When travelers make their way to Orlando in order to vacation at Walt Disney World to Universal Orlando, they’re usually prepared to wait in line. However, many of them aren’t expecting to do so quite so quickly.
Orlando International Airport (MCO) is one of the busiest airports in the world. In 2023, the last year currently on record, MCO saw more than 60 million passengers pass through, with a reported 57,735.726 domestic passengers and an additional 7,024,086 international travelers. Suffice it to say, that’s a lot of people, which can in turn lead to some infrastructure issues.
Specifically, as anyone who has ever flown into MCO can tell you, lines for the bathrooms outside the flight gates can get long. As in “would be worth using a Lightning Lane if it were a line in Disney World” long.
That can be especially problematic for travelers who’ve been…holding it on during a long flight, and are desperate to find release as soon as they land only to be presented with the options of jumping on a long line or having to have to waddle their way deeper into the airport or the baggage claim area, where bathroom lines are usually shorter.
However, some relief — no pun intended — may be on the way! Earlier this year, MCO announced a $71.9 million upgrade project for the airport’s bathrooms. According to the Orlando Business Journal, there are 61 existing bathrooms being renovated and 12 being added during the renovations. These renovations are beginning because the current facilities are “nearing the end of their life,” and future growth of the airport will require more bathrooms to accommodate new passenger counts, according to Robert Furr, the vice president of engineering and architecture for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
While MCO has tons going for it infrastructure-wise, from restaurants and hotels to airy concourses and state-of-the-art crowd control, the issue of long bathroom lines greeting passengers as they disembark from their flights may unfortunately be an unavoidable effect of being a remarkably busy airport, despite the upcoming renovations. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on MCO.
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Have you ever run into this bathroom issue at MCO? Let us know in the comments below.
I flew from Detroit to Orlando today. There was so much turbulence during my flight that the captain rarely turned off the fasten seatbelt sign so I didn’t use the bathroom on the plane. When I got to Orlando international airport, I was expecting to be able to use a restroom but wasn’t able to. Apparently the airport has closed 61 restrooms for remodeling purposes. I waited an hour for my shuttle to the villages, without a bathroom available on the bus either. I suffer from IBS and had to go 4 hours without using a restroom. I arrived at my family’s home at 3:30 pm and had stomach pain and severe diarrhea until 11:30 pm. I’m so angry and disappointed that MCO has no concerns for the people flying in and out of their airport.