Can you pick your own time for return trip to airport using Magical Express?

Bete

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 14, 1999
I know you normally get a pre-assigned time based on your air flight time for Magical Express the night before your departure day.

I have someone who is an absolute worry wart and wants an earlier time than what Magical Express will assign her for her departure trip to the airport. She is somewhat limited in her mobility and she feels she will need more time than normal to get around; so, she wants a sooner time than what she will probably get.

Is there a way to arrange this with Disney resort check-in when you first arrive or do you need to call Magical Express direct? If you need to call Magical Express direct does anyone have a phone number?
 
I turned up for the Bus early and they just me on. Better to be early than late for a flight.
 
We have called ME 2 days before leaving and asked for an earlier pick up. I request 3 and a half hours. I wouldn't risk trying to just hop on an earlier bus. They run every 30 minutes .There may be no one at scheduled at your resort going to MCO at that time or they could be booked full with passengers from your resort and other resorts.
 


I'm like your friend--I worry about getting there in time, so I usually end up getting there WAY too early! A couple years ago I felt uncomfortable with the time they assigned me, so I just called and asked if I could have an earlier time, and they assigned me an earlier time. It was no problem. But I would definitely call and ask, not just show up!
 
Call them and ask. I would not take a chance of getting on earlier. DME screwed up and overbooked our bus this past weekend. 3 families tried to board early and were turned away and a 4th family was offered a cab because the bus was full.
 
The last couple times we received a time 2:45 before our departure time. I was a bit uncomfortable with it so called the number on the tag and changed it to an earlier bus. Easy peasy
 


So, what does everyone feel comfortable in regards to the amount of time necessary? 3 hours or 3-1/2 hours or 4 hours ahead of your departure time?
 
I'm a worrier about airport arrival but if you check bags at hotel and get in bus 3 hours ahead I've never gotten to the gate with less than an hour ahead of flight time. Usually more than that. Of course it depends on security but the security line has never been more than 30 min
 
Why not use Uber?

The return to the airport always involves some waiting. Last year, we were on the bus for a while, waiting for a few others, then went to pick up at another resort, waited for those folks to stow their luggage, then finally we were on our way to the airport more than an hour after we had boarded the bus (we were miserable at that point, and wished we had simply taken Uber).
 
I, once, called DME the day before my departure to move my time 30 minutes earlier than they scheduled me. They allowed me to do that. Another time, I asked the driver of the bus 30 minutes before mine, if I could board. He let me but only because he had a no show at the previous resort.
 
A request for an earlier bus, made in timely fashion, is always granted.

The normal deadline is morning of the day before the day you will sadly take Magical Express back to the airport.

Double check your confirmation sheet. Even if you are not requesting an earlier bus, if the confirmation sheet shows an incorrect time (or you didn't get one), go down to the front desk that morning of the day before and request a correction (or the sheet itself).
 
Haven't read a single post here wherein MDE didn't get a guest back to airport on time. Most the other spectrum of too much time to kill at the airport.

Only if flying international or heightened security screening would i think twice about my assigned time if less than 2.45 hr prior
 
I have someone who is an absolute worry wart and wants an earlier time than what Magical Express will assign her for her departure trip to the airport.

You don't have to be a worry wart to want this.

My cousin and I took the bus last feb. our pickup time was actually inside the 3 hour timeframe normally stated but we didn't notice that in time. The driver was incredibly slow, there were 4 stops (we were the first), and he chatted with CMs at each stop after everyone was on. He did not hit the speed limit the whole way. His only saving grace was that he didn't pull off all the bags before letting us off like I've heard some drivers do.

My cousin was catching the shuttle to Daytona from the airport and missed it because of the combo of him and us not communicating about how dme worked and how her shuttle worked (but if he had gone the speed limit and not chatted each time she would have made it). I would have had to run to the gate (even with precheck) if I hadn't been informed of a flight delay while on the way.

It was NOT fun.

I'll be changing pickup to 4 hours out from now on. MCO is nice and there's plenty to do if you get there early. I'd rather be early and have my cousin make her shuttle, than re-experience that.
 
I know you normally get a pre-assigned time based on your air flight time for Magical Express the night before your departure day.

I have someone who is an absolute worry wart and wants an earlier time than what Magical Express will assign her for her departure trip to the airport. She is somewhat limited in her mobility and she feels she will need more time than normal to get around; so, she wants a sooner time than what she will probably get.

Is there a way to arrange this with Disney resort check-in when you first arrive or do you need to call Magical Express direct? If you need to call Magical Express direct does anyone have a phone number?

In a way you can...you can put it a different flight number (one that coinsides with 3 hrs. prior which would leave enough time for your friend) for ME. For example, let's say your real flight left at 5pm (ME would usually pick you up around 2pm), if you wanted to be picked up earlier find a flight that leaves at 3pm or 4pm and then the ME will pick you up at noon or 1pm, just depending on how early your friend wants to be.

If you've already made the ME reservation, you can also call the night before or the morning of and tell them that you changed your flight and they'll arrange it so you can leave earlier/later, but you'll need to most likely give them a new flight number. We do this almost every trip but to leave later, as 3 hours beforehand has always been more than enough time for us, so we call the morning of say we've changed our flight and get a pick-up time for 45 mins - a little over an hour later.
 
I have a flight at 858 pm, which would put my DME pick up at like, 6pm, is there a way to move it an hour LATER? I have no bags to check or load, will be flying carry on only. I'm having dinner at flying fish at 5pm to try and be done on time but I would rather not have to rush or if it's possible to get picked up at a DIFFERENT resort than I'm staying at?

If I could get a 7pm pick up at boardwalk or yacht club that would be super excellent haha or even just a 7pm pickup at Pop century would be great, I'd just uber over after eating
 
I have a flight at 858 pm, which would put my DME pick up at like, 6pm, is there a way to move it an hour LATER? I have no bags to check or load, will be flying carry on only. I'm having dinner at flying fish at 5pm to try and be done on time but I would rather not have to rush or if it's possible to get picked up at a DIFFERENT resort than I'm staying at?

If I could get a 7pm pick up at boardwalk or yacht club that would be super excellent haha or even just a 7pm pickup at Pop century would be great, I'd just uber over after eating

You can't get picked up at a resort other than the one you're staying at, but I'm surprised that after reading this thread, you'd want a later pick-up time. What if, like bumbershoot, you get a chatty driver who's in no hurry to get to the airport? What if security is backed up?
 
I have a flight at 858 pm, which would put my DME pick up at like, 6pm, is there a way to move it an hour LATER? I have no bags to check or load, will be flying carry on only.

No. Seriously, it took over two hours from our pickup to getting to the airport. And we didn't have the full 3 hours to begin with.

if it's possible to get picked up at a DIFFERENT resort than I'm staying at?

Nope.
 
I have a flight at 858 pm, which would put my DME pick up at like, 6pm, is there a way to move it an hour LATER? I have no bags to check or load, will be flying carry on only. I'm having dinner at flying fish at 5pm to try and be done on time but I would rather not have to rush or if it's possible to get picked up at a DIFFERENT resort than I'm staying at?

If I could get a 7pm pick up at boardwalk or yacht club that would be super excellent haha or even just a 7pm pickup at Pop century would be great, I'd just uber over after eating
If you are staying at Pop Century, eating a dinner at Flying Fish at 5pm and have a flight at 8:58pm, you will NOT make your bus. Even if you Uber from Boardwalk to Pop, you would need to be done eating and in the car by 5:30 at the absolute latest, assuming your pick up time is 6pm. You need to be at the DME stop at least 10 minutes before your scheduled time. The time you are given is the time you are scheduled to depart, not the time you need to be there. IMHO, you are cutting it WAY too close by scheduling a 5pm dinner with a 9pm flight, no matter how you decide to get to the airport.
 
We had a very close call back in November.
Bus scheduled at 6:00 AM for a flight at 8:55 AM. Bus showed up at 6:15, then made 3 more stops.
We left Pop at 7:05, arrived at 7:40. We had to check luggage and print tags(long story) then hit a long security line.
It was SW so we arrived at 8:20 for an 8:25 boarding. Nothing more than a quick bathroom break was all we could do, breakfast that had been planned before departure happened when we landed.

This past Monday we had a 2:30 pickup at OKW with a 5:25 flight. Bags were already checked. Hit both PO properties after and was at the airport by 3:35. Security was about 15 minutes and by 4 we were at our gate for the 4:45 loading time. That was plenty of time to grab a bite and use the restroom.

We were waiting at 2:15 when a ME bus came into OKW and asked if we could take it instead of 2:30, it was an emphatic "No".

My comfort zone depends on where I am on the load order-if I'm the first stop of 4 and it's less than 3 hours, I will call for an earlier time in the future. The Kidani pickup left us rushed.
 

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