Traveling in to Tampa need suggestions.

[MoBoy]

We are flying into Tampa Intl. and looking for the fastest, cheapest way to get to the Caribean Resort on property where we are staying.

I know Tampa is only 45 minutes away and I believe renting a car may be out because of the drop off points being too far and then a taxi ride would end up costing too much and too much hassle.

Anyone have suggestions, rentals, shuttles (if shuttles how long will it take us to get to our resort?).

We looked at the town car option, but it looks to be about $200.00 and for a 45 minute drive, ugh .. but it may be worth it.

ANY and all information would be helpful.

 

[rie'smom]

We are flying into Tampa as well.Where are you staying?If you're staying @ WDW,there's are 2 onsite Alamo loations. Alamo also has locations at the Car Care Center near the exit for the Magic Kingdom Park and one on Epcot Resorts Boulevard near Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. You could rent a car in Tampa and drop it at one of the above locations and then have another rental to drive back to Tampa.I'm keeping our rental as I don't like to wait for the busses from the resorts to the parks.
I think the ride is closer to one and a half hours but the highways are wonderful.

 

[cindy_k]

Its an 'easy' drive from Tampa to WDW.
I-4 has numerous Disney Exits off of it.
I would probably rent the car, especially if its $200 each way!
You can usually rent a car for less at Tampa, and then you have the convience of having your own transaportation all week.

The only thing not easy about the drive is Traffic. The I-4 corridor from Tampa to Orlando is a major arterary for people to get to work, and gets quite crowded at Rush Hour.

Have a good trip!
Cindy

 

[goofy4tink]

Rent a car at the airport. It's an easy drive...we did it from POP to Tampa last May. But, it isn't a 45 minute drive....perhaps if you are traveling at 3:00 am, and are doing about 80 mph!!! We left POP at 9:15 am on a Sat and arrived at our hotel at about 10:30 (hotel was about 6 minutes from the airport). I would plan on at least an hour, closer to 90 minutes.

 

[OKW Lover]

As others have said, renting a car is probably the best option for you. We just did this ourselves and it worked out great. Plan on the ride taking 75-90 minutes (BTW they finally finished the construction on I-4). Keep the car for a couple of days so you can go off-property for a meal or to shop. Almost all the major car rental companies have an office on Disney property and they will give you a free shuttle ride back to your hotel.

 

[tkd lisa]

Yep, I live in Tampa, and from the airport to WDW, assuming non-rush hour traffic is typically 90 minutes. It's 55 minutes from my house, and I'm 45 minutes east of the airport.

Way back in 04, before I moved to Tampa, we rented a car in Port Canaveral and returned it to Tampa airport. Using codes from mousesavers, as I recall, for a full sized car on Christmas week, we paid about $60 for the one way rental.

I don't think there are any shuttles running from Tampa to WDW. There are some that run to Bush Gardens from the Orlando area, so it would be possible. I know that Mears runs that kind of shuttle.

If it were me, I'd run some number comparisons. I'm assuming you're flying home from Tampa too. So run the numbers for your length of stay (even if the car sits at the resort), vs. two one-way rentals. Use mousesaver codes and the rental company websites to price out your options. If saving the money is really worth a lot of hassle, you could even price returning it to MCO and using Magical Express to get back to your resort. Mears also has a website to see if they offer a shuttle from Tampa to WDW.

I truly think you'll find out that two one-way rentals or a week long rental from Tampa will probably run you around $200 max, and a shuttle if one were available will probably be around $100 a person for the round trip.

Good luck!

 

[NJDad18]

This year we flew in and out of TPA. We rented a car from Alamo but we kept the car with us the whole time. Like the OP said, check out mousesavers to look for codes. You can drop the car off at the Swan or Dolphin (don't remember which one).

The ride is approx. 90 minutes. We were really moving and it took us about 1 hour 15 min.

TPA airport was a breeze to get through. No wait whatsoever. I'd fly through Tampa again if the price is right.