This is my very first post on this site! Just a little background information: my family and I will be going the UOR next week. We will be staying at the Cabana Bay Resort. Although we have visited Universal in the past, this will be our first trip where we stay on the property. It will also be the first trip where it is solely Universal-- not going to Disney, and without renting a car.
We will be arriving late at night (around 10:00), and I was wondering what is the best way to get to the resort from the airport. Because it will be four of us, getting a transfer would be more expensive than a taxi. Is it safe to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel at night? We’ve never been in a taxi before, what is the protocol? Do any of you have any experience with the taxis at MCO that is willing to share advice? Anything would be greatly appreciated!
Yes the taxi will be safe. There are no tips or tricks needed. They are all licensed and registered drivers. We’ve taken a lot of cabs in Orlando and never had an issue. You can now also take Uber from the airport if you’re looking to save some money.
I’m assuming you have kids? Are they still small enough to need car seats of some kind? Consider that issue when getting a ride to your hotel. Will you be bringing car seats with you? If you don’t need the car seat, you can use use UberBlack or UberSUV. If you need the car seat(s), you need “Uber Sedan + Car Seat” or “Uber SUV + Car Seat”. If you’ll have a lot of luggage, I suggest “Uber SUV”. If you need the car seats, make sure you text or call the driver after you’ve been matched with one to make sure they can accommodate your children properly and safely. Here are the price estimates for your trip that I got form the Uber Price Estimate Website.
UberBLACK $64-80
UberSUV $72-91
SEDAN + Car Seat $72-88
SUV + Car Seat $82-101
I’m not sure how that compares to Taxi rates. If you’ve never used Uber before, you can use this code to save $20 on your first trip with Uber: n4rcz1pkue Enter it in the Promotions section of the Uber app BEFORE you request your first ride. It is good only for first time Uber riders.
To use Uber, you need to have the Uber app to on your smartphone. Download it to your phone before your trip because you’ll need to create your account, set up payment info, enter the promo code, etc. Then, once you arrive in Orlando and have all your bags and are ready to be picked up, you’ll open the app and request a pickup. Your ride will be there for you likely in just a couple minutes. Once you have been matched with a driver, if you are unsure where to meet your driver, use the app to text or call the driver to ask them. The app is fairly easy to use. By downloading it in advance, you can also spend some time getting to know it.
Uber is awesome. There is another company called Lyft that is basically the same as Uber (although we haven’t tried them out yet). Our family has used Uber on our past 2 vacations this year (Nashville and Disneyland and will also be using them in October when we head to WDW for our annual trip). Our daughter (14) and I are going away for a mom/daughter weekend to San Diego in a few weeks and we plan to only use Uber/Lyft. It’s safe, inexpensive, and super convenient!
We got a car from using the concierge at the hotel (you don’t have to stay concierge to use this service). We used MCO connect I think. It was wonderful. Awesome black mkz. Driver helped us at baggage claim, tip was included it was a perfect experience. The car was parked right off of baggage claim and you almost felt like “someone special”. Highly recommend them. It was around 80. The same or less than a taxi - but very clean and safe. I have used über but prefer this service
So got back. HIGHLY recommend Destination MCO - -866-271-6176. They were on time, send confirmation emails, texts etc. I always ordered a sedan - but an SUV always showed up - which was awesome. Vehicles were clean and high end. Drivers were courteous and competent.