DME questions

[copper68]

We usually get a limo to take us to our resort, and have never had any problems. We just planned a spontaneous trip to WDW in 2 weeks and we will be renting points to stay at a BWV. The guy we are renting points from asked if we wanted to do the DME, but I am not sure.

The pros that I see are

1. Conevnience of not having to move/worry about luggage.
2. Cost savings.

The cons that I see are

1. The possible wait at the airport for other passengers.
2. Stopping at different resorts along the way which will increase travel time
3. Having to get picked up very early on our last day, which will prevent us from being able to do a character breakfast etc.

To me, time is money. Especially at WDW. We are only going for 4 days.

I would rather take a taxi to DTD from the BW, rather than wait 20 minutes for a bus. Also, DW is a nurse and will be working until 7am the morning that we leave. So she will not really be sleeping until we get to the hotel. So I am concerned that it's going to take a long time between waiting for the bus at the aiport, then waiting for it to leave, and then having to stop at 5 different resorts on our way there, and waiting for them to unload passengers and luggage etc.

Am I worrying to much and overthinking all of this? Can you all please give me your opinions, pros and cons, on using this service?

 

[goofy4tink]

I have used DME several times now, as well as the plain old Mears shuttle and several different towncar services. To date, the best experience I have had has been with DME. I have always gotten to my resort no more than 70 minutes after getting off the plane. We have stopped at one or two resorts along the way but it really doesn't take up much time. The one time I was able to be at my resort within an hour of disembarking from the plane, was when I flew with only carry-on luggage, the towncar driver was right at the bottom of the escalator waiting for me and he was able to get his car back to us within 5 minutes (we usually have had to wait almost 15 minutes).
We have never had to wait in the DME checkin line more than 5 mins., then in the bus line for more than 5-7 mins., then on the bus, waiting for all those boarding that particular bus. Then it's about 30 mins to our resort. As far as the early departure time...I have had to be at the bus stop about 2 hrs. 45 mns. before my flight. That's only a difference of about 20 mins from what the towncar drivers do.
I'll continue using DME until I have some bad experiences, but none so far.

 

[CleveRocks]

So I am concerned that it's going to take a long time between waiting for the bus at the aiport, then waiting for it to leave, and then having to stop at 5 different resorts on our way there, and waiting for them to unload passengers and luggage etc.

The max number of resorts per bus is 4, so if you're the 4th dropped off trhat means you stopped at a max of 3 other resorts before yours.

Of course you may have some wait to get on the bus, and then for the bus to leave, but keep in mind that with a towncar you have to wait at baggage claim for your luggage, and then wait for the driver to bring around the car.

All I know is that when I used DME it took 53 minutes from when I got into my first line until I was dropped off at CBR. Since we were on the road for 30 minutes, that means 23 total minutes for waiting, boarding the bus, etc. How much time would I have saved if I'd taken a towncar. How long would I have waited at baggage claim until I collected all of my bags? How long would I have waited for the driver to get the car, and then pack the car, etc.? I can't imagine it would be significantly less than 23 minutes. It's entirely possible it could have been longer if there was any sort of delay at baggage claim.

But let's just pretend it would have been 13 minutes with a towncar instead of 23 minutes with DME, a savings of 10 minutes. Assuming a towncar and tip cost $120, assuming $60 of that is for the arrival trip, that $60 bought me 10 minutes. That's $360 per hour, equivalent to $748,880 per year for a 40 hour week. Ouch.

There's a tiny possibility my wife and I will escape to WDW for 4 days for our anniversary, without the kids. Four days isn't a lot, and every minute counts. But I'll tell ya, I'd still take DME. If I did take a towncar, it wouldn't be to save time but for the more personalized service -- I assume it'd be more romantic than a bus ride with a bunch of other people. Traveling with my kids I didn't care about that, but if it's just me and the wife I might crack open the wallet for a special treat. But again, it would be for the personal service and not for the time aspect.