1) There's 7 approach frequencies for KMCO. I know if I had flight following then they would just hand me off to the correct controller so it wouldn't be a problem. But what if I don't have flight following? How do I know which approach frequency to pick?
I think they are listed in the Airport Facility Directory with explanations which approach controller frequency works for which area. Don't have that publication ready, but I would take guidance from the STAR descriptions. So coming from the South West I would give 134.05 a try, coming from the South East I would call 125.55, etc...
2) What are the ATC comms like all the way from initial contact to the landing clearance? Do they give you altitude and heading directions before they hand you off to tower?
Yes they normally do.
3) Should you try to contact approach before you fly into the 30nm vail or just when you are outside the boundary of the Class B airspace?
Depends on the altitude and the shape of the Class B airspace. I would recommend calling them 5-10 minutes out (so around 10-15 NM in a C152).
Although the AIM doesn't give you precise instructions on when to call out, you might want to read up on specific sections of the AIM (related to R/T and safety) or get a good instructor briefing before trying it.
It sounds almost too simple there. It sounded like they didn't really care where exactly you transitioned. The only instruction was to hold and maintain 8500.
It can get hairy too, in the sense that you get passed around to 3 different control frequencies with the third one passing you back to the first. That's the time to be assertive (while remaining polite
).
Also, if you're at 2000 ft, you're much more likely to get vectored around / out than if you ask a transition at 8000 ft (where they have more room to manoeuvre you).