Any comments on Magical Express

[jillyjoey]

I can't get the search to work .... any opinions/experiences etc... on magical express -- we are using this for our upcoming trip. If I rent a car, I couldn't justify flying.

 

[kimysbug]

We have used it twice
Loved it both times
No problems
Once first thing in morning another late at night

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes. Magical Express is great. Did you have specific questions?


For the record, often if you just visit the most topic-appropriate board (e.g. Transportation for Magical Express, Disney Restaurants for dining questions, issues, etc), you should be able to find a wealth of information just by looking at the various thread titles. You don't need the Search option (but how was it not working?)

 

[I'mNoPrince]

4 times here with no problems .Just got my Docs for our Dec trip as well.

We still rent a car but only for a few days at either the CCC or DTD hotel locations.

 

[griffs95]

Never a problem.

 

[lynn71092]

I've used it several times and I think it's great!!
HOWEVER, if you're arriving late pack anything you need before you go to sleep in a carry-on. My sister took the last flight out of Chicago and arrived at 11:00 pm and never got her bags until some time in the middle of the night and she had to sleep in her clothes. Not ME's fault, we never even thought about it being so late.

 

[jillyjoey]

Yes. Magical Express is great. Did you have specific questions?


For the record, often if you just visit the most topic-appropriate board (e.g. Transportation for Magical Express, Disney Restaurants for dining questions, issues, etc), you should be able to find a wealth of information just by looking at the various thread titles. You don't need the Search option (but how was it not working?)

My boo-boo for not looking down further. Re: search engine: I put magical express in the search engine and it didn't do anything.

Here's a question: on the day of check out-- what do we do with our luggage if we are staying the park that day - does the resort keep our luggage?

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Yes bell services will hold your luggage for you. Just make sure you leave time to get back and for them to retrieve them for you.

 

[bkcwilliams]

I've used it several times and I think it's great!!
HOWEVER, if you're arriving late pack anything you need before you go to sleep in a carry-on. My sister took the last flight out of Chicago and arrived at 11:00 pm and never got her bags until some time in the middle of the night and she had to sleep in her clothes. Not ME's fault, we never even thought about it being so late.

We are arriving at 11pm next Friday and I was planning on retriving my own baggage and putting it on the bus with us. My plan was to avoid the late night luggage delivery. Is this ok to do?

 

[bgirl29]

Yes that is fine to pick up your own luggage just do not put on the yellow ME tags then. Also on the day you are leaving you can check your checked luggage in the morning before going to the park and have bell services hold your carryons until you return to catch the ME back to the airport.

 

[mamamary]

Magical Express worked really well - very convenient. Just read up on where to find it. I thought I knew where to go but got confused anyway We found some other families wandering around like us until we figured out where to go.

 

[kaytieeldr]

HOWEVER, if you're arriving late pack anything you need before you go to sleep in a carry-on

Well, really, ANY time you fly you should pack in your carry-on: valuables, travel documents, medication, and whatever clothing/toiletries you'll need for the first 24 hours or so of your visit, in case the airline misdirects your luggage .

Here's a question: on the day of check out-- what do we do with our luggage if we are staying the park that day - does the resort keep our luggage?

Yes, Bell Services will hold your luggage. You should be back at the hotel a half hour before your assigned pickup time: Allow fifteen minutes to get your bags in case they're busy, and you're supposed to be waiting for the DME bus about fifteen minutes early. Keep in mind, if you're flying home on a participating airline (all airlines 'participate' on your way TO Disney), you can check in for your flight and check your luggage through to your home airport before heading out to the parks or whatever.

We are arriving at 11pm next Friday and I was planning on retriving my own baggage and putting it on the bus with us. My plan was to avoid the late night luggage delivery. Is this ok to do?

Sure. It'll delay your arrival and checkin at the DME counter, and therefore likely (but not definitely) take longer to get to your hotel than it will the Guests who went right from the plane to DME, and you should be prepared to tip anyone who handles your luggage (skycap, driver, Bell Services) but yes, you can get your own bags.

 

[seashoreCM]

My boo-boo for not looking down further. Re: search engine: I put magical express in the search engine and it didn't do anything?

The boo boo isn't yours. (Google is high flying on the stock market because they made fewer boo boos than their competition.)

Feel free to ask if you don't find the answer on your own quickly. We're all here to help.

Almost everything is carefree. No need to rush rush from the airplane door to the Magical Express boarding area when you arrive, perfectly OK to "wander about the airport" and admire the architecture.

Catching the bus back to the airport is the most critical part of Magical Express. This is the one and only place you need to be punctual. While you and your luggage should be ready to board 15 minutes before bus time you should aim to be back at the resort a whole hour before. You never know what could hold you up at the theme park just before.

As Lawrence Welk would say, Magical Express is wunnerful, wunnerful.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[dudspizza]

Also on the day you are leaving you can check your checked luggage in the morning before going to the park and have bell services hold your carryons until you return to catch the ME back to the airport.

You can only check your bags in if you are on a participating airline. If you are not on a participating airline, you will have to leave your bags and carry ons with bell services and take them on the bus with you... actually under the bus for the luggage.

Duds

 

[Schucraig]

Just got back and it was great!

 

[smcbaker]

We just used this last week, had no problems. We didn't get in until 10:30 PM so we retrieved our own bags and went to the counter. Within 20 minutes of reaching the counter we were on the busy and on to Pop. On the way back, we checked our bags at the ME desk at Pop, they issued our boarding passes (flying Delta) and tagged our bags...this was at 9 AM. Off we went, came back in time for our 4:15 bus (flight departure at 7:00 PM), gave the driver our vouchers and were back at the airport by 5:00. Was very nice not having to stand in line at the airport to check the bags! No problems, would definitely use ME again!!

 

[CleveRocks]

I started a thread just a few minutes ago, but I'll post it here as well, as it's the type of info the OP is asking for:

Just got back in the wee hours of the morning today (Saturday) from 6 nights at POFQ.

DME worked perfectly, and wonderfully, just like it did the first time I took it.

Saturday, November 4, 2006. I walked off my AirTran flight at 9:53 p.m. It took us exactly 10 minutes to walk to the DME Welcome Center. I got there at 10:03 a.m. The CM in charge of the line told me that only one member of my party was "permitted" into the line, which seemed like an odd comment considering my wife already diverted with our kids across the way to some comfy chairs. Anyway, I got checked in within one minute, and I was walking away from the counter at 10:04 a.m. (there had been one person in line in front of me, and he and I were called by two different CMs at almost the same time).

We walked into our bus queue, which was empty; the sign said this queue was for POFQ, POR and FW. In fact, all of the bus queues were empty. As soon as we reached the front of our little roped-off area, a CM asked us to follow him to our bus. The process of walking from the counter to boarding the bus (including giving some carry-ons to the driver) took 2 minutes. We boarded the bus at 10:06 p.m.

There were exactly 12 people on the bus when we got on. I have no idea how long they had been on the bus. Others got on after us -- I didn't count, but it was no more than about 10 others. We backed up and pulled out of our spot at 10:21 p.m., so we'd waited on the bus for 15 minutes.

We watched the pleasant DVD welcoming us to WDW. It ended precisely at the moment we pulled into POFQ. As I exited the bus (two families exited before I did), it was 10:49 p.m.

Walked off the plane at 9:53 p.m., stepped onto the ground at POFQ at 10:49 p.m. 56 minutes total.


With DME, it took us 56 minutes from walking off the plane to walking into POFQ.

We packed our carry-ons with the idea that we'd have our DME luggage held 'til morning. That was our plan all along, but I guess fatigue and excitement combined to prevent me from requesting our luggage to be held until morning. At 1:16 a.m., our phone rang -- it was Bell Services asking if we wanted our luggage now or later. "Later, please." The DME literature says to allow about 3 hours after your resort arrival for your luggage to arrive. Ours was apparently ready for delivery about 2.5 hours after we arrived.

On the return trip, our bus was scheduled to arrive at 4:40 p.m. on Friday, November 10. It arrived at 4:30 p.m., and my guess is it arrived early because one of the scheduled passengers rode an ECV, and it took time for the driver to load the ECV, etc. There were 26 passengers on the bus, which also meant a lot of luggage for the driver to load -- seemed to be very few of us on participating airlines!

We pulled out of POFQ at 4:55 p.m., and went directly to MCO, no other stops. We had some traffic to content with (Friday rush hour), and once we got to the airport we were held up for about 5 minutes by a small shuttle that was occupying two slots, one of them apparently ours. We got off the bus at 5:39 p.m. We didn't ask, but the driver gave us great directions to the AirTran counter, and we were lucky in that it was quite close. The door nearest us opened right in front of an escalator, and on the other side of the escalator was an elevator. We took the elevator up to the 3rd floor and made a right, and AirTran was the first airline.

I continue to be impressed with how well DME works. I'm 2 for 2, two uses and two excellent experiences.

 

[byoung]

4 trips now and it's been great.