DME wait times at the airport

[Tony]

Hi,

Do feel free to redirect me if there's a thread about this already. I've only ever used the DME early in the morning from the airport so it's a case of walking right up to the desk, being directed onto a coach and away you go.

How does the system shape up around 5pm on a Friday or Saturday afternoon?

(For the sake of 50 bucks or so, I'm not going to subject three tired kids to standing in a line and just hanging around - there will be plenty of scope for doing that once we get into the theme park.....)

Thanks

Tony

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

They say to allow 90 minute the time you got off the plane to the time you arrive at your resort.

 

[winterman]

Hi,

Do feel free to redirect me if there's a thread about this already. I've only ever used the DME early in the morning from the airport so it's a case of walking right up to the desk, being directed onto a coach and away you go.

How does the system shape up around 5pm on a Friday or Saturday afternoon?

(For the sake of 50 bucks or so, I'm not going to subject three tired kids to standing in a line and just hanging around - there will be plenty of scope for doing that once we get into the theme park.....)

Thanks

Tony

I don't believe that there is any way to predict your wait. It depends on how full the bus is that you are assigned to, when you get to it. The first time I rode DME I was the first one in line and had a bit of a wait before we could even start getting on the bus. Then we had to wait for the bus to fill up. On my second trip, DS and I were close to the last ones to get on the bus. We immediately got on and had just a short wait to leave.

 

[maxiesmom]

There is no way to know ahead of time. I've had short waits and I've had long waits. Keep in mind that if you decide to not use DME you will also have to wait at the airport to get your checked bags. So not a huge amount of time is going to be saved. You will all just be waiting at a different place.

 

[Tony]

Unless you're 1) carry on only or 2) arriving from overseas, in which case disney won't transfer your luggage anyway...

(both apply to us.)

 

[goofy4tink]

Most of my DME times have been right around 70 mins..from gate to resort. When I used a car service, yes, I had shorter times. But.....not by much. With carry on only, it took me about 45/50 mins, gate to resort. With checked bags, it took about 60 mins. Both times it came to about $120, plus tip, r/t. About $60 one way.
Plan on it taking up to 90 mins, from gate to resort. It will probably take less time than that tho. You could pay for a car service, but you'll spend about $60-75 to save about 30 mins....tops.

 

[goingtowdwwithkiddos]

also my kids have been excited both times to get on the bus and watch the Disney shows (advertisements). We fly from California but our first trip was so delayed it was about a 15 hr day and the Disney bus was for sure more fun than a car service would have been for them at least.

 

[Tony]

Thanks all. I think you've convinced me to stick with the MDE.

Only reservation is we'll have been travelling for about 14hrs by that point and with the time difference, it'll be 10pm-11pm by my kids' body clocks - that's long past bed time...

Doing it in 30 mins in a car vs 90 mins on the bus could seriously help everyone (we're at the Bay Lake Tower so I think that's always the last stop, is that right?).

 

[kaytieeldr]

Most of my DME times have been right around 70 mins..from gate to resort. When I used a car service, yes, I had shorter times. But.....not by much. With carry on only, it took me about 45/50 mins, gate to resort. With checked bags, it took about 60 mins. Both times it came to about $120, plus tip, r/t. About $60 one way.
Plan on it taking up to 90 mins, from gate to resort. It will probably take less time than that tho. You could pay for a car service, but you'll spend about $60-75 to save about 30 mins....tops.

And don't even ask her how much it cost her in time (and to a lesser degree, money) to use Mears Shuttle to be better able to advise this board's users - instead the personalized airport-to-doorservice offered by a friend .

 

[summermac]

The longest we've ever waited to get on a bus is about 45 minutes. That was our June trip. Most of the time it's been about 1/2 hour-ish wait, if that.

 

[goofy4tink]

And don't even ask her how much it cost her in time (and to a lesser degree, money) to use Mears Shuttle to be better able to advise this board's users - instead the personalized airport-to-doorservice offered by a friend .

Oh, the things I do in the name of research for this board!!!! Hey, the Mears shuttle wasn't 'that' bad...yes, it took about 90 mins vs the 50 it would have taken with my buddy! But, I saw stuff I've never seen, I wasn't in a big rush, and I got to talk to some new people! Cost me a whopping $19, and 40 mins in time!!!
But I always recommend DME if you don't have to be at your resort in less than 90 mins...great way to get to WDW!

 

[Tony]

Thanks again

Can anyone confirm if BLT is the last stop? Or does it run in a loop so making it the first stop? I'm sure on the way back it stops several times....

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks again

Can anyone confirm if BLT is the last stop? Or does it run in a loop so making it the first stop? I'm sure on the way back it stops several times....

There really is no way to say for sure! For instance...I've taken the DME to Pop about 5 times, to date. Almost every time, Pop was the first stop. It also included AKL and Kidani, but obviously they were later stops. Well.....there was one time (that I was actually on the bus) that the bus went to AKL and Kidani first! Pop was the last stop. I have no idea why the route was changed up, but it was.
When at BWVs? We usually are the third stop, with POFQ and POR before us. but, other times, we've been the last stop, after CBR, YC and BC!! Go figiure.
As you can see...the routes can, and do, change! No way to accurately predict what stop your resort will be.

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks all. I think you've convinced me to stick with the MDE.

Only reservation is we'll have been travelling for about 14hrs by that point and with the time difference, it'll be 10pm-11pm by my kids' body clocks - that's long past bed time...

Doing it in 30 mins in a car vs 90 mins on the bus could seriously help everyone (we're at the Bay Lake Tower so I think that's always the last stop, is that right?).

It's not a 30 vs. 90 difference. The 90 minute time frame is from when you get off the plane. If you want to compare it to a rental car, you're probably looking at 60 minutes for a rental car from when you get off the plane.

It's ~30 minute drive, plus you need to wait and get your luggage, plus (depending on which rental company you use) get your rental car, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Tony]

It's not a 30 vs. 90 difference. The 90 minute time frame is from when you get off the plane. If you want to compare it to a rental car, you're probably looking at 60 minutes for a rental car from when you get off the plane.

It's ~30 minute drive, plus you need to wait and get your luggage, plus (depending on which rental company you use) get your rental car, etc, etc, etc.

Yes, but we don't have bags to collect and by "car" I meant taxi/limo, not a rental car.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yes, but we don't have bags to collect and by "car" I meant taxi/limo, not a rental car.

Then yes, a taxi/limo would be much quicker. I'm guessing you're looking at ~45 minutes from when you get off the plane vs the 70-90 minutes with DME.

 

[goofy4tink]

Yes, but we don't have bags to collect and by "car" I meant taxi/limo, not a rental car.

It will be between 45 and 50 mins if you use a car service and have no bags to claim. It takes about 15 mins to get from the gate to the ground level for transportation. Also...remember...the time starts when you get off the plane. If a plane lands at 10:00, your time will most likely start around 10:15ish!