DME with an airport hotel stay?

[dijid]

Can you use DME if you arrive late at night and spend the night at an airport hotel instead of going straight to WDW? I'm trying to save money and book some frequent flyer tix. The only flight available wouldn't get us into MCO until after 10pm. I'd prefer to just go to an airport hotel and let my 3 little ones get right to bed and go to WDW in the early am. We're early risers anyways. Is this possible?

And what if I reversed it and took DME to the airport, but then stayed at an airport hotel before a 7am flight?

Thanks!

 

[clkelley]

Yep, you can.

Let's say you want to be on an early morning DME bus the day after your flight.

Look at an airline schedule into Orlando and give them the airline and flight # that arrives about the time you want to go to Disney.

On your check out day from Disney, look at an airline schedule leaving Orlando, and give them an airline and flight # that leaves about 3 hours AFTER you want to leave your resort.

DO NOT use the yellow tags at all.

When you land at MCO, claim your bags and walk upstairs to the MCO hotel.

The next morning, walk downstairs to the Magical Express welcome desk and board the bus with your luggage.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Can you use DME if you arrive late at night and spend the night at an airport hotel instead of going straight to WDW? I'm trying to save money and book some frequent flyer tix. The only flight available wouldn't get us into MCO until after 10pm. I'd prefer to just go to an airport hotel and let my 3 little ones get right to bed and go to WDW in the early am. We're early risers anyways. Is this possible?

And what if I reversed it and took DME to the airport, but then stayed at an airport hotel before a 7am flight?

You are allowed to use DME to travel from MCO to your WDW resort on your resort check-in day, regardless of how you arrive at MCO. Of course, most guests arrive by air. But you can also arrive at the airport by rental car, hotel shuttle, private car, taxi, rental car courtesy shuttle, MCO Hyatt elevator, or any other way.

The big problem with using an airport hotel on the first or last day of your WDW vacation is that luggage handling becomes more difficult.

Also, you may not get your kids to bed that much sooner by staying at an airport area hotel than a WDW resort. Except for the MCO Hyatt, all MCO area hotels require a shuttle ride. Sure, the shuttle ride itself will be shorter than a DME motorcoach ride, but the wait for the shuttle will not necessarily be shorter than the wait for your DME motorcoach. And, the next morning, you'll wake up at an airport hotel, so you'll still need to get to WDW -- where your room may not be available until 3 or 4 p.m.

To talk with DME experts, call DME Guest Services at 1-866-599-0951.

 

[dijid]

Thanks for the replies! We've stayed at an airport hotel before so I'm aware of the shuttle situation. I'm really trying to cut costs and use Marriott points as well as Frequent Flyer miles. Keeping my fingers crossed I can pull this off!