Orlando International Airport
Orlando International is the front door to the theme parks, and it is three terminals, not one: A and B share a main building with a hotel inside it, and the newer Terminal C stands to the south beside the airport's train station, where most flights from Britain and Europe now arrive.
The 30-second version
Check your terminal first: British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa and JetBlue use Terminal C; Southwest, Delta, American and United use A and B. Arriving, fill in CBP's free Mobile Passport Control app up to four hours before landing, then take a taxi, Mears Connect or a pre-booked driver: Disney is typically 34–39 minutes by car from Terminal A, Universal 22–28, with 3–10 minutes more from Terminal C. Leaving, be at the checkpoint two hours before your flight, with a free MCO Reserve slot if you have no PreCheck or CLEAR.
Book a private transfer
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A driver meets you in arrivals with your name on a sign, at a fixed price agreed when you book. Booked and paid with Welcome Pickups through our partner Travelpayouts; we may earn a commission.
Southwest, Delta, American, United, Frontier, Alaska, Allegiant, Avelo, Breeze, Sun Country, Air Canada, WestJet, Flair, LATAM, Volaris and others
One building, A on one side and B on the other, 525 feet apart across Level 3, with the Hyatt Regency inside. Gate Links run to four airsides: gates 1–29, 30–59, 70–99 and 100–129.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Icelandair, Norse, Emirates, Air France, Iberia, Discover, JetBlue, Porter, Azul, Copa and others
Opened in 2022 and extended in 2026, with one checkpoint for every gate and a customs hall on the top floor. It joins the train station, where the Terminal Link reaches Terminal B in about four minutes.
Visa Waiver visitors need an approved ESTA, which CBP asks you to get at least 72 hours before you fly. Returning ESTA holders, US citizens, green card holders and Canadian visitors can use CBP's free Mobile Passport Control app here: complete it up to four hours before landing. Global Entry members use the kiosks.
Terminal C is a CBP Bags First hall: you enter on Level 6, collect your bags, then pass passport control. Land at A or B on an international flight and you clear immigration, then collect every bag at the carousel.
There is a currency exchange on Level 3 of Terminal A, and free Wi-Fi, the network called MCO Internet, in all public areas, so you can set up an eSIM or order a ride at the carousel.
At Terminals A and B, taxis wait on the Level 1 Ground Transportation kerb and Uber and Lyft on the Level 2 Arrivals kerb; at Terminal C both are on Level 6. Taxis run on the meter, with no flat fares, and take up to nine people for the same price.
Mears Connect, the shared shuttle to Disney-owned hotels, has its counter on Level 1 of Terminal B, slots B91 to B97, and of Terminal C; vehicles leave every 20 to 30 minutes and take 30 to 60. Universal's SuperStar Shuttle, booked with your Universal hotel, also leaves from Level 1.
LYNX buses leave Level 1 on the A side for downtown, International Drive and Disney Springs, $2 with the exact fare. The Brightline station beside Terminal C, open 5am to 11pm, serves only West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and Miami.
The airport asks you to be at the security checkpoint two hours before departure. For domestic flights on Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United, there is remote check-in at Parking Garage C, 6am to 2pm, at least 90 minutes before the flight.
In the main building one checkpoint serves gates 1–59 and another gates 70–129, and Gate Links run on to the airsides; Terminal C has one checkpoint for all its gates. Liquids follow the TSA's 100ml rule, and under-18s need no ID at the checkpoint.
With neither TSA PreCheck nor CLEAR, book a time at a dedicated lane, free, up to seven days ahead. At Terminals A and B it runs 5am to 5pm for flights leaving 6:30am to 8:30pm; at Terminal C, 5am to 7pm for flights leaving 6:30am to 10:30pm. Slots are limited.
There is no exit passport control: the airline checks your documents at the desk or the gate, so an international departure from Terminal C means one TSA checkpoint and then the gate.
The Hyatt's atrium, beside the checkpoint for gates 70–129, is laid out like a city park and open to everyone. Past the checkpoint for gates 1–59 there is an interfaith chapel for anyone with a boarding pass.
Passes marked Book a pass are sold through GetYourGuide, which shows the price, hours and terms before you pay; we may earn a commission.
Every lounge in detail
Food, a beach-style bar, a kids' area and runway views; note that this branch no longer has showers.
The paying traveller's lounge at gates 70–99, with a kids' area and a private shower.
The only lounge in Terminal C, 10,000 sq ft for up to 223 guests, with runway windows, a family area, a quiet zone and showers; the place to wait for a night flight to Europe.
Book a passFor Delta flyers with access.
For American flyers with access.
For United flyers with access.
Cask & Larder Public HouseTerminal C, airside
One of the Central Florida names the airport chose for Terminal C, and the proper sit-down meal before a night flight home.
Wine Bar GeorgeTerminal C, airside
A glass of wine and something to share, the gentle way to end the holiday.
Sunshine DinerTerminal C, airside
A diner for breakfast and comfort food before a long flight.
Orlando Brewing Bar & BitesTerminal C, airside
Beer from the Orlando brewery with bar food, a local alternative to the national chains.
Barnie's Coffee & TeaTerminal C, Level 6 arrivals hall, landside
A Central Florida coffee brand, and the first stop after customs.
HemisphereHyatt Regency, Terminals A and B, landside
The hotel's AAA-rated restaurant with runway views, the best table in the main building and open to anyone, flying or not.
McCoy's Bar and GrillHyatt Regency, Terminals A and B, landside
Open 7am to midnight, with a sushi bar from 5pm to 11pm: dinner and a drink before you go through security for gates 70–129.
The hotel at Orlando International
For an early flight, a late landing or a long wait: the one we would book.
The only hotel inside Orlando International, and the obvious one: you go downstairs to the checkpoint. There is a rooftop pool, a restaurant with runway views on the ninth floor, and day stays for a long wait between flights.
Most flights from Britain and Europe now use Terminal C, a separate building: from the hotel, take the Terminal Link train from Terminal B, about four minutes.
Getting to the terminal
Inside the main terminal, above the security checkpoint for gates 70–129 in Terminals A and B
Terminal C is a separate building. To reach A and B, take the free shuttle bus, round the clock, from Level 1 space C272 to Terminal B space B65, or walk about 1,200 feet through Parking Garage C to the train station and ride the Terminal Link, about four minutes to Terminal B.
In the main building, the Gate Links between airsides can close to transfers while international arrivals come in, and then you have to leave and clear security again.
Orlando Sanford (SFB) is a separate airport north of the city, where Allegiant flies nonstop from cities such as Grand Rapids, Des Moines and Allentown. It is on CBP's list of Global Entry airports, but the British and European airlines on this page all fly into Orlando International. By car Sanford is about 31 minutes from The Alfond Inn in Winter Park, about 50 minutes from our Universal hotels and around an hour or more from our Disney hotels, so for the parks Orlando International is the one to choose.
Terminal C has a robotic Early Bag Storage system with room for 1,800 bags, so for a late flight to Europe ask your airline how early it will take your cases. Hold My Luggage, on Level 1 of Terminal B, stores bags by the day and moves them between hotels.
Eola Market, on Level 4 of Terminal C, is a 24-hour vending shop, and the Experience MCO Visitor Pass, when it runs, lets someone without a ticket wait with you at the gate in Terminal C.
There is soft play before security on Level 1 of Terminal A, an Interactive Family Zone on Level 3 of Terminal B near the food court, and the Flybrary reading nook after security in Terminal C near gate 240. Annie's Space, a calm sensory room, is in Terminal A before security, 7am to 9pm. Nursing rooms and Mamava pods are in every terminal, and both Club MCO lounges have a kids' area.
Under the US Department of Transportation's 2024 refund rule, if your airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you do not accept the alternative, you get your money back within 7 business days on a card. Flying home to Europe, EU rules cover the Orlando departure only if an EU airline operates it. In The Club MCO, a delayed flight means you can stay until the lounge closes.
The Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport is inside the main terminal, above the checkpoint for gates 70–129: 445 rooms, a rooftop pool, and a Day Stay rate for the pool, gym and a room by day. Its restaurants are before security, open to anyone, and the airport itself is open 24 hours.
Typically, our Universal hotels and The Ritz-Carlton at Grande Lakes are 21 to 28 minutes from Terminal A, The Alfond Inn in Winter Park about 30, and our Disney hotels, the Four Seasons among them, 34 to 39; from Terminal C add 3 to 10 minutes. Mears Connect runs to the Disney-owned hotels, but not to the Four Seasons, the Universal hotels, Grande Lakes or Winter Park. Our transfers page has every option, timed and priced, and the way we would go to each hotel.
Questions people ask
Terminal C, gates C240–C245, as do Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Icelandair and Norse. Virgin Atlantic moved there from Terminal A at the end of June 2026.
The airport asks you to be at the security checkpoint two hours before departure. Book a free MCO Reserve slot up to seven days ahead if you do not have TSA PreCheck or CLEAR.
Yes: The Club MCO at gates 1–29 and 70–99, $63.90 a person with tax pre-booked, and the Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal C. All three take Priority Pass.
The airport's estimate is $52–68 to the Disney resorts, on the meter, for up to nine people. The drive is typically 34–39 minutes from Terminal A to our Disney hotels, 3–10 minutes more from Terminal C.
No. Brightline runs from the airport's station only to West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and Miami.
Yes, the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, with 445 rooms in the main terminal between A and B, before security, and a Day Stay rate with the rooftop pool.
By the free 24-hour shuttle bus from Level 1, or on foot about 1,200 feet through Parking Garage C to the train station and then the Terminal Link train, about four minutes.
Image credits: elisfkc2 (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Pokemonprime (CC BY 4.0)