Transportation to Orlando Airport
 

I have tried the Villages Shuttle and other similar means to get to/from the Orlando Airport, but find that those leaving from a town center can take as long as 3 hours, because they also pickup riders at their homes. Do any of you have a recommendation for a transportation service that takes 90 minutes, or so, for less than $100 round trip?

I could be wrong on this, but the way I understand Groome's service, is that they will take/pick up to and from the squares OR at your door, but if you choose the service to or from the squares, you do not go house to house.

I came into TV a couple of Mondays ago and went to Sumter with one stop at Brownwood, no residential stops. It did take almost 2 hours from the time we left MCO.

Looking at Groome’s schedule there is not a lot of difference between express service and hotel/home service.
The problem is you have to pick a time that gets you to the airport 1 1/2- 2 hours before your flight.
So you're looking at 4 - 5 hours of travel and airport time.
This is the only caveat about living so far from the airport.
I wish we could fly in and out of Ocala.

I did have an Uber driver who did airport runs cheap on the side but with the gas prices he stopped.

The other option is to drive yourself and put it in long-term parking or rent a car at one of the squares and leave it at airport.

Thats how I was hoping Groome would be doing the transportation, just the same as the former Workman's. I won't go on the Villages Van due to getting stuck on a small van with people crammed in to stop normally at our house first and then pick people up for the next hour before getting on 75 heading towards Orlando airport.

Just had to do a short notice round trip to/from MCO with Groome earlier this week, here are my observations.

- Their web site sucks, needs improvements big time.
- They are slow to answer the phone, but helpful once you finally get someone.
- Both trips were express, from/to the LSL terminal with a Brownwood stop, and went smoothly and were close to being on time.
- Both trips were in a relatively small van, which was very cramped and had way less leg room than a taller person requires to be comfortable.
- If your incoming flight is early/late, good luck finding an open seat on a different shuttle where you don’t have a reversed space. Workman typically used larger and more spacious vehicles with open seats for early/late arrivals.
- One of the drivers told me the transition from Workman to Groome has been difficult but the bugs are slowly being worked out. He also said the long term plan is to discontinue the shuttle service where they pick up/drop off every customer at their home and focus exclusively on the express service from terminals. They will still offer home pick up and drop offs between customers homes and the terminals. Also, he said eventually they plan to have four terminals and two separate express shuttle services. The northern express service will have Spanish Springs and LSL terminals. The southern express service will have a Brownwood and TBD terminal (initial thoughts are a Sawgrass terminal).

Hope this helps.

Have been waiting 25 minutes to get a live person on the line...

I can't figure out/separte home-pickup from "Terminal" pickup. Are they two different things? Is it better or more predictable to just get an Uber to one of the town squares, then get a Terminal bus to MCO?

If you go to the Groome website The Villages Airport Transportation - Groome Transportation There are two choices, Express Depot or Residential/Hotel door to door. If you select the Express Depot, it will open up a choice for the three squares. It is different from the door to door pickup.
Hope this helps.

Alternative to Groome
 

Last trip to/from MCO from TV, I used Capri, Dave's before that. (He was fully booked, so I went with Capri, both great). Paid a bit more, but nice clean sedan, on time, front door to Terminal A and same returning. Just thinking...

For most short trips up to 2 weeks, I drive and use SpotHero.com to book a secure parking place somewhere in the Airport area. I've been doing this for the past 4 years after moving here.

Anything longer, I book a private sedan service for travel to/pickup from the airport.

SpotHero typical cost is $5-10 per day, so for two weeks, it costs me no more than $140. Taking into account that this includes my wife and me, it was less expensive for us than Workman or Groome, or any of the other shuttle services that charge by the passenger.

The private sedan service seems spendy, but is well worth it for approximately $100+ tip each way when both of us travel. And that service is door-to-door.

I used Groome residence-to/from airport twice this month & they were on time; only 3 of us in van both times; and no problems. Great service.
It’s a pleasure not having to drive and park & wrestle luggage to airline door.
(I also changed reservations but did it online which was quick & painless.)

We tried transportation a few times, but we park at Fast Park MCO now, so much faster and easier and actually cheaper than paying for a bus or limo.

Is there a Large Bus if you choose to only go as far as Sumter Landing or Brownwood? Or are they using smaller means of transportation no matter if you choose to be dropped off there or at your Home? I would prefer the Large Bus to the smaller Busses any day!!