Mco arrival times - a survey!

[Clamshell]

There is lots of differing info on here about how long it takes to get through the arrivals at MCO airport.

As someone who is deciding whether to fly into MCO this time or to Sanford as we did last time, I thought a survey of people's experiences would be helpful so that we can see what the average / most common is. Let's face it, everyone remembers the horror story long waits, but that isn't necessarily the norm.

So anyone that has flown into Mco, if you are able to help, that would be great 😃

[Flimsey]

The longest wait for us was when we waited for luggage to come from the first baggage area to the next. I found the airport very organised

[mandco]

we've had a mix of wait times but all have been within 0-3hrs as you can't vote on multiple times I've gone for the average 1-2hrs

[7SeasSailor]

There will always be lots of different information about this. Its mostly down to luck on the day. If you are in a stack and the last one to land in a lightning storm you will have a long long wait. If you are in the first aircraft and traveling first class you should be out in 30 minutes

[Clamshell]

Originally Posted by mandco

we've had a mix of wait times but all have been within 0-3hrs as you can't vote on multiple times I've gone for the average 1-2hrs

See more...

I didn't think of that! Too late to change that now I think 😞

[duncanb]

I would personally say if you want / price is best for Sanford which will only be Thomson against the more choices MCO allows then do so.
Airport departures and arrivals and and .5 of an hour difference in transiting through would be low concerns in grand scheme of things as generally arrival time at accommodation with be so similar as hard to see a time value in one over the other.

[adamtoonarmy]

I've gone for our last time which was 1 -2 hours however I've been through in 10 minutes a couple of times and on one occasion waited 2.5 hours. Its very random

[littlejem1]

We went through really quickly on out trip in September about half an hour the bit that took longer was trying to get luggage as someone took 1 of our cases instead of theirs, had to fill in paperwork on plus side was returned to us within a couple of days. Xx

[ChrisS]

Thanks for the poll clamshell - it comes under the 'how long is a piece of string' scenario for your airport decision, you truly can't know until you arrive. In 2011, pre kiosks, we were off the first aircraft (Man VA) of the day tout de suite and walked into a relatively quiet hall with 8 desks manned, the queue was moving like a train! 5 IO's then collectively signed out and walked off, leaving 3 IO's to process a queue that came to a screeching halt. At a guess there had been 80 pax ahead of us and we cleared approx 1 hour 25 minutes later. The remaining 300 or so pax from our flight were behind us with an aircraft from Mexico tagged on the back of them, so goodness knows how long it took 3 IO's to clear that amount of pax. More flights (BA and VA from LGW) were also due in.

There are so many varied story's of time to get thro IO, if kiosks are operational and have a dedicated IO for the paperwork, of if kiosk users have to join a queue for a desk IO to check. Too many variables for anybody to advise which airport you should use. That said, and as many Dibbers state, an immigration queue is likely to be a walk in the park compared to some queues you may face in the parks. Luckily I have never set foot in a park so haven't experienced these queues.

[bella9]

I agree with ChrisS and have mentioned in previous similar threads the many different factors that can affect waiting times. Don't know how averaging out times will help, as, like the weather, we have no control whatsoever over it.

With the huge queues that airport staff have to deal with, I'm surprised they get through so many travellers, tbh. I never notice how long it takes; I'm always just glad to be there and am usually looking forward to getting my car and heading out to my villa.

Hope people's experiences help you, though.