Transportation time back to MCo

[OHIOVACATIONER]

I know when transportation was provided by MDE they wanted to leave the resort 3 Hrs. prior to your flight. Is this the same now that it is Mears or Sunshine Flyer? Just 2 of us so debating whether to do Uber back.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Some of MDE's timing was related to additional stops on property. I think these services do similar timing since they have multiple stops too.
It's always 30 min to the airport, without traffic. Even during rush hour we've not encountered much more than that.
Much depends on what you face when you get to the airport on how much time you want
Checking bags or not checking bags
Would you do curbside bag check or would you not
TSA Precheck or no TSA Precheck
That type of thing

Personally, we do the 2 hours before departure timing
We always check bags
We always do curbside, provided it's open
We have TSA Precheck + Clear
Even 2 hours gives us time for the airport lounge

 

[sam_gordon]

Personally, we do the 2 hours before departure timing
We always check bags
We always do curbside, provided it's open
We have TSA Precheck + Clear
Even 2 hours gives us time for the airport lounge

Is that get to the airport 2 hours before departure or leave Disney 2 hours before departure?

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Is that get to the airport 2 hours before departure or leave Disney 2 hours before departure?

I depart Disney 2 hours before departure. We end up at our gate 1 hour before every time. So 30 min before boarding begins usually.

 

[sam_gordon]

I depart Disney 2 hours before departure. We end up at our gate 1 hour before every time. So 30 min before boarding begins usually.

That would make me too nervous... I'm a "walk through MCO doors 2 hours before" type of person. Then again, I don't mind sitting at the gate for an extended time. I'd rather sit at the gate for hours than miss closing the doors by 1 minute.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

That would make me too nervous... I'm a "walk through MCO doors 2 hours before" type of person. Then again, I don't mind sitting at the gate for an extended time. I'd rather sit at the gate for hours than miss closing the doors by 1 minute.

Ok. To each their own. I’d be miserable to be that early. I’d rather go to the dentist to have teeth pulled without anesthesia Lol

I’ve flown about 100 flights out of MCO. That timing works fine for me. Like I said. We even have time for the lounge most trips. Just depends on how many others using curbside.

I never leave out that we use Precheck+Clear. Which means no wait at all for security.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I never leave out that we use Precheck+Clear. Which means no wait at all for security.

Precheck + Clear at MCO is a must. We've been to WDW 5x in the last 18 months and have never waited more than 5m from entering the line to getting to the trams. That was when regular lines were 30 to 60 minutes or more. If you fly to MCO more than once a year it's worth the cost

 

[brockash]

I know when transportation was provided by MDE they wanted to leave the resort 3 Hrs. prior to your flight. Is this the same now that it is Mears or Sunshine Flyer? Just 2 of us so debating whether to do Uber back.

Sunshine Flyer in our experience seems to pick up even a little earlier than ME. If you're wantingto take them, you could always just give them a flight number that's 20-35 mins after yours...we usually do right around 30, and that helps. We did it for ME for years and did that last week with Sunshine Flyer. We still arrived with plenty of time...had time to sit down and eat, bathroom, and still wait at the gate for about 10 mins. before they should've started boarding (ended up being delayed).

ETA: We don't have precheck and always check bags.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Precheck + Clear at MCO is a must. We've been to WDW 5x in the last 18 months and have never waited more than 5m from entering the line to getting to the trams. That was when regular lines were 30 to 60 minutes or more. If you fly to MCO more than once a year it's worth the cost

MCO is what made us buy PreCheck about 10 years ago. I've often joked that they could fund the entire program off sales made from MCO alone LOL
Clear we added because it's covered by my AmEx

 

[_19disnA]

Airports all advise you ARRIVE at the airport 2 hrs before your domestic flight. You then have to add transit time from Disney. You just never know when there might be traffic, an accident or construction delays when driving on any freeway. If you arrive late, your airplane will depart without you if you aren't at the gate on time. If you arrive early, you could eat/shop to pass the time. Cutting it close on air travel is NOT what I would ever recommend. Even if you have TSA-precheck which saves a few minutes, cutting it too close is bad planning. With some airlines the next available flights might be DAYS away.........do you want to take that chance?

I don't know how the current transportation services work, but MDE advised 3 hrs from your hotel since they didn't want to be held responsible if you missed your flight. Perhaps those other services operate the same way.

 

[MrKnight]

You should leave WDW property AT LEAST 2.5 hours before your flight departure time, I would not leave any later than that.. As mentioned by pp it takes about 30 minutes driving time to get from WDW to MCO so leaving 2.5 hours prior will have you arriving at MCO 2 hours before your flight which is the recommended arrival time for domestic flights..

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ok. To each their own. I’d be miserable to be that early. I’d rather go to the dentist to have teeth pulled without anesthesia Lol

I’ve flown about 100 flights out of MCO. That timing works fine for me. Like I said. We even have time for the lounge most trips. Just depends on how many others using curbside.

I never leave out that we use Precheck+Clear. Which means no wait at all for security.

I hadn’t considered utilizing MCO curbside. For the cost of a tip (and maybe a small extra charge? Not seeing much info on it) I’d save a lot of hassle, those MCO bag check lines can get long… this is like my biggest “oh, duh!” travel moment this year

 

[saraheliz]

Our pickup for Sunshine Flyer was 3 1/2 hours prior to our flight, and we were the first stop. We were at the first of 5 (I think?) stops and were on the way to the airport about 3 hours out. Worked out perfectly for us (three kids, lots of luggage, and a pickup time of 11am so right when we had to be out of the room anyway and plenty of time to grab lunch at the airport) but I can see where others may not need that much time. Security was the fastest I've experienced at MCO- midday on a Sunday- our line was the slowest and was still only 10-15 minutes. It did take us awhile to check baggage though, mostly because our kiosk ran out of tape halfway through and the guy at the desk was very confused.

 

[loveswdw]

We flew back on Monday morning 8/22. Had a 9:45 am flight and Sunshine Flyer arrived promptly just before our scheduled 6:15 am pickup time. We were the first on the bus and we stopped at I believe 4 other resorts. Made it to the airport in plenty of time. Security was lowest time I've experienced at MCO. We got in line and went right through without any wait. We don't have Clear or Pre-Check (we don't fly often enough to justify the cost for me). Had plenty of time to sit at the gate. There were several flights around our gate that were delayed (luckily ours wasn't one). They did end up changing our gate but other than that, it was a totally uneventful trip back to MCO. Just the way I like it.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I hadn’t considered utilizing MCO curbside. For the cost of a tip (and maybe a small extra charge? Not seeing much info on it) I’d save a lot of hassle, those MCO bag check lines can get long… this is like my biggest “oh, duh!” travel moment this year

We love curbside. It's not open full time so you have to be aware of your flight times but if you are willing for the tip (never had a charge at all, tip only) it's a big time saver. Unless you have status or are first class. Then maybe you'd be just as quick inside so you'll likely have a priority lane.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Sunshine picked us up 3 1/2 hour before our flight and we were the last pickup. It was earlier than I would have preferred but I was fine hanging out at the gate. It was nice to rest fairly comfortably after 4 days of constant on the go walking rope drop to close.