Traveling is hard on almost everyone out there. While there are things you can do to make it easier, it’s almost never going to be a completely smooth process since there are so many factors to consider.
Orlando International Airport
However, there’s a new trend going around that proposes you can arrive to an airport just 20-30 minutes before your flight and be just fine. It’s called “Airport Theory” and we’re here to tell you how BAD of an idea it is when it comes to the Orlando Airport.
MCO Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, seeing millions of passengers each year. This isn’t a small airport like White Plains, New York where you’ve got one security checkpoint that doesn’t see longer than a 10 minute wait at its busiest times and only six gates.
Orlando International Airport
No, MCO Airport has 138 GATES spread across three different terminals. And to get to those terminals? Yeah, you’ve gotta take a TRAIN inside the airport. While they run relatively frequently, if you’ve only allowed yourself 20 minutes to make it to your gate before that door closes and the shuttle takes 5 minutes to arrive, in plain terms, you’re in trouble. And yes, you need to take a train to get to ANY of the terminals!
Orlando International Airport
But before you even make it to said train, you’re going to need to get through security which is NO easy feat at this airport. Sure, if you’re lucky you may hit it at a 5-10 minute wait, but we’ve also seen these lines easily hit 30 minutes, sometimes even an hour at their worst. That’s why the recommendation for domestic flights, especially at busy airports, is getting there at least two hours early — that way if security takes an hour by itself, you’ve still got an hour to get where you need to be!
MCO Airport (and this is a GOOD crowd)
Now, you can pay for upgrades like CLEAR or TSA Pre-Check to help you move through the line faster (and MCO Airport even has a free system called MCO Reserve that allows you to book your security time days ahead for free that we HIGHLY recommend, but that requires planning in advance), but those can still have backups. And do you really want to spend EXTRA money just to still tempt fate by arriving to the airport so late?
Orlando Airport
Again, we can understand trying this at much smaller airport, but one like MCO? Absolutely not, you WILL miss your flight. Or, if you get extremely lucky and don’t miss it, it won’t be an easygoing experience — you’ll be incredibly stressed and running through the airport out of breath while your luggage bangs against your legs. (Yes, we’ve been there. Not fun.)
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I’m one of those people who get to even a small airport two hours early, but FYI, I flew out of MCO Terminal C a couple of weeks ago and did not have to get on a shuttle train – although it was a long walk. Also, I walked right through security! A first for me at MCO. (But also my first time flying out of Terminal C.)
Stacy is right, there’s no train in Terminal C in Orlando. However, it’s a loonngg trek from the hub where the shops and restaurants are to the farthest gates, so you could end up cutting it really close if you don’t leave yourself enough time. I prefer to arrive at any airport 2 hours early, because I’d rather wait at the gate than have to make a mad dash through the airport.