Disney Magical Express question

[ValpoCory]

My family is one of the many families that check their luggage at the hotel the morning of departure for home on Disney Magical Express. They tell all DME passengers to be at a bus 3 hours prior to you flight, regardless of whether you have checked your bags already.

We feel 3 hours of lead time is a bit excessive for passengers without bag check-in at the Airport.

Do the DME buses run frequently? Our return flights usually are between 2 and 4pm, so an extra hour in the parks turns a couple hours into a full morning in the parks.

Has anyone gambled and missed their 3 hour bus "intentionally" and made it to the airport on the next bus? Was it a minor risk and something you'd consider doing again, or something you felt was not worth the feeling of "breaking the rules" or just cutting it too close?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[skiingfast]

On my last trip the ME picked us up about 2 hours before our flight. It had one more pickup before going on to the airport. Security moved quickly and we had about 45 minutes to wait before the flight. Wasn't too bad.

I wondered if any of the people already on the bus got on at the 3 hours prior? Seemed excessive but it may be a worste case senario and adjustable.

I initially had the same idea as you, because when waiting for the park busses there seemed to be plenty of MEs going through. But with the minimal standing around time in the airport I'm glad I didn't risk it.

 

[disneylove69]

We were given times to show. You are guaranteed seat on the bus at that time. You figure 45 to airport, security, etc. The busses also don't leave on time or they go to different hotels to pick up guests. Your hotel may not be the only one the bus. As they say it is better to be safe then sorry.

 

[Wishes Count]

You have a guaranteed seat on that bus that you are assigned to. If you are supposed to leave at 3:15 that is the time you leave. It's not like the buses that run to the park that come every 20 minutes or so, Another bus might come at 3:45 But that bus could be full, or if no one else is scheduled for pick up the bus might not come at all. Don't risk it, as cab fare to the airport is extremely high.

 

[aubriee]

No way would I risk it. I tried to find an old post of mine about this from a couple of years ago but couldn't find it. Anyway, a couple of years ago I was standing waiting to get on the DME bus at Pop when a family of about five came running up and demanded to be let on our bus. They had missed their bus and was yelling that they had to get on our bus or they were going to miss their flight. After alot of arguing back and forth it came out that they had missed their bus intentionally because they thought leaving three hours prior to their flight time was 'ridiculous', so had intentionally stayed at DTD thinking they could just catch the next bus, but then they got tied up at DTD and time got away from them, then the bus to DTD took forever, and anyway they had to get on our bus. The bus driver and the guy with the clip board said there was not room for five more people on our bus. The dad got really angry and demanded that they make some of us wait for the next bus then as we had more time than they did and the Disney had an obligation to get his family to the airport on time. The guy with the clip board said that was not happening and they should have made their assigned bus as that was the only bus they had assigned seats on, so Disney was not responsible at all to get them to the airport now. The dad then got up on the steps of the bus and told his family to come on then and they'd just stand. Both the bus driver and the guy with the clip board immediately said that was definitly not happening. Anyway the guy was refusing to step down and a manager had to be called. When we finally pulled out the manager was walking the family back into the resort with the dad screaming at him. I'm not sure what happened, but they were having a fit yelling that they better not miss their plane. To make matter worse we got caught up in a wreck on the way to MCO, then security lines were long that day. We got to our gate maybe 10-15 minutes before they started boarding.

 

[RMulieri]

As others have pointed out, you are assigned a DME time,you can't simply "miss" that time and hop on another bus.If prolonged park time is something you desire, than maybe DME is not for you- this is one of the reasons my family always has budgeted towncar pickup.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Purely from a practical point of view.. You must realize the next scheduled DME bus at your resort may not be for hours depending on the departures of others.

I wouldn't do this without complete assurance there is a later bus coming to your resort that will work and even then..

A couple of times, I've gotten on my correct bus.. and by the time I was screened by security at the airport.. I had JUST enough time to make my domestic flight. And yes, I HAD checked my bag at the resort.

Sometimes there are backups or large tour groups at the airport and it can really muck things up.

 

[ancestry]

As the others have said, you are assigned to a bus and that is the bus you are to get on. The buses do not run regularly but are scheduled depending on need. If you miss your bus there may not be another DME bus scheduled for your resort in time to get you to the airport. Also if you try to get on a bus other than the one you are scheduled for the bus driver has the right to refuse you and will probably do so if he already has a full bus scheduled.

If you don't want to be picked up 3 hours prior to your flights departure then take a cab instead. If you want to rely on DME then you need to be at the DME bus stop at the time they schedule you for.

Remember that picking guests up 3 hours prior to the flight usually gets them to the airport 2 hours prior to the flight. Arriving at the MCO airport 2 hours before flight time is the recommended arrival for departures. MCO can get very busy and the lines can be very long especially at peak travel time or peak travel days.

 

[Kimberle]

ME is not for everybody. You should look into a private car to take you to the airport. Then, you can cut it as close as you like.

Personally, I like ME and wouldn't cut it any closer. ME make make 1-2 resort stops after you. You have a good 30 minute drive to the airport. The security lines at the airport can be very long, you could easily wait 45 minutes if you hit a crowd. I've used ME numerous times and never felt I had "excessive" time at the airport.

Remember, if you miss your ME bus, you may not get a seat on another bus. All seats are assigned (bus wise, not actual seat).

 

[goofy4tink]

DME buses are dispatched according to which resorts have guests that are leaving at a particular time. So....if you have a 3:00 flight, you will most likely be put on a bus that leaves around noontime....give or take 15 mins either way. Okay....now, if there are not guests leaving your resort at 1:00, then the bus isn't going to be stopping there...period. You might even find that when you arrive at the DME bu stop at 2pm, frantic out of your mind, that you aren't allowed on that bus because it is full. It may not look full to you because it will be full after the next stop.

So....you have a few choices. You can decide to just miss out on that last hour of park fun. Or you can book a car service (for about $50) that will pick you up when you want to go. Or get a cab right at the resort.

Yes, 3 hrs is a long time. But.....there have been times when the bus hasn't been as speedy as I would wish. We got to MCO about 90 mins after leaving my resort. Granted, our resort was the first of three stops. And one stop took forever since the bus driver was kind hearted and decided to wait for some tardy guests to join the rest of their party...took almost 20 mins at that resort vs 8!!! We were on the other side of the airport so got off at the second stop. We got to security with about 45 mins before flight departure. Good thing security wasn't crowded..otherwise I would have had an issue.
You just can't always count on having 2 hrs at the airport!!!

 

[HockeyMomR]

A couple of years ago, on a mother / daughter trip with my mom, we did tell DME we were on a different flight home - flight actually leaving an hour later than our actual flight. Now, we only had carry on baggage, so no bags to check-in. Our scheduled DME pickup time was 2 hours out instead of 3 hours. This worked out great for us and we had a reserved seat on the DME bus.

 

[ktlm]

I thought the 3 hours was excessive too- until the time that we got on the ME bus our 3 hours ahead of time and by the time we got through security and to the gate it was only about 10 minutes before the plane boarded.

 

[ValpoCory]

A couple of years ago, on a mother / daughter trip with my mom, we did tell DME we were on a different flight home - flight actually leaving an hour later than our actual flight. Now, we only had carry on baggage, so no bags to check-in. Our scheduled DME pickup time was 2 hours out instead of 3 hours. This worked out great for us and we had a reserved seat on the DME bus.

Thanks everyone for your input. This is the best way to do it, but it probably only works if you are not checking in bags at the hotel. If you check at the hotel, you probably have to give the correct flight information to DME.

 

[disneydiva1313]

I don't enjoy waiting on the bus 3 hours early, but I always do it anyway. I was just there last month...I waited as scheduled...my bus was really late (30-40 min.). I was at Pop Century and we were the last stop...apparently it took longer than expected picking up at the other resorts. Anyway, I thought I would have time to eat, shop, etc. once I got to the airport. The security lines were so long, I got right in line. Once I finally made it to my gate, I had a few minutes before they started boarding. So...even though I would rather be doing something Disney versus sitting and waiting to be picked up...I'll always be there on time.

 

[Nutty4Disney]

In Feb. we were at the bus stop before the appointed time. The bus was late and took a long time to get to the airport. If our flight hadn't been delayed we might have missed it. We had my Mom who has mobility problems so we knew it would take longer, but I would stick with the schedule they provide.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

As others have said ME isn't for everyone. What we generally do is use ME for our arrival to our hotel and a towncar service to return to the airport. It buys us about an hour on our departure day...and every minute counts at Disney. Our experience with using ME on our departure day in the past met with some mixed results. The number of resort stops scheduled for your particular bus can really add to your time sitting on that bus. Sometimes it's okay and sometimes it's not. This I believe is why they allocate so much time to get to the airport. If you want to control your departure time then I'd use a towncar.

 

[ValpoCory]

As others have said ME isn't for everyone. What we generally do is use ME for our arrival to our hotel and a towncar service to return to the airport. It buys us about an hour on our departure day...and every minute counts at Disney. Our experience with using ME on our departure day in the past met with some mixed results. The number of resort stops scheduled for your particular bus can really add to your time sitting on that bus. Sometimes it's okay and sometimes it's not. This I believe is why they allocate so much time to get to the airport. If you want to control your departure time then I'd use a towncar.

Great advice. Can you check your bags at the hotel in the morning and still take a towncar, not having to worry about your bags?

 

[Disney Bunny]

Great advice. Can you check your bags at the hotel in the morning and still take a towncar, not having to worry about your bags?

Someone on these boards with more experience may be better qualified to answer this question, but I would think if the hotel was handling your checked bags that you would need to use the DME bus. I know I read something that you could not take different transport FROM the airport and have your bags transported via DME.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Great advice. Can you check your bags at the hotel in the morning and still take a towncar, not having to worry about your bags?

Luggage service to the airport is handled by a company called (literally) B.A.G.S.

They are completely separate from DME which is handled by Mears Transport.

You can book your bags to the airport via the Resort Airline Check-in desk in the lobby of your resort and then walk, drive, hitchhike or hopscotch to the airport if you like.

The two services are completely separate on the return from your resort to MCO.

 

[PinkRhombus]

If you were to, say, take a bus that was 2 hours before your flight...stopped at another resort...ran into minor traffic on the way...you could EASILY miss your flight if the security screening was backed up.

One time it was at the end of February, mid-week, early afternoon...and we waited in line for 50-60 minutes just in that line. It was PACKED.