Hi having just returned from our recent orlando holiday.
I wondered which airport do most of you prefer sanford or orlando international.
This was our 5th time but our 1st to orlando int and i must say i would pick
sanford every time.
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Hi having just returned from our recent orlando holiday.
I wondered which airport do most of you prefer sanford or orlando international.
This was our 5th time but our 1st to orlando int and i must say i would pick
sanford every time.
I don't particularly like sanford as there is not much to do and the cafe's are rubbish. if we go to sanford it will be from bristol airport and the one advantage is that there is no other flight coming in close time wise so the car desk is quiet, but again as we are one of the last flights out on Sunday, everything is virtually shut down. MCO although a lot busier arrivals and car desks. I find much more to do if you are delayed etc, and great for people watching. So I would like to rip both airports in half and have the best of both.
For me MCO every time....feels like USA
Only flown into Sanford once (this May) and found it okay. Fairly quick through immigration and customs and picking up car but when returning home found the facilities not as good as MCO.
I guess its down to personal choice but of the two I prefer MCO but would fly into Sandford if we get a better deal on the price of flights.
Well I'm going to throw a spanner into the works as I prefer to fly to Tampa. Same distance as Sanford and quieter than MCO.
(Well I'm going to throw a spanner into the works )No need to get violent lol.;)
We have always booked the royal palm lounge at sanford so even if delayed we can sit in comfort.
We just did not enjoy our first experience at mco.
I too would vote for Tampa, easy to get to and very quick to get out of.
Andrena
Did MCO on our first trip in 1989 and found it just massive and mega busy - and took ages to get out when we got there. All Newcastle flights are in and out of Sanford thesedays and after 3 subsequent trips I personally much prefer Sanford.
Sanford is particularly great when you land and all you want to do is get out of the airport as, being so small you are out within 15 mins or so. Admittedly there's not that much to do on the return journey but all I want to do is get on the plane therefore the airport doesnn't really interest me. Still somewhere to get something to eat and do a little duty free shopping - which does me!
Of the 3 airports put up it would be Tampa, Sanford, Orlando.
Tampa is a mini Orlando the same distance to our villa as Sanford.
Depending on direct, charter flights, or indirect which can work out great depending on where you live in the UK and the distance to Gatwick / Manchester
I didn't realise being small could get you through Sanford quicker......how small are you then?? lol
Seriously though, I tend to fly into MCO mostly as we always stay for odd days over the regular 2/3 weeks but we have used Sanford before and would use it again as found it fine plus it's less manic, much quicker and the drive is very straighforward and not really that much longer. Haven't used Tampa yet but would consider it as Tampa's easy to get to. If the flights suited at the time then I would fly into any of the three airports mentioned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by davealsop
Personally I do not mind which airport I fly into, Orlando international, Sanford even Tampa as long as I am going on holiday to Florida, but my husband hates Sanford don't really know why apart from he usually misses the turning into the airport when leaving !!
Val
Compared to LAX, MCO is a doddle. I would use which ever is the cheapest to get to and this year that airport was Tampa.
Dave
In the summer months we fly with Thompson as they fly from East Midlands & Birmingham, we can be at EMA in 15 minutes so this would be our choice, and they fly into Sanford, airport is OK never had a queue for the car but a bit boring on the return leg as not much to do.
When we fly in the winter months for an extended stay we use BA or Virgin and they fly into Orlando or Tampa. Orlando has a lot of shops and food places before you go through security and some quite nice seating areas, it is also not that far from our villa so thats a bonus.
Flew into Tampa once and found getting through immigration etc was quite quick but when we returned to the airport after our stay hit a lot of traffic so hubby was not impressed.
So all in all our 1st choice would be Orlando, but Sanford is fine if you want to fly out of a regional airport in the UK
I know it's a bit Off Topic but I think Fort Myers is by far the easiest and most pleasant of the all the Florida airports to fly in and out of but there are no UK direct flights there.
It's a long time since I used Sanford but I do recall being delayed by many hours on a flight home there a few years ago and it was a very unpleasant experience. If all goes to plan though it's fine.
MCO's OK but compared to a lot of other US airports the airside facilities are a bit lacking for me but there's nothing really wrong with it. The Hyatt Regency within the terminal is the best of all the airport hotels I've used in the US and I've stayed in an awful lot of them over the years,
We loved Fort Myers when we flew down after a break in New York. As we were on an Internal flight we had no customs or immigration to clear, ours was the only hold luggage - every one else had carry on cases, so no waiting for bags, seemed a bit odd as we were the only people in the luggage hall, got to car hire and only one person in front of us. It was amazingly easy, will fly into Fort Myers again.
MCO for us..... Flights to Sanford are charter, so no good as we go for 16/18 day holidays.
That said, a long, long time ago we flew out of Sanford & they managed to get people onto "wrong" aircraft........
On getting to our seats, we found another family sat in our seat row.... They were "Very" insistent "They" were in "Their" seats. Only to find out "They" were on the Manchester plane, not the Gatwick plane[msneek][msneek][msnembarrased][msnembarrased]
The Captain got everyone to sit down, a head count was done, then about 16/20 people stood up & got off........ That freed up space for people stood in the galley area[msnwink][msnwink]
MCO goes on forever is soooooo huge! my leg ends up hurting so bad so we try and get our flights to sanford, i usually get wheelchair assistance and straight thru immigration... we found the immigration staff better at sanford friendlier and nice to the kids.... maybe its just us... but overall prefer Sanford ;)
Sanford for me, MCO too big and takes too long to get in and out.
Thanks for all the reply's , must admit i'd never gave the other airports a second thought as only ever used sanford or orlando.
Wouldn't care as it would mean I was arriving for another visit
Agree 100% but we have flown into a variety of airports depending on which route fit into our plans best.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian Mcc