closer to Pt C. For the same $, definitely Jax.

 

[Tulip2796]

We fly into/out of Jax and it is a great airport in the sense that it is small and modern. The drive to the port is about 2.5 hours from there. It is a super easy drive, no I-4 to worry about. We drove on a Saturday morning and it there was no traffic.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We fly into/out of Jax and it is a great airport in the sense that it is small and modern. The drive to the port is about 2.5 hours from there. It is a super easy drive, no I-4 to worry about. We drove on a Saturday morning and it there was no traffic.

Thx. Their flight times are better so that's prob what we will do.