DME vs Towncar

[TyGuy]

This is our first trip back to Disneyworld since 2002. We arrive at MCO at 10:30am, Saturday, November 4th. I'm assuming this is probably a very busy time for DME. I've always used a towncar service before but I am leaning towards DME for the convenience of not having to pick up our bags and the cost.

So with all of that, what should I expect when I arrive at MCO. Will DME be a zoo? Will I get to our hotel (Yacht Club) quicker using a towncar even if we have to wait for our bags?

Thanks for everyone's input in advance.

 

[goofy4tink]

You are arriving at MCO at about the same time I usually get there. I haven't found the DME checkin desk to be overly busy at this time. My experiences have been that I arrive at my resort about 65-70 minutes after deplaning. The only time it took me less than an hour with a towncar was when I had only carryon luggage...it took about 50 minutes. If you have to wait for your luggage, it adds about 20 minutes onto your time. You have to go to level 2, wait for your luggage and then lug it down to level 1 for ground transportation. Then, if you use a towncar service, the driver will leave you, and your luggage, at a 'slot' and he will go and retrieve the car from a back parking lot area. That takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes, then load up the luggage and head to your resort. That usually takes about 30 minutes.
So, the time using a towncar, and getting your luggage is going to be pretty similar to using DME without grabbing your luggage. Of course, if you use DME you will have to wait for your luggage to get to your room...anywhere up to 3-4 hrs! With a towncar you will have it right there with you.
But, for me, I like to save the money and wait for my luggage. If I need groceries, I use one of the grocery delivery services...they charge a fee of $10-20 for delivery on top of your grocery cost.
It's a personal choice...some love DME (myself included) while others will only use a towncar service...I have in the past and will be again in the future.

 

[CleveRocks]

If the personalized and private service of a car service doesn't matter to you, and having over $100 NOT leaving your wallet DOES matter to you, then go with DME.

Chances are you will arrive at your resort in about the same amount of time either way. Pack a carry-on with anything you might need for your first few hours. Also, don't forget that you don't need to wait around in your resort room for your luggage to arrive -- it will be delivered to the inside of your room whether you're there or not.

Also, most importantly, my family and I will be arriving at MCO about 11 hours after you. LET'S DANCE!

 

[Edd]

There are no chances taken. DME is absoloutely dead at 1030 hours. I was by there this morning at 1010. They might hold the bus a few extra minutes to board a few other passengers.

But, what do you miss. A nice quiet ride without other families, in a clean town car or SUV and a grocery stop to pick up your favorite brew and snacks. To me that may be, as they say on TV, "priceless."

 

[goofy4tink]

Every time I have taken DME, three times now, only one time have I had any 'noise' from those other families on the bus. And that was an excited little boy who wanted to know when he was going to be at POP. The bus is nice, clean and those other families are pretty nice and fun to talk to. And as I, and others as well, have said in the past, for the cost, and tip, that go with the towncar services, I can have a lot of groceries and brews delivered to my room.

I think we can all agree....each mode of transportation has it's finer points. I'll be using a towncar service in Dec...DME doesn't service the Dolphin and we ladies are going to splurge since some are at the Dolphin and some are at BWV. I love the towncars, I really do. But, I also love DME. I have found it to be just about as quick, quicker if you take that grocery stop into account, as the towncar. I can have my groceries delivered at a time of my choosing....as I'm unpacking in my room for instance. Yes, there's a fee attached, but it's about $15-25 per order, plus the cost of groceries.

I'm trying to be very fair here....especially since I'll be needing alternate transportation for my trip over to Universal next month!!! But, come on...you make it sound like DME is a cattle car, with some chickens thrown in for good measure. It's a very nice bus....I like to think of it as my party limo....a really loooong stretch limo, for all my WDW buddies!!! Heck, it's even got a potty for the kids....at least that's what I'm told.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

What do you do when it comes to car seats, etc for small kids on the DME?

 

[Edd]

The only time I have rode any big bus is at the Kennedy Space Center. They are alright. But I am so much more use to a car and my privacy that I don't ride a bus unless I have to. Like I said, maybe I am a little bit unsociable, the ride in the family vehicle is "priceless." I didn't make it sound like a cattlecar and if one can get that out of my statement, I apologize.

Kelsiesmommy,

The DME has no seatbelts aboard or provisions for car seats. If you are concerned you should hunt for a car service for transportation.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I've enjoyed the privacy and luxury of the back of chauffeured Lincoln Towncars, stretched Lincoln limousines, and private vans. My only warning would be that putting a family of four in a Lincoln Towncar means that three people share the back seat. That's not too comfortable, especially if there are one or two car seats involved or if anyone is a little wider than they ought to be. In my opinion, for a family of four, a DME motorcoach is more comfortable than a Lincoln Towncar. However, for a couple heading to WDW for the Food & Wine Festival, a Lincoln Towncar is a nice luxury.

I know some folks would recommend an SUV instead of a Towncar for families.

The DME has no seatbelts aboard or provisions for car seats. If you are concerned you should hunt for a car service for transportation.

The WDW Transportation buses don't have seat belts either. So if someone is really concerned about always having seat belts or having a child in a car seat (secured by seat belts), then I would recommend against using a livery service (towncar, limo, or SUV service) — unless that person never intends to use WDW Transportation buses.

In reality, I feel that my family and I are safer in a DME deluxe motorcoach than in any type of car.

 

[goofy4tink]

Tongue in cheek guys, tongue in cheek!!! About noise or a cattlecar...those are my words. But, when someone says something about 'a nice quiet ride without other families'....well, you get my drift. Just my feeble attempt at humor. I really should stop that.

 

[CleveRocks]

What do you do when it comes to car seats, etc for small kids on the DME?

DME buses don't have seat belts.
No seat belts = no way to secure the car seat.
No way to secure the car seat = more dangerous than without the car seat.

ALSO,

Disney Transport buses (the buses to and from the parks) don't have seat belts.

SO, if using a car seat is a top priority for you, then your only recourse is to rent a car at MCO, drive to your resort, drive to and from the parks, then drive yourself back to MCO at the end of your stay.

If you hired a car service to take you from MCO to your resort, sure, you'd have a car seat during that ride, but then NO car seat the whole time you're at WDW. Unless you are staying at a monorail resort and will visit ONLY Epcot and MK, then you'd have to travel in a Disney Transport bus without a car seat.

For the record, my wife and I are very confident taking our young kids on buses (DME, Disney Transport, MTA in NYC, SEPTA in Philadelphia, etc.) without car seats. And we know about safety, and lack thereof -- she's a board-certified pediaitrician and I'm a therapist who works with (mostly) people injured in motor vehicle accidents.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

Thanks for the responses on the safety issue, everyone. I was just curious, as my children have never been on a bus or any means of transportation without a child safety seat. I was just wondering how safe it was.