16 YO girls alone: MCO to BC/YC/MGM

[bekkiz]

My cousin (who is 16) has to fly out two days later than us as she will participating in out Sate track and field meet (pole vaulter )

Anyway, we will be at MGM that day (staying at POFQ,) and have arranged her flight to come in around 4:30. I'm wondering what the best travel arrangement is to get her to where we are. We'll be having dinner in the BC/YC area.

Is it safer/better to have a towncar meet her at the airport and bring her to us, or can I feel confident in the ME express option to bring her to the YC/BC?

My concerns
1. I feel weird to have her in a town car by herself, esp with a male driver. I know I'm being paranoid, but it makes me nervous.

2. Will they even let her take ME to a hotel she's not staying at?

3. She needs to be at the YC by 8 for a special event. WIth a 4:30 landing, can she take ME to POFQ, then take the bus to MGM to meet us and walk/boat over to YC by 8?

 

[CarolA]

I don't think you can take ME to a place you aren't staying.

Has she been to Disney before? If not, I would NOT suggest the POFQ to MGM to YC/BC deal you are doing. Meet her at POFQ. If she has been there a lot and feels fairly confident them maybe that would work. Hard to say with no ME reports yet.

 

[PCFriar80]

To be honest, if you're concerned about a towncar then I would assume a taxi
is also out of the question. I think the simple solution is a one-way Mears shuttle to the YC/BC to meet you around 6:00/6:30. 4:30 arrival, get bags
and check in with Mears (5:00). Anticipate a 30 minute wait (minimum) for a shuttle and then another hour to the resort. This to me is worst case give or take 15 minutes. Mears usually runs vans, not busses to YC/BC so the stops
and load/unload process are somewhat quicker. I believe this is the safest, but not quickest or most elegant way for the transfer. Good Luck.

 

[bekkiz]

Am I being unreasonable about worrying about the driver? I can take it

 

[PCFriar80]

Reasonable? Maybe just cautious. You would probably be okay with a towncar
or cab, but to make you feel better she would be with others on the Mears
shuttle. Go with Mears and a slight delay.

 

[Mickey_Maniac]

Just a thought. Maybe you could call a couple of the better known and respected town car companies and ask them about getting a female driver. Explain the situation and maybe they can help. I'm sure if you look around the boards a bit you can find a couple that other DIS'ers have had good experiences with.

 

[OKSTATE99]

Just a thought. Maybe you could call a couple of the better known and respected town car companies and ask them about getting a female driver. Explain the situation and maybe they can help. I'm sure if you look around the boards a bit you can find a couple that other DIS'ers have had good experiences with.

I would take a Taxis to the airport to meet her. As I am a paranoid dad of 1 and 4 year old girls. No way I would let her by herself. I don't care if it cost me $100, then she would ride with me back to where the rest of our group was.

.

 

[kareneast]

I would look into renting a car for the day and driving it to the airport to pick her up. You can rent from Alamo right on WDW property. It would probably cost less then $40.

 

[Cmbar]

Is she staying at POFQ? Can ME take her there and you get her from there? A taxi from the BC/YC area is about $6.00 so if you took a bus back to POFQ from MGM (or I suppose you could hop a taxi from MGM to POFQ) and waited until she arrived you two could hop a taxi back over to BC for about $6.00 and be there in less then 8 minutes. There are taxis always waiting at POFQ and the ride is real short and cheap. This is only if she is actually staying at the POFQ (and is on a reservation) and IF you are comfortable with her riding the ME. Not sure how the ME works.

Or there is a car rental company in the Dolphin next to MGM. Hop the boat there (1st stop) and rent a car and go pick her up at the airport. You are going right back there for dinner so it would just be a one day rental. Can't remember which car rental place is at the dolphin. Anyone remember. I know this option eats into your time at MGM though.

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, she definitely needs a ressie at a WDW hotel to be allowed *on* the ME bus, but do you really think they are going to try to have the bus drivers be responsible for where guests get off? I really don't see that being enforceable. What exactly is to stop her from getting off ME at a Boardwalk-area hotel? The odds against there being *anyone* going to one of those hotels on ME is pretty high; I'm thinking she could just get off at whatever one they are stopping at and walk over to Y/B. (Of course, if not, she could just continue to POFQ, drop her hand baggage in your room (leave her key w/ the front desk in an envelope) and then hop a bus to MGM; from there she could just walk back to Y/B, or take the boat and get off at S/D. A bus to Epcot isn't the best idea b/c she would have to go through the park to get to Y/B. Of course, a cab from the front door of POFQ to YB would work fine, too.))

Luggage isn't on the bus; it's on a separate luggage truck, so when it arrives I'm sure it's put in the bag room if the guest has not checked in yet. They will just hold it at the hotel if she doesn't arrive there. Of course, if she's one of your party and you have already checked in, they should be able to deliver it to your room.

Personally I have a feeling that especially in the morning when it's too early to get into rooms, people who travel light will tend to get off the bus at whatever hotel is closest to the park they want to go to that day. Since the luggage goes straight to the reserved resort, I suspect a lot of people will bail near a park and go right in. I'm betting that many people will opt to disembark at the CR to walk to MK, or at the BC to walk to Epcot.

I don't think her being 16 is really an issue; any healthy kid should be able to manage an airport transfer alone by that age.

 

[SB in KY]

I think ME would be fine....call guest services and explain the situation...they will tell you whether or not she can take it to YC/BC to meet you....if not she can always ME it to POR and then take a cab for <$10 to meet you.

A couple of cautions about above comments...1) do NOT assume she can just hop off at a different hotel....there are 5 different ME routes each stopping at 3 to 4 hotels and since POR isn't anywhere near YC/BC I would think it quite unlikely that they would be on the same bus route.

This has been our experience with "reliable" towncar companies and unaccompanied teens....we have used them twice, once for my nephew several years ago and once for my daughter (then 16) and her friend last year...both times we used car companies we had had good experiences with, etc and both times the drivers substantially ripped off the teens (telling them the price was $15 and $20 more than the agreed upon fare and insisting that they be paid). I had told my daughter to be sure and get a receipt from the driver and she did, but of course when we looked at it the receipt was for the contracted price and when we called to complain both times the drivers of course denied it. I assume it was an effort on the drivers part to insure a good tip...but dishonest none the less.

Another problem with taking Mears or a towncar....what do you do with all of her luggage while you are at the YC for the evening??

Sounds like the easiest thing to me would be either ME to POR and a cab to YC , or direct to YC if they will let her (either way she won't have to mess with luggage) OR just rent a car for a day (would be no more, if as much as the towncar service from the airport) and you would have the security of knowing she was safe and sound with you.

A lot depends on the teen I think....my oldest is totally fine travelling solo and negotiating transfers, etc...in fact she likes doing it and has made several solo trips without a hitch....my youngest would rather stay home than go anyplace alone...about had a breakdown when grandma put her on a non stop flight and we were there waiting for her when she got off... bottom line, whatever you decide to do make sure your niece feels comfortable with it!!

 

[Lewisc]

Sign up for ME so you can get rid of the luggage. Has she ever traveled by herself? Even just taken a train? If so I wouldn't sweat it; if not rent a car and meet her in the airport.

A previous poster said you had to be 18 or have an adult with you to use ME. I wouldn't think it would be enforced.

 

[ktglads]

Also, check your cell phone service and make sure both she and someone on your side have phones. This way she can get ahold of you at the airport if something were to happen (the pay phones are not the most trustworthy things in the world) and if she feels uncomfortable, she will be able to call you and you could take the taxi and come and meet her.