Orlando Group Transportation: Lake Eola Permits, Downtown Curbs, and MCO Terminals

Quotes we have sent across Florida start around $310–$375 an hour, which puts a typical four-hour night at $1,400–$1,650. Your price depends on the date, the city, how many hours you need, the bus and your group size.

The City of Orlando requires a Special Events Permit for any event on city property with more than 100 people, and for events of any size on city property that include vending, alcohol, temporary structures, or street closures. Applications go through the Eproval system at least 60 days before the event with a paid park or venue reservation and a site map, approval takes about 60 days, and many events need City Council approval.

The Lake Eola Park event planning guide lists more than 100 attendees, alcohol sales or consumption, food or merchandise sales, fireworks, and road closures as triggers for a Special Event Permit filed at least 60 days ahead through the Office of Special Events. The organizer must be on site through set-up, event hours, and breakdown. Ask for the approved site map and set the coach pickup outside the closure.

MCO states that picking up passengers at the Arrivals and Bag Claim curb on Level 2 at Terminals A and B, or Level 6 at Terminal C, is permitted only while actively loading passengers and baggage, and vehicles may never be left unattended. The airport suggests using the cell phone lots and allowing at least 20 minutes after arrival, or 40 with checked bags. Give the provider the terminal, airline, and flight number.

MCO assigns airlines to Terminals A, B, or C and directs travelers to its Airlines page to confirm. Terminal C has a separate roadway and pickup level from the A and B side, so the wrong terminal can add significant time. Send the airline and flight number with the quote request so the provider stages at the correct terminal, and confirm delay and waiting terms in writing.

61% of every request we get is for a Saturday, and another 20% for a Friday. That is why Saturday availability is the first thing to ask about. That's what other Orlando planners asked for — your own headcount is what decides it. Count everyone who is actually getting on, then add room for luggage, coolers, instruments or formalwear. Ask each company for the legal seated capacity of the exact vehicle they're offering. Most Orlando requests are for weddings, bachelor parties, and bachelorette parties, and those nights want different amounts of floor space for the same headcount. A bus rated for twenty seats is not twenty comfortable seats in formalwear.

Not necessarily. The images here are representative renderings of a vehicle class, not photos of a bus parked in Orlando. The company covering your route names the assigned vehicle in writing when you book. Before you pay, make sure that writing gives the specific vehicle, its legal seated capacity, the features you're counting on, and what happens if it's unavailable on the day — including whether a replacement could be a different size or class.

Ask in your first message, before you have a quote. Accessible vehicles are a small slice of any local fleet and they need more lead time. Tell them how many passengers use a wheelchair or mobility device, the type and weight, whether anyone can transfer to a seat, and whether you need a lift or a ramp. Ask in writing how the device is secured, what the usable door and interior height are, and how much notice they need. Then check the accessible entrance and loading spot with each venue — Lake Eola Park and Kia Center and the Church Street district set their own access rules, and the right bus is no help at a door it can't reach.