Air Reservations on Return Day

[hayesdvc]

Wife and I will be staying at WDW a couple days prior to our first cruise on the Wish in May 2023. We will be taking Disney bus transportation to the port.

1. Can we take the Disney Bus back to WDW after the cruise and then Uber/Rent a car to go back to MCO? Do I need a room reservation to be eligible for the bus?
2. What time do I need to make the reservation for the plane to depart?

I booked with Dreams, but was not given these answers.

TIA

 

[dcassetta]

1. People have reported being able to do this. When completing the transfer form, you would indicate the resort you are going to.
2. Disney recommends flights after 12:30

You do not have to go to a resort. DCL does offer transfers directly to the airport. So, unless you want to book an evening flight and spend some time at WDW, you do not have to go to a resort first.

 

[Cheburashka]

Wife and I will be staying at WDW a couple days prior to our first cruise on the Wish in May 2023. We will be taking Disney bus transportation to the port.

1. Can we take the Disney Bus back to WDW after the cruise and then Uber/Rent a car to go back to MCO? Do I need a room reservation to be eligible for the bus?
2. What time do I need to make the reservation for the plane to depart?

I booked with Dreams, but was not given these answers.

TIA

Are you wanting to spend time at Disney World after the cruise? If not, then you should book transfers directly from the cruise port to the airport- much faster and cheaper.

Disney recommends booking flights that depart at 11:25am or later. You can read more details in their Ground Transportation Details page.

 

[tvguy]

MCO recommends you be at the airport 3 hours before your flight time so keep that in mind when booking your return flight.

https://www.orlandoairports.net/faq/

How long before my flight should I arrive at the airport?
The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority recommends arriving three hours before your scheduled departure time, but please check directly with your airline for specific recommendations for your flight.

 

[auntlynne]

Can you stay overnight In a WDW hotel? It would solve so many problems. You could take Disney bus to the hotel, leave your bags, use WDW transportation to Disney Springs or a park, play in the pool… and then Uber / Lyft in the morning (to avoid multiple pickups at different hotels in the way to the airport). And get an early morning flight, which seem to be significantly cheaper than the midday flights you need to allow time for long TSA lines (as recently reported on this forum).

Otherwise, consider a car rental and a later evening flight. You could also do this and a non-Disney hotel; similar scenario as above and probably stay for less (and probably nicer) than a Disney hotel.

I’m pretty sure Disney transport to/from the resorts requires a hotel stay. But I could be wring about this.

 

[dcassetta]

I’m pretty sure Disney transport to/from the resorts requires a hotel stay.

From the resorts does require this because of how they communicate departure times.

I am not sure if a resort stay was required in the past to take transfers to the resorts, but recently people have reported here that they were able to go to the resorts without a reservation, and I have seen 2 different vloggers who have also done this.

 

[Cheburashka]

Disney recommends flights after 12:30

They actually recommend flights after 11:25.

 

[tvguy]

They actually recommend flights after 11:25.

View attachment 716522

It keeps changing over the years. Those of us who sweated through the mess MCO is would argue 11:25 am is too early.

 

[Cheburashka]

It keeps changing over the years. Those of us who sweated through the mess MCO is would argue 11:25 am is too early.

Different opinions. I've flown through MCO dozens of times in the past several years without issue. DCL's advice is spot on imo.

 

[tvguy]

Different opinions. I've flown through MCO dozens of times in the past several years without issue. DCL's advice is spot on imo.

Just want folks to know that "your mileage may vary", as evidenced by the Airports advice.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I'm getting brought back to MCO but don't have a flight. Do I leave the return flight blank? I am getting picked up from MCO with a flight though

 

[greensombrero]

Just a word of warning we got to MCO 2 and half hours before our flight after our recent Fantasy cruise (used Disney transfers) and missed our flight because security was such a mess. Checking our bags took a few minutes but it was the crazy security line that they kept stopping and then moving slow that got us. So just allow yourself more time than you think. We’ve flown to MCO three times this year and security has always been worse than most airports I’ve flown through but this last time was next level crazy.

We had second breakfast and didn’t rush but didn’t take our time getting off the ship either. Customs line was long and slow, decent wait for the bus. I thought we had plenty of time with a 1:50 PM flight. We got to the airport at 11:30 AM and it wasn’t enough time to make it. Hopefully an abnormally bad airport day that won’t happen again but I got the impression from the airline employees it’s an ongoing problem with the airport.

 

[tvguy]

Just a word of warning we got to MCO 2 and half hours before our flight after our recent Fantasy cruise (used Disney transfers) and missed our flight because security was such a mess. Checking our bags took a few minutes but it was the crazy security line that they kept stopping and then moving slow that got us. So just allow yourself more time than you think. We’ve flown to MCO three times this year and security has always been worse than most airports I’ve flown through but this last time was next level crazy.

We had second breakfast and didn’t rush but didn’t take our time getting off the ship either. Customs line was long and slow, decent wait for the bus. I thought we had plenty of time with a 1:50 PM flight. We got to the airport at 11:30 AM and it wasn’t enough time to make it. Hopefully an abnormally bad airport day that won’t happen again but I got the impression from the airline employees it’s an ongoing problem with the airport.

We literally walked right on our 12:35pm flight despite being at the airport at 10:15 am, bags checked and in the security line at 10:30 am. So much for a leisurely lunch before our flight. Thousands flying home at that time of day because of all the ships coming back to Port Canaveral at the same time.
We booked our WDW trip through Disney and they said we needed to be on a bus that got to the airport at least 3 hours before our flight even though it was an evening flight and no crush of returning cruisers.
And even the airport says to be there 3 hours before your flight.

 

[anita46]

We sat down for breakfast at 7:05, finished and followed the line to disembark, used the elevator down, followed the customs line, had our passports ready, cleared customs, boarded the bus following the RED line, and were sitting on the bus at 8:17.
Arrived at MCO at 9:30, Pre-Check was a walk thru and were at our gate by 10:15am
We weren't rushing since our flight did not depart until 1:15
Please note that I didn't see another ship in port...

 

[Cheburashka]

Arrived at MCO at 9:30, Pre-Check was a walk thru and were at our gate by 10:15am
We weren't rushing since our flight did not depart until 1:15
Please note that I didn't see another ship in port...

This has always been my experience at MCO using Pre-Check, too, out of many trips. Pre-Check is definitely worth it.

 

[dcassetta]

We sat down for breakfast at 7:05, finished and followed the line to disembark, used the elevator down, followed the customs line, had our passports ready, cleared customs, boarded the bus following the RED line, and were sitting on the bus at 8:17.
Arrived at MCO at 9:30, Pre-Check was a walk thru and were at our gate by 10:15am
We weren't rushing since our flight did not depart until 1:15
Please note that I didn't see another ship in port...

This has always been my experience at MCO using Pre-Check, too, out of many trips. Pre-Check is definitely worth it.

The difference here from many people's experiences is that you had pre-check. Although there are times when MCO security is not too busy, there are also routinely times when waits can be well over an hour. When we flew from MCO last month, the regular security queue was full with the line extending down to the food court. The time sign over security said the wait was more than 120 minutes.

So, for people without pre-check or Clear advice to arrive early to MCO is accurate.

 

[tvguy]

The difference here from many people's experiences is that you had pre-check. Although there are times when MCO security is not too busy, there are also routinely times when waits can be well over an hour. When we flew from MCO last month, the regular security queue was full with the line extending down to the food court. The time sign over security said the wait was more than 120 minutes.

So, for people without pre-check or Clear advice to arrive early to MCO is accurate.

They were pulling people out of the regular line into the TSA Pre-Check line last time I was through Orlando. So depending on your perspective it is either an under used option, or an over staffed option.

 

[dcassetta]

They were pulling people out of the regular line into the TSA Pre-Check line last time I was through Orlando. So depending on your perspective it is either an under used option, or an over staffed option.

On our trip in October, they added pre-check/Clear lines, and it took us about 20 minutes to get through with pre-check. So, I guess it depends on the day and time you travel.

 

[tvguy]

On our trip in October, they added pre-check/Clear lines, and it took us about 20 minutes to get through with pre-check. So, I guess it depends on the day and time you travel.

On mornings when there are multiple cruise ships returning to Port Canaveral it's nuts. We flew back from WDW on a Friday night, much quieter then, but Disney bus people still said we had to be a the airport at least 3 hours before flight time.

 

[Mommb]

Wife and I will be staying at WDW a couple days prior to our first cruise on the Wish in May 2023. We will be taking Disney bus transportation to the port.

1. Can we take the Disney Bus back to WDW after the cruise and then Uber/Rent a car to go back to MCO? Do I need a room reservation to be eligible for the bus?

The Orlando airport is between Port Canaveral and Walt Disney World, so it makes sense to go to WDW first only if you want to spend time there.

However, if you take the bus to a WDW resort without a resort reservation, you will have all of your luggage with you and nowhere to store it. So if your goal is to spend time at a park or Disney Springs, you would need to get a car shortly after arriving at the resort.

Alternatively, you could get a one-way car rental from Port Canaveral, drive to WDW, and then drive to the airport.

If you don't want to spend time in the WDW area, as dcassetta said in the first response, you can just take the DCL bus directly back to the airport.