Recent experiences flying into MCO

[jenna1212]

I know the holiday travel season can be insane, but how bad was it? We're traveling to DW next Christmas - the timing can't be helped. Looking for some advice on recent airline experience, the chaos of MCO, or noticeable delays in baggage claim? Did anyone try Porter? It's not that I love AC but at least they generally seem to have a fair amount of backup aircraft should there be mechanical delays, airplane swap-outs, etc. Did you use the Mears transport on Christmas Day or Boxing Day? Or did you stick with Uber? How far in advance did you book your flights? If you had a direct flight, did it get canceled or swapped out early by the airline?

 

[Lesverts]

It is hard to answer most of your questions.

Air Canada and Porter have released their schedules for Christmas 2024 but Westjet has not. Air Canada and Porter will also be taking possession of additional aircraft this year, Westjet will not. So there could be changes or in the case of Porter additional flights.

Weather will make a determining factor on how things are going during that time. And it is impossible to say what kind of problems the air industry could be facing at that time.

Mears scales up and down their operations depending on demand with a consistent price. Whereas Uber will surge their prices.

MCO also scales up and down their operations depending on demand at the time. It will be busy but nothing too bad.

 

[jenna1212]

It is hard to answer most of your questions.

Air Canada and Porter have released their schedules for Christmas 2024 but Westjet has not. Air Canada and Porter will also be taking possession of additional aircraft this year, Westjet will not. So there could be changes or in the case of Porter additional flights.

Weather will make a determining factor on how things are going during that time. And it is impossible to say what kind of problems the air industry could be facing at that time.

Mears scales up and down their operations depending on demand with a consistent price. Whereas Uber will surge their prices.

MCO also scales up and down their operations depending on demand at the time. It will be busy but nothing too bad.

Thanks! I hadn't considered surge pricing.

 

[migel]

MCO was quite chaotic over Christmas, from the many posts I read on various forums. I flew earlier this past December. I had an 8 a.m. return flight (MCO to Buffalo), so I made sure to be at the airport 3+ hours beforehand. At 5 am, the line for security was already two football fields long. I was fine, took about 55 minutes, but at least 40 people missed our flight.
There is an option to prebook security check at MCO, although I've never tried that route.
I'm in Niagara region, so I usually fly out of Buffalo, although I've flown Air Canada out of Toronto, and also out of Hamilton. Southwest out of Buffalo is a great option. They have several flights daily, so I would imagine if an issue arose, the chances of another flight are good. You also get 2 checked bags free, and you can cancel/change flights anytime without penalty (no refund, but for air credit). Frontier is a decent option also, although they're a true budget airline (everything is extra), and less flight options.
I rent a car, so cannot comment on the transportation to Resorts.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We fly to/from MCO often.... 5x last year, including December. My DD works for DCL and also flies to/from MCO often. Yes, December is automatically going to be busier but I really don't find it much different than other times. You truly need to allow 3 hours prior to flight time on any given day. You can book a spot at security but only until 11am-ish. I've booked it many times but really find that it's 50/50 as to being faster or easier. They use that line for all the people that airline staff are walking through so everyone else waits.

 

[tgropp]

We flew into Orlando last December and again a few weeks ago. I have never had a problem with luggage wait time or car rental wait times, and have travelled many times during the Christmas season. Leaving Orlando can be a different scenario. We flew home on Tuesday and were at the airport 3 hours and ten minutes before our flight and arrived at our gate 30 minutes before takeoff. It was the day after Presidents day so maybe that’s why it was so busy.