Catching the Magical Express....flight leaves SUPER EARLY

[Tammy296]

Ok so my last day will be April 17th... my flight leaves at 8:30 am from MCO. So tell me, how early am I going to have to catch the ME and does it come to all disney resorts for pick up EARLY ENOUGH???

I'm thinking about this now and thinking OMG what have I done?!?!

Well it's still DISNEY!!!

 

[mb187143]

Ok so my last day will be April 17th... my flight leaves at 8:30 am from MCO. So tell me, how early am I going to have to catch the ME and does it come to all disney resorts for pick up EARLY ENOUGH???

I'm thinking about this now and thinking OMG what have I done?!?!

Well it's still DISNEY!!!

DME picks up 24 hours/day. I took a flight home at 6:30 am for a business meeting that changed my vacation plans, and my pick up time was 3:15 am. So you're looking at a 5:15-5:30 am ish pick up time for your flight give or take a few minutes.

 

[geckodani]

Ok so my last day will be April 17th... my flight leaves at 8:30 am from MCO. So tell me, how early am I going to have to catch the ME and does it come to all disney resorts for pick up EARLY ENOUGH???

I'm thinking about this now and thinking OMG what have I done?!?!

Well it's still DISNEY!!!

It's generally about 3 hours before your flight, so your bus will most likely be around 5:30. They'll get you there! And at least you don't have to drive that early.

 

[sndral]

Yep, been there, done that @ 3:15 am - and I wasn't the only one waiting for the DME bus. I felt like a thief sneaking away in the night!
An 8 am flight is practically civilized compared to those 6 am flights - I bet w/ an 8 am flight you can even find coffee @ MCO as you wait for your departure unlike the offerings for those waiting for really early flights - my groggy recollection is that the airline check in counter wasn't even open when DME dropped us @ the terminal and we had to wait for airline check in people to show up.
I don't know that RAC will be open early enough, so you may have to schlep your bags w/ you on DME.

 

[RookieLady]

I recommend doing what Disney recommends. However, I did get up and get on a 5:15 am ME bus to MCO for an 8:30 flight. I waited in a really long security line. Nonetheless, I still waited a full hour before my flight boarded. It's hit or miss with transportation, which is why I did what Disney recommended. Be prepared that you might be ridiculously early. I must admit I was a trifle aggravated until I remembered if there had been an accident that backed up traffic, I may have missed my plane.

 

[mmmears]

I put this on your other post, but we found that moving to the Hyatt in the airport the night before made things much easier. It's in the airport (not near it) so it's very convenient and you don't have to worry about being late -- and you can sleep an extra hour as well. I hate those early morning flights out of MCO.

 

[squirrel4569]

When looking at the flight options I had coming home my choices were 6am-8am or noon. I opted for the noon flight so we don't have to be up and out in the middle of the night. ME or not you'd still have to be at the airport at a crazy hour of the day. It's tough to pack up from Disney and get out with the kids as it is, but that early in the morning would be rough.

Our incoming flight does leave Texas at 7am but we'll be so excited to go I don't think we'll care.

 

[goofy4tink]

We are headed down in Sept. DH has to leave on a Sunday morning, I get to stay a few more days. Lucky me. BUT...dh told me to book him the earliest flight out...he likes to get home as early as possible. So...I booked him a flight at 7am. He was thrilled. Even when I reminded him that DME would be picking him up at 4am!!! I told him that when he got up at his normal 3am potty call, he could just stay up, shower and leave...quietly!!!! He is such a lark that this is no big deal for him!!!
DME is there 24/7. It always amazes me to see those buses coming and going, all through the night!

 

[Sandi]

We are headed down in Sept. DH has to leave on a Sunday morning, I get to stay a few more days. Lucky me. BUT...dh told me to book him the earliest flight out...he likes to get home as early as possible. So...I booked him a flight at 7am. He was thrilled. Even when I reminded him that DME would be picking him up at 4am!!! I told him that when he got up at his normal 3am potty call, he could just stay up, shower and leave...quietly!!!! He is such a lark that this is no big deal for him!!!
DME is there 24/7. It always amazes me to see those buses coming and going, all through the night!

Last week DH and I had a 7:15 a.m. pick up for our 10:20 flight. What made me jealous was the DME bus that came to drop people off at about 7:05! I never have a problem getting up early to GO to WDW; but I hate leaving so early.

 

[Kimberle]

*LOL* I once had a 6:30 am flight. No worries, ME is 24 hours. They'll pick you up about 3 hours before your flight. Be at your stop 15 minutes early cause sometimes the bus is early.

 

[summerlady]

In 2008 we had a 7:30 a.m. flight home, ME picked us up at 4:30 a.m. I have no idea why I thought this was a good idea when I booked the flight. Never again. Strangely enough, we love the 6:30 a.m. flight to MCO, which means that we get up at 3:30 a.m. and leave for the airport at 4:30 a.m.

 

[SwimBikeRun]

2:45 am pickup with 2 kids for a 6:00 am flight. We missed the 2:45. The alarm didn't go off - we woke up at 2:40. Made the 3:15 am bus. Nightmare for this single mom but the kids did GREAT. I had to take a nap when we got home. LOL

 

[katt789]

I've definitely been among those who have been picked up at 3:15am. Its eerie to be around the resort when it's that quiet/empty, but the busses definitely still run!

 

[CalicoSky]

You'll be fine. They definitely will pick you up early enough. I had a flight scheduled for 9:00 and the airline kept adjusting their schedule and bumping my flight up until it was over an hour earlier! My Magic Express time was simply adjusted accordingly (all it took was a three-minute stop at the concierge desk to let them know the itinerary change). I still got the standard 3-hours-before-departure pickup time, and on this particular trip the security lines were so long I was grateful for it.

The solo walk from POR Bldg 37 to the main building before 5am was eerie but pretty cool at the same time. I definitely recommend getting to the ME stop 15 minutes or so before the scheduled departure--they always seem to arrive early, and with a chipper driver who's ready to be on the move!

 

[goofy4tink]

2:45 am pickup with 2 kids for a 6:00 am flight. We missed the 2:45. The alarm didn't go off - we woke up at 2:40. Made the 3:15 am bus. Nightmare for this single mom but the kids did GREAT. I had to take a nap when we got home. LOL

Glad you were able to get on the next bus...but here's the rub. There may not BE a next bus!! Well, at least not that would fit your needs. If there were no guests at your resort that needed that 3:15am bus, the bus wouldn't have stopped there! Just putting that out there so others know that there may very well be no 'next' bus coming along for an hour or so.

 

[Eric in TX]

I put this on your other post, but we found that moving to the Hyatt in the airport the night before made things much easier. It's in the airport (not near it) so it's very convenient and you don't have to worry about being late -- and you can sleep an extra hour as well. I hate those early morning flights out of MCO.

My Sister & her family are planning on doing this in November. They figured that they would much rather leave WDW after dinner Thursday evening, get the extra few hours of sleep, and just rouse the kiddos Friday morning for the shuttle to their terminal.

For them, that was a much more appealing option then trying to deal with two second graders and a 3 AM wake up call.

Good luck!

Eric