Airport Transportation to Disney World Guide

There are multiple transportation options between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney Worldincluding shuttle busesUber and Lyftprivate car servicesand more. This guide covers MCO to WDW ground transportationpricingcomparisonsand more. Plusupdates on supply/demand and price increases. (Updated September 282024.)

In case you missed itWalt Disney World ended the Magical Express airport shuttle service. In place of that free bus service between MCO and resort hotelstwo paid bus services originally filled the void. One is Mears Connectwhich was the operator of Disney’s Magical Express (DME) and now uses the same buses and drivers. The other is Sunshine Flyera new service with a fun railroad theme. (More on these “two” services in our latest update below.)

The elimination of Disney’s Magical Express was big and surprising Walt Disney World newsand continues to anger fans. It even took the #1 spot in our List of Biggest Guest Complaints About Walt Disney Worldahead of Genie+ and other cutbacks. Fortunatelythere are plenty of viable alternativesincluding several that are superior to DMEand we’re here to give you a rundown of the alternatives for airport transportation. Firstlet’s start with an update…

The latest development is that Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer “joined forces” to form Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine about a year ago. This merger has pros and cons for consumers. Competition is always good for keeping prices and service competitive. In this casethere arguably wasn’t a market for two competing shuttle services between MCO and WDW. The two were stretched thinand had issues with both supply and demand at times.

We’ve used both Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer (separately)and have used the combined Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine over a half-dozen times since it launched. Check out our Review of Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine: Is Walt Disney World’s Airport Shuttle Still Good?

Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is mostly be more of the same–an economical and reliable way to get between the airport and resorts at Walt Disney World. Our experiences have been fairly uneventful. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsementbut they’ve been solid for airport shuttle buses. We have no complaints. Basically Disney’s Magical Express. Minus the “Disney” part…and the “Magical” part. Okayand the “Express” parttoo. (In fairnessDME was never actually “Express,” either.)

If anythingmy biggest fear is that even the combined Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine still is not viable. That airport shuttle buses are a relic of the pastdisplaced by ridesharesrental carsand private transfers. Most of the timemy shuttle buses have been less than half full in the past year-plusand I just question how Mears Connect can stay in business with lower numbers during all but the peak seasons.

This is doubly true as demand for Walt Disney World continues to decrease. I fear all it would take is a recession or economic slowdown to wipe out Mears Connect. Hopefully I’m wrong–or that Disney steps in (again) and restores Magical Express via Mears.

In addition to the airport shuttlewe’ve used Uber and Lyft a lot for getting to and from MCO. This has been easy and efficientand we’ve never had any issues whatsoever with availability or wait times at the airport or on-property at Walt Disney World. That hasn’t always been the story at Flamingo Crossings–where wait times are usually longer–but it’s also out in the middle of nowhere. (It’s an odd dynamic–middle of nowhereand yettons of people live in that booming area.)

Pricing with Uber and Lyft is all over the placebut the range is definitely above what we experience in 2019. We’re primarily traveling between the Orange Counties (Florida and Southern California)which tends to put our MCO arrivals late at night. For whatever reasonMCO is often slammed late at nightwhich leads to surge pricing. We’ve paid as much as $70 for a ride to Walt Disney World via rideshare. That’s not even as bad as it gets–we’ve heard of some people paying $100.

We usually depart Walt Disney World early in the morning or in the middle of weekdaysand rideshare prices are almost always significantly lower. In the last two monthsour range has been $25 to $35 before tip for these trips. Thankfullycosts seem to be stabilizing and pricing under $50 is now far more common than the $70+ spikes. On that notea couple of suggestions.

Firstpull up both Uber and Lyft and compare prices. The vast majority of the timewe’ve found cheaper (sometimes significantly so) rides via Lyft–but not always. Secondopt for the “Wait & Save” option if you’re not tight on time. We did this oncegot an immediate pick-up timeand have done it ever since. If you’re traveling at an off-peak timethis is usually easy savings and minimal inconvenience.

With that update out of the waylet’s turn to our normal Orlando International Airport transportation guide…

MCO-WDW Shuttle Service

Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine – As noted aboveMears Connect and Sunshine Flyer have now merged. More accuratelyit seems like Sunshine Flyer was absorbed by Mearsthe dominant player in Central Florida transportation and the shuttle service by the company that operated Disney’s Magical Express.

This makes Mears Connect the “true” spiritual successor to Disney’s Magical Express. It literally uses the exact same drivers and busesjust minus the Disney-branded wraps. Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine offers transportation in high occupancy vehiclesincluding buses and vans. The company advertises this as the “same reliablesafe service guests have been using for decades to Disney area hotels” with scheduled serviceluggage handlingconvenient airport terminal stagingand return trips from resorts to the airport.

Mears Connect has two options: Standard and Express. Standard is a shared vehicle on Mears Connect (bus or van) that is economical. Standard makes a limited number of stops and will have you on your way to your resort within 20 minutes of your check-in to the Mears Connect reception area. The Express level offers direct service with limited to no wait time.

Pricing could vary depending on date and hotelbut the current rate on the standard service is $16 for adults and $13 for children for a one-way trip to the airport$17.60 for adults and $14.30 for kids from the airportand $33.60 for adults and $27.30 for children for round trips (the difference in pricing to/from the airport is due to an additional fee). Express is currently priced at $250 per round trip for up to 4 passengersplus $55 for each additional person.

Mears is a transportation company with coach buses and taxis that enjoyed a virtual monopoly on Orlando for decades. Historicallywe have not been fans of Mears. We had several negative experiences with them in the pre-rideshare days–enough to arrive at the conclusion that it was a poorly-managed company doing the bare minimum and not caring about customer service given their aforementioned monopoly.

To the extent that Disney’s Magical Express offered good serviceour suspicion is that it was due to contractual requirements withand oversight fromWalt Disney World. Without the Disney monitoring and mandating service qualitybus frequencydispatch timesetc.we fear the “spiritual successor” could be worse. In our experiences with Mears Connect thus farthis has not been a problem–but we’ll continue to use the shuttle service and provide periodic updates.

Alternative Airport Transportation

Luxury CarLimo & Private Van Service – Honestlywe’ve never used private van service for traveling between MCO and Walt Disney World. There are only two of usso it has never made sense. It also felt of little value from a research perspectivesince Disney’s Magical Expressrideshareor rental car served the needs of 98% of readers.

Obviouslythe end of Disney’s Magical Express changes the equation. Nowmany families of 4-6 will be find private car service to be a superior and more economical option than the aforementioned shuttles. Moreoverdepending upon how things play out with rental car and rideshare prices and waitsprivate vehicle service might be better than thoseas well.

I’ll level with you again: researching private car service in putting together this article has been overwhelming. There are a lot of advertorials and it’s almost impossible to tell what’s objective advice. Fortunatelywe’ve gotten a lot of feedback from readers in the months since DME’s demise was announcedand I’ve cobbled that together here. (On that noteplease offer more recommendations–I’ll continue to modify this with your top picks!)

Quicksilver Tours – Far and away the “most recommended” optionwe’ve heard nothing but good things about Quicksilver from our readers. Many praise the pricingnoting that it worked out to be cheaper for them than Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine. (Just keep in mind that prices will likely go up with demandwhich will assuredly increase with the end of DME. So book sooner rather than later!)

Orlando Transportation by Mike – Readers have recommended this service (including in the comments to this post!) and online reviews elsewhere are likewise overwhelmingly positive. Mike’s transportation company gets high marks on communicationcourtesyand cleanliness.

Happy Limo – Based on our researchthis is one of the most well-established and largest luxury vehicle services in Orlando. It’s definitely not the cheapestbut appears to offer good customer servicewith fewer issues than many alternatives. From our perspectivethere’s something to be said for a larger scale operation with years of experience–especially as all of these transportation options adjust to a post-DME environment.

Tiffany Town Car – Readers who have used Tiffany have unanimously praised their service and recommended this luxury limo. Howeverwe’d offer the caveat that online reviews are more mixedwith some red flags from guests with disabilities.

Againwe cannot vouch for any of these services as we haven’t used them. Generally speakingwe’d recommend checking policies on luggage handling (included or do drivers assist?)car seats (included or do they cost extra?)airport meet & greet policy (does the driver greet you with a sign in the pickup area of MCO?)grocery stops (whether they’re includeddiscretionaryand duration)and whether gratuities are included or recommended on top of the base price.

Public Bus – Orlando International Airport has bus stops that are serviced by LYNX local buses. This public transportation is available not only to Walt Disney Worldbut also Universal OrlandoSeaWorldInternational DriveDowntown Orlandoand a range of other destinations in Central Florida.

We haven’t used the LYNX buses in Central Floridabut are not averse to public transportation. Judging by Google Maps and LYNX’s route mapthis seems like a much better option if you’re staying near downtown or I-Drivewhich offer more direct routes. (Reallyanything to the east of Walt Disney World is better for bus service.) With that saidtransit times seem relatively reasonable (~90 minutes from MCO to Disney Springs) but just be aware that you’ll likely have multiple transfers to get to your resort. Probably not ideal with kids in towbut that’s the nature of public transportation.

Taxi – Available on a walk-up basis at the Arrivals Level (Level 2) on both sides of Orlando International Airport. Taxis may carry up to 9 passengersand charge the same rate regardless of the number of passengers. All taxicabs picking up at the MCO are regulated by Orlando’s Vehicle-for-Hire Ordinancewhich requires fares to be determined by a taximeter. This means there are no flat rates–you’re paying by distancewhich typically amounts to $60 to $70 each way depending upon the location of your hotel.

This is another example of where the Mears monopoly comes into playbut there are a handful of alternatives to Mears at MCO. Given the wealth of alternativesI would not take a taxi from the airport unless really desperate. There’s a decent chance desperation will creep in for some visitors if problems play out with rental car and rideshare servicesthough…

Rental Cars – This one is pretty self-explanatoryso we’re not going to fixate on the ‘basics’ of it too much. We have an entire post titled Tips for Renting a Car at Walt Disney World that covers the ins and outs of renting a caralong with money-saving tips. If you don’t like waiting at alllike to be in controland don’t mind driving while on vacationrenting a car is probably for you. This is doubly true if you ever want to leave Walt Disney World property.

When we rent a car anywherewe typically use either AutoSlash or Hotwire for car rentals and book one of their “blind” Hot Rates. Renting a car can reduce waits and commute timesbut we’ve found that sometimes not renting works better for us. Consider your circumstanceshow much you want to drive while on vacationwhether you’ll be staying off-site or on-site at Walt Disney Worldand how frequently you’ll want to venture beyond the bubble.

Without questionthere will be strong demand for rental cars at MCO during peak travel dates. The unknowns are to what degreewhether it’ll exceed supply of available rental cars (and how often)result in more overbookingsand the long-term impact on pricing. If you plan on booking a rental carit’s wise to lock-in rates as early as possible.

Rideshare – Similar deal here as with the rental car section. Now that they’re reasonably well-established in most citieswe assume most people are familiar with Uber and Lyft–even if you’ve never used them. If notyou can read some of our advice for using Uber and other ride-sharing services in the post Uber & Lyft at Walt Disney World Tips.

In generalwe are huge fans of Uber and Lyftusing rideshare services whenever possible rather than renting a car. We’ve almost exclusively switched from renting cars to Uber/Lyft when visiting Walt Disney World. For usit just makes more senseis more convenientand cost-effective.

Using rideshare in tandem with Disney transportation works out really well for us. As with renting a caryou’ll also want to consider your circumstances to determine whether relying on rideshare is right for you.

Ultimatelythe end of Disney’s Magical Express has been disappointing to many Walt Disney World visitorsbut the good news is that great alternatives exist. Equally as importantthere largely are no longer issues with supply and demand imbalances or regular roadway congestion between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World.

Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is absorbing most displaced DME riderswith rideshare and rental cars picking up the rest of the slack. The bad news is that all of these options cost money. Even though the last couple years have been a roller coaster of supply and demand imbalancesthis outcome isn’t all that surprising. After allDisney’s Magical Express didn’t exist until the 2000s–before the days of Uber and Lyft–and people managed to get to and from the airport just fineand without issue.

With that saidWalt Disney World attendance is up significantly since then (Magic Kingdom alone has increased by ~6 million guests). A lot has changed since Disney’s Magical Express debuted and Disney attendance still hasn’t recovered to 2019 levelsso there could still be disruptions during peak travel dates. Just something of which you might want to be mindful if visiting Walt Disney World during a particularly busy travel time–it doesn’t hurt to hedge your bets and get something booked sooner rather than later.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eatread our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buyread our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do itour Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advicethe best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of the various ground transportation options between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World? Will you opt for Mears Connect Driven by SunshineUberLyftor renting a car? Thoughts on pricingefficiencyor anything else regarding airport transportation? What do you think about Walt Disney World ending Disney’s Magical Express? Other thoughts on this? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readersso please share your thoughts below in the comments!