Thoughts on how to kill time after cruise, before flight?

VeronicaZS · May 13, 2019

We are taking our first Disney cruise 11/4-11/8 on the Dream. (Yay!) We are likely taking the AA 2:46pm flight on 11/8 because we are nervous about making the 10:45 flight even though we are all TSA precheck.
It will be me, DH, 3 boys, and my parents with at least 2 checked bags and 3 carryon bags and assorted backpacks.
I suppose we should rent a van at PC. What should we do that morning (Disney Park is out of the question)? Should I rethink the 10:45?

Maggie'sMom · May 13, 2019

The 10:45 is too early. If everything goes exactly right and did express walk off first thing, you could make it for a 10:45 flight, but if you experience any delays (ship docks late, accident on 528, etc.), you would miss your flight. It's just not worth the stress after a nice vacation.

It might be cheapest to rent a van and would give you the most flexibility, but you really don't have a lot of time to do much before heading to the airport. Get off the boat at 9:00. By the time you pick up the rental van and get on the road, it could be close to 9:30. Allow an hour for the drive to the airport. You will want to be at the airport around 1:00 to give you enough time to check luggage and get through security. (BTW, a friend of mine was flying back from MCO last week and said the line for precheck was longer than the regular line.) So you really only have about 2 to 2 and a half hours to kill.

cgolf · May 13, 2019

I wrote up my review to post on here on my iPad. My wife and teen daughter would just play games on their iPads and listen to music. I agree with the PP that you really won't have a lot of time at the airport. Honestly for us, that is the time window, 2-2.5 hours, we give ourselves whenever we are travelling. We just expect to wait awhile before we take off, because we want that cushion in case the airport is busy or other issues arise that delay us.

brentm77 · May 13, 2019

If it were me, I would head to the airport with the family. You don't have enough time to make it worth it to go anywhere in particular. I thought we would go do something on our departure day with a flight even later than yours, but everyone was tired and, even with a car, we didn't feel comfortable leaving the suitcases in it while we did something. If I didn't care about the suitcases, I would consider Kennedy Space Center, since it is closer to the port and not out of the way like Disney World. But you won't have much time there. There are lots of shopping/dining options at MCO before you go through security. There is a Universal Store and a Disney Store. Check your bags with the airline and spend some time shopping, dining, and relaxing, then go through security when you are ready.

tankin · May 13, 2019

@VeronicaZS When this happened to us, we headed to DTD (it was DTD) for a few hours before we headed to the airport.

Another option would be to get a day room at the Hyatt. At least then you can watch TV (take a nap) etc...

FigmentSpark · May 13, 2019

Does the airport have any place to store bags if you're too early to check in for your flight?

Quellman · May 13, 2019

Disney Springs, outlet Malls, maybe even one of the gator farms.

bumbershoot · May 13, 2019

At MCO I’m still walking in that door two hours before my flight, even with Pre. So that means I’m walking in the door at 12:45 for that flight. More if I’m checking bags.

You have very little free time. Maybe get a car and head to RonJons? That’s all I’d feel comfy doing.

Is there a later flight than that? Having a later flight at least allows you Disney springs or space center or something.

hnthomps · May 13, 2019

how old are the kids?
We took ours to the Crayola Experience at the Florida Mall, which is close to the airport. It is a good way to kill 2-3 hours, which is about what you will have. We had longer than that, so we wandered around the mall as well. We also arrived well before it opened, even with taking our time off the boat, transferring to the airport, renting a car...
Honestly, if everything goes as planned, you'd make the 10:45 no problem. But I agree it's not worth counting on. Depending on how old the kids are, I'd probably head to the airport and try to go standby on the earlier flight, and when that fails just load up some movies on the ipad, with long walks through the terminal in between.
Or day room at the Hyatt so you can use the pool

VeronicaZS · May 13, 2019

Thanks everyone, I've moved on from the idea of the 10:45 flight. I would have been willing to wait for SouthWest to put out there schedule, it looks like they have a 12:30 flight the Friday before, but they pushed the release date from May 23 to June 20.

Kids will be 10, 8, 8. We added 2 days before the cruise to check out SWGE so I think we will be ready to head home on the most economical & convenient flight. The Crayola experience sounds interesting, I will look into that. Also, maybe the VOID at Disney Springs if we don't do that the Saturday before the cruise.

i18mulan · May 13, 2019

Your 2:46 pm flight would be perfect. 10:45 am would be too early. You don’t need to rush on debarkation, by the time you get your van it would be 10ish. We usually hit up the outlet store or mall (you don’t have that much time to kill), have lunch, then head towards MCO. By that time your check in window should open.
We always rent a car/van from port to MCO as it’s still cheaper than the Disney transportation.

Rob1872 · May 13, 2019

On our first cruise, we had a rental car. We drove to the Orlando Science Center and let the kids look around. It is affiliated with other science museums, so it was free for us due to our membership with the Virginia Science Museum. Plus, there is a Subway in the bottom floor so it made getting lunch before heading back to the airport simple.

mevelandry · May 13, 2019

VeronicaZS said:
We are taking our first Disney cruise 11/4-11/8 on the Dream. (Yay!) We are likely taking the AA 2:46pm flight on 11/8 because we are nervous about making the 10:45 flight even though we are all TSA precheck.
It will be me, DH, 3 boys, and my parents with at least 2 checked bags and 3 carryon bags and assorted backpacks.
I suppose we should rent a van at PC. What should we do that morning (Disney Park is out of the question)? Should I rethink the 10:45?

A 10:45 flight is a bad idea.

Ever thought of getting a day room at the Hyatt? You can use the pool. It's very nice.

meliscan · May 13, 2019

I am in a similar boat (No pun intended) in September. Any thoughts on leaving your suitcases in the car in the Disney Springs Parking garage? I feel like they would have a lot of cameras around thus potentially discouraging theft. My husband is more concerned than I am with leaving the suitcases in the car. I would hate to lose things but I am headed home so I thing there.

a1tinkfans · May 14, 2019

We ve grabbed a day room at Hyatt right in Mco. You get the room, clearly whomever needs a nap, tv, downtime.. a bathroom and there’s s pool n plenty of places to grab a bite) with more options within the airport itself).
Safe travels. Enjoy

mousefan73 · May 14, 2019

What time is there to kill? Take your time getting off, traffic, checking in , bathroom breaks, “mom I’m hungry” breaks, check some shops out. Before you know it, they’re calling boarding.

FigmentSpark · May 14, 2019

meliscan said:
I am in a similar boat (No pun intended) in September. Any thoughts on leaving your suitcases in the car in the Disney Springs Parking garage? I feel like they would have a lot of cameras around thus potentially discouraging theft. My husband is more concerned than I am with leaving the suitcases in the car. I would hate to lose things but I am headed home so I thing there.

We have done this in the Florida Mall parking lot, the Orange Disney Springs parking lot and the MK parking lot. No troubles. Maybe we were lucky. I don't know. We had a van rental, so it wasn't even all shut into the trunk.

brentm77 · May 14, 2019

meliscan said:
I am in a similar boat (No pun intended) in September. Any thoughts on leaving your suitcases in the car in the Disney Springs Parking garage? I feel like they would have a lot of cameras around thus potentially discouraging theft. My husband is more concerned than I am with leaving the suitcases in the car. I would hate to lose things but I am headed home so I thing there.

Disney Springs seems pretty secure, but car break ins do happen there from time to time. Since the parking is free, it is easy for people to come and go quickly. I would only feel comfortable leaving suitcases in the car if they were in a trunk and out of site. But, with a trunk, I would feel perfectly fine leaving suitcases in the car.

On a plus side, they have covered parking, which would be better for makeup and other stuff that melts.

Lacoccinelle · May 14, 2019

Get a flight around 6 and do Kennedy Space Center. We did it the day before the cruise and loved it.
Or do Disney Springs.

FigmentSpark · May 14, 2019

Anyone know what a day pass at the Hyatt costs?

Thoughts on how to kill time after cruise, before flight?

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