Disney Magical Express

[JRDisneyFan]

We will taking our 1st DVC trip in October to SSR. We will using Magical Express for the 1st time also. Has anyone had any problems with the service? Have most experiences been good. How long does it take for the luggage to arrive at your room?

Any other suggestions to make sure it runs smoothly for us would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[wildernessDad]

I've had good experiences with it. The hardest part, I think, is waiting for your stop to come up when at WDW.

 

[MamaCrush]

We will taking our 1st DVC trip in October to SSR. We will using Magical Express for the 1st time also. Has anyone had any problems with the service? Have most experiences been good. How long does it take for the luggage to arrive at your room?

Any other suggestions to make sure it runs smoothly for us would be appreciated.

Thanks.

We'll be using DME for the first time in November. Generally speaking, how long do you typically wait for the bus to fill at the airport before leaving for the World? Also-- any particular order as for the resorts they stop at? Thanks!

 

[Dizny Dad]

Jump on with NO WORRIES! We love the ME. It is really the beginning of the magic.

Officially, your luggage could be as much as 4 hours behind you. It is delivered to your room since it is handled outside of Disney Bell Services (you must be present for all pick up and delivery of ANY Disney Bell Services).

We have always had great luck with luggage; always finding it in our room in just an hour or two. We just do what they advise - go to the park, DTD, whatever. Your luggage will be there!

 

[MamaCrush]

Jump on with NO WORRIES! We love the ME. It is really the beginning of the magic.

Officially, your luggage could be as much as 4 hours behind you. It is delivered to your room since it is handled outside of Disney Bell Services (you must be present for all pick up and delivery of ANY Disney Bell Services).

We have always had great luck with luggage; always finding it in our room in just an hour or two. We just do what they advise - go to the park, DTD, whatever. Your luggage will be there!

Love hearing we won't have to wait for our bags before heading out to a park!

 

[RLRDA]

We've used ME at least a 1/2 dozen times and love it as well. Once we've gotten to the ME area of MCO we've never waited more than 10-15 minutes to board the shuttle. They put 3 to 4 resorts on the shuttle (usually resorts that are near each other) and my boys love the little video about WDW that they show on the bus. The checked luggage usually arrives later in the day - after 4pm. We make sure to put bathing suits, etc. in the carry-on so we can hit the pool and relax after the 4+ hours of travel.

Have a great trip and enjoy ME!

 

[twinklebug]

We use DME on almost every trip. I love it!

The only issues I've had with DME are:

1. 
   We had an elderly (new) driver who kept insisting Fort Wilderness was Wilderness Lodge. He'd get close to the WL entrance but would panic thinking he was lost and run back to the fort telling us we were there. We ran over so much Disney grass that day He only got up the nerve to go that extra 200 feet after his dispatcher called him on the radio and said "Uh, we jsut got a call... you AREN'T sitting in the campground parking lot ARE YOU? To which he replied a quick "No, that's not me!"
   
2. Missing our bus back to the airport (it came 10 minutes early and we were still waiting for our luggage at bell services).

Never had an issue with our luggage or timing otherwise.

 

[goofy4tink]

We'll be using DME for the first time in November. Generally speaking, how long do you typically wait for the bus to fill at the airport before leaving for the World? Also-- any particular order as for the resorts they stop at? Thanks!

Depends. YOu may be able to just get to the bus line and then continue right onto a waiting bus, that is nearly full, and then leave for WDW. Or, you may get to the bus line just as your resort's bus is leaving. YOu may then face a 15-20 min wait until the next one comes. Then, because it is a 'fresh' bus, you will have to wait a bit for others to board.
Most times, I have had to wait about 10 mins for my bus to come. Sometimes I have gotten lucky and been among the last to board the bus..which then left after only about 2 mins.

There is no way to predict which resort gets stopped at first, second or third. Yes, most resorts remain on the same route...for instance, AKL is usually combined with CSR and POP. BW buses go to POR and YC/BC, and sometimes CBR as well. There are usually just three stops on a route though.

My average time, from gate to resort, is about 70 mins.

 

[goofy4tink]

We use DME on almost every trip. I love it!

The only issues I've had with DME are:

1. 
   We had an elderly (new) driver who kept insisting Fort Wilderness was Wilderness Lodge. He'd get close to the WL entrance but would panic thinking he was lost and run back to the fort telling us we were there. We ran over so much Disney grass that day He only got up the nerve to go that extra 200 feet after his dispatcher called him on the radio and said "Uh, we jsut got a call... you AREN'T sitting in the campground parking lot ARE YOU? To which he replied a quick "No, that's not me!"
   
2. Missing our bus back to the airport (it came 10 minutes early and we were still waiting for our luggage at bell services).

Never had an issue with our luggage or timing otherwise.

Are you sure the bus was actually early??? Your experience is exactly why I tell everyone they need to be at the bus stop, bags in hand, ready to head out, no less than 15 mins before the stated pickup time. That pickup time is the time the bus leaves the resort. It usually takes 10-15 mins to get your bags from Bell Services...so plan accordingly!!

 

[twinklebug]

Are you sure the bus was actually early??? Your experience is exactly why I tell everyone they need to be at the bus stop, bags in hand, ready to head out, no less than 15 mins before the stated pickup time. That pickup time is the time the bus leaves the resort. It usually takes 10-15 mins to get your bags from Bell Services...so plan accordingly!!

Yes, that bus was at least 10 minutes early and the driver never even poked his head out of the bus (I saw him from across the entry road and was calling to him, but he didn't hear and quickly drove on). I even questioned if that was our bus. I had planned to have our luggage retrieved and be at the stop 10 minutes before it came, so I was at the Bell services stand 20 minutes early - never planned for bell services to be backed up. We were fortunate in that another DME bus came along dropping folk off just after the time our bus was supposed to have come and the driver got permission to bring us to the airport after he made his last stop. That was confusing! Lesson well learned. Now I make sure we have our luggage in hand 45 minutes before bus time and we're all out there 20 or more minutes early.

 

[TagsMissy]

We love this service! We have used it 3 times recently and never had any issues; including when we used it as a group of 7 travelers

 

[booklady]

We traveled with our family (13) of us to the Caribbean Beach Resort in July and did not have a magical experience. We waited at least 45minutes in line at the airport and my luggage was the only suitcase that was not delivered to my room. When I asked about the bus arrival time, I was treated very rudely. It took them awhile to find it (bright red with huge white polka dots). This was our 4th trip and had never experienced problems in the past. All of our problems on this trip were causedby transportation problems. Monorail broke down, took 2 hours one day to get from MK to downtown disney, my sister and I complained and they gave us fastpass tickets to priority ride. I'm waiting for ROFR, hopefully dvc resorts have better transportation...

 

[TiaMaria]

We traveled with our family (13) of us to the Caribbean Beach Resort in July and did not have a magical experience. We waited at least 45minutes in line at the airport and my luggage was the only suitcase that was not delivered to my room. When I asked about the bus arrival time, I was treated very rudely. It took them awhile to find it (bright red with huge white polka dots). This was our 4th trip and had never experienced problems in the past. All of our problems on this trip were causedby transportation problems. Monorail broke down, took 2 hours one day to get from MK to downtown disney, my sister and I complained and they gave us fastpass tickets to priority ride. I'm waiting for ROFR, hopefully dvc resorts have better transportation...

Magical Express is run by the same company under the same conditions whether you are at a DVC resort or not. Bus service has the same pros and cons at DVC resorts as non-DVC also.

You may need to adjust your expectations just a bit, or consider a rental car.

Best of luck to you.

 

[homercrispy]

we have used it dozens of times over the years and have never had a problem with it.

 

[jco_direwolf]

Well let me say DME is not rosey for everyone.

We've used it on and off (6 or 7 times) since it started in 2005 (at first we loved the idea and gave them a few passes as they where "working things out".) The best experience we had with it was one where it only took about 2 hours from plane to resort, and our bags the same day.

Typically we get there toward the end of the operating day (which I think is the source of my issues), so we've often had to wait quite some time for the bus to fill up (45+ minutes). The service is not run by Disney, but contracted out to Mears (buses) and Bags Inc (luggage.)

Somethings we've learned 4 hours for your bags is not a promise. The last "Bag run" is before the last bus, so if you are on a late flight expect them the next day. Expect to leave your resort no later than 4 hours before your flight and apparently you aren't allowed to "Take the risk of the a later bus".

What we have learned to do is leave the tags off and pick up our bags from the airline as normal and take them to the bus so they travel with us. We also never use DME for the return, typically we get a ride from someone in my family, or rent a car for the day.

 

[quirty30]

We've been more than pleased with our service getting to the world (well all except for the time we arrived after midnight and stopped at 8 resorts before getting to Jambo.) On the other hand, we've had several bad experiences trying to get to the airport. But that 3 hour lead time has been more than sufficient despite some late or non-arriving buses. I'll still opt for DME over other options I have to pay extra for.

 

[jco_direwolf]

But that 3 hour lead time has been more than sufficient despite some late or non-arriving buses. I'll still opt for DME over other options I have to pay extra for.

I would claim waiting is paying, as time is money. And my vacation time is a limited resource I only get so much per year, plus what I'm paying out of pocket to visit the world. So if I can add an hour on each end it's worth something to me.

This is one reason we only use DME to travel to the world in the evening when the parks are closed.

 

[nolanboys]

We've used it 4 times, and knock on wood, we've never had a problem. We generally get to Orlando before noon, and have been at the resorts each time by 1:00. One time, we didn't get our luggage until 6:00, but that was fine. I really try to go with the flow on vacation, which is hard for a type A person. I think it's a great service to take advantage of.

 

[lmshaggard]

We have used ME 5-6 times a year since it became ME and not Mears (so approximately 25-30 times). Knock on wood, we have never had a problem - we have even arrived without our tags (they didn't arrive in time when I booked some last minute trips), given the CM our baggage claim tickets and bag description and still have had our bags arrive by the time we have gotten back to the room. I will say that we have only arrived later in the day once or twice, but never a problem. In fact, we fly out in the am and I haven't received our tags or vouchers, but no worries - I am sure ME will take care of us perfectly I love not having to deal with a car and love letting someone else take care of the driving

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

We use ME every trip, as well as the Disney transportation services on site and have never had an issue. We go one step further and wear our swimsuits on the plane (weather permitting), under our clothes.

While some people may have issues with the service, I think a lot of the complaints about the bus service in general are from those that don't take mass transportation on a regular basis. Our family uses the local transit system every day (I don't own a car), and are used to planning accordingly. I see no difference between Disney's transportation system and our local municipalities.