1. We r arriving late. Will the shuttle wait till its filled up or does it just take all the people from one or two flights arriving at the same time?
Because Disney requires reservations for DME, they know about how many people are arriving at the airport around when, and how many people are going to what resorts around when. That way, they can plan and dispatch buses as efficiently as possible. You aren't pre-assigned to an exact bus, so you can't be late for "your bus" and no one else can make your bus wait around because that person is "late." It's not like bus X takes people from Flight 123 and will wait for all of them to show up.
It's also not like there's one bus making any sort of circuit. I don't recall the exact number, but I think DME has something like 4 or 6 bus bays available. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
The standard is that once the first passenger boards, the buses are to wait around no longer than 15 minutes before leaving.
Buses stop at no more than 4 resorts, but 4 is reportedly rare, 3 is reportedly pretty common. Your resort may be first, second or third, and there's no way of knowing that in advance.
2. If r flight is not a Disney partner; how early will we need to take the ME to reach airport on time ?
Whether or not you are flying on a "participating airline" has NOTHING to do with how the buses are run or how you are scheduled.
For the ride back to the airport from your resort, you will be assigned an exact bus time; early on the morning of the day BEFORE you depart, your DME info will be left in an envelope hanging from your oom's door knob. Guests are assigned buses pick-up times of about 2.75-to-3 hours before flight time.
As long as therre are reservations, DME picks up at resorts twice each hour; they run much more often than every 2 hours. However, you really should be at the bus you are assigned and not wait until the next one, as they plan in advance how many people will be on each bus.
3. How far is the Orlando Airport from Disney when we use ME?
I agree with the previous poster, it's about a 25-30 minute drive to just about every WDW resort, if you go directly from the airport to that resort.
The reported average time from leaving the airplane to resort drop-off is 70 minutes.
4. Is there place on the bus for the hand luggage or is it stored in the hold?
If your carry-ons will fit, you can bring them on the bus and store them on the overhead shelf or under your own seat. If they're too big, or you don't feel like bringing them into the bus with you, the driver can store them udner the bus for you. You'll get them back as soon as you get off the bus.
5. If r airlines is a Disney partner do the rooms get assigned before we leave or can we call ahead and do that?
Rooms are not exactly pre-assigned (I guess it's just a matter of language). Regardless, it doesn't matter what airline you use. When you check-in at the airport's DME Welcome Center, a message is sent to your resort that you have arrived at the airport. If your resort has a room ready that matches your reservation criteria, that room will be set aside for you, and no one else will be able to get it even if they are at the resort just about to check-in at the front desk.
Calling ahead to the resort won't do anything for you. And whatever room is set aside for you doesn't need to be your room. You can request a different one, it's not like anything is set in stone.
