Port Miami to Disney World

[ScratchTheRat]

Hi all!

 

We arrive into Miami on November 20th on the Inaugural Transatlantic on Carnival Celebration and then will be travelling to Orlando for a week at Disney World.

 

What are our best options? Car hire, bus, transfers, trains, let me hear 😄 We are 3 British Adults with a big checked bag each and a carryon.

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Rent a car. You will very likely need it in the Orlando. That way you get to see a bit more of Florida, rather than just flying to Orlando and renting there.

[ScratchTheRat]

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Rent a car. You will very likely need it in the Orlando. That way you get to see a bit more of Florida, rather than just flying to Orlando and renting there.

We won't be using the car once arriving as we're staying at a Disney hotel and will use their internal buses. So it would just be for getting there.

[Corby114]

Rent a vehicle at Miami International Airport Rental Car Center for the minimum twenty four hour period. Drop off the vehicle at Orlando International Airport or a location near Disney World. Use Disney ground transportation to get you to your hotel. Second choice I would use is a short forty five minute one way flight from Miami to Orlando.

[JohninDC]

"Best" would be a stretch limo with a stocked bar, but the rental car option discussed above is the easiest and most economical, as long as you are comfortable driving on the "correct" side of the road. 🙄

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Rent a car ..

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Rent a car with a one way rental, drop it near your hotel. If you are staying on property at WDW, rent from Alamo and drop onsite.

[Marie51]

 This may sound like a dumb question but the OP is from Wales so assuming they do not have a US drivers license how can they rent a car? 

[Noxequifans]

Good question. The answer is probably yes but better to check with the car rental company. Also, OP is hopefully aware the in the US we drive on the other side of the road.

[Capt_BJ]

fly

[BlueHerons]

You have two good options here.  

 

Fly.  Frontier, American Airlines, and Spirit Airlines all have direct flights to Orlando.  The flight is only about 30 minutes.  Miami airport is so easy to get in and out of.  You can Metrorail to TriRail right into the airport.  Or Uber.

 

Train.  The Brightline high speed train is supposed to have their Miami to Orlando let open by late 2022.  It is a great way to travel.  Total travel time to Orlando from downtown Miami is supposed to be 90 minutes.

 

I would not drive this.

[Host CJSKIDS]

10 minutes ago, BlueHerons said:

You have two good options here.  

 

Fly.  Frontier, American Airlines, and Spirit Airlines all have direct flights to Orlando.  The flight is only about 30 minutes.  Miami airport is so easy to get in and out of.  You can Metrorail to TriRail right into the airport.  Or Uber.

 

Train.  The Brightline high speed train is supposed to have their Miami to Orlando let open by late 2022.  It is a great way to travel.  Total travel time to Orlando from downtown Miami is supposed to be 90 minutes.

 

I would not drive this.

 

 

Did they update the travel time from Orlando from downtown Miami?   Last article I saw was Brightline said just over 3 hours!

 

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2021/10/08/brightline-planning-320-mile-florida-passenger-rail-route-miami-tampa-2028/5929729001/

 

You are so right, love Brightline and always loved my trips from Miami to Fort Lauderdale but even that took 30-35 minutes.  It’s such a great way to travel. 

 

And flying is super quick from MIA, right again on that point!

 

[BlueHerons]

5 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

 

Did they update the travel time from Orlando from downtown Miami?   Last article I saw was Brightline said just over 3 hours!

 

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2021/10/08/brightline-planning-320-mile-florida-passenger-rail-route-miami-tampa-2028/5929729001/

 

You are so right, love Brightline and always loved my trips from Miami to Fort Lauderdale but even that took 30-35 minutes.  It’s such a great way to travel. 

 

And flying is super quick from MIA, right again on that point!

 

My quote time was from a much earlier article.  That three hours may certainly be updated.

 

I love Brightline.  And now if you book in advance, they have a fleet of cars that will drop you off and pick you back up.  We took Brightline to Wynwood for the drag brunch at R House a couple of weeks ago and their car service picked us up and dropped us off for free.

[Host CJSKIDS]

19 minutes ago, BlueHerons said:

My quote time was from a much earlier article.  That three hours may certainly be updated.

 

I love Brightline.  And now if you book in advance, they have a fleet of cars that will drop you off and pick you back up.  We took Brightline to Wynwood for the drag brunch at R House a couple of weeks ago and their car service picked us up and dropped us off for free.

 

That’s a great new service.  Should certainly help some decide upon Brightline. 

 

And love the drag show at R House!

[hrhdhd]

From the Palm Beach Post: "Passengers can expect rail service between South Florida and Orlando to start in early 2023." 

[FlaMariner]

I would not count on Brightline being up by November but once it is, that will be a game changer for all of us heading back and forth from Central Florida to South Florida.  

 

We are taking Red Coach Bus from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise in March.  They have routes from Miami Airport to Orlando.  No personal experience yet but will be able to give a first impression review once back in April.

 

Here is the link....

 

https://www.redcoachusa.com

 

Also, there are usually two Amtrak trains a day from Miami to Orlando (right now, just one and it takes a detour to Tampa so would not recommend as it is over 7 hours).  Both trains leave Miami in the morning so not sure you could make it the day of dis-embarkation (but we did in November from Ft Lauderdale). 

 

Here is the link...

 

https://www.amtrak.com/home.html

 

And it's not a bad drive up the Florida Turnpike w/a rental if you want to travel the way most of your American cousins do it.  We've rented a car at the airport and turned it in at the Orlando airport same day. 

 

Have fun with the Mouse, enjoy the USA and wear lots of sun screen!

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by FlaMariner

[ScratchTheRat]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:40 PM, Marie51 said:

 This may sound like a dumb question but the OP is from Wales so assuming they do not have a US drivers license how can they rent a car? 

We have an agreement that Brits can drive in the USA without a US licence 🙂

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

On 1/29/2022 at 10:08 AM, ScratchTheRat said:

We have an agreement that Brits can drive in the USA without a US licence 🙂

Of course you can. And it's really your best option. Check for rental car companies that have downtown Miami locations so you don't have to go all the way to MIA, and check rates for a one way rental returning the car at MCO (I presume). You'll probably want to rent a van or SUV, the latter being far "cooler". From Miami it's a straight drive up I-95 to Florida's Turnpike to the Happiest Place on Earth.

[dcgrumpy]

Last week we picked up a car from Budget at MIA. We decided to rent from the airport because we've had bad luck the last few times we picked up our rental at a downtown Miami locations. We registered with Budget Fast Break so we were able to skip the line. You go straight to the garage where there is an envelope with your contract. We got in the car and drove to WDW. We drove to our hotel to drop our bags and then we dropped the car at the Budget location in the Doubletree near Disney Springs. 

 

We thought about flying but the only flights that day were early morning which we wouldn't be able to make after a cruise.

Edited February 1, 2022 by dcgrumpy

[Amberle3]

We're renting a car and doing the drive from MIA to MCO for our cruise next month. My inlaws are flying home right after the cruise so we'll go with them to the airport to see them off, then get our rental car and get on the road.

[ScratchTheRat]

Update: We rented a car with Alamo 🙂

[Host CJSKIDS]

On 2/5/2022 at 9:03 PM, ScratchTheRat said:

Update: We rented a car with Alamo 🙂

 

It’s an easy drive and one that I did a lot as I lived a mile or so from the Port.  

 

Enjoy your cruise and safe travels.