Can we use ME from MCO the morning after our flight?

[Mistikbunny]

We are planning a trip in October and would like to fly in on Friday night and stay at a hotel near the airport get up early the next morning and check in at our Disney resort. Can we take the shuttle back to the airport and catch the ME bus to our resort the next morning? If so how do we go about arranging this with ME?

 

[seashoreCM]

Yes.

Make your Magical Express reservation in advance and in the normal fashion for your check in day.

Have in mind a flight, any flight, any airline, arriving at about* the time you will be back at the airport to take DME. The reservationist may or may not ask for that but if he does then things will go faster and more smoothly.

Magical Express hot line number: toll free 866-599-0951

* Going to Disney, it's okay to be early or tardy for your DME bus. You could even stop at the food court.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

We are planning a trip in October and would like to fly in on Friday night and stay at a hotel near the airport get up early the next morning and check in at our Disney resort. Can we take the shuttle back to the airport and catch the ME bus to our resort the next morning? If so how do we go about arranging this with ME?

As a registered guest at a Disney-operated WDW resort, you are entitled to use DME on (or after) your check-in day. Of course, most people take DME on the same day that their inbound flight. But you can fly in the day before your WDW resort stay and spend a night at an airport area hotel, before taking DME the next morning.

There's no need to pick a bogus flight for your DME reservation, although that's what some people do. You should just be able to give them the approximate time you want to leave the airport.

Some Disney cast members, including some Disney resort reservation agents, may not know this. So you're best off dealing directly with Disney's Magical Express Guest Services at 866-599-0951 to make the DME reservation.

However, in this case, it would be customary to tip everyone who handles your bags, including the airport hotel shuttle drivers (both ways), airport hotel bell services, the DME driver, and the Disney valets/bellmen who unload, store, and deliver your bags.

When you use DME as designed, with your flight and check-in on the same day, there's no tipping if you use the yellow DME tags (and your flight arrives before 10 p.m.)

 

[Mistikbunny]

Awsome thanks! I will keep the tips in mind too. How much should you tip?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Awsome thanks! I will keep the tips in mind too. How much should you tip?

The normal rule of thumb is "$1 to $2 per bag if someone handles your bags." Airline ticket counter employees are not tipped, but just about everyone else who handles bags in the presence of travelers relies on tips for the vast majority of their income.

I typically base my tips on how much someone does and the quality of the service (friendliness and helpfulness). A $5 bill tends to be sufficient as the obligatory tip for a couple of larger bags and a carry-on or two. But when someone brings bags to my room and provides a great start to a hotel stay, I go higher.

The reason I brought up tips is that your scenario will involve numerous separate steps in which different people will handle your bags. Depending on how many bags you have, you could find yourself tipping $10 around a half dozen times. Depending on your room rates, this could make the economic advantage of staying at an airport hotel versus going directly to your Disney resort (on the Friday night when you arrive) evaporate.

Also, keep in mind that if you take DME early Saturday morning, your Disney room may not be available until 3 or 4 p.m.

 

[seashoreCM]

Other farfetched or esoteric reasons you might consider booking that first night at an airport area motel.

1. More of a safety margin in case your flight gets delayed; if you couldn't get out until the next morning you would forfeit an entire night if your resort stay started on arrival night. Instead you could take your chances and book or not book the night near the airport depending on how your flight went.

2. If you are into volunteering to be bumped from an oversold flight in order to collect airline bonuses (see preceding)

3. If you arrive in Orlando after 10 PM, automagical baggage delivery has shut down and all of the aforementioned tipping situations come into play when you go to Disney that night.

4. If your flight got in late, your bedtime would be earlier at an airport area hotel, helping to overcome jet lag more quickly.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Other farfetched or esoteric reasons you might consider booking that first night at an airport area motel.

1. More of a safety margin in case your flight gets delayed; if you couldn't get out until the next morning you would forfeit an entire night if your resort stay started on arrival night. Instead you could take your chances and book or not book the night near the airport depending on how your flight went.

2. If you are into volunteering to be bumped from an oversold flight in order to collect airline bonuses (see preceding)

3. If you arrive in Orlando after 10 PM, automagical baggage delivery has shut down and all of the aforementioned tipping situations come into play when you go to Disney that night.

4. If your flight got in late, your bedtime would be earlier at an airport area hotel, helping to overcome jet lag more quickly.

Yes, there are legitimate reasons to choose to spend the first night at an airport area hotel. However...

Regarding reason 1, I would not want to arrive at Orlando International late at night without any hotel reservation. At that point -- especially if occupancy is high due to a convention, cancelled flights to anywhere in the country, or other reasons -- getting an airport area room could be a frustrating and costly undertaking. There are a number of decent hotels with airport shuttle service, but, at at that time of night, they can charge whatever the market will bear, if they still have rooms.

Regarding reason 3, yes, DME luggage handling ends at 10 p.m. The OP didn't say when their flight is scheduled to arrive. But even if the arrival is after 10 p.m., there would NOT be "all of the aforementioned tipping situations." There would NOT be the tipping for airport area shuttle driver (both ways) and bell services at the airport area hotel, and there would NOT be the tipping due to luggage being held at the Disney resort until the room is ready. The only tip would be for the DME driver when he retrieves the bags from the baggage hold of the DME motorcoach, plus whatever luggage assistance the guests choose to use at their Disney resort.

I agree that an airport area hotel is likely to mean getting to bed sooner. However, it also means waking near the airport instead of at Walt Disney World.