ORLANDO, Fla. — If you’re heading out to visit family or friends for Thanksgiving, you’re not alone. According to AAA, more than 81 million people are expected to fly or drive this year.
We caught up with passenger Barry Watson as he prepared for his flight to Texas. “Orlando’s the number one destination in the world, let alone Thanksgiving, and it’s packed,” AAA says, 73-million people will be traveling by car. Driver Alex Fotovat is heading to Georgia. “If you’re driving away from Florida, it’s not that bad. Because everyone’s driving to Florida.” The national average for gas is $3.10 a gallon. We asked Fotovat how much it would cost him to drive to Georgia, and he replied, “Both ways just under $200.” Driver Louann Sepe says it’s a great time to fill the tank. ”Like $50 to $60 to fill this up, so I’m happy with the prices.”
And over at Orlando International Airport, there around 1.9 million passengers locally and six-million nationwide.
9-year-old Zander Welscher was catching his flight with his family, “It’s kind of stressing. Because everybody’s here. It’s all rushed hours.”
His mother, Cindy, says, “You’re always worried a little about it, but we got here, and it was like 3 to 6 minutes, so it wasn’t bad.” Meaning the wait to go through the TSA security check was between three to six minutes.
Watson told us he wasn’t surprised to see the airport calm, “No one wants to leave Orlando, everyone wants to come to Orlando.”
Finn Spencer is traveling with Alex, he had Thanksgiving treats packed up, “I’m pretty excited, he does most of the driving.”
Triple A recommends checking the oil, battery, windshield wipers, and tire pressure before hitting the road. Fotovat says, “It’s about 7 hours because we have to stop at Buckee’s for about half an hour.”
People who are waiting in their cars for passengers at MCO are encouraged to use the cell phone lot instead of parking along the side of the road.
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