Dme?

[Hessie628]

hi everyone. please forgive me for having a separate post about dme, but my search function is not working right now. one of my bestfriends and i are making our annual trip to wdw next month. i have convinced (w/the help of sw's fares) my old college roommate (who now lives in nc) to meet us for a few days. we will be staying at okw on my parents dvc points. we will have a rental car so i could possibly pick my friend up and take her back to the airport as she arrives a day later and leaves a day earlier. however, her flight gets in at 10pm and her return flight departs at 7:30 am. she said she may take dme if she can so we don't have to rush from the parks and/or get up really early and drive her to the airport. if she does this and will not be checking bags, when should she reserve dme? thanks!
-jessica

 

[5wdwfans]

Asap!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

DME requires advance reservations. The guest must be listed on the room reservation to be eligible for DME.

For guests staying at a DVC villa that was booked with DVC points, the DME reservation must be initiated through DVC Member Services, not through CRO or DME Guest Services.

Normally, DME reservation are for arrival on the room check-in day and departure on the room check-out day. You may run into some difficulties trying to make a DME reservation that does not match the room reservation. Perhaps, it would be possible for DVC MS to list your best friend only for that days she will be staying in the room, so that the DME reservation matches. I don't know. Give it a try, and please report your experience with DVC MS on this board.

 

[Hessie628]

my father is actually calling and giving my friend's arrival and departure dates. i am waiting to hear back from him. another question-- can my friend request a dme bus that is 2 hours before her flight time or do they always assign a bus about 3 hours before. she is going directly to work that morning so i figured any extra sleep she could get would be best. i am pretty sure she will have checked in online prior to leaving and she will only have a carry-on.
-jessica

 

[seashoreCM]

Technically you need to reserve DME 10 days in advance but they have been good about vacations booked on shorter notice. After that you can make changes any time with the return trip finalized at least a day in advance.

Different members of the party can arrive later or leave earlier. Those arriving later have to be on the room reservation at least by the time they arrive in Orlando.

You may not reserve a bus back to the airport less than about 3 hours before your flight. Usually the CM will catch you on that. If you got away with that there is actually a good chance you will miss the plane after perhaps being caught in a security line.

No apologies needed. Feel free to post if you don't see the answer to your question after a few minutes of attempted searching.

 

[kaytieeldr]

No no no no no (times 200, aka a thousand times NO).
Even with just carry on luggage, she still needs to take the assigned bus. Each bus may pick up at as many as four resorts (not likely, but could happen); then the bus has to get to the airport; then your friend has to get through security. Security alone at MCO can take as much as 45 to 60 minutes.
Example:
Her flight is at 9 AM
Her scheduled pickup is 6 AM.
Takes ten minutes to load the bus and start out. 6:10 AM
Then the bus needs to pick up at one other resort - takes fifteen minutes to get there, get loaded and head off. 6:25 AM
Twenty-five minutes to the airport (assuming no traffic issues) 6:50 AM
Her airline is the second or fourth dropoff at the airport, five minutes. 6:55 AM
She goes up to level three. Three minutes 6:58 AM
She waits in line to check in for her flight, fifteen minutes 7:13 AM
Airport is very busy, security line is an hour long 8:13 AM
Tram to departure area, walk to gate seven minutes 8:20 AM
Plane starts loading at 8:30 AM.

Now, even if Disney let her take the two-hours-before departure bus, which they won't, she's missed her flight's take-off by twenty minutes, and the boarding by 40 minutes. And the only one responsible for that is herself.