Thousands of Orlando Theme Park Vacations Cancelled After Airport Notice

If you are traveling into Walt Disney World this week, or just arrived, you may have noticed or should expect that things may not go according to plan.

This past month, Orlando International Airport has been flooded with guests visiting Orlando during spring break. With many schools offering different weeks throughout the month for their holiday, the entire month of March tends to be quite busy for Disney. In addition to that, Orlando International Airport reported that they would have a whopping 7.6 million guest count of tourists coming into the city this spring break.

While these large numbers are great for Orlando tourism, they also often come with hiccups.

Fox shared, “The airport had its busiest travel day ever on March 16 with a record 102,064 departing passengers, MCO announced in a press release on Friday. This spring break, MCO had more visitors than Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).”

That number was only for departing passengers, Orlando International Airport stated the number is actually double that if you look at incoming passengers: “That does not include arrivals, which would logically double that number to 204,128 total passengers – the most the airport has ever seen in a single day,” MCO said.

While there is so much for guests to do when they travel to Orlando, the biggest sells in the city is Walt Disney World. With the theme park resort offering not only four parks, 2 water parks, a downtown core, 25+ resorts, and more, all within a city-like span the size of San Francisco, it is Orlando’s biggest enticement and the main reason that guests visit the city. Therefore, it is likely that a majority of those departures were guests leaving on a Walt Disney World Resort vacation.

With so many guests visiting, there have been issues of disappointment surrounding flight delays over this past weekend.

According to FlightAware, on March 23rd, Orlando International Airport recorded 307 delays, with Southwest Airlines accounting for 101 of them. Additionally, 13 flights had been canceled at the airport. Today, on March 24th, there are 161 delays so far, with 11 flight cancelations — and we have not even hit the afternoon hours yet.

These delays and flight cancelations have been on an influx throughout the month with so much more travel going on, so much so that Orlando International Airport has been constantly reminding guests to arrive three hours early at the airport to accommodate for the increased lines at check-in as well as through security. 

Interestingly enough, however, Disney World has not been reporting the same extensive crowds as MCO.

Inside the Magic has been following spring break crowds as of late, and wait times have been very ideal, with attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean only hitting a 15-minute wait, and coasters like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad holding a 30-minute wait. Typically, school breaks or national holidays mean that Disney is going to be jam-packed with guests, and while the parks are not empty, they are certainly not living up to their typical spring break standard.

Easter is coming up next weekend, however, which will give many adults and kids a four-day weekend, which should create a busier day at the theme parks.

If you are traveling to Orlando during any time of the year, especially a busier season, one trick that many are not aware of is MCO Reserve. MCO Reserve is a free tool that allows you to book your security screening time on your phone so that you can avoid the lengthy line when you arrive at the airport. It not only saves guests time, but also reassures you that you will not miss your flight due to line delays.

How do you feel about the Disney crowds as of late? Do you plan on returning to Walt Disney World this year? 

This post Thousands of Orlando Theme Park Vacations Cancelled After Airport Notice appeared first on Inside the Magic.