Ahoy there, Lisa!
Welcome back to planDisney! You and your crew are so close to your magical vacation on
the beautiful Disney Wish, and I love that you’re thinking ahead to make sure your journey home is just as smooth as your sail out.
For departures out of Orlando International Airport,
Disney recommends return flights that depart no earlier than 11:15 AM. With the change your airline made, you are still within the recommended window and will likely have plenty of time to make your way from the ship to the airport. Flights departing before 11:15 AM are possible too, but having that extra cushion of time helps in case of heavy traffic, delays disembarking the ship, or anything else that might try to stir up the morning.
Now, everyone’s experience can vary a little bit, but my crew and I disembarked the Wish just a few weeks ago and took Disney ground transportation to the airport, so I can share exactly how it worked for us. To help give you an idea of timing, we left our stateroom around 7:40 AM and were off the ship at 7:55 AM as we
made our way to the terminal. Of note, we did the Express Walk-Off and did not leave our luggage outside our stateroom the night before, so we already had all of our luggage with us as we left the ship. That meant we didn’t have to wait for our character luggage tag, which you’ll receive the day before disembarking, to be called before heading off the ship.
By the time we got through U.S. Customs and waited in the short line to board the bus, it was around 8:15 AM. By 8:30 AM, we were rolling out of the port and on our way to the airport. We made it to Orlando International Airport around 9:30 AM and were through security at 9:50 AM after checking our luggage with the airline. With an 11:30 AM flight, that timeline would have still left us with a comfortable window to make it to our gate without needing to sprint through the terminal like Lightning McQueen chasing the Piston Cup.
I hope this helps you feel good about your updated flight time and gives you a clearer picture of what debarkation morning might look like. You’re still well within Disney’s recommended timing, so you should be able to wrap up your voyage with smooth sailing all the way to your gate.
Sea ya real soon as springtime magic carries us from one adventure to the next,
Dustin