Disneys's Magical Express

[bab31]

This is true ANY time you fly with luggage. It's NOT restricted to Magical Express users.

There was the time my non-Disney related luggage took eighteen hours to arrive at my destination... even though I'd been there since 11 the night before. There's the time it took my brother 12 hours for a seven hour flight... with his luggage following 36 hours later. That, too, was not a Disney-related trip - so in neither case can DME be considered in any way responsible.

It's simply a fact of air travel.

Now, I KNOW that's not what ultimately happened to the OP - instead, her luggage made it too the room BEFORE she did.

But any time you travel by air, you should pack/plan as if you would not to see your checked luggage for 24 hours after arrival.

absolutely- we now always pack a carryon with " essentials" for a day or two- since my husbands luggage took it's own vacation on a trip to Tucson- it arrived the afternoon before his return- he didnt even need to pack!

 

[codysmom1990]

Quote:
Not trying to be picky here, but....obviously you got your info packet because you tagged your bags with the yellow tags which allowed DME to take them. It does state in that info packet that your bags may not be accessible to you for up to three hours after you checkin at your resort. And, with DVC, that could very possibly be an addtl hour because of their 4:00 checkin time. The info packet does suggest packing a carryon bag with anything you may need to start your trip. Not sure what else Disney could have done to make it any clearer.

For the record, Yes I did get information with the yellow tags for my luggage, in the previuos 3 times I have used the yellow tags and they have NOT taken my luggage, we did, then went to get on the bus, so for them to take my luggage this time was a surprise. I am told they take your luggage before it is even put out for people to pick up but we always checked and sure enough there was our luggage to pick up, this time they did, which have I would of known they would of this time ,which they haven't in the past then I would of put stuff in a seperate bag to carry on. Now I know if I ever use DME service again to bring a seperate carry on bag. I didn't mean to tell people no, don't ever use this service, I guess I worded it wrong. I was frustrated over the whole thing. My suggestion is if you see a very long line at both points of checks in, at desk & for bus you should watch to see how fast or slow line is moving and it might be in your best interest to take a cab or limo so you are not stuck at airport like we were. This is just my opionion.

 

[dburg30]

For the record, Yes I did get information with the yellow tags for my luggage, in the previuos 3 times I have used the yellow tags and they have NOT taken my luggage,.

I'm sure that sometimes luggage makes it to the carousel, but even if it does, WDW will get it at some point when it comes back behind the scene / not picked up. I'm not sure why you went to luggage area anyway if you used the yellow tags???

Something just isnt adding up here . I dont even know WHERE the luggage claim is for MCO.

 

[goofy4tink]

There are glitches in the system that allows for those tagged bags to make it out to the public baggage claim area. But...that is not supposed to be the way it works. I would be very annoyed if I saw bags, with the yellow tags on them, going round and round on that carousel.
DME, and Disney, would hear of that from me. It that is going to happen, then I will pick up my own, untagged luggage and bring it to the bus with me. And that is something I don't want to do...it isn't the way DME is supposed to work and it slows down the process for everyone involved.
I have to wonder though...how long did you stand at the baggage claim area, waiting for your bags to come out, only to find they weren't coming? How did you get the info that the bags had been pulled out, as they should always be? Just curious how they handled that situation for you.

You should always have a carryon bag, packed with essentials, no matter where you are flying. Those airlines lose way more bags than DME does.

 

[codysmom1990]

While my husband waited in line to check in for the bus, the boys and I went to get our bags like we always do. They have always been there even with the tags on for the last 3 times we used this service. After about 45 mins of waiting there we asked an employee about our bags and they said since you has the yellow tags on them disney will have them. When we finally got to the front of line I asked to speak to supervisor who made a call to verify that they had our bags, then I asked her to call back to see if we could get our bags, she called back but was told they already left. The supervisor aplogized for my long delay and said sometime this happens especialy on weekends and mornings. They are working on improving the situation. But really what can they do, they provide free transportation to Disney and back, ALOT of people are going to go for that. Of course they will be crowded especially in the summer I suppose. It's the BEST place on Earth!!!! I just know I will look to see how long both lines are then I will decide if I am taking a cab or not. I will NOT put those tags on my bag, either way I want to get my luggage and bring it with me so I know I have it.

 

[Sleuth]

My suggestion is if you see a very long line at both points of checks in, at desk & for bus you should watch to see how fast or slow line is moving and it might be in your best interest to take a cab or limo so you are not stuck at airport like we were. This is just my opionion.

Or, if you arrive late and there is no one waiting (at all) don't plan on getting to your resort in a timely matter.

Respectfully, I'd rather hobnob with the bus drivers on the ground than board a bus with screaming children, until the last possible minute. Obviously, Magical Express does not work for YOU. It has worked for well over five million Guests so far, but everybody's different. DME isn't a personalized service. A taxi or town car (or rental car) can depart the instant the customer is settled. Not so with a multi-passenger bus.

Oh wait, I forgot, I would be the one with the problem. And I'm sure anyone else with kids wouldn't have a problem with DME taking 2.5 hours.

I never said "don't use the service", I only said I will never use the service again. Sometimes when things are free there's a price to pay. You may have ridden DME 500 times and had great trips, but my experience wasn't great and that's why I mentioned it, to sympathize with the OP.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Nobody said you have the problem. You have an issue because (a) you waited over an hour for your bus's additional passengers to arrive; (b) the bus driver would/could not depart when you expected; and (c) the waiting drivers and the arriving passengers hobnobbed outside the bus, boarding at the last possible minute, instead of sitting on the bus with screaming children who were not theirs and who were not exhausted and fussy due to ANYTHING those later-arriving passengers, or the bus driver, had or had not done.

Have the DISers who had such drastically negative Magical Express experiences contacted Disney to enlighten them?

 

[brunette8706]

My point in posting our experience was to lend credibility to the OP experience. It's strange how people come out of the woodwork to defend DME and can't imagine the OP waiting for hours. My story is very similar to the OP's wait time- and there were no other individuals even there for almost an hour after we got there.

**

You took the words right out of my mouth! There was no reason, in my opinion why the bus driver had to wait for these "late" families when there were several OTHER busses at the airport waiting for passengers. It's ridiculous!

 

[kaytieeldr]

It may be ridiculous - and that poster has every right to come here and complain - but it won't, no it CAN'T, get resolved if Guests who have bad experiences with Magical Express don't TELL Disney!

 

[brunette8706]

It may be ridiculous - and that poster has every right to come here and complain - but it won't, no it CAN'T, get resolved if Guests who have bad experiences with Magical Express don't TELL Disney!
__________________

It's ridiculous that the OP and her children had to wait a very long time before the bus left MCO! I can't imagine a BUS waiting for me if I were late! If you snooze you loose! Or (the families) that were late should have rescheduled another bus. Any normal person would be frustrated and or angry if they had to wait on this bus for latecomers. Sorry.

 

[Sleuth]

**

You took the words right out of my mouth! There was no reason, in my opinion why the bus driver had to wait for these "late" families when there were several OTHER busses at the airport waiting for passengers. It's ridiculous!

Yes, that is the thing that was so frustrating. There were quite a few buses with the bus drivers outside. They were waiting to do something (ie: drive passengers to Disney).

Look, there were no other families coming off of our flight to MCO that took DME. We were the ONLY FAMILY. DME knew were were going to be late. I called Disney on my cell phone at Detroit Metro when I found out we had a delay. I was told "no problem, we've got buses standing by 24/7 and we're aware when you're flight lands." What they left out was that I would have to wait almost an hour for four more people on a different flight because (1) it will be too inconvienent for DME to give the go ahead for the bus drivers to stop chit chatting and take us to our resort or (2) the bus drivers didn't feel like taking a separate bus.

Whatever the reason, it wasn't magical and it wasn't an express in our situation. I hope everyone else has a magical trip that uses DME. Maybe Disney needs to have a disclaimer or warn people that flights that arrive after a certain time or that are late at night will not have a magical or express experience. If I would have known that going into it I would have just rented a car.

I hope this saves any other families the frustration of traveling with small children and using this service when their flight is delayed.

 

[brunette8706]

I called Disney on my cell phone at Detroit Metro when I found out we had a delay. I was told "no problem, we've got buses standing by 24/7 and

**


EXACTLY! That's the way it should have operated in my opinion. Once again those "LATE FAMILIES" should have taken the next bus. The bus driver should have stop yaking and smoking while a family with small children were waiting for over an hour! This is an UNACCEPTABLE business practice and should not be tolerated.

 

[goofy4tink]

**

You took the words right out of my mouth! There was no reason, in my opinion why the bus driver had to wait for these "late" families when there were several OTHER busses at the airport waiting for passengers. It's ridiculous!

I called Disney on my cell phone at Detroit Metro when I found out we had a delay. I was told "no problem, we've got buses standing by 24/7 and

**


EXACTLY! That's the way it should have operated in my opinion. Once again those "LATE FAMILIES" should have taken the next bus. The bus driver should have stop yaking and smoking while a family with small children were waiting for over an hour! This is an UNACCEPTABLE business practice and should not be tolerated.

Okay....DME did exactly what they were supposed to do. Those other buses were, more than likely, waiting for the guests that were assigned to their particular buses when they arrived at the airport...they would not have been able to just say...'Oh look, we have some late arrrivals. Let's take them to 'xyz resort' so they can get there earlier. Those guests we are supposed to take to '123' resort will just have to wait.'....that's not the way it works. Each bus is assigned a particular group of resorts. They wait for the people they know are coming in, especially later at night, to get there and board. They are not going to just pull out with a family that is late due to a late arriving flight.
I'm sorry, DME is not a personalized service. It is not going to give that type of service. If you want to be assured of getting to your resort in a timely fashion then you will be best served by a cab, rental car or towncar service.
DME is not set up to be able to rearrange their buses on a minutes notice.
Sometimes, guests are going to have to wait. Those arriving at MCO, after 10:00 pm, or so, have to realize that their waits are going to be greater than those arriving at 10:00 am...there are many more people arriving during the day, so more buses are available. Those arriving late at night are going to have to wait longer for their bus to leave the airport.
I know this is frustrating for you that arrive later in the evening. It's not what you want to do....sit on a bus, with tired children, after traveling all day. You want to get to your resort and get settled and into bed. I understand that, I truly do. But, DME is just not set up to provide immediate service. Sometimes, it just works out better to use private transportation unless you fully realize what the situation 'could be' and plan accordingly for the worst case scenario.

Again, I'm really sorry some of you had bad late-night experiences with DME. Hopefully, you all got to your resorts, got a decent night's sleep and had great WDW vacations!!

 

[pooch]

It's ridiculous that the OP and her children had to wait a very long time before the bus left MCO! I can't imagine a BUS waiting for me if I were late! If you snooze you loose! Or (the families) that were late should have rescheduled another bus. Any normal person would be frustrated and or angry if they had to wait on this bus for latecomers. Sorry.

weren't late that we know of. The Poster's family was late. The other families were there at their scheduled arrival time and the busses did what they were supposed to, accomodated the LATE family while waiting for the families who were supposed to be on their busses!

 

[Laxmom]

We just used ME for the first time a few weeks ago with no problems. I waited in line maybe 10 minutes to check in, they got our bags even though we hadn't gotten our luggage tags in time and then we waited maybe 15 minutes for our bus. We arrived at MCO at 9:30 and were checking in by 11 am. We were really pleased and plan on giving them another try until we experience some of what was mentioned here, personally. Considering the number of people they move everyday, I am not surprised there are issues.

 

[dburg30]

People just wont accept that the drivers couldnt just up a leave!!! Those drivers dont own those buses, they dont make up their own schedule. They are TOLD WHERE and WHEN to go. So I wish people would quit saying 'the driver could've taken us'... 'there were other buses there'.... The driver DID take them, when they were dispatched to leave. Hey, it didnt work out for you, so yes, if you are going to arrive after 10 pm (again, when I've read that the large majority of flights are done arriving) pay the extra for a cab / towncar..

 

[Disneydonnam]

On one of our trips to Disney we were the family that people sat on the bus waiting for. I couldn't have been happier after flight delays and very late arrival that the bus was waiting for us as Disney told us it would be. We did have to sit and wait for another family but we didn't mind others had to wait for us so it was our turn to wait for others.

 

[justplaingoofy]

In January I took M.E. and my plane arrived at 9:20am, I did not get to Wilderness lodge until just before noon! I know I should give it another shot, but found a rental car at Alamo for $102. for the week including taxes so we'll do that!

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's ridiculous that the OP and her children had to wait a very long time before the bus left MCO! I can't imagine a BUS waiting for me if I were late! If you snooze you loose! Or (the families) that were late should have rescheduled another bus.

Sleuth - the poster with that very aggravating experience - was delayed by the airline. Since flights aren't generally scheduled to land at MCO that late, it's a bit disingenuous to assign the "if you snooze, you lose" accusation to the two even later-arriving parties. Just as it was not Sleuth's fault her (his?) family arrived so late, it likely wasn't the fault of the other two parties that they arrived late. And Guests can't "schedule a bus". Disney's Magical Express Cast Members can. So, I ask again - did either party with the frustrating DME experiences detailed here inform DISNEY of these experiences???? I don't mean complain to the bus driver - he doesn't get to make decisions, either. I mean did either of them attempt to, a day or more after arrival, inform Guest Relations? Transportation? Magical Express via its toll-free number? Their respective resort Managers? Disney can't fix a problem it doesn't know exists.

 

[maxiesmom]

So, I ask again - did either party with the frustrating DME experiences detailed here inform DISNEY of these experiences???? I don't mean complain to the bus driver - he doesn't get to make decisions, either. I mean did either of them attempt to, a day or more after arrival, inform Guest Relations? Transportation? Magical Express via its toll-free number? Their respective resort Managers? Disney can't fix a problem it doesn't know exists.

I doubt it, but I could be wrong. Some people seem to think that Disney can see what every guest experiences, and can wave a magic wand and fix things. I must admit that I was frustrated with my late night ME bus experience, but I just figured that was the breaks when flying in after 11pm. The law of supply and demand in action. Not so many flights arriving, not so many busses arriving either.

And with the price of gas, I can't see how Disney could afford to run busses back and forth with only a handful of people on them. I'm actually kind of supprised they haven't added some kind of charge for using ME, even if it would be only $5 a person.