DME help please

[DeeCee735]

I am going to WLV and already have my ME booked. My friend is meeting me there, as she is staying in her timeshare off property for a couple of days before I arrive. She is renting a car and thinking of dropping it off at the airport, meeting me when my flight lands and getting on DME with me, as she will be my guest at my DVC resort for the remainder of my stay. She is already on the room and has her magic band for the dates we are staying on property.

My question is, can we just pick up a voucher for her at the DME counter since she's on the room reservation?

And, when does she work out the return bus when we leave, as I'll be picked up an hour before her, since I'm on a different airline with a flight leaving earlier than her.

Also, anyone know the DME bus route from the airport to Wilderness Lodge?
Thanks,

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Your ME reservation is linked to your Magic Band and you will also have a voucher for her in your ME packet if she is on the reservation. You don't have to travel together to use ME. You will get your return times the night before your departure if you have given them your flight info, usually 3 hours before departure is your pick up time.

 

[paults]

if she leaving an hour later for her bus you could request to have her on your bus if she wants to travel with you instead waiting at the resort and just wait at the airport. You just have to go down to conceige desk 2 days before and make a request.

 

[DeeCee735]

Your ME reservation is linked to your Magic Band and you will also have a voucher for her in your ME packet if she is on the reservation. You don't have to travel together to use ME. You will get your return times the night before your departure if you have given them your flight info, usually 3 hours before departure is your pick up time.

Thank you. No she's not listed on my voucher. But I do have her name on the reissue and she has a magic band all set up.

Not going to worry, she's probably going to keep the car and pick me up at airport.

 

[tjmw2727]

Sounds like you have things worked out but if she does decide to use DME you have to add her to your DME reservation in advance - not just the room reservation.

For the trip home just add her at some point prior to the last day and for the trip to be sure and call asap if you decide to use DME.

 

[goofy4tink]

I would call DME and be sure that your friend is listed on the DME reservation. Doesn't sound like she is. If she isn't listed there, she may have a hard time getting on the bus! Easier to just call now and be sure she gets listed on DME.
You can set up your return trips once you get to WL..be sure to head to the lobby and get it set up a few days before she needs to leave. You can have her ride your bus if she doesn't mind leaving an hour earlier...DME should be happy to accommodate that.
As far as the route goes....who knows. WL probably isn't the first stop from the airport, but I don't think it's the last one either. The routes can, and do, change almost daily depending on where guests need to go. Figure on it taking up to 90 mins from gate to resort...it will probably take less time though.

 

[mkarizona]

My question is, can we just pick up a voucher for her at the DME counter since she's on the room reservation?

Yes. As long as she is on the room reservation she just needs to go to the DME counter.

 

[Gracie09]

Yes. As long as she is on the room reservation she just needs to go to the DME counter.

No she needs a magic express reservation to ride ME. It is separate from a room reservation

 

[mb187143]

No she needs a magic express reservation to ride ME. It is separate from a room reservation

A friend of ours joined us for two days on our last vacation (Dec 2013) unexpectedly. My husband added him to our reservation at the front desk on the morning that his friend was arriving, but it never replicated to DME by the time our friends flight arrived. He walked up to the counter, they looked him up, printed a voucher for him, and we met him when he got off DME at CSR that evening. It should be done ahead of time but it's not an absolute, in our experience.

 

[Gracie09]

A friend of ours joined us for two days on our last vacation (Dec 2013) unexpectedly. My husband added him to our reservation at the front desk on the morning that his friend was arriving, but it never replicated to DME by the time our friends flight arrived. He walked up to the counter, they looked him up, printed a voucher for him, and we met him when he got off DME at CSR that evening. It should be done ahead of time but it's not an absolute, in our experience.

That's the exception not the rule and on the way back they won't pick you up

 

[mb187143]

That's the exception not the rule and on the way back they won't pick you up

I won't speak to it being an exception vs a rule, as I don't have any kind of information to know how often they allow it, all I know is that they did, without even the slightest hint to him that it was an exception to a rule. I do know why they can't advertise it as an option, because of the issue with the other ground transpiration companies at MCO. Officially, it isn't an option. But, without knowing how often people arrive at MCO without DME reservations, for various reasons, I would imagine it's not as rare as some would think to have guests show up to the counter without a reservation for DME and have them issue vouchers right there. I don't think anyone can accurately say it's an exception or a rule, or somewhere in between (similar to using legacy FP anytime after the return time- using it late was not an exception to the rule, but was an un-advertised method of guest recovery for situations beyond the guests' control that caused them to miss the window), despite what we may think we know.

At the very least, should one arrive at MCO without having DME reservations (thought you did it/plans changed, etc), I don't see any reason why you couldn't ask at the DME counter (assuming you have a resort reservation). If they say no, that's the answer, and the guest needs to find other transport, but there's nothing wrong with asking.

I agree that without a reservation for the return trip you will not be picked up. That said, it is easy to make one from the resort, as long as you call more than 24 hours prior to your departure. DH and I have done that, and so did his friend when he arrived to visit us last December.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Just make a DME reservation?
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ai...n-reservation/