Driving to Disney from Orlando Airport

[MargaretJ]

If we fly to Disney we usually end up renting a car which makes me wonder. For those who drive to Disney from the Orlando Airport which route do you take? Do you go I-4 or do you take the less traveled Toll Road? Once I discovered the Toll Road (Greenway) I was hooked. I will never drive I-4 again. The Greenway while more expensive is such a pleasant drive with virtually no traffic.

[DrBabe]

Most of the time, the Greeneway (Toll Road) is the best. But I hope some of you will not be confused because the BeeLine from the airport to I-4 also has tolls. I've heard from a Tiffany driver that the Greeneway is tremendously busy in the very early morning (4 -7AM ) because so many Disney employees now live in the "new" housing areas along the Greeneway. I say new because the first time I took this road there wan't anything along it at all! Each time I go back I see the growth. So while it's fun to go to Disney, I'm surely glad I don't live in Orlando area. It can't be fun to be in a place with this amount of tremendous growth.

[WillCAD]

Depends on what car company I rent from.

If I rent from an on-airport company, I simply take the south exit from the airport to the Central Florida Greenway. I get off the Greenway either at SR 536, which becomes World Center Drive and leads directly into Disney property near Epcot, or at Oceola Parkway, which dead-ends at the All-Star resorts. The Greenway is a toll road, and I have never seen heavy traffic on it because locals tend to drive hundreds of miles out of the way to avoid tolls.

If I rent from an off-airport company, odds are I will be on the north side of the airport; most of the rental car facilities are clustered around the Beeline to the east of the airport. Hence, I wind up on the Beeline, which is also a toll road, and I have never seen heavy traffic there, either. But the Beeline dead-ends at I-4, forcing you to take the dreaded Interstate for the last few miles of your journey. Having been a 60-mile-a-day communter for almost 10 years, mostly on interstates, I am not intimidated by I-4 in the least, but I do try to avoid it during the rush hours since it tends to become a parking lot.

I found out recently, however, that there is an easier way for me: Instead of getting on the Beeline heading west, I get on the Beeline heading east. Why would I go in the opposite direction of my destination? Simple. East of the airport, the Greenway turns north and actually crosses the Beeline two exits east of the airport. So if I rent from Alamo or any of the other companies whose lots are along the Beeline to the east of the airport, I can still easily get to the Greenway and avoid I-4.

[BetsyAnn]

Great question and great answers, DrBabe and WillCAD

[PoohbearFan]

We always take the Greenway from the airport to WDW, but sometimes we have taken I-4 back to the airport, depending on which rental car company we're going to.

I agree that the toll road is worth the cost! :D