Magical Express accessible busses.

i just made my ME reservations. The CM told me all the busses have lifts. Some of might have known this. I did not know this but am happy I won't have to wait for a lift bus going to my resort.

We heard that back in January (the last time we flew in to MCO). Apparently Mears has now positioned the DME/DCL fleet now so that all of those buses have lifts, and guests no longer have to wait for a lift-equipped bus to cycle back around through the system. The lifts are kind of "hidden" for most folks; you only know what to look for from the inside if you have used one. From the outside, it just looks like... bus. There really isn't any indicator of any sort.

To the average WDW DME traveler, those buses just look they have an emergency door placed right next to the bathroom. It isn't until they see it in action that they even become aware it is there.

I can spot the lift door from a mile away. LOL

It's possible at this point that they repositioned so that all DME buses have lifts, but I can tell you that it was not the case for our last trip in April 2016, at least not for OKW.
We have used the DME lift buses since DME first started running, so are very aware of what they look like.
As we waited at the airport for our bus to OKW, I saw buses in the pick up area without lifts.

We were quite early to the DME pick up point when leaving leaving OKW; we tried to get on the earlier bus going back to the airport. It was not accessible. The next bus was drop off only, but also had no lift.
The driver for our bus said the lift was not working and he would call us another lift bus. He said it should still be in time, but he did not know where the bus would be coming from because the bus that was nearest might not have a lift.
The Bell Captain ended up calling us an accessible taxi (which OKW gave us a voucher to pay the driver with). He said we could take whichever came first, but not to count on the next bus being accessible or an accessible bus getting there in time.
We ended up taking the accessible taxi, so I have no idea what would have happened with the bus.

I'll be interested in checking it out when we go in October

I was hoping what the CM told me was true but I will check before I go to confirm it was noted I need a lift bus.

Yes, I concur with Sue. I was just there in May and as soon as the return trip ME Driver saw my ECV, I think he panicked. He didn't have a lift on his bus and thought I was going to need one. He asked me if I was expecting a lift. I told him I could do a few steps but needed to sit in the front. I could see the relief spread across his face. LOL

Well, shoot. We will be there next week - but ironically, we are driving in this time! LOL

I'll keep an eye open while we are around the front of the Resorts to at least see what the DME buses that are coming and going look like. I'm not surprised that I was given incorrect information; when we were at MCO in January of this year, I saw what appeared to be two drivers being either trained or "refreshed" on how to use the lift by another guy with a clipboard and a lanyard.

Our "pick up" driver at MCO clearly did not have a lot of experience with the lift, and I knew more than he did about how to operate it. LOL The driver for the return trip to MCO was so slick and fast with the lift; it was great.

We have decided if we do fly in to WDW again, we are going to ask for our departure to be *at least* 4 hours prior - not only to allow for DME issues (like Sue had in April) but also because MCO's TSA lines are just stupidly long and slow.

I agree with Sue also. This wasn't the case at Christmas we had to wait for an accessible bus in a special line at Orlando ME. It was over to the left by the rest rooms. We were not waiting long but not all buses had the lift that was for sure. Maybe in time they will which is cool.