There are two ways to get approximate fares. One is to go to RideGuru.com and enter your pickup point and destination. That will give you a pretty accurate fare estimate across a wide variety of choices: Uber (various vehicle types), Lyft (various vehicle types) and taxi. I have found Ride Guru estimates to be pretty accurate.
The other way is directly from the Uber and Lyft apps themselves (or from their websites). Before you actually order your ride, you will get an actual quote.
Uber uses "upfront pricing," which means the price quoted
will be the actual price you pay. If the driver has to take a detour, or gets caught in traffic which adds more time -- no big deal, you pay the quoted price anyway. No "long-hauling" like taxis sometimes do. Lyft uses upfront pricing in some markets, but I'm not sure if they do in the Orlando market. (maybe Joel can tell you).
A couple of suggestions:
- First of all, put both Uber and Lyft apps on your phone. At very busy times, pricing changes (called Surge by Uber and PrimeTime by Lyft). The companies seldom price the same, so if one is surging and the other isn't, there might be a significant difference in price.
- Second -- Uber and Lyft both usually have some sort of promotion going on. One common one is $20 in discounts, usable $5 per ride. SO...if you and DH BOTH put BOTH apps on your phones, you have double the promotions with both companies.
- If just the two of you are Ubering, you will only need an UberX. That's a 4-door vehicle with seating and seatbelts for driver and four passengers, and it's the lowest fare category in the Orlando market. Your fares won't be anywhere near $60 for round-trips to and from a theme park! If you have 5-6 riders, or simply want more space, you will need XL which is an SUV or minivan with seating for six riders. (you may also get an SUV or minivan on X, because most XL drivers also take X rides)
Using Uber/Lyft is very easy and there are lots of experienced users (and a few drivers like myself) who can give you good info. If you have any questions, just fire away!