One of the major planning pieces of any vacation is travel, so how are you getting to Disney? I am not a travel agent. And I will even go so far as to say that, as I am from Iowa, this blog post is specifically for people like me who are coming from a rural area a long way from Disney. I speak to what I know, and do not presume to know what it means to get to Walt Disney World from somewhere close like Atlanta, or somewhere more metro like Denver or L.A. The best advice I can give you is to skip down to number 3 below.
We travel a lot, and have flown all over the country. But all of my travel experience is flying out of a small town airport, and the eccentricities that go along with that. So, what follows is my best advice on getting to Disney from the middle of nowhere.
1. Flight Timing
My #1 goal when traveling is to maximize my time at our destination. That is especially true when getting to Disney. My goal always is fly in as early as possible and fly out as late as possible. In our area, that’s pretty easy to manage because we are always connecting to a larger airport hub, so our only option is to fly out early (usually before 6am) and fly in late (usually after 11pm). While we have kind of been forced into this schedule by our local airport (which only has 7 gates, if you’re wondering how we might compare to your area), it is a schedule we have come to highly recommend. This rhythm gets us into Orlando around noon on our arrival day and back at MCO around 3:30/4 on our departure day. This means we have a long half day on either end of our trip connected to our travel day!
2. Finding Flights
Our best advice if you travel often is pick an airline and stick with it. Even flying 2-3 times a year is enough for you to earn points toward discounted or free flights, seat upgrades, free checked bags, etc. We travel more often than that (especially if you include Ethan’s business travel), so it’s definitely worth it for us to book with the same airline every time. We highly recommend Delta. Their Skymiles program earns rewards quickly, especially when connected to the American Express credit card benefits. Also, while we only have anecdotal evidence for this, our flights with Delta are rescheduled, late or cancelled far less than with other airlines. Even through all of the post-2020 staffing shortages we have never had a flight cancelled, and have been delayed only 3 times. Before we joined Delta Skymiles when we flew anywhere we would plan for one of our 4 flights to or from our vacation to have major delays. This is a difference we’re willing to pay for, and earning back the benefits makes it worth flying Delta every time.
3. Call a Travel Agent
The best way to cut out the fuss on your travel planning is to book through a travel agent. While there are many websites that allow you to compare prices across airlines to get you the best deal, this series is written for those who really would like to not go through all of that fuss and time. So just call your local agent. They’ll do the research for you, and give you your best options with no extra cost to you.
4. Getting From the Airport
There are several ways to get from the airport to Disney. You can book a bus service through Mears or Sunshine Flyer. You can rent a car. If you stay off Disney property your hotel may have an airport shuttle. Our preferred way is to call an Uber or Lyft. The cost of these different services will depend on your group size, but as we usually travel with 2-5 people, the cost of an Uber is usually considerably cheaper than either the bus service or a rental car.
There are several factors that go into planning flights for getting to Disney. Our advice boils down to this: 1. If you fly often, always fly the same airline. 2. If you fly rarely, call a travel agent and trust their expertise. 3. Don’t forget to plan a ride from the airport.
If you’re just joining us, click here for the beginning of our Fuss Free Planning series!
