so how hard a drive is it from miami?

disneyholic family

disney on my mind....
Joined
Jan 31, 2002
in another thread i said that i wouldn't fly into tampa for disney as it's too far a drive for me after a flight..

but now a new low airfare has come open for next winter making us think that maybe we could do a winter trip to WDW ..

but the flight is into miami...

has anyone done the drive from miami up to WDW and back?

is it terribly long and tiring?

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in another thread i said that i wouldn't fly into tampa for disney as it's too far a drive for me after a flight..

but now a new low airfare has come open for next winter making us think that maybe we could do a winter trip to WDW ..

but the flight is into miami...

has anyone done the drive from miami up to WDW and back?

is it terribly long and tiring?

.

What do you consider long and tiring? Some friends did that- I think they said it took about 4 hours- and they said it wasn't bad but these are people who consider 4 hours to be nothing. That'd be too far for me.
Tampa is 72 miles and Miami is over 200 so I think it would be crazy to pick Miami over Tampa...
 
What do you consider long and tiring? Some friends did that- I think they said it took about 4 hours- and they said it wasn't bad but these are people who consider 4 hours to be nothing. That'd be too far for me.
Tampa is 72 miles and Miami is over 200 so I think it would be crazy to pick Miami over Tampa...


it's not that i'm picking miami over tampa..

for this very reduced fare, only miami is a possibility - not orlando or tampa..

.
 
I did it many years ago - took about 4 hours on nice easy, straight roads. i wouldn't do it straight after a flight though, I would book a room in Miami then go the next morning (assuming you arrive late Pm like a normal Virgin flight?).
 


We do this journey every year with my Dad driving. The route itself is straightforward - straight up one road pretty much. We tend to overnight in Miami just because my Dad is driving it all and means he can have a drink on the flight and not worry. We have however driven up after a flight (New Years eve so we wanted to be in Orlando) and it was doable just hard work. We stopped at a few service stations for coffee and my Dad slept on the flight on the way over. There are a number of service stations and all appear to have Dunkin Donuts lol

Its much easier on the way back as the flight is usually in the evening so just drive up once you check out
 
i guess it must be on the same road as the drive down to fort lauderdale..
we did that drive last time to get to our cruise on allure of the seas..

the drive down on the morning of the cruise was terribly difficult for me for some reason..

i had planned on stopping at the halfway point on the turnpike we were on..
but i ended up stopping at every single stop along the way to drink coffee..
it took us an hour longer or maybe even more than that because of it.

but we did get to the port..

for some reason, the drive back wasn't bad at all.....it zipped by...

but right after a flight? not sure i'd be able to do it..

and isn't miami a bit further than fort lauderdale?

staying overnight in miami would wipe out much of the savings, so i don't know if it makes sense at all...

oh well....it was a thought...

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We are doing this in August as the flight prices for the family was cheaper at the time going into Miami than into Orlando direct. We will be travelling with 3 kids aged 7,3 and 9 months... we will be stopping for some food not far from Miami - any recommendations on where would be appreciated! -
But we are hoping it will be a straight forward drive and no longer than 4 hours in the car... we are hoping the kids will just sleep! Our flight gets in just before 5 so I'm hoping to be checking into animal kingdom before midnight!!!
Have no idea how to navigate Miami airport and how long it would take to get from the plane to the car lot. We also don't know how much in tolls we need or whether to get the sun pass... again any recommendations would be appreciated!

If the price is the difference between going and not going (like for us!) then I would say do it!!
 


I would not want to do that Miami to Orlando run. By the time you exit the plane, after luggage pull, bathroom stop, renting/getting a vehicle ... atleast 1-1.5 hours then a full 4 hour drive...
And that's After a flight... that's a very long hall...personally I'd grab a hotel n start fresh in the am, id say 11pm..
Tampa (1-1.5)much closer, fort Myers ( 3), Punta gorda, ( close to 2.5-3)
... safe travels!!
 
if you're flying into MIA, consider getting a hotel room for the night before heading out to Orlando the next day.
you'll be refreshed, and up early, so don't take any risk. Driving up after the flight is not advisable.

You have 2 options for the road.
US27 : this road does not have tolls, it's more scenic, and you'll find a few towns along the way to stop, eat, and rest.
Turnpike : this is good old US concrete highway. It will cost you around $20 in tolls each way. Not much to see, and rather boring, albeit a bit faster than 27
 
The flight from Manchester is later than the Orlando one so not as much an early start needed. We did it the other way pre-kids (went straight to Miami from Orlando) and found that ok

Booking even a cheap overnight stop would be a pain with the kids- we would rather just get there! There are two of us driving so we will take turns!
 
We are doing this in August as the flight prices for the family was cheaper at the time going into Miami than into Orlando direct. We will be travelling with 3 kids aged 7,3 and 9 months... we will be stopping for some food not far from Miami - any recommendations on where would be appreciated! -
But we are hoping it will be a straight forward drive and no longer than 4 hours in the car... we are hoping the kids will just sleep! Our flight gets in just before 5 so I'm hoping to be checking into animal kingdom before midnight!!!
Have no idea how to navigate Miami airport and how long it would take to get from the plane to the car lot. We also don't know how much in tolls we need or whether to get the sun pass... again any recommendations would be appreciated!

If the price is the difference between going and not going (like for us!) then I would say do it!!


i would drive the turnpike as you can stop often and in every stop there are fast food places to eat at within the building..

i googled directions from miami airport to disney's animal kingdom lodge and it gave the florida turnpike as the fastest route...
and you can eat right on the turnpike at one of the stops..

this website shows all the rest stops along the florida turnpike..
click on a rest stop and you'll see all the different food places located at that rest stop..

https://turnpikeinfo.com/maps-and-exits.php?show_plazas=1&road_name=floridas-turnpike&state=florida

the rest stops are HUGE....they're in the midde of the turnpike - between the two directions....so everyone is stopping into the same rest stop..
for that reason, be sure when you exit that you go in the correct direction...
 
Brightline railroad is coming although when is still unclear. Then I would consider the Miami airport. You will be able to take it right to MCO and pick up the Magical Express. We live in Central America, flights to Miami are much cheaper.
 
Brightline railroad is coming although when is still unclear. Then I would consider the Miami airport. You will be able to take it right to MCO and pick up the Magical Express. We live in Central America, flights to Miami are much cheaper.

on our last big trip to WDW, in 2011, our son and daughter in law flew first to chile to visit her family..
then to get from chile to orlando, they ended up flying through new york!!!
it was cheaper...but how stupid that they had to fly from chile to new york and then back down to orlando!!!
 
I have no idea how it all works, that's for sure. Seems like it costs more to fly farther but coordinating all the connections to be shortest, that is some serious algorithms. I can also get cheap flights to Houston and then cheaper flights to Orlando but booking through two different airlines is risky, if the first one is delayed or cancelled there is no follow through to the next flights, you just miss it and have to book a new flight. flights to Miami are $450 RT, to Orlando $900+ take that times 6. We can take Spirit in the middle of the night for around $400 and that is what we do but would rather find a way to make Miami work and fly normal hours.
 
I have no idea how it all works, that's for sure. Seems like it costs more to fly farther but coordinating all the connections to be shortest, that is some serious algorithms. I can also get cheap flights to Houston and then cheaper flights to Orlando but booking through two different airlines is risky, if the first one is delayed or cancelled there is no follow through to the next flights, you just miss it and have to book a new flight. flights to Miami are $450 RT, to Orlando $900+ take that times 6. We can take Spirit in the middle of the night for around $400 and that is what we do but would rather find a way to make Miami work and fly normal hours.

yes, sometimes paying more to get something a bit more normal is worth it!!
 
Brightline railroad is coming although when is still unclear. Then I would consider the Miami airport. You will be able to take it right to MCO and pick up the Magical Express. We live in Central America, flights to Miami are much cheaper.

It was meant to be this summer but who knows!
 
we did it and the drive is easy , miami airport is huge it was a good 30 min walk to immigration then the queue was around 2 hours ( we may have just been unlucky but its something to consider)

we stayed at springhill suites miami airport it had a free airport shuttle and hot breakfast included for under £100 a night for our family of 5 . we got up early filled up on the breakfast then took the shuttle back to airport got the car then drove up
 
Agree completely about immigration in Miami it is often a nightmare! When we went in May we were around 2 hrs to get through. They park the planes as far from immigration as possible which makes it extremely long and frustrating. If you get through the electronic checks first time then its fairly quick but if you are flagged then it can take hours! It seems a bit pot luck on the checks though.
 
two hours!?!?!?!?!?!? yikes!!!
that's completely insane...
i thought JFK was bad, but i don't recall it ever being more than an hour...
2 hours is cruel and unusual punishment!!
 
And then the drive BACK to Miami Airport ..... And find the car rental return and then check in .

You might need an early start from Disney area or stay in a hotel overnight near Miami.

Saving some money on flights could lead to loss of 2 days vacation and cost of 2 hotel nights
 

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