Traveling from resort to Sanford early, early in the morning (like 4 a.m.)

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Got a question. I've never had this happen, but I have a friend going through this in a few weeks.

They're flying into OIA for a cruise and taking a bus from the airport to the port. Then when they get back to port, they're taking a bus from port to their resort at Disney World. They're coming back in on a Friday and flying home on a Sunday, so they're going to spend a couple of days at the parks.

However, their flight is out of Sanford Airport, and it's a 7 a.m. flight on a Sunday. What are the transportation options from the resort to the airport? They'll be in the parks on Saturday, and they are okay with leaving the resort at 4-5 a.m. to make the trip to Sanford. I just don't know how they'll get there.

Should they travel from Hollywood Studios to a hotel near Sanford the night before their flight? Should they just go back to the resort and worry about getting to the airport early in the morning? What transportation options are there? I'm thinking Uber/Lyft or something like that. Are there other options?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Sanford is a good hour or more from Disney, depending on traffic. With a 7am flight, they will want to be on the road no later than 4:00. You'd be surprised how much traffic there can be in the Orlando area at that hour. There's lots of overnight road work, even on the weekends, and accidents happen at all hours.
Since they'll have to leave quite early, I would highly recommend they book car service in advance, rather than chancing getting an Uber or Lyft at that hour, especially because some drivers will cancel the ride if they see they're going that far without the chance of getting a return fare. Most of the car service companies in the area service Sanford. It's about 50 miles away, though, so it won't be cheap, no matter which company they choose. Some companies charge extra for an overnight pickup as well.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'd go to Sanford the night before and stay in a hotel near the airport. That way the won't be stressing about getting to Sanford on time that morning. Also, I would just rent a car and drop it off at the Sanford airport.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I'd go to Sanford the night before and stay in a hotel near the airport. That way the won't be stressing about getting to Sanford on time that morning. Also, I would just rent a car and drop it off at the Sanford airport.

I looked into a rental car for them, but apparently either DIsney doesn't have a car rental place anymore, or they can't drop it off at Sanford. Not sure which. But I checked Alamo. It said no search results found for the day I checked.

 

[Ross Kratter]

I looked into a rental car for them, but apparently either DIsney doesn't have a car rental place anymore, or they can't drop it off at Sanford. Not sure which. But I checked Alamo. It said no search results found for the day I checked.

The Car Care Center (which has Enterprise, National, and Alamo) is still there. A lot of car rental companies are restricting one-way rentals at the moment.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

The Car Care Center (which has Enterprise, National, and Alamo) is still there. A lot of car rental companies are restricting one-way rentals at the moment.

Gotcha. Didn't know that. Not sure why. Seems they'd be better off because more people would rent when they're going one way. But it's their money and business. Anyway...

I saw a post on Facebook that it was over $350 for a family of 4 to take an Uber from the cruise terminal to the parks. Is that indeed the case? If so, I might just tell my family to rent a car at the port, keep it for 2 days and turn it back in over at Sanford Airport. Of course, they'd be turning it in at like 5 a.m. on a Sunday. But at least they'd have a car and a way there.

 

[jodistrock]

Gotcha. Didn't know that. Not sure why. Seems they'd be better off because more people would rent when they're going one way. But it's their money and business. Anyway...

I saw a post on Facebook that it was over $350 for a family of 4 to take an Uber from the cruise terminal to the parks. Is that indeed the case? If so, I might just tell my family to rent a car at the port, keep it for 2 days and turn it back in over at Sanford Airport. Of course, they'd be turning it in at like 5 a.m. on a Sunday. But at least they'd have a car and a way there.

I can only find the Car Care Center for Alamo on the web: https://www.alamo.com/en/car-rental-locations/us/fl/orlando-walt-disney-world-car-care-07a7.html

I used Happy Limousine (https://allears.net/walt-disney-world/wdw-planning/happy-limousine-orlando-area-limo-service/) last year for my kids to get back to Sanford. It was $100 but that was for 3 people & all of their luggage. It went well.

Good luck!

 

[Nana2Callie]

If we are booking for only 2 people - then it will just be 2 people correct for Happy Limousine - no shared ride?

 

[chilly2336]

I definitely would not rely on Uber, Lyft, etc. to get you to Sanford from Disney. We were there in February and flew into Sanford for the first time and had no problem getting to Disney from the Sanford airport. We had an early evening flight home and requested an Uber from the Poly. It took the driver over 30 minutes to get there (which we had built time in for) but once they arrived and we loaded our stuff into their car the driver said, "Oh, I didn't realize you were going to the Sanford airport. I can't take you there."

Needless to say we were furious but could do nothing because had we stayed and argued we would not have made our flight. I assume the driver turned us away because of the difficulty of getting a return fare from someone at that time of night...only thing I can think of.

Point is that if we fly into Sanford again we will definitely make other arrangements for ground transportation. Good luck!

 

[Ross Kratter]

I definitely would not rely on Uber, Lyft, etc. to get you to Sanford from Disney. We were there in February and flew into Sanford for the first time and had no problem getting to Disney from the Sanford airport. We had an early evening flight home and requested an Uber from the Poly. It took the driver over 30 minutes to get there (which we had built time in for) but once they arrived and we loaded our stuff into their car the driver said, "Oh, I didn't realize you were going to the Sanford airport. I can't take you there."

Needless to say we were furious but could do nothing because had we stayed and argued we would not have made our flight. I assume the driver turned us away because of the difficulty of getting a return fare from someone at that time of night...only thing I can think of.

Point is that if we fly into Sanford again we will definitely make other arrangements for ground transportation. Good luck!

Uber (and Lyft) drivers cannot see your destination until they have started the ride, which is something I find absolutely ridiculous. The apps don’t even always notify the driver if it’s going to be a longer ride.

 

[jodistrock]

If we are booking for only 2 people - then it will just be 2 people correct for Happy Limousine - no shared ride?

Yes, the ride I booked for them was just for them. No one else