Connecting via MCO

Good morning. I am new to the forum and would welcome your advice.
We are due to fly to ATL via MCO on 21/7/19. On the 75. My concern is a connection time of 90 mins. Fly regularly on 75 to MCO and immigration never less than 90 mins. Is this long enough?
Will be flying upper.

seems optimistic for MCO

even without any delay at MCO, 90 minutes from scheduled arrival leaves little margin for delayed departure/headwinds

worst case, if the domestic is DL on the same booking, they should just put you on the next flight with availability

from UC on that flight i've got through MCO without any queue, but that was pure luck, if a couple of flights get in ahead you'll be queuing unless you've got GE, though i've seen reports of people being held on the plane when crowding got bad

not done a transfer myself at MCO but i believe there's a bag drop once you clear customs, if your bags are tagged through then you can drop them there and head to security for your domestic flight (probably more queuing), if you take any duty free drinks/whatever from UK make sure it's in the correct sealed bag, otherwise you'll lose it at the security check

a tight connection increases the chances of your bags not arriving with you at ATL, keep the essentials in hand baggage

Many Thanks. Virgin Hols are saying we dont need to clear immigration in MCO but as on a through ticket will clear immigration in atlanta . Always cleared immigration at first point of entry .
MCO is always a nightmare these days.
But saved the cost of a holiday by going via MCO instead of MAN to ATL.

VH are wrong and frankly should know better. In the US you ALWAYS clear immigration and customs at point of entry.

At MCO, as long as there’s a baggage recheck desk after customs (I don’t know, but other V-Flyers suggest there is), you shouldn’t have to reclear security as your onward DL flight should depart from the same concourse as VS uses. When you go upstairs after customs just don’t follow the hoards on to the transit for the main terminal as that’ll take you landside.

I am 99.9% certain it is impossible to stay "in transit" when arriving at Airside 4 in MCO and connecting to an onward domestic flight.

When the international arrivals are in progress, the TSA take over everything. The trains to the main terminal are run manually so the TSA can check it is clear before allowing new passengers onto it. You have to board the train to the main terminal after immigration & customs, then be re-screened by the TSA to go back to the airside terminal. You cannot even transit between Airside 4 & Airside 2 [which share the same security checkpoint]. It's all down to the TSA seeing anywhere other than the USA as being insecure, so they do not trust the security screening you had in, say, the UK. Do remind me where all the 9/11 aircraft took off from...

I do recall I was on a VS75 to MCO with a fellow American passenger who had a fairly tight connection onto a DL flight from MCO, obviously. He said on approach that he hoped to have time to dine in Outback in the terminal in his short layover - the crew quickly put him right that this was almost an uncertainty as he was an international arrival and would have to re-clear security in the main terminal.

Thanks everyone. I have spoken to Vhols again, different branch who state yes do need to clear immigration. Original branch now say it is a legal transfer time!. Have they tried immigration in MCO on the first weekend of a school holiday ?They offered a reroute via JFK but with a change fee of £500. The staff member I spoke with initially admitted I had specifically requested a later onward flight, and didn’t know why it was returned to the earlier one.
So looks like will have to be a suck it and see. E mail to V Hols customer service coming up. Always had excellent service before , lesson learnt stick to usual branch .

I would agree withJames, but will check for sure on Monday and report back

David.

if anybody is a member of "It's Orlando Time" on FB will see that the queues are anywhere between 30 minutes and three hours! I must admit I hate that arrivals hall

I can confirm, which I’m sure wasn’t there in January, there now is a door at the top of the escalator from the immigration hall where you can get rescreened and pass into the satellite area.

David

Many Thanks David.
The result of the e mail is that there is a separate smaller immigration hall for those who are arriving on an international flight and connecting to an internal flight.
The main immigration hall is apparently if you are entering into Orlando.
I was there in April and didn’t notice a connecting flights area.
Hope it goes as planned. If not it will be virgins responsibility to rebook my flight at their expense.
Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

Many Thanks David.
The result of the e mail is that there is a separate smaller immigration hall for those who are arriving on an international flight and connecting to an internal flight.
The main immigration hall is apparently if you are entering into Orlando.
I was there in April and didn’t notice a connecting flights area.
Hope it goes as planned. If not it will be virgins responsibility to rebook my flight at their expense.
Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

Mmm, never seen an entrance into a smaller hall, but Orlando arrivals seem to change ever month.

There is, or at least there was yesterday a connecting flight bag drop kinda hidden as you exit the hall - it’s stuck in the corner opposite the belts nobody uses now to take your luggage to the main terminal.

I would caution expecting to get through immigration quickly though. Unless you’ve global entry (and for the first time, there was even a queue at those machines yesterday) and unless you get lucky with an empty hall, I would factor in a minimum of 1 hour to clear that, after exiting and placing your bags on the connecting belt you turn left, head up the escalator and turn right into the new security hall which then takes you straight into the satellite area

Fingers crossed for you


David

Is this "re-screening area" the old International Arrivals security screening that we all used to have to pass through just to make the walk to the train to the main terminal?

To those un-used to Orlando arrivals over the years, until about 2010 all international arriving passengers cleared immigration & customs downstairs, then went upstairs and had to have a full TSA security screening so you would walk to the train to the main terminal (mixing with departing passengers). They then ditched the re-screening and you walked through a tensa-barrier line guarded by TSA staff to the train. Then they built the escalator to take you straight up to the train from the customs exit.

The old International Arrivals security screening area was always retained - it exits you near the duty free shop in Airside 4.

Morning James, from the quick glance, it looked a new build with one bored looking TSA agent at it.

It seemed to be more in the corner, this side of the walkway to the right hand side gates rather in between that walkway and the duty free where the old security was.

As we know, MCO changes all the time, sometimes from month to month but will have a look in a couple of weeks time.

David

Thank you both.
I certainly didn’t notice a smaller immigration hall or the area you mention for bag drop when we were there in April.
And I agree , it changes every time we go. I guess this is a suck it and see, and if we miss the connection , Virgin will have to sort. I need to put my laid back, what will be , mindset in place.
Enjoy the sun David.