Flying in to Tampa??

[MouseearsDeb]

Since Southwest has opened dates till the end of Oct., I've been looking at fares in to Orlando for our trip. I'm not overly excited about the times they are listing but if I look at Tampa we could leave as early as 6:40am and pay half the ticket cost going to MCO. Coming home from TPA would be about $26 less each ticket. So, comparing apples to apples it would be $1174 to Orlando or $742 to Tampa. We will be renting a car regardless so just finding a good deal from either place shouldn't be to difficult. The villa that we're staying in is approx. 1 hour 15 min. from TPA (mapquest est.) I can get better prices in and out of Orlando but the times are much, much different expecially on the arrival day.

What do you think? Anyone fly into Tampa and drive to WDW area? How long did it 'actually' take you?

Thanks for your help

 

[yankspy]

I lived in the Tampa Bay area for about six years and so I have done that drive many times. It is only a little over an hour drive from Tampa to WDW, without traffic. If you are renting a car anyway, the savings seem to be considerable, so I would go for it.

 

[Carolyn1717]

The first poster was correct, you are just about an hour away. That's if you don't get lost....However, you are going to want to allow for traffic on your return to Tampa so as not to miss your flight. I would try and rent a car that you can return right to the airport rather than away from the airport. It will make it much easier on your return trip.

Have you priced flying into Tampa and then returning from Orlando? That may be an option.

 

[tigsmom]

We fly in and out of Tampa all the time and like it much better than Orlando.
If you get a better deal from Tampa then take it. I would also look into flying out of Orlando on the way home, as it may fit your schedule better.

 

[MouseearsDeb]

I just found a code on the Southwest website that if you book roundtrip travel between April 18-21 and travel between August 23 through Oct. 30, you save 10%. That will probably make a good difference in our choice.

 

[MouseearsDeb]

Now to travel roundtrip from BNA to TPA is $675.60. That would be great!

 

[ELopez]

Keep in mind that the Tampa airport is on the "other side" of Tampa, so to speak, so expect a little longer commute time. It's not a bad drive at all, though. WDW is on the "Tampa side" or Orlando, so at least you won't have to drive through Orlando.

It sounds like you should take the Tampa deal roundtrip. It can sometimes cost more to purchase separate tickets. And security always "flags" you when you aren't flying round-trip. Also, there's often an extra charge to return a rental car at a different location from where you picked it up.

Good luck, have fun, and accept my apologies for the "over-usage" of quotation marks in this post.

 

[MichWolv]

I've flown into Tampa multiple times. If you're renting a car either way, go ahead and fly into Tampa to get the better flights at lower cost. The drive from Tampa to WDW is a straight shot across mostly free-flowing highway (once you escape downtown Tampa). The drive is of course a bit longer than from MCO, but the better arrival times for your flight will more than make up for that.

 

[MissM]

MapQuest is right. Expect it to be about an hour and 15 to get from TIA to WDW. I live in Tampa and that's about how long it takes me. The biggest frustration of the whole drive is dealing with I-275 which is under construction right now, but it's smooth sailing all the way out on I-4. They finally finished the I-4 construction a couple years ago after probably 15 years of it being worked on, so it's a nice 70MPH drive pretty much the whole way.

Enjoy!
-m

 

[cpeterstx]

Agree with all before. The Tampa airport is also never all that busy so getting in and out of security is quicker than at MCO. I think you've made a wise decision. Expect, depending upon the time of day, for it to take about an hour and fifteen to get from TPA to WDW. Have a great trip!:sohappy:

 

[wdwforus]

We flew from Manchester NH to Nashville, to Tampa and back in 02 and thought it was a very easy time getting around Tampa. My wifes grandmother lives south of Tampa so we visited her also. If you have to rent a car anyways you might as well save the money and spend a little time on the road. Its a pretty easy drive across.

 

[dreamscometrue]

We fly in and out of Tampa all the time and like it much better than Orlando.
If you get a better deal from Tampa then take it. I would also look into flying out of Orlando on the way home, as it may fit your schedule better.

We've looked at Tampa too sometimes, but why do you like it better?

 

[SpongeScott]

I live on the west coast of Florida (Pinellas County) and we can get to WDW going through Tampa on I-275 in 90 minutes or less. From TIA, you're looking at 60-75 minutes, depending on what time you're leaving the airport.

 

[Disneykidder]

Cheez, we are trying to get our airfare for Aug and it has gone up so much!!!! Last year it cost us about $200 each, not we are up to almost $400...what the?

 

[Carolyn1717]

Not all rental car agencies charge for drop off in a different location within the same state...you would have to check with them to see.

 

[smk]

We fly in and out of Tampa all the time and like it much better than Orlando.
If you get a better deal from Tampa then take it. I would also look into flying out of Orlando on the way home, as it may fit your schedule better.

I have gone into Tampa twice in the past, it is a breeze to get to Orlando....that is if there is no wreck on the 4. Last year it took us 4 hours to get to Orlando, twice as long as it took us to fly to Tampa in the first place! If I find a deal that is good I would fly there again, we even flew into Fort Myers once, met up with friends from the Naples area and drove over. I am very glad the trip back into Tampa was smooth one, took about an hour or so, we stopped once for food so it hard to judge, but no wrecks or delays, otherwise we would have missed our flight home. It is a risk I would take again for the right price tho.

 

[IWalt]

Do It

Since Southwest has opened dates till the end of Oct., I've been looking at fares in to Orlando for our trip. I'm not overly excited about the times they are listing but if I look at Tampa we could leave as early as 6:40am and pay half the ticket cost going to MCO. Coming home from TPA would be about $26 less each ticket. So, comparing apples to apples it would be $1174 to Orlando or $742 to Tampa. We will be renting a car regardless so just finding a good deal from either place shouldn't be to difficult. The villa that we're staying in is approx. 1 hour 15 min. from TPA (mapquest est.) I can get better prices in and out of Orlando but the times are much, much different expecially on the arrival day.

What do you think? Anyone fly into Tampa and drive to WDW area? How long did it 'actually' take you?

Thanks for your help

You can't go wrong doing this. BTW The record time from TIA (airport) to WDW (ttc) parking lot is 44 min.

 

[maelstrom]

MCO is a terrible airport. TPA will make your travel experience much more enjoyable.

 

[Unplugged]

Another thing to consider that I don't see anyone posting is regarding your rental car. Typically, larger airports have much higher fees for the car rental companies. Thus, I found the Orlando costs more to rent a car than does Tampa. This is not reflected in the daily rental fees, but in the airport fees and taxes associated with the rental. You can save a lot of money in oth air and rental car by going through Tampa.

Our drive time with traffic was 1 1/2 hours one way, but only 1 hour without (average traffic). So, if you save enough $$$ on the flight and rental, stay in WDW an extra day so you can leave earlier the last day and give yourself more time in case of traffic. It works out to a better vacation. At least it did for us.

 

[SpongeScott]

You can't go wrong doing this. BTW The record time from TIA (airport) to WDW (ttc) parking lot is 44 min.

Holy lead foot, Batman! :ROFLOL: