Transportation from MCO and back to MCO

mom2ryandy

New Member
Hi all, long time lurker & been a looooooong time since I've posted.
My vacation planning hat is on and was hoping to get some thoughts from those that know best.
We have a visit planned in mid-late April.
Best way to get from Terminal C at MCO to Disney’s Riviera?

Mears Connect?
Sunshine Flyer?
Lyft?

[We are a party of 2 arriving but will be a party of 4 when heading back to the airport].
(Adult children meeting us mid visit)


I’m leaning toward Mears Connect from MCO to Riviera ($16/pp… $32)
and Lyft XL for the 4 of us on the return to the airport trip.

Lyft estimates have been $50 ish, so leaving WDW it will save us a little $ and maybe an hour I imagine
since Mears would pick us up 3 hours ahead of flight time.





Appreciate any thoughts…thanks!
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Ugh Terminal C suuuuuuuucks. Just get an Uber or Lyft since you're all adults and don't need to worry about car seats or anything like that.

Most of the other ground transportation options require you to get on a horribly inefficient bus that takes you back to the main A/B terminal building on the "A" side, where you would then have to take the elevator up to the security level, cross the atrium over to the "B" side, and go back down past B-side baggage claim to roughly the old Magical Express area.

I'm very sorry this has happened to you.
 
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Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Ugh Terminal C suuuuuuuucks. Just get an Uber or Lyft since you're all adults and don't need to worry about car seats or anything like that.

Most of the other ground transportation options require you to get on a horribly inefficient bus that takes you back to the main A/B terminal building on the "A" side, where you would then have to take the elevator up to the security level, cross the atrium over to the "B" side, and go back down past B-side baggage claim to roughly the old Magical Express area.

I'm very sorry this has happened to you.
I recently flew United Terminal B at MCO. I saw there was a 25 min wait for guests to be transported to Terminal C.
 
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Rob562

Well-Known Member
I recently flew United Terminal B at MCO. I saw there was a 25 min wait for guests to be transported to Terminal C.

You can also take the automated tram between Terminal C and the east side atrium (the one with the fountain) of the main terminal, but it requires a bit of walking on the Term C end. Train itself is about a 4-minute ride.

-Rob
 
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MimatoMJ

New Member
You can also take the automated tram between Terminal C and the east side atrium (the one with the fountain) of the main terminal, but it requires a bit of walking on the Term C end. Train itself is about a 4-minute ride.

-Rob
The "bit of walking" is ridiculous! It seemed like half a mile, takes you through the parking garage (yes!) before you get to the train. I'm 75 years old with a bad back. Arrived at Terminal C at 9:30 pm---no help in sight and barely anything open. I will NEVER fly JetBlue again to re-do this experience ---back to Southwest for me. Terminal C is beautiful, but sorely lacking in amenities and signage right now.
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
From Terminal C, I would recommend rideshares (or if you wanted to spring for it, private towncar transportation) instead. As others mentioned, in order to get to Sunshine Flyer/Mears Connect from there, you'll have to take the people mover or a bus to Terminals A/B and then walk some more.

Hiking Terminal C may be a big workout in and of itself, depending on where your gates are located. If you take a rideshare or private transportation from Terminal C instead, you'll save yourself valuable time and energy.

FWIW, we're flying into Orlando on JetBlue in August, which will put us at Terminal C, and recently did all the same analysis you're doing now. Ultimately, we decided that "time is money" on an arrival day, and opted to book Tiffany Towncar to get our party (2 adults, 2 teens) from Terminal C to our WDW resort ($95 one way, plus gratuity). On our departure day, we'll be heading to the airport directly from an off-property side quest, so we'll take a Lyft XL or Uber XL.
 
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CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
From Terminal C, I would recommend rideshares (or if you wanted to spring for it, private towncar transportation) instead. As others mentioned, in order to get to Sunshine Flyer/Mears Connect from there, you'll have to take the people mover or a bus to Terminals A/B and then walk some more.

Hiking Terminal C may be a big workout in and of itself, depending on where your gates are located. If you take a rideshare or private transportation from Terminal C instead, you'll save yourself valuable time and energy.

FWIW, we're flying into Orlando on JetBlue in August, which will put us at Terminal C, and recently did all the same analysis you're doing now. Ultimately, we opted to book Tiffany Towncar to get our party (2 adults, 2 teens) from Terminal C to our WDW resort ($95 on way, plus gratuity). On our departure day, we'll be heading to the airport directly from an off-property side quest, so we'll take a Lyft XL or Uber XL.
Can piggy-back on your research? Did you stumble into any reasonable alternatives for a family that would need one car seat and one booster seat? We're flying down on JetBlue but home on Southwest, and I'm thinking that biting the bullet for Sunshine Flyer might just be the best option rather than trying to figure out car seats.
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Can piggy-back on your research? Did you stumble into any reasonable alternatives for a family that would need one car seat and one booster seat? We're flying down on JetBlue but home on Southwest, and I'm thinking that biting the bullet for Sunshine Flyer might just be the best option rather than trying to figure out car seats.
We never traveled to WDW when our kids were car seat/booster-aged, but having just reserved with Tiffany Towncar, I know their services include car seats and boosters. (In their website pictures of the available vehicles, each one gives not only the number of people it can hold, but how many boosters/car seats.) You have to specially request what you need when you make your reservation. I don't know if there's a surcharge involved, but I'm sure you can inquire. https://www.tiffanytowncar.com/wordpress/

I don't believe this is unique to Tiffany Towncar, though: when we've booked ground transportation with other companies in the past, I know I've seen information about car seats and boosters. I think it's a fairly typical amenity among private ground transportation providers.
 
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CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
We never traveled to WDW when our kids were car seat/booster-aged, but having just reserved with Tiffany Towncar, I know their services include car seats and boosters. (In their website pictures of the available vehicles, each one gives not only the number of people it can hold, but how many boosters/car seats.) You have to specially request what you need when you make your reservation. I don't know if there's a surcharge involved, but I'm sure you can inquire. https://www.tiffanytowncar.com/wordpress/

I don't believe this is unique to Tiffany Towncar, though: when we've booked ground transportation with other companies in the past, I know I've seen information about car seats and boosters. I think it's a fairly typical amenity among private ground transportation providers.
But are those types of operators allowed to pick you up right at Terminal C, or would it still require shuttling back to the main building in some fashion?
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
But are those types of operators allowed to pick you up right at Terminal C, or would it still require shuttling back to the main building in some fashion?
Yes, they can pick up and drop off at Terminal C, along with rideshares, taxis, etc. It's just the "embedded" shuttle bus services (Sunshine Flyer, Mears Connect) that operate exclusively out of Terminals A/B.

Also, although rental cars can be returned at all 3 terminals, most rental car companies (other than Sixt, which has cars at all 3 terminals) only have car pickup at Terminals A and B right now. There's nothing stopping them from offering pickup from the garage at Terminal C -- they've just been sluggish about setting up there.
 
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CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Yes, they can pick up and drop off at Terminal C, along with rideshares, taxis, etc. It's just the "embedded" shuttle bus services (Sunshine Flyer, Mears Connect) that operate exclusively out of Terminals A/B.

Also, although rental cars can be returned at all 3 terminals, most rental car companies (other than Sixt, which has cars at all 3 terminals) only have car pickup at Terminals A and B right now. There's nothing stopping them from offering pickup at Terminal C -- they've just been sluggish about making the move.
Yeah we were just there last month and my Avis rental required me to go to the counter in C, then bus to A, then up and over to the B-side garage.
 
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NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
What a total PITA!!! My poor mom struggles just getting to baggage claim from our gate and out to ground transportation at MCO these days. She'd never make it if we had to do the whole rental car pick-up from Term. C.
 
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