Before that happens, passengers can pick up a free souvenir button on their travels through the airport.
There are three different buttons in the “Memories Created in Orlando” program. And with each one the airport says passengers will have a chance to “celebrate special occasions, share their love for MCO, and take home a unique keepsake that highlights their experience in Orlando.”
This first round of buttons is a limited-edition collection, available only until MCO’s rebranding is unveiled on November 13. Then a new line of commemorative buttons will be introduced.
You can pick up your free Orlando International Airport souvenir button at the MCO information booths from 4:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., daily.
Where You Can Find MCO Information Booths to get a free souvenir button
Terminal A
Terminal B
Terminal C
Level 3 across from Gates 1-59 security checkpoint
Level 3 across from Gates 1-59 security checkpoint
Level 2 across from Gates C230-C245 security checkpoint
Level 3 across from Gates 70-129 security checkpoint
Level 3 across from Gates 70-129 security checkpoint
While you’re there, ask if there are any Orlando International Airport trading cards to add to your collection.
Happy Friday! Here are some travel tidbits we’ve spotted over the past few days.
Airport WiFi. Free now, but it wasn’t then.
We remember when free airport WiFi was hard to come by. Now, almost every airport you visit offers free WiFi for a few hours or the entire time you’re there.
Norfolk International Airport (ORF) shared a snap of the CyberFlyer internet stations that once offered airport WiFi access for 33 cents per minute.
#TBT May 1997: ORF installs the CyberFlyer internet station — "the payphone of the 21st century". Travelers paid 33¢/min to connect to the Internet. These stations provided access to AOL, CompuServe, & the Microsoft Net.
The visitor program at Orlando Int’l Airport is now permanent
After testing it out for a year, Orlando International Airport (MCO) has made its MCO Visitor Pass Program a permanent amenity.
The pass gives guests without boarding passes the opportunity to shop, dine and hang out with friends or family post-security at Terminal C.
Want to visit Orlando International Airport without a plane ticket?
To apply for a Visitor Pass, apply at Experience MCO up to seven days in advance.
After filling out the form and agreeing to the terms of the program, TSA will notify you of your status and send you a pass after midnight on the day of your requested visit.
The list includes Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Nashville International Airport (BNA), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), and at least a half dozen others.
Free parking for shoppers at PDX Airport
The recently opened pre-security lobby at Portland International Airport (PDX) is pretty darn swanky, with trees, stadium seating, giant video screens and a nice selection of cool shops and restaurants.
For those who want to visit the airport and check it all out (we highly recommend it), PDX is offering free parking to anyone who spends $25 in the pre-security area on Saturdays in September.
The free parking days at PDX are September 7, 14, 21 and 28.
Here’s how to get your free PDX parking offer:
Bring your airport parking ticket with you to the airport.
Shop or dine at one or more of the pre-security venues listed below.
After you make a purchase, show your ticket to one of the staff and save all your receipts. Once you’ve spent at least $25, show all the receipts to the staff at your last stop.
You’ll receive a validation coupon. Bring both the coupon and your parking ticket to the PDX parking structure and use that validation coupon to pay for your first two hours of parking.
Here are the shops and dining venues where purchases will count towards your free parking:
Swiss chocolate brand Villars is hosting a month-long activation at Switzerland’s Geneva Airport that features a life-size cow.
Visitors are invited to play a game that involves stepping into the shoes of a dairy farmer and ‘milking’ the fake cow.
In exchange, participants will receive a complimentary Villars milk chocolate bar as a gift.
According to the company reps, the goal of the fun, interactive exhibit is to highlight the process behind producing the high-quality milk that is Villars using in it premium milk chocolate.
The installation runs through September 24, 2024.
And whether or not you win the game, it sounds like chocolate sampling is part of the program.
In addition to a variety of pop-up booths from the likes of Ricola Candy and Lindt chocolate, through September 22 in the C Gates there’s a booth offering tastes of a variety of Swiss products, including Geneva chocolates, local beers, meat and fondue.
It’s definitely a step up from this creepy activation we spotting at Geneva Airport during the holiday season a few years back.
Get off a plane at Indiana’s Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA) and there’s a good chance a local volunteer will be standing there to welcome you with a big smile and a small package of bite-sized cookies.
No volunteer on duty? No worries. There’s a cute kiosk made from a pile of vintage suitcases with an open bag at the top stocked with packages of cookies free for the taking.
For many years, passengers received a single large welcome cookie.
But in mid-2020, around the time the airport handed out its 3 millionth cookie, the welcome amenity was switched to a package containing a handful of smaller, bite-sized cookies. Inside is a rotating variety of cookie flavors such as oatmeal, chocolate chip, salted caramel, and holiday favorites.
Who makes the cookies for Fort Wayne International Airport?
From the start, the cookies at Fort Wayne International Airport have been baked by Ellison, a large wholesale bakery founded in 1945. The bakery sits across the street from the airport and makes custom cookie products & mix-ins for retail grocery, ice cream and yogurt companies.
During a meeting at Fort Wayne International Airport, Ellison’s David Richhart, the company’s director of national accounts, said that each month the bakery sends the airport a pallet of cookies – about 7000 individual packages.
For many years, the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce bought the cookies from the bakery and branded the packages with the airport’s name.
But a few years ago, Richhart offered to have Ellison donate the cookies to the airport in exchange for adding the bakery’s name to the packaging.
The deal was made. We hope it was sealed over cookies and milk.
“We’re proud to be part of the Fort Wayne community and want to be a good neighbor for the airport,” said Richhart. “We know people love and have come to expect free cookies when they get off the airplane here. And we won’t allow the airport to be without cookies.”
“I enjoy playing hockey and skating with my family so I thought this would be a great way to utilize the space we have on our property, ” said Scott McFadzean, airport President and CEO. “It’s a way to give back to the community and provide a fun and safe place for staff, tenants and the public to skate.”
The large outdoor rink is near YXU’s operations center and has a view of the airport’s taxiway. It is open from 7 am until 9 pm daily, with lighting for night skating.
YXU ALSO HAD A Pickleball Court
In the summer, London International Airport also had a pickleball court for the community.
The new fast-growing sport combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, It is played on a badminton-sized court with a modified tennis net using a paddle and plastic ball with holes.
The free airport pickleball court was on the northeast side of the airport’s parking lot (where hourly rates are just $2 an hour). And loaner paddles were available for free as well.
Good going YXU! We’re putting your ice-skating rink in the running for Airport Amenity of the Week!
