Current opinion on Magical Express

[NandP]

I've been reading alot of negative reviews about ME.... So what experisnce have you had?

Does it really take a long time to get from MCO to your resort?

Is it worth saving $150 on a rental car?

thanks...

 

[Nanajo1]

I hadn't seen too many negatives lately. What seemed to be the concerns? and were they at specific resorts? I would like to know too.

 

[Lewisc]

I haven't read any recent negative reviews.

It takes about 10 minutes to get to the DME desk. A minute or two to check in. If you just miss a bus you might have to wait 20 minutes. It's just over 30 minutes to WDW and maybe another 20-30 minutes if you're the last stop. You should get to your resort 1 to 1.5 hours after you land.

 

[rlduvall]

When it was first implemented, there were alot of negative posts and opinions. It just took them awhile to get it all figured out. At first, I would not have even considered using it because I am a rental car fan. BUT, I am thinking about taking my 6 year old DS by myself and I think it would be less stressful for me to NOT have a rental car and just let Disney take care of us, much less the nice savings - car rentals are really high for our timeframe. If only I wasn't such a control freak and type A.

 

[Lewisc]

The early problems were due to a shortage of buses and delays with the luggage tags. The tag problem has been solved and Mears ordered additional buses and is using Mears and DCL buses as needed.

 

[strmtroopr96]

I first used ME in late May. Despite never receiving our ME tags, we had a great experience with it. We were off the plane by 10:00 am and stood at the ME desk shortly after. I just had to look at a brochure of different suitcases, find something similar and then was directed right onto a bus to Pop Century. We were the first stop and after quickly checking in, we were standing our room by 11:00 am.

LOL I have never gotten from MCO and checked into my resort that quickly before by using Mears, Towncar, or Rental Car. We thought it was a great option.

The only snag, was the trip back to MCO. It became a bit chaotic getting onto a bus. There was no order and after 3 busses came, we finally were able to get seats about 20-30 minutes after we were scheduled to depart the resort. HTH Rebecca

 

[DisDarling]

Our experience was great this past May, and yes, it IS worth saving the money and hassle to drive yourself

 

[aero99]

Just got back. The ride there was great. Had about a 15 minute wait for the bus but quickly got to the resort and our room was ready. The only problem we had was coming back. Our bus was supposed to be at 11:45 am. We got there just a little after 11:30. There was a Disney Cruise line bus leaving (DME does use the DCL buses sometimes). We had to wait till 12:25 for the next bus. (the other people with us were waiting for the 12:45 bus but quickly jumped on this bus when we explained what happened). In other words, the buses were running very early (more then the 15 minutes it tells you to get there) and not waiting. BTW, we got to the airport in less then 30 minutes, no line at security and was at our gate 1 hr prior to departure. So in other words, DON'T worry about it. It is comfortable, mostly efficient and FREE.

Melissa

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We just used ME 8/31 and it was great. It took about 5 minutes to check in, and the bus was just about to leave as we got on.

We stayed at the ASMU. The bus stopped at POP first, the only complaint I had. Either POP is way out of the way, or the driver got lost on the way from POP to ASMU cause it took a long time!

We checked in, put our carry ons in our room, went to eat at the food court, and when we got back to our room our luggage was there. Cool!

We did pick up a rental car for the weekend, we were eating at other resorts and it saves time. We didn't use DME for the return because we had the car.

So...it's a great service BUT...I can't go for the whole vacation without a rental car. We like to eat at other resorts and take quick trips to DTD. My advice would be to use DME if you don't need a car.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

One of the great things that I like about DME, is the computer tracking. Because of your flight info, the computer can track when you land. It then sends a message to the resort, letting them know what time you landed. On average, people have been arriving 55-70 minutes after landing.

 

[CinderellaIam]

Last week my entire family used DME with mixed results. Four arrivals, four different stories. On Sunday, August 28th: My sister and her family arrived at MCO at 8:50 AM and were at BWV by 9:00. My DD and her boyfriend arrived at MCO 11:40 AM and got to BWV at 1:00 PM. SO and I arrived at MCO 1:05 PM (we missed the earlier flight with my sister, don't ask) and were in our room at BWV (DD checked us in with my CC so we just had to pick up our keys at the front desk) by 2:00 PM. On Wednesday 8/31, Mom arrived at MCO at 9:10 AM and got to BWV at 11:00 AM.

Overall, I would say the arrivals went very well. Mom wasn't happy that she sat on an empty bus, that stayed empty for 50 mins, but all in all, not too bad.

We all departed together. Our flight was at 8:35 PM and they scheduled us on a 5:20 PM bus. Were at MCO by 6:15. Much too early in my opinion. Most major airports are no longer requiring you to arrive 2 hours prior to your flight, and the hotel had already checked us in and printed our boarding passes that morning. I would have preferred a bus at 6:30 or so and to have had dinner on property rather than eating at the airport. While the airport is huge and there are many options for eating, the better restaurants do not allow luggage carts, which was a problem for this group of 8 who wound up eating in the food court...blegh.

Overall our opinion is we would use the service again. Not having to deal with the luggage and having the hotel check us in for our flights were great conveniences.

 

[cassi06403]

We recieved our room reservation confirmation in the mail... no M.E. Luggage tags, no mention of M.E. or anything... Should I contact Disney? Or will the tags be coming separately? Only 2 of us...

Thanks...

 

[lynn71092]

cassi06403, are you available for our "party"?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=873581

 

[klwdisney]

We recieved our room reservation confirmation in the mail... no M.E. Luggage tags, no mention of M.E. or anything... Should I contact Disney? Or will the tags be coming separately? Only 2 of us...

Thanks...

Yes we booked ME 3 months ago and are now 24 days out. Still have not received written confirmation or tags or anything from Disney re: our ME reservation. Getting a little worried...

 

[goofy4tink]

I've now used DME twice...once to BCV and once to Pop. Both times it went very well. I got to the resort in about an hour and a quarter. Check-in went very quickly, better than in the past. Going back to the airport was never an issue. Our buses, both times, were right on time and left within about 20 minutes.

I have, at this point, used Mears shuttle, towncars (5 times) and DME twice. I only got to the resort quicker with the towncar one time and that was when I had only carry-on baggage. Otherwise, it came out to be about the same time frame. For a savings of over $100, I will continue to use DME, quite happily I might add.

 

[stacy6552]

We tried it. We would have been totally screwed had Disney not been the middleman between us and Mears, the service that runs it.

We never used Mears, because of all the horror stories, particularly the ones about the return bus never arriving and people tearing through the airport at the last second, if they didnt miss their flight altogether.

Well sure enough, ME never arrived for our return trip. We arrived early. About 15 minutes after our pick up time, the valet said that we would have priority getting on the one due to arrive in 15 minutes (a half hour after our assigned pick up). Well 5 minutes after the next pick up time, and one phone call to another resort and still no sign of any bus anywhere, the valet went straight to a manager who got us a cab right away and paid for it up front. Disney as always knows how to take care of you.

Whether you use it or rent a car I think depends more on whether you will use the car throughout your trip. Now I think the better question is whether or not to use Mears or a cab or towncar. Most towncar services will make a grocery stop for you and have been known to be very reliable, but they will run you about $80 round trip. So is the headache of worrying about your transportation worth $80?

 

[cassi06403]

cassi06403, are you available for our "party"?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=873581

One drink is my limit (5'2" and 130 lbs) before I get too silly... so I don't know what I would do at all those bars!!

 

[skyhawk]

Sorry - I started another thread without seeing this one on my wonderful DME experience. After our plane touched down, to setting foot in our resort room (CSR), was a bit over an hour. Went for a swim, came back, and our bags were there. - Everything worked perfect. On our way home, our bags were picked up in our room, and when we got to La Guardia, they were all safe and sound. A wonderful and efficient service in my opinion.

 

[CleveRocks]

I think that, overall, DME has been remarkably reliable. The only bad story I've read about is stacy6552's (I've read of her experience prior to this). And even her experience, while stressful at the time it was occuring, shows that the system works. Her bus didn't show up, and Disney CMs made sure her party got to the airport on time.

I traveled May 8 - 14, so I was among the first to use DME. We had no problems at all -- we arrived at our resort in less than one hour. We talked with a lot other people at the resort as well as in line at the parks, and didn't hear even one negative report in that obviously unscientific sample.

There is a thread on the boards that is a poll about DME experiences, and the poll very strongly shows overall satisfaction with DME. Have there been problems and glitches? I'm sure there have been. I'm also sure that towncar services are not literally 100% reliable, either. Perfection is a pretty tall order.

There was great apprehension and skepticism before DME started, and for some reason it persists despite the overall great track record. I can't figure out why that is.

-- Eric

 

[jrjac]

We just returned last week and had a great experience with Magical Express!
I was very happy with the time it took to get to our resort. Once we found the ME "station, there were different lines for different resorts, very clearly marked. The only thing that I was surprised at was that they did not have signs in the airport directing you to DME. (They do, however, tell you where it is located in the ME package you receive in the mail. But that info kind of flew out the window for me, heehee)But, that worked out fine-we just asked an airport employee to point us in the right direction and we were off! Have a magical adventure!