how is magical express going?

[nickandalexmom]

Does anybody have an update on this within the past few days? We leave on Saturday and after numerous calls to the ME service line, we still do not have luggage tags. I was just wondering what kind of experience people have had with them in the past few days or if it's about the same and we should expect about a 5+ hour wait for our bags. Thanks.

 

[Nolcrest]

Don't know the specifics but a friend at work just got back and she said the service was great. I didn't ask for any details.

 

[Gale Thompson]

We used ME for our trip from 5/7 - 5/14. We never got our luggage tags either, but things went very smoothly at the airport. We marked our luggage with bright green tape and attached labels indicating that the bags were Disney Magical Express, our name, and the resort the bags were to go to. When we arrived at the airport, Disney employees directed us to the welcome center where clerks took the numbers from our baggage claim tickets (not the tickets themselves) and asked for a description of our bags (they used sample photos). We were in our resort within about an hour of landing and went straight to a park. Our luggage was in our room when we returned that evening.

The problem we had with ME was at departure. We were told to take our luggage to the ME area in our hotel no later than 3 hours prior to our flight. We arrived 4 hours before the flight, but the line was so long that our bus to the airport arrived before the ME staff could label our luggage. Therefore, we were required to take our luggage with us on the bus and take it to check-in at the airport. It was an inconvenience, but we managed.

Most people seem to have more complaints about departure procedures than arrival. Hope your luck is better and that you have a good time.

 

[iluvepcot]

No Problem with ME. Flight arrived at 10:30 PM. We were greeted by Mickey hands who told us to proceed to esculators and go left. Left was wrong, we should have gone right. After that no problem. 2 stops one at Key West and one at POFQ then on to CR. It was great not having luggage.

Departure, we missed our ME time. Got to desk at 12:05 and our departure was 12:00. I was not too worried because it was three hours before our flight. The next bus was 12:35. Then we got on the ME bus and it stopped at Poly, GF and WL. This took some time to load everyone. At airport we had to stop at A then B. We were at our terminal at 1:30 for a 3:00 flight. Ran into long check in line at SW. Had to check bags as SW is not a participating airline. Took 40 min. Then security took another 30 min. Just made our flight before pre-boarding began. We cut it close.

 

[Disney_1derland]

My tags arrived AFTER I had already left for Orlando. (Hence the fact that I used Quiksilver towncar service and it was wonderful.) I did pay lots of attention to what was going on at the airport and talked to many people who used Magical Express. I arrived on the 12th and talked to people who had arrived anywhere from the 10th - the 15th. Most had NOT received their tags and most said it took 2 hours from deplaning to arriving at their resort. Most said that their luggage was in their room within 3 hours of them checking in. There were a few exceptions and my feel was that when it works it works and when it doesn't it's disasterous. The people I talked to had been given credit on their room keys to go shopping for new clothes because somewhere their luggage was lost. I think those cases are few and far between, most everyone seemed to be fairly happy with it, regardless of the time it took.

Also, there were definite problems at Pop the day I was leaving. They had too many people all needing to leave at the same time and not enough bus space to handle it. There did not seem to be any real way to deal with the overload and the CM's out front seemed very frustrated with the whole thing. Also, I did notice that most people waiting the day I left were carrying their own luggage (I assume they were flying non-participating airlines) and it took almost 45 minutes to get the bus loaded with all their luggage and there really wasn't enough room on the bus for the luggage and the people which caused even more confusion and frustration. There were people out there who had to wait for a 3rd bus and were worried about missing their flights because there was so much confusion.

However, I really think in another week or so this will all be ironed out and running smoothly, it sure looks like they are working hard towards that and the CM's indicated that it was going much more smoothly on week 2 than on week one and they thought that would continue to be the case.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Oh yes, also wanted to say that of the people I polled at Pop, the ones who were happy with the service were first timers who'd never used any other method. Those who were slightly unhappy were previous Town Car users. I thought that was interesting. The town car users all did say that they would use ME again because they thought it would get better.

What can I say....when you travel alone with your 4 year old you have a lot of time at the pool to talk to other moms and dads

 

[GillieRose]

We used ME May 13 th and 19th and it was great. We arrived at the airport around 11:45 and was at the Hotel by 1:15. I don't know what time the luggage arrived because we went straight to the park. But it was there when we came back to the room. Today we checked in at the hotel they took the luggage and we where picked up at 1:15 for are 3:45 flight. The luggage made it to Cleveland in one piece. I would use it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Really sounds like they have worked out the kinks!

 

[mom2dnk]

We did not receive our ME tickets. I put on a yellow ribbon with CB marked on it and another tag with name address/cell number. When we arrived in Orlando, we were told how to get to the ME welcome desk. This line was a little long and took about 10 minutes to get through. I had to describe the luggage and show them the claim tags to get the numbers. I had actually taken a digital picture of my luggage before I left. I couldn't find the picture, but still had it on the camera. I put the camera on the desk and the person was able to get the full description by looking at it.

We were at the hotel within hour and 1/2 from landing. Got the tickets and headed for the park. I put my carry on in their storage closet at CB. When we got back at 6:00 PM, I didn't have luggage. I called and when we returned from dinner, my checked luggage was there. I had called 3 times for my carry on to be delivered. About 7:30, I took the internal bus to the lobby and retrieved the bag myself.

OUTBOUND: We weren't on an airline that the hotel prints boarding passes for, so we had to take our luggage to the ME pick up and put it on the bus. Not really any inconvenience there since the line to check luggage at the hotel was really long!

 

[seashoreCM]

Also, there were definite problems at Pop the day I was leaving. They had too many people all needing to leave at the same time and not enough bus space to handle it. There did not seem to be any real way to deal with the overload and the CM's out front seemed very frustrated with the whole thing. There were people out there who had to wait for a 3rd bus and were worried about missing their flights because there was so much confusion.

There is no excuse for this at any time and some guests should have asked for cab fare, a sixty dollar last minute discount off their resort final charges would equal that.

I think it is a no-brainer to take one or two of the Disney Transport buses and press them into Magical Express service.

Magical Express has one obligation, to be there when the guest expects it.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/magicx.htm

 

[kutchyone]

Anyone use ME who stayed at CSR? If so can you possbily provide the time involved for both trips?

My daughter and I will have one carry-on each, where do they stow that on the bus?

On the return trip we will have to take our luggage with us because we are not flying with a participating airline. It will just be the two of us and I was wondering if you are provided assistance at both the resort then again at the airport?

Any and all information appreciated.

 

[kutchyone]

Anyone use ME who stayed at CSR? If so can you possbily provide the time involved for both trips?

My daughter and I will have one carry-on each, where do they stow that on the bus?

On the return trip we will have to take our luggage with us because we are not flying with a participating airline. It will just be the two of us and I was wondering if you are provided assistance at both the resort then again at the airport?

Any and all information appreciated.

 

[Disney_1derland]

There is no excuse for this at any time and some guests should have asked for cab fare, a sixty dollar last minute discount off their resort final charges would equal that.

I think it is a no-brainer to take one or two of the Disney Transport buses and press them into Magical Express service.

Magical Express has one obligation, to be there when the guest expects it.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/magicx.htm

this is true.

Another thing I learned is that many of the Disney bus drivers I talked to are VERY unhappy about the arrangement with Mears. They really feel like there would not be so many problems if Disney's own drivers were doing the driving because then someone would actually care about the customers being transported. This was said by about 4 different bus drivers on the course of our trip. It really sounds like they are more hurt by the 'outside' drivers than anything, hurt that Disney wouldn't just let them handle it. I know Disney has their reasons but it sure seems to be hurting the morale of their on-site drivers. One bus driver said that he thought the reason they ultimately went with Mears drivers is so Disney wouldn't be the ones laying people off in 18 months when they choose not to continue this service.

 

[mom2dnk]

I think it is a no-brainer to take one or two of the Disney Transport buses and press them into Magical Express service.

Magical Express has one obligation, to be there when the guest expects it.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/magicx.htm

We didn't have a ME bus for the return trip to the airport. It was just a regular Mears bus. I saw a lot of Mears buses with just a piece of paper in the window that said "Magical Express" on it.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I think it is a no-brainer to take one or two of the Disney Transport buses and press them into Magical Express service.

Unfortunetly, this isn't as feasible as it sounds. Our buses are transit buses, with transit grade tires. These tires are great for what we use them for, but are not rated for sustained travel over 50mph travel. As such, it'd be a really slow ride to the airport. Not to mention, it would take quite some time to get it all arranged.

Another thing I learned is that many of the Disney bus drivers I talked to are VERY unhappy about the arrangement with Mears. They really feel like there would not be so many problems if Disney's own drivers were doing the driving because then someone would actually care about the customers being transported. This was said by about 4 different bus drivers on the course of our trip. It really sounds like they are more hurt by the 'outside' drivers than anything, hurt that Disney wouldn't just let them handle it. I know Disney has their reasons but it sure seems to be hurting the morale of their on-site drivers.

We didn't have a ME bus for the return trip to the airport. It was just a regular Mears bus. I saw a lot of Mears buses with just a piece of paper in the window that said "Magical Express" on it.

One of the primary reasons that Disney contracted out with Mears for DME is that Mears already has the infrastructure to handle this type of business. They already had an established set of drivers and mechanics who are familliar with the airport, Disney resorts, and the VanHool C2045 motorcoach. Maintenance and cleaning facilities are already in place. Spare parts are already in place. And, in the case that extra motorcoaches are needed, Mears can throw in other coaches from thier fleet, including the DCL coaches, plain white coaches, and if it comes to it, some of the black & yellow coaches.

 

[gonemousin']

Just got back from WDW...used ME 5/14-5/20.

My official vote is that they still have A LOT of kinks to work out. When we left on 5/14, we decided to claim our own luggage (yes, we had rec'd our tags before leaving) because we were flying in on a late flight and still unsure of the whole luggage delivery timing (and it was only one bag). Now for the SUPER interesting part...when we went down to baggage claim, we noticed dozens of ME tagged bags chugging along the carousel belt over and over again, waiting to be claimed. I found this a little concerning because the owners of the bags didn't even know their bags were circulating freely among the general public. I had been told by two ME cast members that the luggage is pulled BEFORE it ever gets to the baggage claim area. So, I can say first hand that this is NOT what happened for our flight of ME users. Their luggage swirled around unclaimed for 20 minutes that I noticed (until my own bag came, and we left). Anyway, I found this very disturbing from a security standpoint. After baggage claim, we headed over to the ME check in. There were no lines and we got on a bus immediately...and had a wonderful week in WDW. We did meet up with one family who arrived at the resort Thurs 5/19 around noon, and they didn't receive their luggage until 8pm. I asked them if there had been a big wait at the airport, and they said "no"...so I'm not sure why the luggage delivery is still moving slowly...maybe they had a really busy morning. Back to our story...we arrived this morning to the little airport check in desk (Delta), and that went smoothly. Fortunately we decided to walk outside to the ME pick up area ten minutes early (8AM...our pick up time was 8:10AM). The bus was already there and loading what he thought was the last passengers. We scurried over to the driver and he ushered us on the bus. We pulled out of the resort (ASMo) parking lot at 8:03AM...and yes, he had confirmed that this was the "8:10AM bus". I felt bad for the folks who showed up after 8:03AM. But, we did make it to the airport on time and had a nice flight home. For the record...we had to call ME five times before leaving and two times (per their request) while there because they somehow lost our departure info & confirm #.

Overall, it wasn't horrible. We got to our resort and back to the airport on time and in comfort (not to mention that it was free). I will say that I'd be on the fence about utilizing this service again anytime soon. Just having to call and straighten out all my reservation information was so frustrating to me, and then to wake up two mornings in a row to the note on our door asking us to call again sent me over the edge. When I called the second time yesterday morning (after they lost my confirm info from my first call), I was put on hold for 15 minutes, and my DH and DD's were eagerly waiting to head out to MK for the day. That's when I sat back and thought "this is ridiculous...I'm spending my VACATION on the phone with magical express". Growl...

But, in all fairness, this is the only thing that "went wrong" on our trip, so I guess I can't complain too much, right?! We had a wonderful, "Magical" week!!

 

[bevgray]

When I used ME last week, my bus driver was slated to pick up only 27 "reserved" passengers for the trip to the airport. He ended up with a full bus load since a number of people were just walking up. I know this is common practice with Mears but part of the log jam at the resorts on the return trip may be due to people not following through the day before departure to ensure they have the bus reservation.


My experience was very good and I will use ME on the next trip.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Unfortunetly, this isn't as feasible as it sounds. Our buses are transit buses, with transit grade tires. These tires are great for what we use them for, but are not rated for sustained travel over 50mph travel. As such, it'd be a really slow ride to the airport. Not to mention, it would take quite some time to get it all arranged.



One of the primary reasons that Disney contracted out with Mears for DME is that Mears already has the infrastructure to handle this type of business. They already had an established set of drivers and mechanics who are familliar with the airport, Disney resorts, and the VanHool C2045 motorcoach. Maintenance and cleaning facilities are already in place. Spare parts are already in place. And, in the case that extra motorcoaches are needed, Mears can throw in other coaches from thier fleet, including the DCL coaches, plain white coaches, and if it comes to it, some of the black & yellow coaches.

Put that way, it makes so much more sense. Thanks Tyler! I'm glad to see not all of those privvy to the inside world of Disney Transportation are disgruntled by the ME situation!