First time without a car, questions

[kgould01]

We are taking our 3rd Disney/Universal trip next year early June. The previous times, we have driven our own car and thus avoided using Disney transportation to the parks or any transportation between Disney/Universal. Now, we are flying and do not plan to rent a car. We plan to be at Disney for 6 nights and Universal for 3 nights. Question #1 - The Disney Magical Express is free and you can do it just one way, right? How long do you usually have to wait for it? They take your luggage for you, so you don't have to pick it up from the luggage carousel, correct? Question #2 - What is the best way to get between Coronado Springs in Disney and Cabana Bay in Universal at a reasonable price? Uber/Lyft? Question #3 - What is the best way to get between Cabana Bay and the airport? Same? Uber/Lyft? We will have three people and we are newbies to Uber/Lyft having never done it before. Question #4 - While at Disney, if you want to make it to a park for rope drop (even on extra magic hours days), can you if you have to take Disney's shuttles from your hotel? In other words, do shuttles run early enough that you can arrive outside the gate 45 minutes to an hour before "opening time" (sometimes they actually let you in earlier)? Thanks for any info! Not sure I am happy about relying on transportation other than our own car, but with the addition of charging you to park at the hotels and our limited time to actually drive to Florida this time (from Iowa), we will have to figure all of this out.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

#1 Yes as long as you have a reservation that day at a Disney resort.
#2 They will collect your luggage provided your flight arrives before 10:00 p.m. otherwise you have to collect it.
#3 You will just have to price that for yourself
#4 Buses will be available for you to take at that hour.
You will need to arrange for another way back to the airport since you will not be staying at a Disney resort on your last day.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Answer # 1 Yes, you can take DME just one way. Typical time from the gate to your resort is 90 minutes. Luggage arrives about 3 hours after you get to the resort.
Answer # 2 Yes, rideshare or taxi
Answer # 3 Ditto
Answer # 4 Yes, buses typically start around 6:30 (but if a park opens at 6, its buses will start earlier.

 

[pixiedustedme]

1. You can take Magical Express at any time on your resort arrival day. They will simply put you on the next available bus that is heading to your resort. We usually arrive at the resort within an hour of arriving at the DME section of the airport. Luggage can take several hours, so have a carry-on bag with necessities. If you arrive at night, you can tell Bell Services to hold your bags on arrival so that you won't be woken up by their delivery in the middle of the night.

2 & 3. No clue. We have gone offsite using a car service before, but I wasn't looking for a good deal at the time, just to be really comfortable. WDW has taxis and uber drivers everywhere, so that should be easy to arrange.

4. Yes, definitely. We have never had a car in any of our many trips, and have never missed rope drop when we wanted to make rope drop. You need to leave early, of course. We've made PPO breakfast reservations without issue, as well.

You really don't need a car to enjoy everything WDW has to offer, unless you simply want to have one for your own reasons.

 

[JimMIA]

Rideshare is very easy to use, and as others have noted, there are Uber and Lyft cars everywhere in the Orlando area.

I recommend that you put both apps on your phone so you can compare prices. In fact, I would put both apps on the phones of all adults in your party because both companies often have promotions for new users. The more new users you have, the more money you save.

Once you install the apps, you set up your account. That's a very simple process, just setting up which credit card or other payment method you want to use.

To order a ride, you just enter your destination and you will get a fare estimate. That estimate, especially with Uber, will usually be the final price you pay.

Tips are NOT included in your fare. You can tip in cash or using your credit card in the app. I personally always tip in cash, because it's an immediate thank you to the driver with no chance of getting misdirected or misunderstood.

Here's a link to the definitive thread on Uber/Lyft: https://www.disboards.com/threads/everthing-you-wanted-to-know-about-uber-lyft-at-wdw.3443634/ Anytime you are researching anything on the Internet, be sure to note the dates of the posts, because a lot of outdated info is out there. This particular thread is almost 4 years old and a lot has changed since the first post -- but it still contains a wealth of accurate info.

For new users, I think the main thing to know about Uber/Lyft is to wait until you are ready to get into the car before you request a ride. And once you order the ride, don't move! Both companies have cancellation fees if you are not there within a few minutes of the driver's arrival, and obviously if you move the driver won't be able to locate you.

If you have any other questions, fire away.

 

[nkereina]

For #1 - the DME bus time from the airport varies, but you can generally expect it to take 90-120 minutes from the time you exit the plane to the time you're at the resort. 90 minutes is the general experience, but I have had it be shorter and longer. Also, they only collect luggage until 10pm. If you are arriving after 10pm, you will leave the yellow tags off your luggage and collect your own luggage. They will store it under the bus for you. If you are able to have them collect your luggage, you can expect it to be delivered to your room approximately 3-4 hours after you arrive at your resort, so make sure you have anything you need immediately in your carry on bag.