ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Official Team August 2013 Thread!¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[thetorit]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

I LOVED using ME. It was incredibly convenient, kept us in the Disney Bubble, and that movie always makes me get a little teary eyed.

We're not arriving until nighttime, so I'll have jimjams in my carry-on. I have little ones so I always have an extra set of clothes for each on me anyways!

 

[beachmama3]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

I am not flying in August, but we have used ME and we will use it in November when we do fly down...that being said...it's always worked for us. Maybe pack a carry-on with swimsuits and pajamas to hold you over until your luggage arrives?

 

[chuckinthechat]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

Absolutely will be using ME! Not only that but we will be using Disney transport exclusively just out of the sheer convenience and cost factor.

 

[Disneylover99]

Our rooms have never been ready when we arrived at our Disney resorts (around noon each time). So we go to parks or swim or got to DTD. When our room is finally ready, our luggage beats us to the room before we do.

We love ME and we always carry swimsuits in our carry ons. As for jammies, my kids can sleep in their undies and be happy

 

[pigletto]

I forgot to answer if we'll be using ME this time. That remains to be seen. I refuse to pay over $250 for a ten day rental (and really would prefer $200 or less). Rentals are sky high right now so we're considering just using ME. We are hoping for an offsite beach day and some shopping so hopefully we'll get a car, but I won't be too disappointed if we don't.
I really like to have one simply for ADR's and coming and going as we please but the buses aren't too bad so either one is fine.

 

[Loreli]

I hadn't even thought of one person loosing their luggage and thus preemptively mixing the outfits in the luggage. I love the good ideas I get here. I will be getting a bigger carry on to fit the swim suit and extra change of clothes LOL.
THANKS to you all for decreasing my ME anxiety.

 

[squirrel4569]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

We are definitely using ME. We've used it once before on a trip where we flew. It was great to drop the bags at our airport and we didn't mess with them again until we got home. It's something we're looking forward to on this trip.

Taking a carryon with some essentials is a great idea. While we didn't run into a very long delay with our bags we're getting in pretty early on this trip so we'll want swim clothes for sure when we arrive.

 

[donnaf516]

Half of us will be using the ME while the others pick up the rental car and head to the resort to start check in. We also pack swim stuff & a change of clothes in a carry on but have never had a problem with our bags taking too long. Usually we swim & hit DTD on our first day but since we have a super early flight this time we'll check in and head to a park. Woo Hoo 102 days!!

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

Our first time flying in was 2007, me didn't arrive until midnight and we hadn't packed anything in our carryon. This was before they changed the times for luggage pick up. Kids slept in their underwear.

Last time 2011 We picked up our own luggage because it was late in the evening when we arrived.

This time we're to arrive near dinner, we will have swim gear and extra change of clothes in our carryon and allow ME to deliver whenever it arrives.

I love the suggestion to put som of each person's clothing in each suitcase in case of lost luggage! We'll definitely do that this year!

 

[jdd]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

Yes! We've driven the last few years, but decided to fly this time. I'm excited to be back on the ME - it's more magical for me than driving in. I'm sure I'll be cursing the park buses though before the end of the week

 

[jdd]

Hey, just saw my ticker and realized that exactly 3 months from right now we should be riding on the ME

 

[joshsmom]

Hey, just saw my ticker and realized that exactly 3 months from right now we should be riding on the ME

 

[MET270]

We used the ME for the first time on our last trip, we loved it! It really puts you in the Disney Mood! The greatest thing about being on vacation is leaving the real world behind, for me that starts with not having to drive or park a car!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

We are staying offsite and have a mid-size SUV rented, so we will pick up our luggage and go .

When we stayed onsite in 2009, we used ME and Disney transport exclusively. While it was okay (no lost luggage, etc.), I doubt we would ever use it again. We like having our stuff with us, and didn't like being at Disney's mercy as to when our luggage would eventually be delivered. And one standing-room-only trip home from AK after the masses were soaked ... and smelly .....after a rainstorm was enough to help us find the value in being able to hop in our own vehicle to get back to our resort.

That said, I can definitely see why people choose to use ME to its fullest (like we did on trip #1). When you are paying premium prices to stay onsite, you want to take advantage of all the included perks offered as part of your package. Saving the cost of a rental (ours is $251, taxes included, for 8 days) helps offset the higher room rates at Disney resorts.

Should we ever do an onsite trip in the future (which I doubt, but ya never know) I am 100% sure we'd still get our own vehicle (as we love the freedom of being able to explore all the other things Orlando has to offer) which would negate the need to use ME.

 

[julieanddanny]

Yes! Biggest plus for us staying on site is no need for a rental!

 

[Anna114]

QUESTION OF THE DAY??
If staying on site and flying in, Are you using Magic Express?
Are you as afraid as I am that you will not get your luggage until 10pm at night and will miss out on swimming your arrival afternoon, and then will have weepy kids who don't have their 'jammies to sleep in??
Why have I only read horror stories about ME?

We are using ME, we always use ME. I would like to point something out. For those of you that are concerned about getting your luggage. You can always pick up your luggage before heading to ME. Remember NOT to put the ME tags on your luggage. I don't do it because I like not having to not think about it. The only bad experience was once, we went down in Jan. We live in NY so we needed shorts and ME took over 4 hours to get our luggage. We were stuck in our room until the luggage came. It wasn't horrible being stuck in our studio but it would have been nice to get out.

 

[cinnderly]

Last year (with the help of Gina Bo-Bina (thanks again!)) I got an AMAZING rental deal with Alamo. We got an economy car for 10 days for $157...? Something like that. It was awesome. I really prefer having my own vehicle, probably because living in NYC and getting about by public transportation for years makes waiting around feel pretty old -- and inconvenient.

Rentals seem much steeper this year though, and I'm not sure we can swing it. If prices don't go down then we will definitely be using ME. I like the idea of them handling our luggage, but I don't love the idea of using Disney transport all week.

 

[kristenm514]

How do people get these great car rental prices?? Everything I have priced out has been about $400 for a week!! Gross!

 

[cinnderly]

My great deal was last year. Not having the same luck for 2013.

 

[solana131]

We always take the ME....it isn't a Disney trip without that little welcome video. I drive ALOT at home, so I am more than happy to let them drive. And as far as luggage...we always take an early flight, so being late isn't a problem. Usually we have to wait for our room to be ready and when we get the text about that, the luggage is already in the room waiting for us. Love this! We do direct flights, so a larger carry on isn't a problem. We just bring changes of clothes and bathing suits. We change out of our traveling clothes then drop bags with bell services and head to a park