Seasoned Traveler Advice Needed: "MCO Terminal C For Dummies"... Or Dummy, Or Just Me

Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hello, all! Our next flight to MCO will be on JetBlue, which uses the new Terminal C. I've been staring at the "wayfinding" diagram and am having trouble making heads or tails of it. I swear, I'm not a totally inexperienced traveler, but for some reason I'm just not "getting" what I am seeing. If anyone can educate me, I'd appreciate it. I've been hoping somebody would do an arrival walkthrough video (there are dozens of them online for the older A and B terminals), but nothing so far. All the videos seem fixated on the Palm Court on Level 2 (which makes sense: they're generally local bloggers who are heading somewhere, and not people arriving from elsewhere).

First, arrivals are on Level 6 and departures are on Level 2. Logistically, how does that even work? I feel like every airport I've ever been to has had arrivals and departures on the same floor, using the same gates: if they were on different floors, that fact went [wait for it] over my head. Is this just a matter of each plane letting people off on Level 6, and then cranking down the jetway a whopping 4 floors to let the next group on?

Second, Terminal C will mostly be international passengers, with Level 6 occupied by Customs and Baggage Claim, which according to the diagram both span the entire level. We'll be arriving on a domestic flight with no checked baggage, and will want to head directly to the elevators or escalators so we can either get to Level 4 (for the Terminal Link) or Level 1 (Grand Transportation), depending on our ground transportation plans. It looks like the only ways down are on the other side of Customs. Will we be able to bypass Customs in some way, since we're domestic travelers, or should I be building in extra time to stop and prove our citizenship?

Thanks in advance!
Terminal-C-Wayfinding-Map.png
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
The gates have a way of sending passengers from international flights upstairs so they can go to Customs while remaining isolated from everyone else. As a domestic passenger you’ll exit the gate on Level 2. You’ll go up to Level 6 to get checked luggage instead of going downstairs like you do at Terminals A and B.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
lazyboy97o said:
The gates have a way of sending passengers from international flights upstairs so they can go to Customs while remaining isolated from everyone else. As a domestic passenger you’ll exit the gate on Level 2. You’ll go up to Level 6 to get checked luggage instead of going downstairs like you do at Terminals A and B.
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THANK YOU! I kept reading everywhere that Level 6 was "Arrivals," and was blindly assuming that this meant everyone would be arriving there, regardless of where their flight originated. This makes way more sense.

So really, our procedure won't differ from what we'd do if we were flying into Terminals A and B as usual (minus the need for a monorail ride). We don't check bags, so we'll just need to walk from our gate, through the "restaurants and restrooms" concourse, head around security and follow signs to get down to ground transportation...

*Correction: *UP* to ground transportation. It looks like rideshares and towncars and such pick up from Level 6, and only "out of town" shuttles and hotel shuttles actually pick up on Level 1, even though that's what they're calling the Ground Transportation Level.
 
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mkt

mkt

Disney's Favorite Scumbag™
Premium Member
Smiley/OCD said:
That’s why I was SO surprised…I’ve never had a painless experience at MCO, but if you think that sucks, try Newark.
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I actually prefer EWR. The biggest problem I see with MCO is thousands of families who are once-a-year/once-every-two-years travelers clogging up the system for those who actually know what they're doing.

Precheck definitely helps, but I'm about to spend the money on Clear to speed up through MCO.
 
Smiley/OCD

Smiley/OCD

Well-Known Member
mkt said:
I actually prefer EWR. The biggest problem I see with MCO is thousands of families who are once-a-year/once-every-two-years travelers clogging up the system for those who actually know what they're doing.

Precheck definitely helps, but I'm about to spend the money on Clear to speed up through MCO.
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I guess my wife and I lucked out and got a TSA staff that were in a good mood (maybe because they were in new digs?), but it was really smooth (the fact that we were 3 hours early probably helped)
 
mkt

mkt

Disney's Favorite Scumbag™
Premium Member
lazyboy97o said:
Clear is a scam, at least in Terminals A and B. All it does is let you bypass the ID check. They dump you right into the main mess of a security line after verifying your identity.
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Is it? I've noticed it gets you through the ID check faster than Precheck at MCO.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
mkt said:
Is it? I've noticed it gets you through the ID check faster than Precheck at MCO.
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I’ve never found ID check to be the problem so for the high price (which I thankfully didn’t pay) it makes no sense to me. I guess the few minutes saved might add up to something worthwhile if you’re a more frequent flyer but skipping ID seems inconsequential compared to the bizarre mess of splitting and merging queues to the actual screening.
 
Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
mkt said:
Is it? I've noticed it gets you through the ID check faster than Precheck at MCO.
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Yeah, but it doesn't necessarily put you in the Pre check lanes, and you still.have to take off the shoes and belt. When we were traveling to YVR for our Alaska cruise, my hubby signed up at JFK for the Clear free trial. I have Precheck. I cleared security scanners and waited more than 10 minutes for him, and he came through the opposite end of the security lanes.

I wish they'd still do the thing where if you have Precheck, anyone on the same record locator would get it. So if he was traveling on his own, he wouldnt, but if we were together on the same purchase, he'd be able to come thru Pre check with me.
 
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Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
We got precheck in anticipation of traveling with a toddler. Four precheck flights so far. 2 of which with said toddler. So far I would say it’s worth it. We’ll see how it goes at MCO in February.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Back!Elbow!Shoulders! said:
We got precheck in anticipation of traveling with a toddler. Four precheck flights so far. 2 of which with said toddler. So far I would say it’s worth it. We’ll see how it goes at MCO in February.
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It's totally worth it. We live in Western NY, so our family of 4 joined Nexus (the trusted traveler program between the US and Canada, which also includes TSA Precheck benefits, and costs less to boot). We save so much time and hassle at security, and don't have to arrive quite so early at the airport. I don't ever want to be without it again!
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
mkt said:
Same reason I have precheck - because Global Entry. Even if my international travel is at most once per quarter.
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Global Entry is worth it, even if you only travel internationally occasionally, especially since it includes PreCheck.

The worst part is having to do the whole background check and drive to the airport for an in-person interview deal.
 

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