Does the Magical Express always take about 2 hour?

[Jo2019]

Trying to estimate when we would.be at the resort if we arrived at MCO at 630 p.m. on a Saturday. Any tips? Thanks!

 

[Spunky946]

I’d give yourself 9-120 minutes, but we’ve done it in 60 minutes. The ride itself is 30 ish minutes from airport to Disney. You need time to walk from the gate to magical express taking stops for the bathroom into account. Then waiting to check in, waiting for a bus or getting on the bus and waiting for it to fill up or both.

Also the bus may stop first at other resorts. I’d also suggest getting your luggage at that time of night so you are not waiting for it late.

 

[FCDub]

Approximately 90 minutes. Any yellow-tagged luggage will arrive approximately 3 hours AFTER that.

 

[nkereina]

90 minutes is the average estimate, but I always allot two hours in my planning. We've usually had it take somewhere between 90-120 minutes in most instances.

 

[danikoski]

Approximately 90 minutes. Any yellow-tagged luggage will arrive approximately 3 hours AFTER that.

At the time of night, we've had it arrive 5 hours after. We usually just ask at the front desk for them to hold it at Bell service until morning if we arrive after 5 pm.

 

[Mikey15]

Trying to estimate when we would.be at the resort if we arrived at MCO at 630 p.m. on a Saturday. Any tips? Thanks!

"Always," no. My experience was touchdown at 9:47am on a Wednesday, over from A-side to B-side, bathroom break, and at DME by ~10:15. We could have gone on a bus already ready, but waited as our seats would have been split up. Still made it to Pop by 11:15 and in a room by 12:30. Suitcase around 2:30. Not bad, IMO.

6:30pm on a Saturday though? That sounds like prime time to me. Expect 2 hours and just be pleasantly surprised if it's less.

 

[kaytieeldr]

70-90 minutes from stepping off the jetway to stepping off the bus. 8 PM-ish.

 

[KPeterso]

I’d give yourself 9-120 minutes, but we’ve done it in 60 minutes. The ride itself is 30 ish minutes from airport to Disney. You need time to walk from the gate to magical express taking stops for the bathroom into account. Then waiting to check in, waiting for a bus or getting on the bus and waiting for it to fill up or both.

Also the bus may stop first at other resorts. I’d also suggest getting your luggage at that time of night so you are not waiting for it late.

I agree to get your bags at that time of night. I have arrived on a Saturday night around 5-6 PM and, I have gotten to the report 70-90 minutes after landing and then had my bags take another 5 hours and a couple phone calls to get my bags delivered. Now arriving at that time, I am grabbing my bags.

 

[tobikaye]

In the times I have used DME, it has always been 70-90 minutes from arriving at MCO to arriving at my resort, no matter the time of day. My rule of thumb for luggage is that if I arrive after 5 pm, I either transport my luggage myself or ask bell service to keep until the next morning.

I made the mistake of forgetting last year when I landed around 6 and my luggage was delivered at 11:45 pm.

 

[daisy2013]

Usually, although if you see me on the bus, get off. I am the curse of death for any magic express ride to disney. One time it was around 4 hours from landing to hotel. They kept saying the buses were on their way back. Would be there in 10 minutes. Etc etc. Then we get on the bus and some teenagers start crying that their father just got off the plane and we have to wait for him!!! I was not amused. I had left NY at 2. We circled Florida for a couple hours due to storms. Had to land in Jacksonville to refuel. Then back up (and one bathroom broke during this time). Circle some more. Land. Wait on the tarmac for 30 minutes until a spot became available and then an hour waiting for the bus. I was not amused at all. We were also the last stop and they put every one on that bus. I think we were the 5th resort.
So if you see me on the bus, take a cab.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Approximately 90 minutes. Any yellow-tagged luggage will arrive approximately 3 hours AFTER that.

This is consistent with our experiences as well.

 

[Pmlocke]

Most people make the mistake when they say, "I am landing at 10, when should I be arriving at WDW". You need to understand that once the wheels touch ground-you have landed. It could take 10-15 minutes to get to your gate and get the door open to unload. If you are sitting in the rear of the plane it could take 10-15 minutes more to get off the plane. Once off the plane most people go to the bathroom. Another 5-10 minutes based on how many people are in line at the bathroom. Now you have to all go downstairs to Magical Express. Another 10-15 minutes. Get checked in and get in line again for your bus. About 5 minutes. It has now been, based on worst case estimations, 60 minutes since you landed at 10:00 to get into line to catch the ME bus. If the bus is loading right away and you get a seat and if the bus pulls out as soon as you sit down it could take 30-35 minutes to get to the hotel if there is no traffic and if your hotel is first in line for that bus route. This is highly unlikely. Once the bus starts to load, it could be 15-20 minutes or more before you actually start to leave the airport. So the number 90 minutes to 2 hours is a good estimate on how long it takes to get to the Magic.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Usually, although if you see me on the bus, get off. I am the curse of death for any magic express ride to disney.

Travel checklist:

• Avoid DME when @daisy2013 is in the area
• Confirm that the @debster family will not be flying out or in on your travel dates
• Anybody else?

You need to understand that once the wheels touch ground-you have landed.

Typically, though, the airlines don't use "wheels down" and "arrival" interchangeably. Plus they generally build in some extra time to the schedules to reduce statistical delays, so relatively often, planes arrive a little early.

Now you have to all go downstairs

Now many, if not most, of you go downstairs. (fixed it for you )

 

[Brett Wyman]

For us we don't love DME because...

1. It always seems like a long hot wait to actually board the bus in the airport. Why is that area so hot!!!???
2. It takes a long time for your luggage to arrive in your room.
3. You have to board on checkout much earlier than if you took another means of transportation.

HOWEVER. Its great for not having to bring a car seat to Orlando and the main reason we use it when we fly.

If I didn't have kids in car seats I would simply Uber to my resort. You gain 2-3 hours back on your day that way.

 

[jdisnut]

I’d give yourself 90-120 minutes, but we’ve done it in 60 minutes.

My goodness, that's a lot of time to lose of a precious vacation. Thanks for reminding me why I don't take Magical Express!

 

[Jo2019]

We are travelling with a toddler. The car seat thing is a tough one! We really do not want to drag one with us.

 

[sam_gordon]

My goodness, that's a lot of time to lose of a precious vacation. Thanks for reminding me why I don't take Magical Express!

The 90-120 minutes is from when you step off the plane. Even if you don't use DME, you're going to be pushing an hour, if you have to get your bags, add another 15+ minutes. So not that much difference between the two.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I haven’t done it in a few years (my last full disney trip was in 2014) but it can take up to 2 hours. In August, we land at 1:15. I decided that we will take an Uber to the hotel, drop our stuff off at the resort, and then can get to the parks before 4 and enjoy a nice evening in MK.

 

[CarolMN]

We average slightly less than 90 minutes from the time we step onto the jetway to arrival at the resort. That usually includes a stop at 1 or 2 other resorts before ours. Because we pack our carry-on with what we absolutely must have for the day, we've not had an issue with the timing of luggage delivery.

Renting a car really wouldn't save us much time - by the time our bags arrive, we get the car and drive to the resort it's always at least an hour, usually more. Now that Uber/Lyft is so convenient, it's quite easy for us to do without a car on a Disney vacation.