Horrible experience with Magical Express

[ckret01]

But the info packet tells you to be there 15 prior to pick-up! That is what they say, that is what they mean! It was bad judgement on your part to ignore that part. You paid the price, and know you know what might happen. If you use DME again, and choose to ignore the instructions again, you might get left behind. Again.

Just so you know, I am not pro DME. I have mixed feelings about it. I love the fact that I don't have to wait for my luggage. But I also don't like how long it takes to get to/from the airport. It is much more convenient to use a towncar service. And you do get a little more time at your resort. But DME is easy to use, if you follow their rules. You just have to decide if the rules suit you.

I feel like I am being scolded-LOL . I find it actually funny. I understand that the paper work said to be there 15 minutes prior....something I overlooked.... yes bad judgement on my part...I get it! .but that still doesn;t mean the bus should have left 10 minutes before the time on my reservation! That is the point I am trying to make. I didn't chose to ignore the instructions....just overlooked it. LOL. I guess it was because when we called to reschedule our time and spoke to the person on the phone and never received the paper work the night before (not anyones fault b/c we changed it over the phone) it was not mentioned for us to be there early so not rereading our original paper work never thought to be there that early when she told us we would be picked up at 4:05am. Whatever...its over now and I am way over it. Lesson learned....but feel free to keep telling me I ignored the instructions Have a happy holiday!

 

[goofy4tink]

You know...now you have me wondering. I wonder if the driver was actually told you were on that bus. If the driver had someone to pick up there, and that party boarded the bus, then the driver would have 'thought' his fares were all there and accounted for. He may never have gotten the updated itinerary. Not that that removes any responsibility from the driver. I still feel that if you are told the bus will depart at 4:05, the doors should close at 4:05 and the bus can pull away. Not 5 mins earlier. But....if the driver didn't know there was anyone else to board the bus, he may have felt justified in leaving that 5 mins early.
And believe me, some changes just don't seem to always to the appropriate party!!! Because of the storm coming, there may have been a lot of last minute changes, and you fell through the cracks. Now, if I had made a last minute change, I probably would have gotten to the bus stop at least 20 mins before, but I understand the possiblilities of stuff going wrong. Most people don't. They figure that DME has it's 'stuff' together and they (the guest) don't need to worry about it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And there's still the strong possibility that the clocks/watches being used were not coordinated.

I stayed in three different hotels last week - not one of the room clocks was correct; each was slow by a different number of minutes (plus, there was the one where the alarm went off at 4:15 AM, but I digress...). And my watch showed yet a different time. I figure the times on the various television stations (since they all matched, within seconds) were accurate.

Anyway, my point: If there are clocks on the buses' instrument panels, I would think those are how the drivers determine the departure times - and that these clocks would be set and coordinated by Mears. If the OP's room clock, or own wristwatch, was slower than this setting, it's possible the driver didn't leave early but rather departed on time.

 

[ckret01]

And there's still the strong possibility that the clocks/watches being used were not coordinated.

I stayed in three different hotels last week - not one of the room clocks was correct; each was slow by a different number of minutes (plus, there was the one where the alarm went off at 4:15 AM, but I digress...). And my watch showed yet a different time. I figure the times on the various television stations (since they all matched, within seconds) were accurate.

Anyway, my point: If there are clocks on the buses' instrument panels, I would think those are how the drivers determine the departure times - and that these clocks would be set and coordinated by Mears. If the OP's room clock, or own wristwatch, was slower than this setting, it's possible the driver didn't leave early but rather departed on time.

As I noted in one of my other posts, My cell phone clock was in synch to the buses than ran to the parks....maybe my cell phone did not match the DME buses but I'm sure it was close and not off by 10 minutes.

 

[ckret01]

I have to just say this...I can;t believe the amount of people that viewed this thread. For all the years I have been on the Dis I have never had a thread that I started have this many views....mabe I should complain more often

 

[kaytieeldr]

Of course you should - just like the millions of Guests who have good experiences with Magical Express don't post here because, well, the service worked as expected, ANY complaint is going to get more views and responses than, "Oh, Magical Express got us to the resort within an hour of landing and our luggage was delivered to our room two hours after we checked in and RAC worked perfectly and the DME bus was on time..."

 

[maxiesmom]

As I noted in one of my other posts, My cell phone clock was in synch to the buses than ran to the parks....maybe my cell phone did not match the DME buses but I'm sure it was close and not off by 10 minutes.

You mean you didn't call and synchronize your watches? For shame!

Sorry, just had to tease you a little. You are being such a good sport. As I mentioned before, I tend to be a little anal retentive on reading my travel documents, and being on time. It is hard for me to grasp that others are not.

 

[ckret01]

You mean you didn't call and synchronize your watches? For shame!

Sorry, just had to tease you a little. You are being such a good sport. As I mentioned before, I tend to be a little anal retentive on reading my travel documents, and being on time. It is hard for me to grasp that others are not.

LOL.... That was cute/funny.....thanks for making me laugh

 

[bzzelady]

This situation is why I used towncar service when I had a 8:00 am flight in November (Sunday after Thanksgiving, to be exact). Towncar from FL Tours picked us up at 5:45 am...we were at the airport in front of our terminal at 6:05. $60.00 plus tip was worth the peace of mind that early in the morning.