Fun in Disney World – Orlando, Florida

Archive for the ‘transportation in disney world’ Category

In our first part of “Getting to Disney World” we examined the Air Travel options to the area of Orlando where Walt Disney World resides.  Of course if you do fancy the old fashioned road trip option, you can get Disney World from a variety of directions. Again not everyone is from Florida so this will be more on the road trip side of things and if you are traveling with kids in the car you’ll definitely want to plan some games or entertainment (those in car DVD systems do wonders!) for the ride down to Orlando, FL.

• Atlanta, GA: I-75 South to the Florida Turnpike South toward Orlando to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Resort Exits
• Boston, MA: I-95 South to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Exits
• Chicago, IL: I-65 South to I-24 East to I-75 South to the Florida Turnpike South toward Orlando to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Resort Exits
• Columbia, SC: I-26 East to I-95 South to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Exits
• Dallas, TX: I-20 East to I-10 East to I-75 South to the Florida Turnpike South toward Orlando to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Resort Exits
• Hilton Head Island, SC: US 278 West to I-95 South to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Exits
• New Orleans, LA: I-10 East to I-75 South to the Florida Turnpike South toward Orlando to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Resort Exits
• New York, NY: I-95 South to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Exits
• Raleigh, NC: I-95 South to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Exits
• Washington, DC: I-95 South to I-4 West to Walt Disney World Exits

For those of us who still consider Disney World the main event of any family vacation, the best way to get there is not as important as being there is. After all getting there is only the beginning of a lot of family fun!

So far we have covered what to do when you are at Disney. This week we are going to take a quick step backwards and talk about how to get there and how to get around Disney World. Like anywhere you go these days, how you get there is an important component of the overall experience. It can literally make or break your vacation if you let it. Now granted there is no sure thing when it comes to travel, but we are going see if we can help you make your travel experience as pain and stress free as possible with some tips and tricks we have learned along the way.

Back when Disney first started, the most popular form of transportation was car travel. Parents bundling their kids in the middle of the night for a long trip. Most, my 4 year old self included, never even realized they were not in there beds until they woke up and saw the wonders before them for the very first time. These days though transportation to Disney World is a whole lot more than just driving up the Florida Turnpike from Miami. Nowadays, people fly into Orlando, Miami or even Tampa and make it more than just a week vacation.

Since not everybody lives in Florida, let’s focus on the main route of travel, air. Flying in to Orlando is the easy part. in fact there are two ways to fly in. The first is the most obvious, Orlando International Airport. Handling 34 million passengers a year which to many seem to be way too much given it’s overly complex security checkpoint system. As with any travel destination, you have a variety of options.

1. You can rent a car.
2. You can take a taxi or town car service
3. You can take a shuttle service
4. You can take the Official Disney Transportation Options

The other option and frankly the less stressful of the two is to fly in to Sanford International Airport. A smaller, regional style airport it is a totally hassle free and easily accessible. Unfortunately like anything else it too has its downsides. First it is a 45 minute drive in a rental car. Second the primary carrier of the airport is, Allegiant Air. Normally these would be reasons alone to avoid such an airport but the stress free environment makes it well worth it and it’s definitely something to check out.

Usually getting somewhere is half the fun but getting to Disney is actually just about getting to the fun. So please don’t let travel ruin it for you, make it as easy an stress free as you can.