Orlando International airport information page

October 4, 2009 by

Orlando international airport terminal map

I’ve got a long way to go as far as making this site filled with all the Orlando information I want to put in here. But today I finally made a new page all about the Orlando International airport. For most tourist the airport is where they will be coming in, renting a car or talking a bus or taxi, and flying out.

So it’s nice to know where everything is once you get there! The Orlando airport is much more compact than most major airports. You can walk from one end of the main terminal to the other in 5 minutes. That’s because the gates where you board the planes are located in four different “hubs” connected to the main terminal by automatic running monorail cars.

In fact they look just like the monorail at Disney! You HAVE to take one of the cars to get to the gates, there is no other way. Two hubs are at one end of the main terminal, the other two on the other end. So make sure what your gate number is and take the monorail car to the right gate section. You have to pass through security before you can get on board the monorail. [Read more…]

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Soon all rental cars will be available at the Orlando airport

September 12, 2009 by

Orlando airport rental car companies will soon all be at the airport

Most people think that they can hop into any type of rental car right at the Orlando airport. For most of the rental car companies that is true. Almost all the rental car booths are on the first floor of the main Orlando airport terminal. BUT, for some like Hertz, you then need to take the rental car shuttle van or bus to their rental car lot located a mile or two from the airport.

The reason for this is that up until now there just was not enough room at the airport to hold all the rental cars. With around 6 major rental car companies operating out of the Orlando airport, each one with hundreds of cars, they take up lots of space! So large ones like Hertz had to get car lots just outside of the airport.

But now the Orlando airport is making some big construction jobs, one of which is to make more room for rental cars. So by next spring of 2010 all the major rental car agencies will have their cars ready to pick up right inside the airport terminal garages. That also means you can drop off your rental car right at the airport and be on your way to catch your flight.

More than 2 million rental cars are used a year by Orlando airport guest. So now it will be that much easier to grab your car and take off as soon as your plane lands. If you like Hertz rental cars, look for them to be operating out of the Orlando airport by spring of 2010, like all the other major rental car agencies!

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Orlando airport checkpoint friendly laptop bags requirements

September 9, 2009 by

Orlando airport checkpoint friendly laptop bags requirements

One of the things I hate the most when traveling by plane is having to take my laptop out of the case. My laptop is my whole job, so I am very picky about it. Seeing it dumped into a dirty plastic tub and smacked around while I hurry up with my other items is very stressful. Well now there is good news, at least at the Orlando International airport.

They now will let you keep your laptop in the case,,, IF it meets the checkpoint friendly laptop bag requirements. Which brings up the question, just why do you need to take it out anyway? It all goes back to a plane bombing about 18 years ago. The bomb was inside a boom box. So they now X-ray all laptops to make sure there is no bomb inside of the case.

The screeners know what the inside of a laptop should look like and if it has been tampered with. So they need a very clear view of the laptop. If there are pockets full of pens, papers, wires and so on over it they can’t get a clear view of it. So that’s why they need to view it outside the laptop case. But now they have decided your laptop can stay in the case as long as the case gives a clear view of the laptop.
[Read more…]

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Watch your car top carriers in parking garages & Universal Studios!

August 27, 2009 by

Careful of the height of your car top carriers in parking garages

Nothing ruins your Orlando vacation faster, or makes you more embarrassed, than pulling into a parking garage at the Orlando airport, downtown or the one in Universal Studios and hearing your new car top luggage carrier getting ripped apart because it’s too high! I’ve seen that happen; I’ve been right behind someone who was having that type of bad day.

So let me tell you where you will run into these parking garages and the height requirements. Luckily there are only 3 places you might park inside a parking garage in Orlando. One is right at the airport. They have two main sections, part A and part B on each side of the main terminal. The rental cars are in these also.

The next place you might decide to park inside a parking garage is downtown Orlando. They have several right in the heart of downtown. It’s hard to find a parking spot downtown, so you might very well have to use one if your going to see what the main city is like. It can be very confusing for visitors trying to find the damn things however!
[Read more…]

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More airline luggage cost means more reason to pack light

August 22, 2009 by

packing light for airline travel with rising luggage cost

More and more flying the friendly sky’s means paying for every single thing you carry. With airlines cutting cost they are now resorting to charging for more meals, drinks, little niceties and luggage. They also are not letting you get away with that over-sized carry-on bag like they use to. More and more airlines are charging per item of each checked bag, or after the first one.

Which means all the more reason to learn how to pack light! I must say over packing for trips is a pet peeve of mine. When I see a couple with no kids check in 5 bags plus 2 carry-ons each I have to shake my head and roll my eyes. True, I don’t know anything about them. Maybe they are going on an Brazilian expedition and they have a rubber raft in that luggage, but likely not!

Most people always over pack way too much stuff. When I go on a vacation I take just two carry-ons. One is my laptop, as I am always working on it of course. That’s how I post all these great articles even while on a trip! 😉 The other one is a soft bag with all my other stuff, small enough to fit any airlines carry-on bag size limits. That’s it!
[Read more…]

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Orlando airport rental car information

February 20, 2009 by


no one deals like we do!

Rental cars, how we love them and hate them! I could make 50 post about rental cars in Orlando, and I’m sure I will. So I’m going to just talk a little bit about them in each post. Today I’ll just give you some basics about getting a rental car at or near the Orlando International airport. Orlando is one of the biggest rental car cities in the world.

As you would expect, there are many rental car companies that have an office and cars right there at the airport. There also are many others very close to the airport, around 1 to 5 miles. Almost all of them have regular bus and van services to and from the Orlando airport many times a day. So lets say you decide your going to get a rental car, truck or van for your Orlando vacation.

The biggest thing you can do for yourself is MAKE A RESERVATION FOR A RENTAL! Please don’t wait until you get there and figure you’ll just pick out whatever is cheapest. Your going to be tired from the trip and if you have kids they will be hungry and tired also. You want to grab your car and get the heck out of there, not wait in another long line! [Read more…]

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Can you take an Orlando Vacation without a rental car?

February 5, 2009 by

One of the biggest things you need to figure out when you take an Orlando vacation is if your going to do any of your own driving or not. Much depends on just what your going to do when your here. Orlando is a very spread out city, with many points of interest miles away from each other. If you do much sight seeing a cab will quickly cost much more than a rental car.

However many tourist in Orlando do quite well without a rental car, because they don’t go very far. So lets talk about those who would not need a rental car. Lets say you and the family are going to be down here for 7 days. Your a big fan of the theme parks and have almost every day planned out, with each day going to a different park.

You schedule in a day or two to relax and take it easy. So for the most part your whole vacation will consist of staying at the hotel or going to the theme parks. Disney has buses that go right to the airport and whisk you right to your Disney hotel, if your staying at a Disney one. For the other hotels there are many other buses, passenger vans and taxi that operate out of the airport. [Read more…]

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The joys of traveling Orlando airport single

December 19, 2008 by

Orlando International Airport is not anywhere near as big as some others are. JFK, Miami, Huston and all those airports make Orlando airport look small. But it’s still a major airport, and most of the people coming in are tourist. With the holidays here there are so many traveling at the same time. So it really creates a bottleneck at the check-in counters and luggage pickup.

This is where I find myself getting a bit smug. You see, I’m single, and so most often when I fly it’s by myself. The biggest hassle of flying is your luggage. In fact if not for luggage the whole flying experience would be pretty enjoyable,,,, almost! After a few dozen trips back and forth from Orlando to Vermont where I am from, I have my flying secret down. [Read more…]

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