How to Get From the Orlando Airport to Disney

(Cover Photo Cred: Gearfusion)

One of the most frequently asked questions for people new to Disney World is how to get from the MCO airport to the Disney World Resorts. I dug through several online forums and polls to see what people recommended and compiled the original data.

Unfortunately, the problem is that different people have different needs. The best choices for getting from the Orlando airport to Disney World hotels can change depending on whether you are bringing a lot of luggage, a lot of people, or need car seats. The choices also change if you’re staying onsite or offsite, if you need to make a pitstop, if you’re in a hurry, or if you want to be fancy.

Therefore, I’ve put together some of the best choices for each situation. Figure out what you need, and get to the castle.

Jump to Section:
Most Popular Way to Get to Disney World from the Airport
Cheapest Way to Get to Disney World from the Airport
Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport with Small Kids/Car Seats
Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport with a Lot of Luggage
Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport with a Large Party
Best Way to Get to Offsite Hotel from the Airport
Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport if You Need Supplies
Best Limo Service From Orlando Airport to Disney World

Most Popular Way to Get to Disney World from the Airport

If someone asks a forum like Facebook or Reddit the best way to get from MCO airport to Disney World without any qualifiers, the overwhelming answer is UberX. Of course, the forums are also replete with horror stories about cancellations, poor service, and low standards, but still, if you combine recommendations for UberX, UberXL, and Uber Black, they make up close to half of all recommendations.

My family personally prefers Uber Black. I like that I get a professional driver with a clean car without having to plan for it. It’s usually cheaper than other luxury options as well.

A few things to know- A basic UberX will only get up to 4 people and may not have much room for your luggage. You also can’t book far in advance. You can book an Uber Black in advance, but it’s much more expensive because it’s more of a luxury experience. This usually isn’t a problem because so many Uber drivers are circling the airport waiting for you, but if you’re a worrier, have a lot of luggage, car seat needs, or are coming late at night, you may want a different option.

We’ve used several Orlando Uber drivers to do various things and mostly have had good experiences. Occasionally we get cancelled on or the driver has trouble finding us, and one time our driver kept trying to take pictures of the sunrise with his phone while driving, but the vast majority of drivers were friendly and professional, and their cars were in good condition.

Also, Disney guests report that getting an Uber from Disney back to the airport is often harder and more expensive.

Cheapest Way to Get to Disney World from the Airport

Once everyone chimes in that Uber is the easiest way to get to and from the airport, several people will also reply anecdotally that Lyft is a little bit cheaper than Uber. Therefore, have both apps set up and compare the prices if saving $5-$10 is important to you. Other than that, they are basically the same service. In fact, many of the drivers are working for both companies at the same time. If saving money is one of your goals at Disney, check out this article.

Another thing to know about Lyft is that the Minnie Van service, which is the awesome Disney-themed rideshare that goes around the Disney property, is run exclusively by Lyft.

So, if you want that after you get on property, have the app ready. We love the Minnie Vans because they aren’t personal cars, making them cleaner. They also have a fun Disney theme, and the drivers are equipped with two car seats no matter what.

Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport with Small Kids/Car Seats

Basic UberX and Lyft are not the best options if you have small kids and need car seats. The first thing people will recommend is UberXL, which often has a car seat option. The problem here is whether they have enough car seats or the correct car seat for your child (e.g.., infant, forward-facing, rear-facing, booster). Another issue responders point out is that the condition and installation of a stranger’s car seat may not be up to standard.

Therefore, there are two directions you can go here.

Mears Connect

The cheapest option is to use Mears Connect. Once upon a time, Disney offered free transportation from the airport to the Disney-owned hotels. Covid ruined that, and now Mears has risen to take its place.

It’s a little painful because Mears doesn’t have the Disney theming and costs money, but it’s a great option for little kids. Since it’s a shuttle, you don’t need car seats and they have plenty of room for luggage and strollers.

A Mears Connect bus in front of Pop Century. Photo Cred: Mears

Mears goes to all the Disney-owned resorts and many of the Good Neighbor offsite hotels. If you’re staying at an off-property hotel, make sure Mears either goes to your hotel or to a hotel close to yours before booking. For instance, we took Mears to Wyndham in order to get to the Drury at Disney Springs. It was a short walk. Here’s my review of the Drury if you’re interested in a great offsite hotel.

The downside to Mears Connect is that you often have to endure several stops before you arrive at your hotel. If you’re in a hurry, you may want to splurge on the next option.

Private Car Service

Getting a private car is usually more expensive than a rideshare (Uber/Lyft) or Mears Connect, but many parents find that the added benefits make up for the cost. With a private car service, you can book ahead of time. Then, the driver will be waiting for you inside the airport. They will be prepared to accommodate your luggage, and they’ll even stop at the grocery store for you before you get to the hotel.

The most frequently recommended were Tiffany Town Car and Gearfusion. They received about 5 recommendations each compared to 1-2 for about 10 other companies.

Both companies offer prebooking, driver waiting in baggage claim, and car seat needs met. Tiffany Town Car offers a complimentary 20-minute grocery stop, while Gearfusion charges for it. That said, Gearfusion is cheaper all around until you purchase add-ons.

A Suburban from Tiffany Town Car at Old Key West Resort. Photo Cred: Tiffany Town Car

Gearfusion also offers what they call Pynk service, which is a female driver if the passengers are women and children only.

Private car services are also better than rideshares because these are dedicated company cars, not people’s personal cars, so the cleanliness standard is much higher.

The only complaints anyone had about any private car service were about what happens if a flight is delayed. If you use a private car company, make sure you know what that policy is.

Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport with a Lot of Luggage

If you are traveling with a lot of luggage (greater than one piece per person), there are several options. You could also use a private car company like Tiffany or Gearfusion (see above), especially if you want to make a grocery stop. However, if you don’t have any other special needs like car seats, there are cheaper options.

The two mostly highly recommended ways to get from MCO to WDW with a lot of luggage were Mears and UberXL. Prices will be similar.

Mears Connect is a shuttle that has plenty of space for any amount of luggage. The downside, as mentioned above, is that you’ll possibly have to stop at several other resorts before arriving at yours.

UberXL, on the other hand, will be a large SUV or minivan that will be dedicated just to your party. The downside for UberXL is that if you have a lot of luggage AND passengers, you run the risk of not having enough room, especially if your party requires using the third row. Using the third row for passengers will severely limit luggage capacity for many SUVs and vans.

Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport with a Large Party

If you are heading to Disney World with an entire wedding party or extended family, a lot of the options we’ve mentioned won’t work for transportation from the MCO airport. If you use Uber or a car service, you’ll have to rent multiple vehicles, which will cost a lot and possibly be hard to coordinate. If you take Mears, you’re paying per passenger, which will cost quite a lot of money.

The best option for a large party (9+ or even 6+) will be a van service. You might be able to get by with a private car for parties up to 8, but even that will be hard with luggage. A van service will give you a large passenger van dedicated solely to your party with plenty of luggage space. The best part is that you pay for the vehicle rather than per person.

The most highly recommended van services were Away We Go and The Magical Express (who took the great marketing strategy of stealing the name of Disney’s former service).

An Away We Go private van parked in front of the Polynesian. Photo Cred: Away We Go

Best Way to Get to Offsite Hotel from the Airport

While most people recommend Mears Connect for trips from the Orlando airport to Disney World, Mears Connect only services the Disney-owned, “onsite” hotels and a select few Good Neighbor Hotels. To use Mears to another hotel, you’ll want to make sure it’s stopping near your hotel, like taking the Wyndham stop to get to Drury.

Other than that, any of the other options we’ve mentioned so far will be good for getting to an offsite hotel or condo rental.

Best Way to Get to Disney from the Airport if You Need Supplies

As I mentioned in the car seat discussion, several private car services offer grocery and supplies stops either for free or a nominal fee. Again, the best choices are Gearfusion (nominal fee) and Tiffany Town Car (free 20-minute stop).

Two cars from Gearfusion parked in front of the Riviera Resort. Photo Cred: Gearfusion

Best Limo Service From Orlando Airport to Disney World

If you’re scanning this list and thinking to yourself, “what if I want to get to Disney as fancy as possible?” Then you should obviously order a limo. It will definitely cost a lot more, but if you’re reading this, that’s fine with you (or you’re pretending it’s fine with you).

The only limo service in my research mentioned multiple times was Happy Limo. Everyone with lots of money or credit cards had great things to say.

The Happy Limo drivers. They make me feel as safe as Jason Statham does.

Conclusion and Further Reading

If you’re flying to Disney and don’t feel like renting a car, hopefully this list will give you a lot of great options for transportation to Disney. I created these recommendations by tallying up answers to polls in Disney Facebook groups. Many companies were recommended, but I gave you the ones that were recommended over and over again.

There is some overlap. For instance, Mears, Uber Black, and Happy Limo offer private car services and grocery stops, and Gearfusion and Tiffany Town Car rent large vans, but since people didn’t offer those as recommendations, I didn’t offer them to you.

The most important thing is that other than Uber and Lyft, nobody really had any criticism of any companies, even those not on my list.

If you’ve had a good or bad experience with a transportation service, let me know in the comments below.

For further reading to get ready for Disney, check out my other posts below.