TPA departure

[disneymagicgirl]

I am thinking of leaving from TPA instead of sitting around MCO all day waiting for a flight home. I see it is a 2 hour drive. Would we be able to make a 12:20 flight comfortably? We all have precheck. I could rent a car and park it at the port so we could skip having to go to the rental place if that would help.
We usually go to wdw for a night post cruise to avoid this issue, so I could do that again, but it will be 12/22 and we would like to get home to prepare for Christmas.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I am thinking of leaving from TPA instead of sitting around MCO all day waiting for a flight home. I see it is a 2 hour drive. Would we be able to make a 12:20 flight comfortably? We all have precheck. I could rent a car and park it at the port so we could skip having to go to the rental place if that would help.
We usually go to wdw for a night post cruise to avoid this issue, so I could do that again, but it will be 12/22 and we would like to get home to prepare for Christmas.

No way would I be comfortable with that timeline. It's about a 45 minute trip from the port to MCO and DCL recommends no flight out of MCO earlier than 11:30. TPA is at least another hour and 15 minutes further than MCO. And there's that much more distance to run into traffic jams. If booking out of TPA, I'd go with a flight no earlier than 1:00. Have you checked for flights out of Daytona, Melbourne, or Sanford? Those would all be closer than Tampa.

 

[southerngirl528]

I am thinking of leaving from TPA instead of sitting around MCO all day waiting for a flight home. I see it is a 2 hour drive. Would we be able to make a 12:20 flight comfortably? We all have precheck. I could rent a car and park it at the port so we could skip having to go to the rental place if that would help.
We usually go to wdw for a night post cruise to avoid this issue, so I could do that again, but it will be 12/22 and we would like to get home to prepare for Christmas.

I had to look up what day of the week 12/22/ is before answering. I live very close to WDW and I can tell you that driving to Tampa from right HERE can easily take close to 2 hours. More if traffic is bad, and it very often is between here and Tampa. Is it POSSIBLE that drive from PC to TPA could happen in 2 hours? Yes, if there was absolutely zero traffic or any sort of delay at all. No way I would count on that being a 2 hour drive, especially on the Saturday before Christmas??? YIKES.

If you could get a little later flight it would give you some padding, but you will have to return a rental car, which shouldn't take very long, but it is additional time you need. I guess my rec is that perhaps you get an earlier flight out of MCO. Good luck! your question gave me a bit of the travel "willies". For me, I would not try to make a 12:20 Tampa flight when disembarking a ship in PC. JMHO. Again, good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[ScooterScott44]

We live west of Orlando and I drive to the Tampa area for work on occasion, including a trip to St. Pete yesterday. There are some backroads that help me avoid I-4 and I still usually budget an hour and a half drive time.

Since there is no good route toward Tampa I say no way. I believe the traffic between MCO and the I-4 stretch near Disney will be a problem any day, but particularly around that time/day.

 

[Bonnie1222]

I would HIGHLY suggest not doing it, unless you could get an evening flight.

I live off I-4 and commute from the 528 toward Tampa every day. Even on the weekends that 18 miles down I-4 from the where the 528 exits to my exit can be close to an hour if there is a backup. TPA is another hour past where I get off. Even if you took the 528 to the 417 to I-4 it can take longer because most the traffic backs up starts right at the 417 and I-4. For an example - this past Saturday morning I drove from my home to Disney for the day and I-4 westbound had an almost 10 mile backup from US 27 to Osceola Parkway heading west that was barely moving, and there were no accidents.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

The question with something like this really is not, "Can I make it?" The question is, "Do I have a comfortable backup plan if I don't make it. You might make it, perhaps with plenty of time. But it is also quite reasonable that you will miss it. What would be the plan then? How much are the change fees? When's the next flight? What would you do in the mean time? Missing a flight is not the end of the world if you have a plan in place. However, you may well find that it would be less hassle to choose an alternative with less risk of missing it in the first place.

All the best! Have a great trip!

 

[FigmentSpark]

How far is Jacksonville airport? Just saying...

 

[disneymagicgirl]

The question with something like this really is not, "Can I make it?" The question is, "Do I have a comfortable backup plan if I don't make it. You might make it, perhaps with plenty of time. But it is also quite reasonable that you will miss it. What would be the plan then? How much are the change fees? When's the next flight? What would you do in the mean time? Missing a flight is not the end of the world if you have a plan in place. However, you may well find that it would be less hassle to choose an alternative with less risk of missing it in the first place.

All the best! Have a great trip!

It is SW do no big deal to miss it really, other than last minute bookings prices to reschedule.
I think if it were a normal Saturday I’d go for it.
However, since it sounds like there is gnenerally traffic on the route coupled with the holiday weekend, I will heed everyone’s advice and do something different. The next flight times from McO and TPA are evening, so maybe we will head to wdw to have a pool day and fly home on Sunday as we normally do.

Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

How are is Jacksonville airport? Just saying...

I looked at that too but flight times and prices weren’t really any better than mco.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

No way would I be comfortable with that timeline. It's about a 45 minute trip from the port to MCO and DCL recommends no flight out of MCO earlier than 11:30. TPA is at least another hour and 15 minutes further than MCO. And there's that much more distance to run into traffic jams. If booking out of TPA, I'd go with a flight no earlier than 1:00. Have you checked for flights out of Daytona, Melbourne, or Sanford? Those would all be closer than Tampa.

We have a SW CP and nonstops to mco, tpa, and Jax from here so I didn’t look at the others.

 

[arlopop]

For a little more than the cost of the rental car you could do MCO and just get a dayroom at the Hyatt. It’s comfortable and you’re certain to make the flight.

 

[TrishaK]

We had a late flight home to Midway in June 2017. We booked a day room at the Hyatt - and we were in our room by 9:30 am. Much better than camping out in the airport!

 

[fredandkell]

Melbourne is an amazing airport that Delta services. Way easier to get to from the pier than MCO and much more chill.

 

[Jennifer777]

MCO is my least favorite airport so I do try to fly out of TPA when possible. Our last cruise we parked at Port Canaveral and drove straight to Tampa. It took us almost 3 hours due to traffic but we didn't get off the ship until almost 9. We were nearly at a standstill for a while. If you really want to try, I'd keep your bags with you and walk off the ship as soon as you're able. Park in the garage so you can start the drive immediately or better yet, hire a town car to pick you and and drop you off at TPA. That would eliminate having to return the car once you get there.

 

[MomOTwins]

If you are just going to rent a car anyway, why not spend a day in disney springs before goong to MCO?

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I am thinking of leaving from TPA instead of sitting around MCO all day waiting for a flight home. I see it is a 2 hour drive. Would we be able to make a 12:20 flight comfortably? We all have precheck. I could rent a car and park it at the port so we could skip having to go to the rental place if that would help.
We usually go to wdw for a night post cruise to avoid this issue, so I could do that again, but it will be 12/22 and we would like to get home to prepare for Christmas.

We live in Wesley Chapel, which is about a 30 minute drive to TPA. If we walk off the ship right when they open the doors at 7-7:30 AM at PC, and carry our luggage instead of leaving it out the night before, we make it home around 10:30 am. So, with that being said, I would say yes, it’s doable, but it would be extremely stressful and if there’s an accident on I4 during rush hour morning traffic, you would not make it. Or if there was backup with TSA at the airport, that might get dicey. Good luck!

 

[southerngirl528]

How far is Jacksonville airport? Just saying...

Great idea, but Jacksonville is a pretty good drive, even from Orlando. Glad the OP is not going to risk making that drive to Tampa!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

If you are just going to rent a car anyway, why not spend a day in disney springs before goong to MCO?

That would be my husband's worst nightmare. Good idea for any other family though.