I have a question regarding tolls for the roads there around Orlando. Coming from Seattle, we don't have tolls here (except for a couple bridges) so I'm a bit confused.

Here are our driving plans on various days: Orlando Airport (MCO) to Cape Canveral, Cape Canveral to WDW, WDW to Leesburg, Leesburg back to WDW. (We'll have another means of transport back to MCO).

How many tolls will we run into, do you think? And how much are these tolls? Do we need exact change?

Thanks for the help!

I can only give you info on the Florida Turnpike from Ocala (basically) off I-75 to I-4. When/if you hit the turnpike it is $2.50 per car. When you hit I-4, it's another 50 cents to get off the turnpike. Or, you can get off the turnpike at highway 429 and pay a buck to sidestep the I-4 traffic--I suggest that.

Not sure about from the airport--but I'm sure others on this board kow more about it.

You will need exact change for a few of the tolls and at other tolls, there is someone there to take your money and give you cash back. Your best bet is to just bring a roll of quarters with you. We have a piggy bank at home that's dedicated to only Florida toll roads! On average we pay $7.00 in tolls to and from WDW.

funny toll story....we tried one year to find the outlets and for some reason felt as though we were in the twighlight zone...we kept hitting toll after toll after toll...dh was mad:mad:lol....we Finally got there after about 3 bucks in change lol.

Ugh! What a waste of a roll of quarters! ;)

I'd much rather use them for smashing pennies!!! :)

But, we'll do what we gotta do, eh?

Ugh! What a waste of a roll of quarters! ;)

I'd much rather use them for smashing pennies!!! :)

But, we'll do what we gotta do, eh?

Well, I guess you can substitute nickels or dimes for your penny-smashing quarters. We always come home with a ton of change after we leave WDW. It's like I've forgotten how to use change when we're there.

We drove from WDW to the Space Center, and ended up paying for tolls about 3 times, each direction. There was one place that we had to have exact change, but the rest you could get change at. The most expensive was $1.25, but the rest were $1.00. We just had a whole stack of ones out, and all of our quarters.

Many of the roads (and bridges) in Florida are toll facilities, and quite a few of those toll roads are concentrated in central Florida. The good news is that all of the toll facilities in Florida use automated toll collection systems that are compatible with each other within the state. The bad news is that the Florida systems are not compatible with toll systems in other parts of the country. So if you try to use your E-ZPass (http://www.ezpassny.com/static/info/index.shtml) transponder in Florida it won’t work, and about a month after you get home you’ll wind up with a bunch of toll violation notices in your mailbox. If you expect to do a lot of driving in Central Florida, be it in your own car or a rental car, than you may want to consider getting a Florida toll transponder. You can order a Florida transponder online directly from SunPass (http://www.sunpass.com/) or EPass (https://epass.oocea.com/ams.ui.web/login/login.aspx) long before you are ready to leave for Florida. The initial charge for the transponder is $25.00; in addition to that you will be charged another $25.00 to “fill up” your account to pay for tolls. It may seem that $50.00 is a lot of money for a toll transponder, but remember you get $25.00 back as you pay for your tolls, and the convenience is well worth the expense. If you intend to use the transponder in a rental car, just open your account as though you were ordering a transponder for your personal car. When you get to Florida, you can call the customer service center and update the license plate and vehicle information to match the rental car. Or you can do what I do. After I pick up my rental car at MCO (http://www.orlandoairports.net/main.htm), I use my laptop to connect to the internet via the airport’s free wi-fi service. I can then access my EPass account where I can input the information for the rental car. On the way home, after I drop off the rental car, I get back on the internet in the airport while I’m waiting for my flight, and change all of the vehicle information back to match my personal car. Remember, after you return your rental car, don't leave the rental car’s information in your SunPass/EPass account, because the next renter in that car may run through the wrong toll lane without a transponder, and you would then get the charge on your bill. So if you can’t update your account before you leave Florida, make sure you do so as soon as you get home.

:rolleyes: Or if you think this is all too much trouble, I guess you could just go to the bank and get a roll of quarters.

Several rental car companies now allow you to use the transponder already inside the car. They add the cost of the tolls to your rental fee, and some charge a "convenience fee" as well.

AVP

I recommend a roll of quarters
If it costs $2.50 going to...it will probably cost $2.50 on the return.
We drive from San Antonio and I do remember getting confused around the I-75 to I-4 Ronald Reagan Turnpike Tollway.
My favorite way to smash pennies is still a train track....but for safety reasons I can understand the souvenir machines.