What to do at MCO?

[nicnic]

Hi,

We are deliberating on whether to take DME back to MCO for our international flight home or hire our car upto the last day at drop it back at the airport( we hire a car mid trip from the dolphin hotel, staying at the BC).

The only gripe I have with DME is the pick up time 4 hours before departure, this will be pick up 2:30. We will have no baggage as we would have checked in at DTD in the morning, so we would go straight to security.

I've asked already on how long it would take to get to MCO if we drive and came up with the departure time of 3:30.
We would also need to fill the car up at the closest gas station, more time needed? Where is the closest? Is it a hassle?
I'm now thinking is it worth all the hassle of dropping the car off at the airport for only 1 hour extra.

So my question is, if we did DME and got to the airport supper early, what is there for the kids 2 & 10? Any play areas?
We have been to MCO many times but have only ever had time for a quick bite to eat and a look round duty free then were boarding.

What would you do? For the sake of an hour, would you, for ease, just do DME?

Thanks for any replies.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

http://www.orlandoairports.net

 

[kimberlymautz]

I took DME from our resort to the airport in December and the wait wasn't that bad. We had enough time to get through security, stop at Ruby Tuesdays for dinner, and wander through a Disney gift shop to grab snacks for our flight home.

 

[englanddg]

Hi,

We are deliberating on whether to take DME back to MCO for our international flight home or hire our car upto the last day at drop it back at the airport( we hire a car mid trip from the dolphin hotel, staying at the BC).

The only gripe I have with DME is the pick up time 4 hours before departure, this will be pick up 2:30. We will have no baggage as we would have checked in at DTD in the morning, so we would go straight to security.

I've asked already on how long it would take to get to MCO if we drive and came up with the departure time of 3:30.
We would also need to fill the car up at the closest gas station, more time needed? Where is the closest? Is it a hassle?
I'm now thinking is it worth all the hassle of dropping the car off at the airport for only 1 hour extra.

So my question is, if we did DME and got to the airport supper early, what is there for the kids 2 & 10? Any play areas?
We have been to MCO many times but have only ever had time for a quick bite to eat and a look round duty free then were boarding.

What would you do? For the sake of an hour, would you, for ease, just do DME?

Thanks for any replies.

UK or Australia, I'm guessing.

Anyhow, I'd stick with DME.

There are no play areas there, but plenty of shops.

 

[Rob562]

If your kids like planes, my tip for plane spotting at MCO is to seek out the elevators for the "Terminal Top Parking" and take the elevator all the way up to the top level (Level 10, I think). Nice views of the surrounding area. The elevators can be a little harder to find, as they're not as visible as the prominent ones by baggage claim that only go to Levels 1-3.

-Rob

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Personally, I'm looking forward to shopping at LUSH in MCO. In fact, I've already informed my party that our #1 stop before going to the DME counter is Lush for bath fizzies and face masks!

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Hit the Earport!

 

[Vader2112]

Grab a Hotdog at Nathans!
Like Boarderphreak mentioned the Earport an Disney store right at the terminal. Universal and Sea World also have them as well (I just blasphemed.)

 

[Weather_Lady]

I thought Magical Express picked you up 3 hours before your scheduled departure. That's when they got us on our last trip. (EDIT: Ah, I see we're talking international here, so 4 hours for the OP...)

By the time we got to the airport, disembarked, found our gate, stopped into the restrooms to change our clothes (we'd be arriving back in NY on a chilly October evening) and waited in the line at Burger King for a quick bite, we were 30 minutes from our departure and actually missed first call to board. (We still got on and left on time, no problems.) Still, that 3 hours went by shockingly fast...

 

[MOXOMUMD]

International flights are 4 hours. There's also a nice NASA place to look around.

 

[Disneykidder]

I agree it is way too long but they want to make sure you don't miss your flight. When we used the DME we arrived really early and went to a restaurant and ate a meal and waited. I forget by which airline gates but there was this amazing Caribbean bar/food area with the most amazing wings with great flavors.
Last year we had a rental car and arrived at the airport an hour ahead and were just fine. We had a few minutes to catch a quick bite in the terminal, have the kiddies watch the flights take off and off we went.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

We have had good luck that our gate home has almost always been next to theMcD's so we grab some food and sit there and eat. They have self serve soda machines so we refill our cups before heading to our gate. Not that you want to drink a lot before getting on a plane. We toss whatever is left over before boarding.

 

[Adrian0214]

It's not a horrible wait, at all. We usually have a sit down meal, browse a few shops, and head to the gate to play games, etc.