Advice re: connecting flight in MCO to UK

[BethEJo]

Hello all,

It's been a long time since I last posted, but I wondered if I could ask the wonderful DIS hive-mind for some advice!

In May, I'm heading out to visit my brother in North Carolina. I'm flying direct from Manchester (MAN) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and having a few days in Orlando first, before then making my way to North Carolina for another few days. At the end of the trip, I will be flying home from North Carolina to Manchester via a connecting flight in MCO.

My domestic flight from Charlotte, North Carolina is with AA and lands in Terminal B in MCO. I then have a '2h 22m' stopover in MCO. My international flight then flies from Terminal C in MCO to MAN with Aer Lingus.

My question is about this connection in MCO and getting from Terminal B to Terminal C and all the associated logistics. It's been some years since I last did a connecting flight in the US and I am not able to find much out online. On landing from Charlotte in Terminal B at MCO, is anyone able to shed any light on what I should expect?

- Will I need to collect my checked luggage in Terminal B and take it over to Terminal C myself and check-in again, or once I check my luggage in at Charlotte, will it just make it's way to Manchester without me having to collect it and check-in again?
- How will I get from landing in Terminal B at MCO to then catching my next flight from Terminal C at MCO; will that be via a shuttle bus or something else?
- Will any of this be generally signposted?
- And I know it's difficult to tell, but do we think '2h22m' will be enough for all this?

Many thanks in advance for any help that anyone can provide!

 

[MarkleB]

Your bags will probably be checked through to your final destination from NC as that's a domestic leg of your trip. You should ask to make sure when checking in, though, in NC.

There are two ways from Terminal B to Terminal C at MCO. One is a tram called Terminal Link, and the other is shuttle coach service. If you know that the tram is called Terminal Link (or sometimes Train) then there are signs that will get you there. There's a shopping area between terminals A and B, and the station is down the end of this area. I didn't take the shuttles from B to C, I went the other way, so I don't remember what level they're on or how well they're sign-posted. (From C to B they're on level 2 or 3, and well sign posted from whichever is the correct level.)

As you'll have to get through security once you're in terminal C, I think 2 1/3 hours is about right for a layover. You might have time for a $20 sandwich, too.

 

[BethEJo]

Your bags will probably be checked through to your final destination from NC as that's a domestic leg of your trip. You should ask to make sure when checking in, though, in NC.

There are two ways from Terminal B to Terminal C at MCO. One is a tram called Terminal Link, and the other is shuttle coach service. If you know that the tram is called Terminal Link (or sometimes Train) then there are signs that will get you there. There's a shopping area between terminals A and B, and the station is down the end of this area. I didn't take the shuttles from B to C, I went the other way, so I don't remember what level they're on or how well they're sign-posted. (From C to B they're on level 2 or 3, and well sign posted from whichever is the correct level.)

As you'll have to get through security once you're in terminal C, I think 2 1/3 hours is about right for a layover. You might have time for a $20 sandwich, too.

Thank you so much!

Have managed to change the domestic leg of the flight for no extra charge to a little earlier, and now have 3h in MCO for the connection. Sounds like that will all be OK then. And thanks for the info re: shuttle/tram - that's good to know. I'll be doing this by myself, and then my parents doing the exact same flights/connection back to Manchester the week after. They have never taken a connecting flight previously, nor are they the most confident of travellers, and so I'll also try and make a little step-by-step guide when I do that connection.

Feel a bit more prepared now, so thank you.

 

[Woodview]

Follow advice in post 2

Go Directly to your boarding Gate in C & then work backwards from it to find something to eat

 

[SteveMouse]

if you purchased your resturn as a single ticket from the Carolinas to the UK your bags would be checked through. If yiu purchased a stand-alone ticket for your flight from the carolinas to MCO you will need to retrieve your luggage at baggage claim in Orlando and recheck your bags for your overseas flight.

 

[BethEJo]

if you purchased your resturn as a single ticket from the Carolinas to the UK your bags would be checked through. If yiu purchased a stand-alone ticket for your flight from the carolinas to MCO you will need to retrieve your luggage at baggage claim in Orlando and recheck your bags for your overseas flight.

Yes, I purchased it as a single ticket and assumed it would have been checked all the way through. I think what threw me was the fact that it was a whole different terminal that I needed to get to after landing in MCO, and wasn’t sure if that changed things, but good to see that it wouldn’t. Thanks for your reply!