The Guide to Airports near Disney World — And How to Fly for Cheap

It’s "the Most Magical Place on Earth," but trying to plan a trip to Walt Disney World may feel overwhelming — especially when you’ve got to deal with budgeting, traveling and park planning all at once. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be so complicated. Or so expensive.

Here's your guide to airports near Disney World.

What airport is near Disney World? The short answer is Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida.

Though, there are three relatively convenient airport options if you’re traveling to Disney World.

Here are the airports near Disney World, listed by proximity to the resort.

1. Orlando International Airport: 17-20 miles away.

2. Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB): 44 miles away.

3. Tampa International Airport (TPA): 72 miles away.

4. Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB): 75 miles away.

Orlando International Airport handles a massive number of daily flights — typically over 850 daily, on average. It's one of the busiest airports in the United States and serves as a focus for several airlines, including Frontier, Southwest, Spirit and JetBlue Airways.

It is the best airport for Disney World visitors as it offers the closest proximity to the theme park, making transportation quick and easy. Plus, since it services several airlines, it offers a wider range of flight options and potentially more affordable fares.

Orlando Sanford International Airport can be a decent option if you find a cheap flight. Airlines like Allegiant, Spirit, Sun Country and even United fly into this airport.

Try to avoid the airports in Tampa or Melbourne, Florida, if you can. These airports are more than an hour drive from the resort, which might make your travel day more exhausting and lengthy than it needs to be.

Fly from a hub

Even if you don’t live in an airline hub city, it could still be worthwhile to fly from a major airport.

Smaller regional airports are usually served by fewer airlines, which means competition will be low and airlines can increase their prices. At bigger airports, more airlines compete — which can drive down fares.

As an example, a round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Orlando in mid-August could start as low as $142.

But a flight to Orlando from Santa Ana, California, which has a regional airport about 40 minutes from Los Angeles, starts at $250 (and one stopover) on the same dates.

Flying from Los Angeles, you not only save $108, but you also save time in transit because you can fly nonstop.

Be flexible on dates

We get it: Not everyone can be flexible with the dates they travel. But it’ll pay off if you can avoid peak season. A flight from New York to Orlando during Christmas can start around $384.

But when you shift your date by a single day, you can fly for just $194.

Not everyone wants to travel during Christmas, however, so how about a different date during a shoulder season? In early September, you could find flights between the same cities as low as $106 round-trip.

This can make a huge difference when you’re traveling with family.

Being able to adjust your dates — even a little — can help you score discounts and cheap airfare to Disney World.

Use points or miles

If you already have a rewards credit card, you may want to think about how to fly to Disney World on points. Besides using your card, you can earn points and miles in a number of ways, including frequent flyer programs, shopping portals and more. Miles can be redeemed for deeply discounted flights to just about anywhere — and Disney World is no exception.

For example, Alaska Airlines partners with American Airlines, which means you can redeem Alaska MileagePlan miles for flights to Disney on either Alaska Airlines or American Airlines.

Alaska uses an award chart to price its award flights. Depending on how far you’re traveling, your flight can cost as little as 5,000 miles one way. On a cross-country flight, off-peak awards will cost you 12,500 miles. What's more, welcome bonuses from credit cards like the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card can help you get the whole family to Disney quickly.

Other cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express, allow you to redeem your points for travel directly through their own travel portals, which can be a good idea if you don’t have a lot of airline miles saved up. By booking travel through a card issuer’s website, you can pick whichever flight you like and use your points to pay, regardless of airline.

No matter how you book, when flight prices are in the hundreds of dollars, a reward flight can save you big bucks.

» Learn more: How to maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards®

Explore hotel and air packages

If you’re looking to bundle and save money, consider cheap flight and hotel packages to Disney World. Online travel agencies like Expedia, Priceline and Kayak, as well as airline websites, sell packages to simplify your travel bookings even more.

Some airlines even allow you to redeem miles to pay for these packages when you book through their website.

Combining flights and hotels into one package can save you money, especially when you’re staying multiple nights. Here’s an example of a trip booked on Delta’s vacation package website.

Two travelers flying main cabin on Delta and staying for six nights at a nearby hotel would pay $1,045.95 on this itinerary. You can use Delta SkyMiles to pay for some, or all, of the trip at a rate of 1 cent each.

When booked separately, the cost for the same flights and the same hotel will run you $489.60 and $713.25. The total jumps to $1,202.85. In this case, booking with a hotel and air package will save you $156.90. Not bad!

» Learn more: Best Disney World hotels on points

Book at the right time

It's not uncommon to check an airfare one day, procrastinate on booking and then suddenly see the same flight go up $100 or more a day later. Airlines change flight prices all the time. The trick is knowing when to book.

There are some ways to track flight prices and predict whether they’ll rise or fall. Google Flights is particularly good for this. It will tell you how much your flight has cost recently and whether the current price is a good deal.

You can even set a tracker on Google Flights to alert you when the price for your trip has dropped so you can jump on fare discounts the minute they happen.

Booking a trip to Disney World can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Use these tips to maximize your savings on flights to Disney World, no matter when you travel.

To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.