Help! First timers - how do we get from WDW to Miami port and back again?

[leise]

We are going on our first DCL cruise in September and are staying at WDW either side of it. We had thought that the DCL buses that run between the resorts and the port would be how we would get to the cruise but I can’t find any information anywhere about how you book them or indeed if they will connect with Miami cruises. What do others do? If we can’t get a Disney bus, what is the best way to get to and from the port?

 

[Chica1581]

Orlando is about 3.5 hours north of Miami. You could rent a car and drive or catch a quick flight. DCL offers cruise transport from Miami airport to the Miami cruise terminal but not from Orlando to Miami.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

The WDW bus service is only to Port Canaveral. You will have to rent a car or find some other service between Orlando and Miami.

 

[randumb0]

If I were you I would rent a car

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And look at your itinerary. You need to build in half a day for the drive.

 

[Weedy]

Disney also cruises out of Port Canaveral a little less than an hour from WDW and bus transport is available.
You may want to change your cruise??
As others have said Miami is about 4 hours away and you will need to rent a car.

 

[princesscinderella]

It depends on how many people are in your travel party. You could take a quick flight from MCO to FLL on Southwest Airlines. Which puts you about 30 minutes away in good traffic, it a much easier airport to get in and out of than MIA. The more people in your party the more it makes sense to rent a car as it will save $$ as opposed to airline tickets for everyone. There’s a nice new area by FLL airport called dania point where there’s some hotels and a shopping/dining outside mall where you can stay before the cruise. It’s a favorite of people sailing out of port Everglades. It’s a bit safer than some of the Miami areas and right off of I-95 which connects right to the port tunnel.

 

[insureman]

You can rent a car at the car care center at WDW and return it there if you're going back .

 

[figmentfinesse]

I had to get from Miami to WDW after a cruise and I rented a Budget car at Miami airport and then dropped it off at a hotel by Disney Springs same day. It was about 85-90 dollars this past January for just the one day.

 

[dcassetta]

You can take an Amtrak train and there is also regular bus service between Orlando and Miami, if you do not want to rent a car.

 

[leise]

Thanks everyone! We have hired a car each way now so should be sorted

 

[Husker Mike]

It depends on how many people are in your travel party. You could take a quick flight from MCO to FLL on Southwest Airlines. Which puts you about 30 minutes away in good traffic, it a much easier airport to get in and out of than MIA. The more people in your party the more it makes sense to rent a car as it will save $$ as opposed to airline tickets for everyone. There’s a nice new area by FLL airport called dania point where there’s some hotels and a shopping/dining outside mall where you can stay before the cruise. It’s a favorite of people sailing out of port Everglades. It’s a bit safer than some of the Miami areas and right off of I-95 which connects right to the port tunnel.

Driving will undoubtedly be faster and more convenient when you consider the time spent getting to the airport, TSA time (need to allow two hours), getting your bags in Miami and then getting transportation to the ship. Plus, you have to consider the risk of airline delays/cancellations. Google Maps says you can drive from Disney World to the Miami terminal in under 3.5 hours; flying will probably take 4 hours from the time you leave the World to arriving at the port.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We have done what you are doing and have always rented a car. Sometimes we dropped car off at Miami airport, then took a transfer from the car rental to cruise port. In July we are dropping the car at Avis, but for the return we are taking DCL transfer to airport and renting a car from there.