DME or town car??? Please help.

[princess sparkle p]

In April were the world, DH’s work paid for a town car since he was there for work. I have not use DME, I have used mears before it magically transformed into DME. I think its great now that it is free however I think I was spoiled by the private town car. It was sooo nice to be personally picked up and delivered to the hotel and then returned back to the airport with minimal wait for our flight. The only thing stopping me from using it for our December trip is the $99 cost. DME picks people up 3-4 hours before the flight and I don’t want to waste any precious Disney time.

Any suggestions?

 

[CarolA]

Suggestion 1

Do NOT allow the towncar to pick you up ANY LESS then three hours in advance.

MCO is not the best run security operation in the country. You could get lucky and get a five minute line or you could have the line that streches so far back the moving sidewalks have been turned off to allow folks to stand in line on them.... There is NO method to the madness... I have had short lines at what should be busy times and HORRID lines on a midweek, midafternoon flight.

So IMHO the DME departure time to the airport is not really an issue.

 

[Edd]

Pickup by individual car services are made two hours in advance religiously, unless a customer requests additional time. I have no idea of anyone missing their flights because of the two hour pickup time. Unless you have extenuating circumstances that would require the additional time, two hours is sufficient for you to make your flight.

I can understand your feelings. You spent $5000. to $10000. at Disney and you going to worry about a mere $99. Riding in a town car, limousine or SUV or soooo much better than the magical express BUS. Maybe your DH would like the peace and quiet of the car service rather than the BUS.

 

[CarolA]

Pickup by individual car services are made two hours in advance religiously, unless a customer requests additional time. I have no idea of anyone missing their flights because of the two hour pickup time. Unless you have extenuating circumstances that would require the additional time, two hours is sufficient for you to make your flight.

I can understand your feelings. You spent $5000. to $10000. at Disney and you going to worry about a mere $99. Riding in a town car, limousine or SUV or soooo much better than the magical express BUS. Maybe your DH would like the peace and quiet of the car service rather than the BUS.

Had I arrived at MCO for my June 10th flight less then two hours in advance I would have missed my flight. It took me over an HOUR to clear security. Plus I had to check luggage.

I would NOT allow anyone to pick me up two hours in advance, even you Edd. You may have no idea of anyone missing thier flight, but that doesn't mean they haven't (or they haven't had to SPRINT to the gate....)

 

[Kimmielee]

We used DME to take us to the hotel, then a town car to the port, town car back to the hotel, town car to Universal and back and then DME to the airport.

It was busy April (2nd weekend after Easter) and the lines were horrible and I was sweating it out big time but we made it. That was with DME picking us up 2 hours in advance but stopping at 3 other locations before departing for the airport.

The stress of pulling up to a Disney Resort, waiting for NO ONE to show and then pull into the next one, etc... it was way too stressful!

 

[DH-PrincessSparkleP]

My vote is to take the town car. Much less stress than worrying about Magical Express mess!

 

[Edd]

Sorry Carol,

Pick up two hours before departure is done regularly every day of the week by all car service companies. Mears and DME schedule three to four hours earlier because they go to a number of hotels for pick up, because they have to unload all the luggage out of the bus at the airport before their passengers get off and because you may have a walk to another part of the terminal to find your airline. Yes, I know some of the luggage goes earlier, but there is still some of it to be unloaded. Also DME drops you off on the first floor. You than have to navigate to the third floor and your airline, hopefully you got off the bus on the right side close to your departing airline. It sometimes might take you a while to figure out where to find your airline if you get dropped off at the wrong location.

Car Service picks you up at the resort and drives you directly to the third floor (departure floor) of the airport, right in front of the ticket counters of your appropriate airline. The luggage is checked outside and you walk straight to the lines or the ticket counters, which sometimes may be very long, but not all the time.

So the convenience a car service provides give you extra time to maybe have lunch or a little extra time at the resorts.

 

[beccasmom]

The towncar is nice, I totally agree! We've used both and although DME has been mainly a good experience for us, I can appreciate your "plight"! If the cost of the towncar is not a budget-buster, go for it! DME is a great service, but not for everyone and certainly not without "bugs"! It's your vacation - enjoy yourself!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

My vote is to take the town car. Much less stress than worrying about Magical Express mess!

By all means, use a towncar service, if you prefer. I've used towncar services several times, and my experiences ranged from merely okay to absolutely excellent.

However, Magical Express is not a "mess." This board constantly gets reports of excellent experiences with Magical Express, and very few negative comments. (And most of the negative comments were because people didn't take the time understand how Magical Express works.)

I'm using Magical Express for our next two Disney trips. I love going directly from the arrival gate to the Magical Express Check-in desk — bypassing the wait for luggage at baggage claim. I love not have to deal with large bags at all after I check my bags at my home airport — with Disney even paying the inbound bellman gratuity, so we don't even have to be in the room for the bags to be delivered. And I wouldn't be honest if didn't admit that I also like the Magical Express price — free.

But a towncar can be great, especially if you only have carry-on bags, so you can also bypass baggage claim. Unfortunately, that's now harder due to the new carry-on restrictions.

 

[princess sparkle p]

My vote is to take the town car. Much less stress than worrying about Magical Express mess!

How funny is this. My DH is out of town right now and knows that I am constantly all over these boards. He registered as “DH- PrincessSparkleP” and posted on this thread!!!!!
I have been asking him if he wanted to use DME or town car, and I could not get an answer out of him so I put my dilemma on the boards. Now he decided to respond!!!! LOL!!!!

 

[Edd]

I guess you got your answer.

 

[princess sparkle p]

Edd- I think I have to agree with your post about the pu/do times. I hate the idea of wasting my already paid for Disney time sitting on a bus waiting for other people that may not show up anyway!!!

Thanks for all the input.

 

[CarolA]

THe information below was PRIOR to the latest "security crisis"

MSN Travel Trends: Avoid Long Waits at Airport SecurityAvoid Long Waits at Airport Security
In this week’s report on the travel industry, we explain why security lines may be getting longer this summer—and offer up a pair of strategies for saving time. If you’re feeling pinched by high gas prices, we show you where it pays to hit the road. And we tell you why Northwest’s decision to charge extra for aisle seats won’t apply to some fliers.
By MSN Travel Editors

Related Articles Expect Crowded Planes This Summer (April 12)
Northwest Charging for Aisle Seats (April 5)

April 26—Bad weather and airport traffic aren’t the only circumstances that might delay you from getting to your destination on time this summer. Several major airports are reportedly facing hiring shortages for security personnel. If there aren’t enough screeners to staff the available checkpoints, airports may be forced to close some security lanes during peak travel times.

According to The Wall Street Journal, one airport official in Orlando, Fla., warned that three-hour waits may be possible this summer.

 

[princess sparkle p]

Despite the fact that I really appreciate all the helpful info everyone is offering I somewhat feel like I am caught in a tug of war here.
DH has flown in and out if international airports 8 times since the new restrictions and has had no problems or delays. I guess he has been lucky.

 

[CarolA]

The problems at MCO have NOTHING to do with the new travel measures and everything to do with the fact that they do NOT run the security lines well.

It is SO horrid there that I paid $80 to join Clear which allows me to skip the lines. (And I am not alone there are at least two other frequent fliers on this board who have paid that $80 also)

I realize that Edd thinks I am posting this just to be mean to him, but HONESTLY I would not arrive too late in Orlando. I arrive at ATL one hour in advance, I have been known to arrive in Nashville about 30 minutes in advance. If I did not have Clear I would NOT arrive at MCO less then two hours in advance. I am dropping my boyfriend off there next Wed. He will be at the airport two hours in advance (and he will have no luggage to check. I will check the liquids on my flight later since I have more stuff LOL!)

Now lots of times you do just fine at MCO, but I have watched people SCREAM at the SW gate agent about how security made them miss the plane and it REALLY did take me over an hour this June. (I didn't use Clear because I was with my mother who doesn't have it. I did complain to an airport manager I saw since the hold up was NOT the TSA but the ID checkers.) So if you get them on one of their "bad days" you run a very large risk of missing the plane. You will not be "passed" to the front of the line because you are late, you just have to sweat it out. (I have no idea why Edd has never seen these lines, they have acutally made the NATIONAL news they are so bad LOL!)

 

[Edd]

Carol,

Get over it. I have seen the lines. That certainly does not mean that people will miss their departures. They are not that bad, just long from the TSA back because there is no place in the Orlando airport to put the long lines. In the past two weeks I have probably dropped off thirty families with 1 1/2 hours to go to their departure. No one has missed their plane. I am a lot more experienced in the lines than you will ever be especially at Orlando International Airport where I have worked, in different positions, since the 1980's.

About a week ago a family got off the boat at 0945 and their plane supposedly departed at 1115. I told the guy he would miss the plane, but hurried back to MCO arriving at 1030. He called me boarding the plane at approximately 1110 saying he made the flight and thanked me for getting him there. I still can't figure how he made it there, although I have kept one thing on my mind. He was an attorney for the FAA. Maybe he pulled some strings, huh.