Millions travel to and from Florida ahead of Thanksgiving

ORLANDO, Fla. — It is Thanksgiving Eve and a record 4.5 million Floridians are expected to travel for the holiday this year.

According to AAA, that is an all time high for Thanksgiving, with nearly 112,000 more travelers than last year.

AAA estimates that of those 4.5 million Floridians, about 4.1 million will travel by car, more than 289,000 will travel by air and about  82,000 will use other means of transportation, like trains.

Amid the hustle and bustle of holiday travel, the Laudone family is finding a moment of peace before flying out to Colorado for Thanksgiving.

It’s a trip they’ve all been excited for, especially the youngest son, Jacob, who has a lot to look forward to.

“Hopefully, seeing snow and being with my family, because I only get to see them once a year,” said Jacob Laudone.

But as Orlando locals, his dad Patrick anticipated facing pre-holiday chaos like they say they have in years past. But this year, family members said they were pleasantly surprised.

“We were expecting a lot worse, so we got here early and there was no line at the baggage check in, there was an 8 to 12 minute wait at the security gate, so now we have a lot of time,” said Patrick Laudone.

According to information from Orlando International Airport, more than 82,000 passengers were expected to depart on flights Wednesday. That’s actually less than they saw last year, but still more than in 2022.

“We have flown early morning and it was basically a madhouse in here,” Patrick Laudone said. “There was like 100 people in line waiting to check bags, and this is so much better.”

Also looking for a little bit of peace this holiday are the hundreds of travelers heading over to the Brightline station, trading their car keys this year for a train ticket. Among them is Karen morrow, who loves to see her family in Ft. Lauderdale, but hates the drive to get there.

“It’s torturous, because you think you are going to be there in four hours and you never are, because you hit traffic,” she said.

That’s why this year, she’s decided to be a passenger.

“Sitting back, taking a nap, reading a book and not having to worry about driving and crazy drivers,” said Morrow, on what she is looking forward to.

She’s not alone. In Brightline’s most recent ridership report, long-distance ridership was up 68% year over year in October, a month after the service launched.

This is Morrow’s first time taking the train. She decided to book last minute and said that the convenience and peace of mind is giving her another thing to be grateful for.

“I am very thankful I don’t have to make that drive and be in that bumper to bumper traffic,” said Morrow.

Back in Orlando International Airport’s Terminal A, the Laudone family believes that no matter which way you are traveling, there are still some things to be prepared for to make sure you make it where you’re going in time to carve the turkey.

“You know parking is limited in the garages, or there’s no parking,” Patrick Laudone said. “Even in the parking place we parked, it is full. So if you didn’t prepare, you could be scrambling around to find a place just to get here in time.”

Passengers can log in to reserved parking at MCO or use the MCO mobile app in advance of getting to the airport.

The busiest day of travel around Thanksgiving at MCO is expected to be this Sunday, with an estimated 181,000 total passengers.