Tuesday, August 19, was National Aviation Day, which is a day set aside to celebrate the history and development of aviation. Aviation-related entities celebrate the day in their own way, but for the past two years, Orlando International Airport (MCO) has marked the day by hosting a free tour of the airport. It was organized by MCO’s Public Affairs department.
I was lucky enough to grab two of the slots (“lucky” being the operative word – there were only 20 slots and they were all gone in less than 5 minutes). Yay!
Unfortunately, my partner in crime – in the form of my husband – wound up with a helluva cold, so he bowed out. It was up to me to take all the notes. I fully understood the mission; I hope I did OK.
Meeting everyone
The tour started on MCO property at 9 am, but we were instructed to arrive by 8:45 or so. It was a “backstage” area that typical guests would never go to, and was off a bunch of curvy roads (I mean, I’ve lived in Central FL for close to 23 years and had NO IDEA of where I was, other than “the north side of MCO property”).
While in the building, we met the people who would lead our tour (a.k.a. the Hosts/Hype Squad/Coverage/Everything Everywhere All at Once – Social Media Team. YES, I got to meet THE PEOPLE [or at least some of ’em] who write MCO’s helpful, informational and typically hysterically funny posts on their Facebook, Instagram and other social media feeds! They included, Isabel House, Manager of Social Media, Deidra Irace, Senior Social Media Strategist, and Lauren Geiser, Social Media Coordinator. These ladies were super cool, and yep, as funny and creative as you’d think. They’re the ones who came up with this:
Once we were all there, checked in, etc., we loaded onto a bus that brought us to Terminal C (the “new” terminal – although it’s been open for almost 3 years now).
Terminal C
Once unloaded from the bus, we went inside and met up with Rod Johnson, MCO’s Assistant Vice President of Public Affair. Johnson’s been with MCO for about 20 years and he definitely knew his stuff.
We started by walking around the atrium, where Johnson gave us some ideas of the growth of MCO. Terminal C is not quite 3 years old, but they’re already building 4 more gates there, to accommodate more planes, and have plans for even more gates after that. In the more distant future, they’re going to build a Terminal D. Once it’s done, they expect to be able to accommodate about 120,000 passengers per year (in 2024, they had 57,211,628 PAX). However that goal is still about 30 years in the future.
Johnson also explained about some of the state-of-the-art technology in Terminal C, including the fact that the flooring around the electronics (signs, check-in kiosks, etc.) is only 1.5″ thick, but with 18″ crawlspaces underneath. If and when they need to update the technology, this will make it a much easier process.
The walkway from the Terminal C parking garage to the airport’s check-in area has 2 llloonngg pieces of artwork, made out of glass. They had originally been in one of the “old” terminals (Airside 3 & 4), but had been in storage for the past 12 years, in anticipation of being moved to Terminal C.
Walkway to Brightline
Terminal C is part airport, part train station. When Terminal C first opened, the only way to walk between the 2 areas was through the parking garage. However, back in 2023, they got funding to pay for an indoor, air-conditioned walkway. Construction has been ongoing and Johnson says the builders have been saying for the past 6 months that it’s almost ready. “Any day now.” From what little we could see, the walkway is still a VERY active construction site.
“Any day now” my @$$.
The Brightline station
Although Terminal C opened in late 2022, the Brightline trains, which carry passengers up and down Florida’s east coast, didn’t start running until 2023. It makes for a relatively unusual situation because the airport terminal is paid for by the airport, but the Brightline side is paid for by the government. There’s a line at the Brightline terminal that marks where that delineation is.
Another fun fact about the Brightline station – to save money, the powers that be decided to use a faux palazzo flooring. You can see it in the picture below.
The flooring apparently looked amazing on opening day. Unfortunately, once people were walking on the floor, pulling their bags, etc., chunks started coming out of the floor. Turned out the fake flooring was way too soft for the wear and tear of an airport/train station. So they had to spend even more money on a clear epoxy to protect the floors. Whomp whomp.
APM to the main terminals
We next took the Orlando International Airport Automated People Mover (APMs) from the Brightline station to the main atrium of Terminals A & B.
On the way, Johnson gave us some fun facts about the APM:
- The route between C and A/B is 1.47 miles
- The APMs are capable of going up to 42mph (they never DO. But they CAN.)
- They were built in the same plant that built the kamikaze planes that bombed Pearl Harbor
The main terminal (A & B)
MCO’s main terminal has 2 atriums – one on the A side and one on the B side. They’re connected by a long hallway that offers shopping, dining and art.
Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport
The atrium on the A side also houses the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, which is the only hotel on MCO’s property.
The hotel is owned by MCO and run by Hyatt. Johnson said the hotel, which has 433 rooms (it used to have 435, but 2 rooms were converted to become the hotel’s gym), garners between 6% and 10% of the airport’s profits every year.
The atrium on the A side of the terminal also houses a large fountain.
You might think, “a fountain; big whoop.” But it actually has several ulterior motives:
- Atriums are loud. The fountain makes white noise for the hotel
- It adds humidity to the air
- It’s used as a means of wayfinding (read: “Meet me at the fountain” or “Go just past the fountain and make a right”)
- It has a calming effect
- It’s aesthetically pleasing
- It’s Florida. Even though Orlando is in the center of the state, people expect to see water in Florida
The carpet
The carpet in the atrium, like MCO’s “famous” carpet (THAT one is limited to airside of Terminals A & B) is patented and MCO owns the patent. But some fun facts about this carpet:
- The carpet was originally designed during a time when smoking was allowed in airports (very few airports still allow smoking – here are the ones that do). The carpet has black marks on it to camouflage burn marks from dropped cigarettes.
- The carpet is also dotted with pink. That’s another attempt at camouflage, this time to hide bubblegum.
The anchor stores
The main terminal has anchor stores run by Universal, Disney and SeaWorld (there used to be an anchor store for Kennedy Space Center, but it closed during COVID and never returned). The airport works with these companies to figure out ways to increase traffic in the stores. This isn’t anything altruistic on the airport’s part as much as they get a percentage of the profits. 😉
The Traveler
The Traveler is the most famous piece of art at MCO (and may or may not be my favorite). From MCO:
For almost four decades, visitors to Orlando International Airport have enjoyed gazing upon the spectacle affectionately known as “The Sleeping Man” a.k.a. “The Traveler” by artist Duane Hanson. He’s been sitting in his display case on Level 3 of the Main Terminal, undisturbed by time kept on the cracked Seiko watch on his wrist.
Using polyester resin, Bondo, bronze or fiberglass, Hanson’s technique involved casting living people and then painting the figure with all the imperfections and veins of actual skin. Hanson also used photography to develop his vision, shooting Polaroids of his models, looking for the pose that felt most real.
The Traveler has been moved around MCO over the years:
Originally installed near a bar in the Main Terminal with no covering, “The Traveler” required several refurbishments over the years by Hanson and his stylist, due to the interactions of passengers from around the world, including those who threw coins at him for good luck. While the interaction was appreciated, “The Traveler” was eventually encased in acrylic in its current location, where he continues to delight and intrigue passengers.
The Traveler has been said to weigh about 250 pounds but Johnson said that according to the workers who moved the piece to its current location, they approximate it’s more like 800 pounds.
The Traveler has been assessed to be worth $650k.
FUN FACT! The carpet that The Traveler is laying on is perpendicular to the carpet on the floor. 😉 It’s thought to have been an oversight.
New ticket counter area
MCO went through a multi-million dollar update a few years ago, which included new ticket areas (they were worked on during Covid, when fewer people were flying).
The ticketing areas include 777 monitors that can be updated on the fly. That way, if there’s a smaller airline that only flies in/out of MCO a few times per week, the space can be shared; the monitors can be updated to reflect whichever airline is flying that day.
The update to the ticketing area also included fewer doors into the building, so the air conditioning doesn’t escape as much.
The food court
The food court can hold 882 seats. Johnson said that a consultant recommended having 1500 seats in the area but after walking through the space, with luggage, a former bigwig at MCO said there was no space for people to move around. Hence “only” 882 seats.
The centerpiece of the food court is a 3,000 gallon aquarium. It used to be themed after Finding Nemo, but that’s no longer the case because of post-COVID supply issues. Johnson also mentioned there used to be a shark (“Bruce”) but the shark ate Nemo (so much for “fish are friends, not food”) so they don’t have sharks in the aquarium anymore. The tank does have some eels, and they’re hand fed because eels eat slowly and the other fish were eating the food that was supposed to be theirs.
Anyway, word in the street is that the new president of the airport wants to replace the aquarium with a ball pit. Because that’s not a germfest waiting to happen….
The view from the roof
Johnson and the social media team then escorted us to the roof of the terminal, which was great for photo ops. We also learned a few more fun facts:
- There’s a helicopter landing area on Level 11 of the main building
- There used to be a running track on the roof, for Hyatt’s guests, but it’s no longer available
- MCO’s control tower used to be the tallest in the state. It’s now the 8th tallest tower in the country (it’s 23′ shorter than the tallest)
- There are 23,000 paid parking spaces at MCO, but they’re looking at building more.
- The longest runway at MCO is 12,500 feet long.
Lunchtime
MCO treated us to a lunch of sandwiches, chips, fruit and a variety of bite-sized desserts, as well as cans of soda.
While we ate, we got to hear from Marquez Griffin, the Senior Vice President of Operations, Juliana Peña Perez, the Assistant Vice President, Air Service Development – Marketing, and Joseanett Schuetz, the Assistant Vice President, Public Affairs & Community Relations.
It was hard to eat and take notes at the same time, so I don’t have as much information from the information they told us. They did go into details of operational procedures and some future plans (including a vast upgrade of one of their food courts that’s coming soon).
At the end of the lunch, our hosts also gave us goodie bags with all sorts of MCO-branded swag, including a water bottle, luggage tag, sunglasses, lanyard (with pins!), diary-style book, and a small bottle of honey (MCO has a beekeeping outlet on property). We also got some various airline-branded stuff from Volaris and Delta, And nope, no MCO carpet socks, darn it! We did get MCO APM socks, though!
On the airfield
Perhaps the most exciting part of the tour was being able to go onto MCO’s airfield.
Not surprisingly, we first had to go through a “behind the scenes” security check, which included a K9 sniffing all of our belongings on the bus, and then us and the “stuff” we were bringing with us going through a scanner.
We were then joined by Ethan Patterson, who is the Supervisor of Airfield Training and Compliance. We were led by a Wildlife Control truck (Wildlife Control also goes under the guises of MCO’s Airfield Training and Compliance department) onto Airside 4.
Besides leading the way, the truck also acted as something of a crossing guard when we needed to cross an active runway.
Airside 4
Our first stop was to get up close and personal with a Breeze plane.
We then drove towards one of the runways. We were allowed out of the bus after a quick safety briefing that included “you’re going to be taking photos and videos of an active runway; don’t go past “THIS LINE” (with the threat of loading everyone back onto the bus and the tour would be unceremoniously finished).
No one went past the line. 😉
Airside 4 is close to one of the runways that are used for takeoffs. The photographers and plane spotters among us had a blast taking picture after picture. Me, I’m more of a video person.
Airside 3
After some time, we loaded back onto the bus and went to Airside 3. This was near one of the runways that are used for landings. Photos and videos ensued, along with a special photo op.
The alert site
Our next stop was the alert site, which is where MCO has a handful of old, decommissioned planes that are used to teach those who work at the airport’s emergency services department.
West cargo ramp
Our final stop was the west cargo ramp. This is where cargo and shipping planes can be found. It’s also where some commercial planes may “sleep” for the night, if they’re unexpectedly (and sometimes expectedly) to stay at MCO overnight.
And then we were done. The bus brought us back to the parking area where we had met up that morning, we got into our respective cars, and went home.
Conclusion
When my husband and I decided to sign up for this tour, I was really going to go with him. He’s the aviation enthusiast MUCH more than I am. But all in all, I had a really great time!
Oh! MCO made one last video of our day:
MCO did this tour, in honor of National Aviation Day, for the first time in 2024, and now did it again in 2025. It sounds as if they’re going to do this tour annually, so we’re going to look at going again next year, so Joe can come too!
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2 comments
Excellent report, cool videos too!
Thanks! So, um, what does Scott Kirby smell like? 😉