CleveRocks
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster worshipper
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
No surprise to me, Disney's Magical Express worked very well for my family this past week.
On the night of our arrival (Wed. night 3/21), I hit the stopwatch on my iPhone the instant entered the airport terminal from the jetway, pausing it only when my kids used the restroom during the walk to the monorail.
From airplane exit to drop-off at Contemporary Resort it was 64 minutes.
We landed a little before 9 p.m. We skipped baggage claim, of course. The DME area had a lot of people in the various queues but they were all cleared out in minutes. We seemed to be just about the only ones left. They eventually put us, a family of 4, on a Mears Shuttle van with a woman going to POFQ and two women plus a baby heading for Grand Floridian.
So my entire time spent in the DME area was 17 minutes. As soon as we were led to the van, we left. The POFQ drop-off was first and couldn't have been quicker. We, at Contemporary, were second.
Like I said, 64 minutes from airplane exit to Contemporary.
If I had to detour to baggage claim and wait there for my bags, I probably would've spent as much time as I did waiting in the DME area. Anyway, it was great, efficient, and free.
After I checked-in at the resort around 10 p.m., I went to Bell Services and asked to have our two checked bags held 'til morning. Whenever we fly ANYWHERE, we always pack our carry-ons with our needs for the first 24 hours (PJs, acceptable toiletries, kids bedtime buddies, change of clothes for the morning). So we had no need for our suitcases that night anyway. Around 5:45 a.m. I called Bell Services and they were at my door with my bags within about 5 minutes. I have no idea when the bags actually arrived at my resort, and I don't care.
And on our departure day, everything was great, too. Except for the part about leaving Disney World ....
We had a 2:15 p.m. flight scheduled on Sunday, and our scheduled pick-up time was 11:25 a.m. from Contemporary. The bus arrived at 11:18 and left at 11:28. There were only 5 families on-board, a quite empty bus, but we were the only stop. It was right to the airport for us, plenty of time to get through security and grab lunch. The only thing that was odd was that the driver wouldn't accept my DME-booklet vouchers, he only wanted the letter we got hanging on our door the day before. I had it available, but I was a little annoyed, since the letter tells you to use the booklet vouchers but that you can use the letter if you can't find your vouchers. Whatever. Truly a minor point.
Anyway, it was an unfortunately efficient ride back the airport.
We always read complaints, so I thought I'd report on a normal experience for a change.
On a totally different note, I got to see first-hand how absolutely horrendous the MCO security lines can be. Our flight was cancelled and we were put up in the airport Hyatt for the night. Our room's balcony overlooked the edge of the security area on the A side of the airport. Around 9 a.m., as I was out on the balocny reading, the line left the security area and swept clear across the terminal, almost to the area where you'd walk towards the gates. In other words, getting to the airport on the early side isn't the worst idea in the world.
On the night of our arrival (Wed. night 3/21), I hit the stopwatch on my iPhone the instant entered the airport terminal from the jetway, pausing it only when my kids used the restroom during the walk to the monorail.
From airplane exit to drop-off at Contemporary Resort it was 64 minutes.
We landed a little before 9 p.m. We skipped baggage claim, of course. The DME area had a lot of people in the various queues but they were all cleared out in minutes. We seemed to be just about the only ones left. They eventually put us, a family of 4, on a Mears Shuttle van with a woman going to POFQ and two women plus a baby heading for Grand Floridian.
So my entire time spent in the DME area was 17 minutes. As soon as we were led to the van, we left. The POFQ drop-off was first and couldn't have been quicker. We, at Contemporary, were second.
Like I said, 64 minutes from airplane exit to Contemporary.
If I had to detour to baggage claim and wait there for my bags, I probably would've spent as much time as I did waiting in the DME area. Anyway, it was great, efficient, and free.
After I checked-in at the resort around 10 p.m., I went to Bell Services and asked to have our two checked bags held 'til morning. Whenever we fly ANYWHERE, we always pack our carry-ons with our needs for the first 24 hours (PJs, acceptable toiletries, kids bedtime buddies, change of clothes for the morning). So we had no need for our suitcases that night anyway. Around 5:45 a.m. I called Bell Services and they were at my door with my bags within about 5 minutes. I have no idea when the bags actually arrived at my resort, and I don't care.
And on our departure day, everything was great, too. Except for the part about leaving Disney World ....
We had a 2:15 p.m. flight scheduled on Sunday, and our scheduled pick-up time was 11:25 a.m. from Contemporary. The bus arrived at 11:18 and left at 11:28. There were only 5 families on-board, a quite empty bus, but we were the only stop. It was right to the airport for us, plenty of time to get through security and grab lunch. The only thing that was odd was that the driver wouldn't accept my DME-booklet vouchers, he only wanted the letter we got hanging on our door the day before. I had it available, but I was a little annoyed, since the letter tells you to use the booklet vouchers but that you can use the letter if you can't find your vouchers. Whatever. Truly a minor point.
Anyway, it was an unfortunately efficient ride back the airport.
We always read complaints, so I thought I'd report on a normal experience for a change.
On a totally different note, I got to see first-hand how absolutely horrendous the MCO security lines can be. Our flight was cancelled and we were put up in the airport Hyatt for the night. Our room's balcony overlooked the edge of the security area on the A side of the airport. Around 9 a.m., as I was out on the balocny reading, the line left the security area and swept clear across the terminal, almost to the area where you'd walk towards the gates. In other words, getting to the airport on the early side isn't the worst idea in the world.
