Flight lands at 8:20PM -- Can I be at the BLT lounge in time for fireworks?

[rutgers1]

Our first stay at BLT will be in April We land at MCO at 8:20 and are taking the Magical Express. I think Dreams starts at 10PM. If that is the case, will we make it?

 

[ToddyLu]

It's called Wishes and I think so, grasshopper

 

[rutgers1]

That is what we were saying -- our "Wishes" is that we get there in time. We are only staying one night before heading off to the cruise (Disney Dream!), and it would be great to have a memory of our brief stay.

 

[mdsd8700]

Here's a little bit of pixie dust for a good tail wind! Hope you make it to see the fireworks that would be a great start to your trip!

 

[helenk]

My experience has been that I have gotten to my resort aprox 70 minutes after landing. If your plane lands on time, you should get to the CR by 9:40, you still have to check in at the CR (there is no separate check in at the BLT) and then go over to the BLT and up to the lounge.
It is my understanding that you will need your room key to get into the BLT lounge so you will have to check in.
As long as everything lines up you'll be okay.

 

[sweetdana]

You would have a better shot with a taxi, and no checked luggage. It would be the quickest way, no rental car, baggage claim, or ME. But if FW are at 10, it would be tough with ME, you might make it with a taxi and luggage claim. Can you change to an earlier flight?

 

[rutgers1]

Not sure it is worth it to change to an earlier flight (though tempting!). I guess we'll just roll the dice. We were planning originally to stay in a no-name hotel outside of the airport and only recently decided to spend the night at BLT.

Considering we are only staying one night before heading to the cruise ship, I was hoping to see Wishes so that we felt like we "did" something. If we just get there and go to sleep, it will be a bit disappointing. BUT, we have a cruise to look forward to, as well as a few days in Universal at the tail end.

 

[5forDiz]

Not sure it is worth it to change to an earlier flight (though tempting!). I guess we'll just roll the dice. We were planning originally to stay in a no-name hotel outside of the airport and only recently decided to spend the night at BLT.

Considering we are only staying one night before heading to the cruise ship, I was hoping to see Wishes so that we felt like we "did" something. If we just get there and go to sleep, it will be a bit disappointing. BUT, we have a cruise to look forward to, as well as a few days in Universal at the tail end.

Arriving 8:20 and then ME sounds like it is going to be an extremely close call for fireworks; but lounge is open until midnight so even if you miss Wishes you'd have time to spend up there. Or lounge hop via the monorail to Polynesian & GF for a and finish up the evening at BLT lounge.

Hope it all works out

 

[Carl'n'Ellie'sDad]

No advice, just pixie dust for your evening.Maybe if you make a call to MS, they could hold up Wishes for 10-15 mins?

 

[DMKEDM]

FWIW: Last night Wishes was at 8.

My plane landed at 6:36...took about 10 minutes for ME to start up (loading newly-arriving passengers)...Contemporary/BLT was the 4th stop (only no one was going to Grand Floridian, so we were the 3rd stop)...no line at check-in...left check-in and Wishes was just starting...(you actually can see it fairly well from the walk from Contemporary check-in to BLT)...

So, just shy of 90 minutes from plane landing to Wishes starting (last night anyway)...

You need to check in before you can go up to TOTW, so you can't save time there...you could cab or town car from MCO to MK...that could save 30 minutes...

In short, possible, but tight...

Pixie dust headed your way...

 

[diding]

It should be tight, but if plane lands on time, you should be able to make it on time.

 

[simmons_m]

Based on the rout above, you might be able to get off at the Polynesian, and take the monorail to BLT to speed things up.
Good luck.

 

[Lost boy]

ME could be the spoiler, when we went in Jan. we went right thru the airport then on the bus and 10mins later we were gone, my daughter came down the next week and sat on the bus 25mins before it pulld out. Good luck.

 

[tjkraz]

ME could be the spoiler, when we went in Jan. we went right thru the airport then on the bus and 10mins later we were gone, my daughter came down the next week and sat on the bus 25mins before it pulld out. Good luck.

Agree. Buses also tend to run with less frequency at night and they stop at multiple resorts throughout the day. MCO-to-WDW is about an hour from the time you land even in the best case scenario. Adding any DME wait time or multiple stops prior to BLT will only delay things further.

 

[CarolMN]

If you don't arrive at BLT until close to 10 pm and can't check in before WISHES begins, you can go up to the walkway between the BLT and the CR without checking in first.

There is a large deck area to the left as you face the door to the walkway that has a good view of WISHES. It's not the TOTWL, but you shouldn't need a key to get out there. You can always check out the lounge on another night.

Good luck, though. Hope everything goes perfectly and you make it to the TOTWL your first evening.

 

[CarolMN]

Based on the rout above, you might be able to get off at the Polynesian, and take the monorail to BLT to speed things up.
Good luck.

We left the ME bus at the Poly and arrived at the CR way before the ME bus. But we were traveling mid-day and the monorails were not very busy/crowded. Keep in mind that the resort monorails will be very busy that time of the evening and you may be better off just staying on the ME bus.

Leaving the ME bus early isn't an option if you have anything that needs to go under the bus (luggage, strollers, etc) or if you have a lot of carry on with you.