Best layover

[Willyeckerslike]

We have never flown indirect before. Which route have you found the easiest

[pwcollins]

We have flown indirect a few times, each time to Atlanta then on to either Orlando or Tampa. If the price is right wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Atlanta is a very big and busy airport, but was a very easy transition.

Also flown indirect via JFK as well, which was busy, but again easy.

I think the trick is ensuring you have enough time between flights, I am comfortable with 2hrs as a minimum, some people are happy with less and some more.

[Donna McG]

We have flew via Newark and Charlotte and I would recommend both. Charlotte was tight time wise due to a delay so they had to hold up the plane. But honestly if it makes financial sense I would travel any route needed to get there.

[BevS97]

We have done Atlanta and JFK. Both quite easy. The key is to have plenty of time so you aren’t panicking. I like 3 hours on the way out. Less on return. If we are through quickly we will get something to eat.

[loopyloo33]

To be honest they are all much of a muchness. Always at least 3 hours on the out bound for the layover. Always worth considering if you are flying in winter to avoid the north east airports if you can as there could be snow

[thingy003]

Originally Posted by loopyloo33

To be honest they are all much of a muchness. Always at least 3 hours on the out bound for the layover. Always worth considering if you are flying in winter to avoid the north east airports if you can as there could be snow

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On our first family trip to Orlando we flew via Minneapolis and I was shocked to see all the snow piled up on the sides of the runway. This was in April. Fortunately we had no issues though.

[chmurf]

Connected in Newark (EWR) , JFK, Philadelphia (PHL), Charlotte (CLT), Atlanta (ATL), Miami (MIA), Cincinnati (CVG), Washington (IAD) for the US airports (I may have forgotten some )

Would I recommend one over the others ? no, because they're bascially the same AND the most important thing is that there is no way of telling how it will be on the day you fly.
Construction may change how you navigate through the airport, number of planes arriving at the same time will also impact the time at immigration for which there is no way, not even a crystal ball, to predict how long it will take

so, as others have advised, the key is time. Allow a connection that's at least 2.5hrs long (3hrs is a good target, but nothing longer than 4hrs because that would be torture)
another key is to prefer connecting at an airport with several flights to your destination, after the one you're booked on. Should you miss your flight from 'connecting airport' to MCO, then make sure there are other planes going to MCO after yours.

one last advice would be to not choose an airport that involves backtracking, or unecessary flight hours

for example, New York, Philiadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, are all airports that are on the flight path between the UK and MCO so they're fine
but if you look at a map, connecting in Chicago (ORD) or Dallas (DFW) involvel a significant detour, and this means more time on the plane


last thing, connectiong via canada is also a solution, as you clear immigration there, but be advise that you would need to obtain a canadian travel authorisation, on top of the esta for the US

[jdouds]

Hi we have gone via, Toronto, Atlanta, Philadelphia. easiest was Philadelphia but as others have said depends on the day. Would add we did pre clearance in Dublin which makes the remainder of the journey easy as you don't have luggage and just walk to next terminal.
Toronto was also very good and we took the opportunity to spend 3 days there at no extra flight cost which meant we could go and do Niagara falls and the main sights.

[tspill]

Personally, I thing Philly and Charlotte are much better connecting huge than others. They are very easy to navigate and not as crowded as some of the others.
The key to reduced stress is the connection time. We aim for 4 hours and would never book anything less than 3 hours (on the way out).
Missing a connection is incredibly stressful. Many will advise shorter, but I suspect they have never missed a connection and been delayed a couple of days. All for the sake of an extra hour or two in an airport.

[jdouds]

Indirect many times , 2/2.5 hours and yes we have missed a connection with flight leaving 5 hours late, we got on next flight with a 1.5 hour wait. This worked out especially well as we flew down from Atlanta 1 st class ( FREE UPGRADE ) and on return home got €600 for our delayed flight which cost £420. So free flights and paid for next years flight.