Tolls

[maiapapaya]

We are looking at possibly driving down in the spring. This will be our first trip to WDW that we haven't flown. How does everyone deal with tolls? I've read a lot of toll gates are going cashless. It sounds like having a pass might be cheapest, but I don't know if you can set up an account if you don't live in the US? Any tips, info, etc would be great. Thanks!

 

[GBRforWDW]

We are looking at possibly driving down in the spring. This will be our first trip to WDW that we haven't flown. How does everyone deal with tolls? I've read a lot of toll gates are going cashless. It sounds like having a pass might be cheapest, but I don't know if you can set up an account if you don't live in the US? Any tips, info, etc would be great. Thanks!

We drove a rental in January at the height of Covid. There were plenty of toll workers, at least throughout Orlando I-4 area, taking cash.

We also missed tolls a few times. They billed the rental company and they charged to my card, but I don't think I paid any extra because of that.

 

[KCMA]

We almost always drive down and I have never bought a pass.. we keep an envelope up front with $1 and $5 bills.. pay cash at each toll… I’ve never seen it as an inconvenience or felt it slowed down travel

 

[starvenger]

If you're taking the I-75 route, then I believe your only tolls are at the border crossing and Florida's turnpike. E-Pass appears to be free to order, so that might be something to get if you want to avoid admin fees. There is apparently a "Uni" pass that costs $15 and can be used for toll roads in most of the Eastern states, which I might look into if I do more road trips with the kids.

As for tips, get some sort of US data plan and use Waze to keep track of cops and traffic. A google search will likely point out the more notorious spots for speed traps.

Costco in the US takes Visa, not M/C. And I believe the last Timmys you'll encounter is in Dayton. And if you're asked to punch in your zip code. use the numbers of your postal code plus 00, 01 or 02 - one of these should match an existing zip code (may want to check ahead of time).

 

[torontominnie]

If you order an EZ Pass they now work in Florida as well. It's much faster/easier to have the pass. There were long lines at some booths, so it was nice to be able to bypass them

 

[Sue M]

We are looking at possibly driving down in the spring. This will be our first trip to WDW that we haven't flown. How does everyone deal with tolls? I've read a lot of toll gates are going cashless. It sounds like having a pass might be cheapest, but I don't know if you can set up an account if you don't live in the US? Any tips, info, etc would be great. Thanks!

I bought a SunPass transponder that suction cups to your windshield. I picked it up at a Publix but they also sell them at toll plaza rest stops. It is cheaper because they charge more when you pay cash at booths. A few in Orlando don’t have booths. I mainly got it because I have family I visit in Ft Lauderdale, then drive up in rental car to Orlando. Many tolls!

We drove a rental in January at the height of Covid. There were plenty of toll workers, at least throughout Orlando I-4 area, taking cash.

We also missed tolls a few times. They billed the rental company and they charged to my card, but I don't think I paid any extra because of that.

you would have paid extra because toll by plate is more, and depending on what the rental company is, they all have admin fees for tolls. It varies company to company. For instance Alamo charges admin fee only on the days you use it. BUT Budget charges admin fee for every day of your rental even if you only use it one day. Most people never look at what the rental company policy is for tolls. And the rental companies never tell you unless you ask. But because I frequently rent in Florida and there are a lot of tolls I googled it.
Some of these so called discount rental companies have the highest fees.
I found Alamo to be the best. But after they made portable transponders I bought one of those.

 

[GBRforWDW]

I bought a SunPass transponder that suction cups to your windshield. I picked it up at a Publix but they also sell them at toll plaza rest stops. It is cheaper because they charge more when you pay cash at booths. A few in Orlando don’t have booths. I mainly got it because I have family I visit in Ft Lauderdale, then drive up in rental car to Orlando. Many tolls!


you would have paid extra because toll by plate is more, and depending on what the rental company is, they all have admin fees for tolls. It varies company to company. For instance Alamo charges admin fee only on the days you use it. BUT Budget charges admin fee for every day of your rental even if you only use it one day. Most people never look at what the rental company policy is for tolls. And the rental companies never tell you unless you ask. But because I frequently rent in Florida and there are a lot of tolls I googled it.
Some of these so called discount rental companies have the highest fees.
I found Alamo to be the best. But after they made portable transponders I bought one of those.

Thanks. I used Hertz and it didn’t seem like what I was charged was that high, but I probably assumed I skipped more tolls than I did. Lol.

and ya made me look. Lol.
Toll charges were 7 and convenience fee was 12. Ok, paying better attention next time!

 

[bankr63]

You can order and setup SunPass to your Canadian address with a Canadian Credit Card before your trip. We have (had) it in both our vehicles. But now that I bought a new truck I will be getting the Central Florida Expressway (cfxway.com) Uni-pass as it also covers the northeastern US states. I have not yet looked into whether CFX will ship to Canada though. We do more toll road travel in Florida than elsewhere, so that pass makes the most sense for us. If you travel in an North Eastern US state regularly, get an EZ-Pass from that state which will now (finally!) work on the Florida toll roads. Just don't get and carry both, or you'll be double charged!