TSA Pre-Check - Worth Considering for Trip This Summer ?

[jcvalenti]

Love Disney ... hate dealing with airport lines and BS. I was considering using a trip this summer with the family to get everyone enrolled in TSA Pre-Check to help cut down on the lines in the future. I know it's a big time saver at my local airport (Detroit Metro), but how useful is at MCO for return flights ? We flew back last month without it and it was a solid 45 minute - 1 hour wait to get through the regular lines, but I didn't really pay attention to if they had dedicated pre-check and how that worked.

What does everyone think ? I would need to enroll 3 people - my youngest son will only be 12 at the time of the trip, so my understanding is he does not need to be enrolled yet.

 

[Euby]

I went ahead and got the Pre-Check this past December. While I don't fly very often, it is good for 5 years. So regardless of which airport, I figure it was worth the money. In reading several posts (especially those during the holiday seasons) it is definitely worth it when departing MCO.

 

[Shanti]

Love Disney ... hate dealing with airport lines and BS. I was considering using a trip this summer with the family to get everyone enrolled in TSA Pre-Check to help cut down on the lines in the future. I know it's a big time saver at my local airport (Detroit Metro), but how useful is at MCO for return flights ? We flew back last month without it and it was a solid 45 minute - 1 hour wait to get through the regular lines, but I didn't really pay attention to if they had dedicated pre-check and how that worked.

What does everyone think ? I would need to enroll 3 people - my youngest son will only be 12 at the time of the trip, so my understanding is he does not need to be enrolled yet.

TSA Pre-Check is a lifesaver at MCO. It only takes a couple of minutes to get through security in the Pre-Check line there. And you know what the regular security line at MCO is like...

 

[n2mm]

Buying our KTN was the best thing we did several years ago. We fly out of wash DC airports. Since we registered, my adult kids have since already signed up too and next month our granddaughter will be signing up as she’s turning 13. My adult kids got tire of doing the regular line as we zipped through the precheck lines. We used to get the free precheck, but didn’t want to take the chance anymore as my husband got it less and less. I was always getting it, but it’s worth the $17 a year to sign up. No regrets here.

 

[Timothy02359]

Took us 5 min to get through precheck a few weeks ago at MCO...best 85$ spent.

 

[jcvalenti]

Thanks, all. Glad to hear it is worth it. It will run me $85 x 4 for the family .... but with travel delays and hassels these days, I think it's worth skipping a meal out before our Disney trip and spending it on this instead. I HATE lines.

 

[Jimsig]

Very useful at MCO. Maybe one of the most useful airports from what I have seen here. Being from the Detroit area you may want to look into NEXUS it's only $50 for 5 years and it includes Pre-Check, Global Entry, and easier access into and out of Canada, which may be useful to you.

 

[DVC-Don]

When I last flew out of Orlando in mid December 2017 I timed it. I only had a carryon so no checked baggage. From the time I stepped out of brother in laws car at departure until the time I stepped off the tram out at the Southwest gates it was 7 minutes. TSA pre-check is great.

 

[Stitch_Is_King]

We used our TSA pre-check for the first time on our trip a couple of weeks ago. We were through security in less than 10 minutes. Regular line wait was probably about half an hour.

 

[bumbershoot]

Being from the Detroit area you may want to look into NEXUS it's only $50 for 5 years and it includes Pre-Check, Global Entry, and easier access into and out of Canada, which may be useful to you.

And it’s free for minors.

 

[jcvalenti]

Being from the Detroit area you may want to look into NEXUS it's only $50 for 5 years and it includes Pre-Check, Global Entry, and easier access into and out of Canada, which may be useful to you.

Ill definitely look into that - thanks. Made a border run last week and I saw signs for Nexus, but did not know it included pre-check. I havent had to do much traveling the last few years, so Ive got some shortcut catching up to do, obviously.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Flew out of MCO tis morning on Jet Blue. Posted security check time was 35 minutes, we were through with Pre-Check in less than 5 minutes.

 

[BLLB]

We used Pre Check at MCO on New Years Day. Super fast and easy. It was a good amount of money for our whole family, but worth it.

 

[kiramay]

My husband and I got Precheck this spring and I LOVE IT! We fly through security and get to keep all our stuff on and packed. All my kids got to go through with us too.

 

[bashuck]

Yeah it is great at MCO. We use it twice each time as the MCO Club (our CC includes Priority Pass) is available when flying on Southwest even though you need to go thru security twice to make that happen based on the gates. Each time we have done this both trips thru security were 10 min or less.

 

[CarrieR]

I second Nexus. I live in Ohio, went to Detroit to get it, and consider it 100% worth it.

 

[jcvalenti]

I second Nexus. I live in Ohio, went to Detroit to get it, and consider it 100% worth it.

CarrieR - Does Nexus include the full TSA Pre-Check benefit ? Is it any different than signing up for Pre-Check directly (other than how you register for it) ? I happen to work across for the TSA office in Detroit, so it's even more convenient for me than hunting down a TSA-Precheck Center.

 

[CarrieR]

Nexus is trusted traveler, so expedited entry to Canada (as long as everyone in the vehicle is Nexus). Precheck is a side benefit, but it's exactly the same as regular precheck. I can't recall if global entry is free or a small charge... I opted not to get it (which, in hindsight, was kinda silly).

Nexus is cheaper - $50 vs 85 - but the processing is only done at the border. So you might not be able to go to the TSA office. Only you know if the convenience is worth $35

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Like any Disney trip, the money you spend on your vacation is up to you.

I will say, many travel credit cards will reimburse you for it. I won't mention them at fear of "free advertising" but I have a card that covered the $85 and I love it. If you plan on traveling a good amount, it's totally worth it.

Often (read: not all the time), if one person in your party is TSA approved and you book together, the rest of your party will receive TSA pre-check.

Especially with everything going on and the new regulations at MCO, it's worth it IMO. We flew through the lines without experiencing any of the horror stories people mention, like getting everything opened and sifted through.

 

[bumbershoot]

I can't recall if global entry is free or a small charge... I opted not to get it (which, in hindsight, was kinda silly).

Global entry is simply part of nexus. You have it if you have nexus.

Their site is massively confusing in ways, because some people have accidentally gotten GE instead of renewing Nexus, and once you’ve done that you can’t reverse it or have both.

But ge is part of nexus.

We were coming home from Dublin, which has US customs before you board the plane. Went to the GE line, scanned our passports just like DH did (who got GE because he didn’t trust me that nexus had it all), and our GE was there and we went on through.