ME Negative Experiences

[joeathome167]

Just picked up my ME and travel documents from AAA. This will be the first time using ME and not renting a car. I hear nothing but good things about ME and was wondering if anyone has had a BAD experience with Magical Express from MCO.

We will be flying Southwest and are aware we can't check our bags upon departure with RAC.

Thanks for the info.
Joe

 

[goofy4tink]

The vast majority of guests have good DME experiences. But, it all depends on what you consider 'good'. I have used DME many times. My average time, from gate to resort, is about 70 mins. There have been only two times that it took longer than that. One time it took close to 90 mins, and another time it was 75 mins. The vast majority of times ran about 60 mins...which I have no problem with.
You will make mulitple stops, but usually no more than 3, and they are quick ones.
You will have to be ready to head back to MCO about 3 hrs. before your flight departs, which some feel is way too early. I just figure accordingly and deal with it. It only gets me to MCO about 25 mins sooner than if I had a car service pick me up.
All in all...for something that we don't pay oop for, I think it's a terrific service. Not for everyone, but for most it works quite well.

 

[CleveRocks]

Just picked up my ME and travel documents from AAA. This will be the first time using ME and not renting a car. I hear nothing but good things about ME and was wondering if anyone has had a BAD experience with Magical Express from MCO.

We will be flying Southwest and are aware we can't check our bags upon departure with RAC.

Thanks for the info.
Joe

Of course there have been some bad experiences. It's bound to happen. In fact, it's a statistical impossibility that there would NEVER be bad experiences using ANY system.

But the fact is that these bad experiences are rare exceptions. If you are having second thoughts about using DME, then you will find confirmation of your doubts in that small handful of stories.

It would be just as well to ask about negative experiences with car services or car rentals ... these are good options, too, but they too have some rare bad experiences, just like DME.

 

[sassyredhead]

Both trips with ME were great. I love getting on the bus and starting the magical experience as soon as we pull away from the curb. Our luggage was waiting in our rooms when we arrived both times. And, best of all, it's FREE!

 

[brianm27]

OP, you did not mention where you were staying, but Southwest is "testing" RAC at POP and all 3 All-Star Resorts. It may be expanded at any time to other resorts. At first, it was only POP.

Our experience with RAC and SW at POP was excellent. Our SW boarding passes were delivered to our room at 4:30 AM along with luggage tags. When I wheeled the bags down to check in, we did not even need to stand in line because of the luggage tags, just show photo ID.

I hope Southwest goes resort wide soon.

 

[CarolMN]

Of course there have been some bad experiences. It's bound to happen. In fact, it's a statistical impossibility that there would NEVER be bad experiences using ANY system.

But the fact is that these bad experiences are rare exceptions. If you are having second thoughts about using DME, then you will find confirmation of your doubts in that small handful of stories.

It would be just as well to ask about negative experiences with car services or car rentals ... these are good options, too, but they too have some rare bad experiences, just like DME.

What he said - you can find NEGATIVES about anything if you seek them out.

Given that people here are much more likely to post a negative than a positive (esp here, lol), I think that pretty much says most ME experiences are good, or at least not worth of complaint.

Does that mean a good experience for you is guaranteed? Of course, not. But the odds are very definitely in your favor.

 

[simzac]

We have used ME 3 times now.Kind of hard to find anything negative about something that's free. JMO

 

[backyardponder]

We used DME for the first time a few weeks ago. It went well. If I think really hard, here's the negatives I came up with:

- Long walk from Southwest to the DME pick up location. Of course, I'm heading to WDW and expect to do a lot of walking anyway, so this was a warm up.

- Fairly long line waiting for the bus, but it moved really fast...maybe 15 minutes. Of course, I'm going to WDW and expect lines. They just don't hide them at DME like they do at Pirates of the Carribean.

- DME didn't take me straight to my resort. We had 2 stops along the way. Not much different than taking a bus back from the parks and it gave me a chance to peek at resorts I hadn't seen before.

So, I guess I'm grasping at straws...but you asked for negatives. I'd definately do DME again and again and again.

 

[PEANUT1]

We are not fans of Disney transportation at all!! We always rent a car but last May we decided to save money and try ME and the park buses. We were not impressed and not happy. We waited over an hour for a ME bus. (we were staying at the Beach Club Villas).

During our stay, we really didn't like the hassle of waiting for buses especially when we had dining reservations and tired kids at the end of a long day. We noticed that on most of our buses we were waiting a very long time for ECV's to be loaded onto buses (don't flame, I have no issues with ECV's just that it really impacts how long the bus ride is).

To sum it all up...we won't go without a car again..it is just too convenient for us to have one.

 

[Jestocost]

You might as well also post to find out who has had a bad experience with cabs, rental cars, town cars, etc. I can provide personal horror stories for virtually all of the above. The bottom line is that most of the time all of those work just fine, but sometimes things can go wrong with any one of them. One bad experience with any one of those options doesn't mean it is by definition a bad way to go.

For me it boils down to picking an option that works best for your personal preferences. I don't like driving on vacation and I don't like cabs, and we've always found Disney transportation to be perfectly fine for our touring needs. As a result, DME is great for us; we like the price and the luggage transfer service, and our experience has been well within expected norms. Others can't imagine being without a rental car. With very few exceptions, the criticisms of DME that I see are more from people whose experience was within expectations, but the service just doesn't fit their style. That's perfectly fine, but it doesn't suggest "problems" with DME; just that it's not for everyone.

 

[Calgary DISHeads]

Not bad (but define bad?) long - both times we have used it we sat in the bus forever waiting for it to leave - one time was to POP and the second to the Poly. I would say POP was 2 1/2 hours from bus to hotel, and the Poly was over three, now that one was in the middle of the night. Are we doing it again - of course - third time lucky right

 

[summerlady]

Last week was the 3rd time we've used ME and we wouldn't do it any other way.

 

[CleveRocks]

Not bad (but define bad?) long - both times we have used it we sat in the bus forever waiting for it to leave - one time was to POP and the second to the Poly. I would say POP was 2 1/2 hours from bus to hotel, and the Poly was over three, now that one was in the middle of the night. Are we doing it again - of course - third time lucky right

WOW! You had two VERY unlucky experiences. If DME takes 2.5 hours to get you from airplane to resort, then I personally define that as a BAD experience. A very bad one.

A very rare bad experience, or rather, TWO very rare bad experiences.

If that sort of thing happened to me twice, I wouldn't be as positive about DME as you are (luckily, I've had 3 PERFECT experiences).

Some people are "the glass is half full" people, and some are "the glass is half empty" people ... I think you're in the "I'm just glad I even have a glass" group!

 

[goofy4tink]

We used DME for the first time a few weeks ago. It went well. If I think really hard, here's the negatives I came up with:

- Long walk from Southwest to the DME pick up location. Of course, I'm heading to WDW and expect to do a lot of walking anyway, so this was a warm up.

- Fairly long line waiting for the bus, but it moved really fast...maybe 15 minutes. Of course, I'm going to WDW and expect lines. They just don't hide them at DME like they do at Pirates of the Carribean.

- DME didn't take me straight to my resort. We had 2 stops along the way. Not much different than taking a bus back from the parks and it gave me a chance to peek at resorts I hadn't seen before.

So, I guess I'm grasping at straws...but you asked for negatives. I'd definately do DME again and again and again.

What a great way to look at it!!!!


As I've said (as well as many others)...the majority of the time it is going to take an average of 70 mins to get from your plane to your resort. there are many variables. But, there can also be variables with renting a car or using a car service. It could take 30 mins for your luggage to arrive at baggage claim (mine always takes at least 20 mins!!!). Your towncar driver might not show up..doesn't happen a lot, but can happen. Or you could have to go in search of him..has happened to me. Or, you could run into a glitch at the car rental counter.
What I'm trying to say is that no one method is going to be perfect 100% of the time. And no one method is going to work for each and every family.
Me? I hate the thought of navigating some of those park parking lots...they confuse the bejeebers out of me, and I wasn't even the one driving!!!! And at nighttime?? Forget it.
I have no issue with DME. Yes, there have been times there has been something to slow us down. Same thing with the resort buses to and from the parks...they usually work just fine if you understand the system. You can only give it a shot...if you don't like it, don't use it again. It doesn't cost you anything..if you get to WDW and decide you really need to rent a car, then you should be able to do so..it may cost more but it is doable.

 

[dburg30]

The one time it took us 2 hours to get to SSR (which was the first stop even) I still wasnt disappointed in the service. I really dont see me ever not using WDW transportation, unless of course they discontinue the DME service. I dont know what I'd do at that point...

 

[ruedebuci]

We are not fans of Disney transportation at all!! We always rent a car but last May we decided to save money and try ME and the park buses. We were not impressed and not happy. We waited over an hour for a ME bus. (we were staying at the Beach Club Villas).

During our stay, we really didn't like the hassle of waiting for buses especially when we had dining reservations and tired kids at the end of a long day. We noticed that on most of our buses we were waiting a very long time for ECV's to be loaded onto buses (don't flame, I have no issues with ECV's just that it really impacts how long the bus ride is).

To sum it all up...we won't go without a car again..it is just too convenient for us to have one.

I feel the same way. I like having a car and not waiting for a bus.

That said, my ME experiences been pretty good.

 

[debster812]

I feel the same way. I like having a car and not waiting for a bus.

That said, my ME experiences been pretty good.

DH is NOT a fan of public transportation, and he really does not mind driving on vacation. That being said, when we go to Disney, we will generally take ME from the airport, and rent from National or Alamo starting on our 2nd day. We'll usually return the car the day before we leave, and ride DME back to the airport.

We've used DME 4 or 5 times so far this way, and have always been VERY pleased, even when we were arriving late at night.

 

[LSchrow]

as some others do, we take DME to/fro our resort, & rent a car (usually at the dolphin as we stay at the BWVs).
pre-DME we rented at MCO, but the convenience of not lugging luggage through an airport is worth its weight in gold (or disney dollars, depending on your perspective).

since we grocery shop, hit the outlets, eat off-site, etc, a car is neccessary...after 2-3 trips per year since its inception, we found DME is faster & more convenient than any other option

 

[clkelley]

Honestly, the only negative experiences I have had with DME are due to other guests not reading the materials ahead of time and slowing me up because they are delaying the cast at the desk or the driver to resolve their problem.

I have also had a negative experience with another guest on board who did nothing but complain the entire time he was on the bus, and scolded his poor half asleep daughter the entire time on the bus. When this guy plopped down on the bus with his family, the first words out of his mouth was "this is not Express". (FYI, I saw this family on the tram at the same time I was). I had no luggage and walked straight down to DME, and directly boarded a bus. This family boarded maybe 5 minutes after I did. I overhead, "we've been in this airport over an hour" So, whatever happened to keep them in the airport happened BEFORE the tram. He also had a maybe 6 YO daughter that was really half asleep and softly crying, probably didn't know where she was, etc.

He kept on and on about she was a big girl and why is she crying and you better shut up. Crying girls don't get vacations, etc. etc. At that point it turned into a wail. If he had just shut up, she probably would have calmed down and fell on asleep.

So, no matter how good the service is, unfortunately, most delays are going to be caused by misinformed and other guests with expectations that are too high.

 

[MickeyCrazed]

I took a solo trip in October, flew Southwest, and had a very positive experience with ME. Sure, it's not as quick as renting a car, but overall, didn't take much longer either considering I didn't have to wait to collect my luggage.

Make sure you take your vouchers with you. Having them available will eliminate the need for you to wait at the ME counter, and you can immediately get in line for your bus.