Magical Express Question

[fordchevyguy]

I have never taken Magical Express and would to be able to say it did it once before it is ended.

I am saying at OKW in March, Can anyone tell me does ME run directly to OKW or does it stop at other resorts first? IS there a long wait at airport prior to leaving? How long will it take from Airport to OKW on ME? How full are the busses with Covid restrictions?

sorry for all questions... i am just trying to decide if i should just rent a car.

 

[StageTek]

The wait time at the airport depends on time of day. Sometimes there is no wait, sometimes there is a long wait. I know that not the answer you're looking for, but there just isn't a way to say for sure.

The bus almost always stops at several resorts. Sometimes you get lucky and your resort is first.

These days the buses are not filled. They do their best to keep parties separate.

From picking up your bags to stepping off the bus at your resort usually takes 60 to 90 minutes.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

No one can really answer on if your resort will be first. The route varies based on who they pack on the bus. I almost always am the unlucky one who is dropped off last. That's one of the reasons I stopped using ME.

As StageTek says, I have waited for like one minute and as long as 30-40 minutes for a bus - although the longer waits were mainly in years past.

 

[Firepath]

I have never gone directly to OKW from the airport, but the bus usually stays in one area. So OKW could be with SSR, and Riverside and French Quarter. The stops are pretty quick though.

 

[StageTek]

Excellent point, Firepath. I usually stay at POFQ and now that you mention it OKW does seem to be on that bus most of the time. As I recall, OKW was first or second stop.

fordchevyguy, unless you are in big hurry - ADR for example - DME can be a relaxing way to start a Disney vacation. In raw numbers it's faster to rent a car and drive. But for many people - me included - DME is a great experience.

 

[SL6827]

When arriving at OKW, how does one get to their room from the main lobby after being dropped off by ME?

 

[oufpat]

When we were there 2 years ago, we were able to get a CM from bell services to transport us to our room on a "golf cart." They did the same when we left, just called bell services the day before requesting a pick-up time and they could not have been nicer!

 

[Chuck S]

I've used Magical Express several times over the last few years. OKW was the first stop all but once. But as always, it can vary.

 

[bryon]

As others have said, there are many factors and your answers can not really be determined.

However, I have taken about 5 trips from MCO going to various different resorts. I have found that if you do not "waste" time, you can get from your plane to park entrance in two hours or less. This includes, getting off plane -> walking to Magical express -> getting to resort ->drop off bags in room -> go to bus terminal at resort -> enter park turn style.

All can be done around 2 hours from moment you leave plane. If you stop to eat, or stop to get checked luggage, or have to check in at the front desk or look around, or anything additional, then you will be adding time and may not make it in 2 hours. But if I am excited to get to the park, I know I can do it in two hours or less from moment I get off plane.

 

[Yinn]

I have never taken Magical Express and would to be able to say it did it once before it is ended.

I am saying at OKW in March, Can anyone tell me does ME run directly to OKW or does it stop at other resorts first? IS there a long wait at airport prior to leaving? How long will it take from Airport to OKW on ME? How full are the busses with Covid restrictions?

sorry for all questions... i am just trying to decide if i should just rent a car.

I can only speak to the ME I've ridden on and can say with 100% confidence that the resort I stay at is always the last stop.

With COVID, the busses aren't filling up much at all. The fill up rate depends a little on the amount of people, but chatting with the drivers and CMs it seems they are trying to skip at least 2 rows between passengers. We had 3 rows of spacing for the trip we just took in Dec. This speeds up the drop off tremendously.

As for the trip, I usually plan about one to one and a half hours total for the trip from the Airport to the resort. In Dec it took roughly 30-45 minutes from the moment we got in line to the drop off. It was noticeably quicker than normal with the wait time at about 5-10 minutes.

 

[The Jackal]

When arriving at OKW, how does one get to their room from the main lobby after being dropped off by ME?

If you are staying near the HH you could walk or they have golf carts to drive people to the rooms. They can carry a lot of passengers and luggage.

 

[kniquy]

I have never taken Magical Express and would to be able to say it did it once before it is ended.

I am saying at OKW in March, Can anyone tell me does ME run directly to OKW or does it stop at other resorts first? IS there a long wait at airport prior to leaving? How long will it take from Airport to OKW on ME? How full are the busses with Covid restrictions?

sorry for all questions... i am just trying to decide if i should just rent a car.

The wait time depends upon if your bus to already there. We have hit ME where it is a sea of people, packed beyond the checkin point. This was on a busy saturday morning of a school vacation week. But more recently in Covid times we arrived on a Friday morning, you could hear crickets it was so dead. The bus capacity is limited so even if there are other resort stops there is not a lot of people getting off so the extra time it takes to get to your resort shouldn't be great. It is actually nice to be able to "check out" other resorts.

 

[Orion Nebula]

All I can say is that those 60+ minutes never feel that long. Mostly due to the big cushy seats and Disney on the TVs. On the way back everything gets depressing though, hence why people call it the tragical express.

 

[gisele2]

When we were there 2 years ago, we were able to get a CM from bell services to transport us to our room on a "golf cart." They did the same when we left, just called bell services the day before requesting a pick-up time and they could not have been nicer!

Good to know !

 

[carlbarry]

I used ME for the first time this past December 30. I waited probably 15 minutes before they started checking in the people in line.
I was staying at OKW. I was directed to a bus going directly to OKW. The ride took about 40 minutes.
I used ME because I always rent a car. But the cost of renting over New Years was astronomical.

 

[Can_Dannn]

We were staying at Boardwalk Villas; waiting in line for ME since it was going to be our last ride (we're moving to Orlando in 60 days) - they put us in a private mears van since we were the only ones going to BWV

So we never got a last ME ride from airport to our resort.

 

[Pirate Granny]

I was MOST impressed with the bus loading. The driver has a seating assignment sheet and you are told which row to sit in...every other row filled and NOT the row in the aisle next to you. I felt most safe.