With Disney’s Magical Express service ending, guests are left on their own to figure out how to get from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Walt Disney World. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the options, comparing them by price, convenience, and complexity along the way. Read on to learn how to get from Orlando airport to Disney World!
Summary of Options
While this post is going to go into some detail, I’m sure many of you want to just get to the point. Here’s a quick summary of the ways to get from MCO to Disney World, beginning with our pick.
Uber / Lyft. Our preferred way to get from Orlando airport to Disney World is Uber. While prices can surge and not everyone is comfortable with rideshare, we’ve made this trip probably a dozen times and used Uber overall probably over 100 times. The balance of convenience and typical price can’t be beat in our mind. Read more about Uber at Disney World.
Shuttle Bus Services. Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer have merged into “Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine.” This option can be cheaper than Uber (depending on the size of your party) and you might be more comfortable with it. But it’s less convenient, and once you get to three or more riders, the price will start to be comparable to Uber.
Private Car Service. Private car services are more convenient and more expensive than Uber, but good for guests who are unfamiliar with rideshare or have unique needs (like infant car seats).
Rental Car. If your trip as a whole requires a rental car, then this option makes sense. But if you’re just unsure about how to make the journey between the airport and your hotel, this isn’t going to be a good option. Read more about driving and parking at Disney World.
Taxi Cab. I haven’t taken a traditional cab in the United States in years, and at this point I’m less comfortable in a traditional cab than an Uber. That said, if you’re a fan of cabs, you can find them at MCO and if you get in a licensed cab (yes, I’ve frequently seen unlicensed cabs soliciting rides) you should pay the metered fare.
Minnie Vans. Minnie Vans are again available for service to/from Orlando International Airport for Club Level guests only. The one-way price is $199. Generally we won’t recommend this service, but the inclusion of two car seats could make it a good option for some guests. (Note: I’ve been told some guests who aren’t Club Level have had success booking Minnie Vans for the airport via Signature Services.)
Now let’s talk in more detail about the options. I’m going to start with the new shuttle services since they’re the new kids on the block and I assume most readers have a basic familiarity with Uber (but if not, we cover that next).
Shuttle Bus Services
Back in my day, Disney and Mears had a shuttle bus partnership called “Disney’s Magical Express” that was a great way to get from Orlando International Airport. Then 2020 happened and this, like everything else, went to…well you get the point.
With Disney’s Magical Express gone, two major services sprung up offering shuttle bus (or occasionally shuttle van) service between MCO and Disney World—Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer. In late 2023, Sunshine Flyer and Mears Connect merged into one service, “Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine.” For simplicity, I’m going to stick to calling the new service “Mears Connect,” an appropriate shorthand, in my opinion.
We’ve used Mears Connect once (briefly discussed below), but we’re not going to go into full review detail. If you want to read more specifics—which you should if you’re considering these—I recommend using Google to find reviews written by people who have ridden the buses.
Let’s talk about some incontrovertible factors—pricing and convenience.
For starters, these services are only going to be an option if you’re going to Disney hotels or select other hotels. While the other options on this list can get you to any hotel in the area, the shuttle buses only serve specific hotels.
Mears Connect offers two levels of service. Standard is a shared service that makes multiple stops and may have a moderate wait. Express is a shared service that makes one stop (your hotel) and should have basically no wait.
You can view the pricing for Mears Connect here. You should expect to pay around $17 per adult per way and around $14 per child per way. During their “Summer Sale,” like the “Spring Sale” before it, the prices dropped to around $15 and $12. For Express service, rates are around $250 round trip up to four passengers (no one way), and $55 for each additional passenger.
This means two adults are priced around the same cost as an Uber, while the addition of a child means you’ll probably be spending more than an Uber if surge pricing isn’t active.
The Express pricing is comparable to a private car service, though if you’re more comfortable working with a well-established, proven reliable shuttle operator (Mears operated the old Magical Express system) I could see some reason for taking this option.
We’ve taken Mears Connect twice, with very different experiences. The first time, from check-in, we were put on a bus and waited 15 minutes for it to depart (a reasonable time). But then we were scheduled to be the sixth stop. After an hour on the bus, we got out at the fifth stop (which happened to be walkable to our hotel). I’m getting older and travel with a toddler now—I just can’t do an hour on a bus after already spending a few hours on a plane.
We took Mears Connect a second time because we weren’t in a rush and didn’t have a car seat. That trip, our bus departed 17 minutes after check-in and we were the first stop, 29 minutes later. With Toy Story 4 playing on the ride, this was a much more tolerable trip than our first one.
The old Sunshine Flyer website had a blurb in their FAQ that got to the heart of the matter:
When the guest enters the Sunshine Flyer staging area, the guest will not wait more than 20 minutes to board the bus. Upon departure, trips are designed so that the last stop will not take more than 65 minutes.
While I can’t find a similar blurb in the new, combined site, I’d expect the numbers to be basically the same with any shuttle bus operator. This means a journey of up to 85 minutes from your arrival at the staging area. If I open Uber right now (you can do this on your own, too), the estimated pickup for Uber X at MCO is 4 minutes with a 29 minute trip to Polynesian Village (random example), priced at $42.79.
All this said, while I think the balance of price and convenience favors rideshare, I don’t think these shuttle services are a bad option. Certainly having a reasonably priced and comfortable option booked ahead of time has value to many guests, and in that regard the shuttle services have an advantage on the other options in this list.
Uber / Lyft from Orlando Airport to Disney World
Our preferred way to get from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World (and Universal Orlando Resort, for that matter) is to use Uber. Lyft is an alternative service, and while we don’t use it as much basically everything we say here applies to Lyft, too.
We have a Complete Guide to Using Uber at Walt Disney World, but for the purpose of this post all you need to know are the basics.
Once you download and setup the Uber app and you’re at the airport, you can open the app and enter your destination. If you’re not at the airport (or wherever you’re getting picked up from) you can modify the pickup spot if, for example, you want to see sample prices.
The app will tell you how much the various services will cost to get you to your destination (the basic option is Uber X), along with estimated pickup and drop-off times. You can following signs at MCO for ground transportation, rideshare services.
Overall, Uber is quite convenient—pickups usually only take a few minutes (except during late night hours), and you’re driven directly to your resort. If you have a room assignment when you arrive, you could even have the driver drop you off close to your room.
If you’ve never used Uber you might be uncomfortable with the idea of hiring a stranger outside of the traditional cab / private car ecosystem. We can’t say much for that except that we’ve used Uber probably around a hundred times in various countries with no notable issues.
(FWIW Emily and I both use Uber as a solo travelers on occasion, too, but we acknowledge why some solo travelers might not like this option. Indeed, for solo travelers the shuttle buses are probably more cost effective, too.)
Assuming you’re comfortable with the service generally, there are two big downsides family travelers need to know about when using Uber to get from Orlando International Airport to Disney World.
The first is cost. While a typical price from an Uber from MCO to Disney World is around $40 (before tip), the cost isn’t fixed. If you arrive at a peak time (remember when you’d see those unbelievably long lines for Magical Express?) you might see a surge up to $60, $75, or in the rarest of cases even $100.
Generally, this is a risk I’m willing to take. If the price were $100 I’d maybe swing by some of the shuttle bus desks (like Mears Connect) and see if those were an option. Or maybe I’d try and take a taxi.
(Note: You can schedule an Uber ride ahead of time, but with flight delays and such you risk missing your arrival time and still being on the hook for the ride.)
The second downside for some families is the car seat situation. You can pay extra (and often wait longer) to book an Uber with a car seat, but these seats are simple booster-style seats only fit for kids above the age of 2 (and other size restrictions you should confirm before booking), and Uber vehicles only have one car seat. (Note: I’ve had a lot of trouble getting Uber Car Seat bookings recently. I’ve been lucky to easily get more expensive Uber XL Car Seat bookings, but I am worried this option is becoming more limited.)
If you have a child under 2, or if you have multiple children in need of car seats, you’ll either have to bring your own car seat or use a different option. We often use the WAYB Pico portable car seat.
When Zoe was under 2, we eventually came to the feeling that bringing a car seat was the way to go, even if Zoe was flying as a lap infant without a seat. In that case, we could just check the seat at the gate and it would be on the jet bridge when we deplaned. It’s a little annoying to carry it through the airport, but overall this worked best for us in part because it allowed us to just hop in an Uber at the airport.
Private Car Service from Orlando Airport to Disney World
If the convenience of Uber speaks to you but some variable pricing and stranger danger get to you, you might book a private car service. Yes, these are still strangers, but I assume some fears are assuaged by booking through an established business rather than a person-to-person service like Uber.
Private car drivers will meet you at a designated location (usually with a sign with your name on it) when your flight arrives. They’ll often be able to accommodate car seat requests, including infant car seats, which is a step up from Uber.
The downside is price. You’ll be paying $75 to $150 one way for this level of service.
We’ve used private car services a few times, particularly when we were flying without a car seat and Zoe was too small for Uber Car Seat.
WDW Prep School recommends Quicksilver, and I trust them on all matters WDW.
Some other popular services include (we can’t vouch personally for these):
Renting a Car at Orlando Airport
Simply put, your decision to rent a car at Walt Disney World should not be largely dictated by the need to get between the airport and your hotel. If that’s all you really need, any other option here is better.
If you’re staying off-site, wanting to visit Universal Orlando Resort, or have some other compelling reason, renting a car might make sense. Read our Guide to Driving and Parking at Disney World to sure you understand what you expect to pay in parking and when driving might not be the best option even if you’ve rented a car.
Taking a Taxi from Orlando Airport to Disney World
As mentioned in the summary, I haven’t taken a traditional taxi in the United States in years. Since the fare is metered you won’t have to worry about surge pricing, but you should expect the ride to cost $60 to $80 without tip.
The Orlando International Airport website has all the information you need on taking a taxi, here are some highlights:
Taxis are at Terminal A on the Ground Transportation Curb (Level 1) in spaces A22-A25
Taxis are at Terminal B on the Ground Transportation Curb (Level 1) in spaces B30-B34
Taxis are at Terminal C on the Arrivals Curb (Level 6)
Moreover:
All taxicabs picking up at the Airport are regulated by the City of Orlando’s Vehicle-for-Hire ordinance which requires fares to be determined by a taximeter.
Flat rate fees are not authorized. Therefore metered rate may vary from the approximate rates quoted above.
I have seen unlicensed cabs soliciting rides around MCO. Mears is the most popular taxi company in Orlando and the one I’d go to if I were taking a taxi.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
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