How long does it take to get from MCO to a WDW Resort with Magical Express? (approx)

[TinkerBelle_325]

Here's the deal...

I am taking a 2 week trip to WDW in Aug/Sept 2007. At the end of the first week my parents are leaving and my best friend is flying down.

Her flight gets in to MCO around 5:15pm. She will be getting her own luggage from Baggage Claim A, then going to Terminal B to catch Magical Express.

On average, how long does it take to get from MCO to your resort?

She and I are hoping that she will arrive at CSR by 7:00pm. Is that realistic?

Thanks!

 

[Gooofy-Blade]

Your hopes are realistic but depends on a lot of variables. When one gets to the ME area, you wait in line for your bus to depart.So, if you arrive from your flight and your bus is ready or nearly ready, no waiting. However, you may have just missed the most recent bus and end up waiting up to 30 minutes. We have had both experiences in the past 2 years.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It'll be faster if she lets Magical Express transport her luggage. She'll save an average of probably twenty minutes (time waiting for luggage, time transporting luggage to DME line/counter). Add to that the bus she might well miss, the one that departs while she's waiting for her luggage, and the added wait time for the next bus assigned to drop Guests at CSR, and she could be cutting things really close. Is there a reason she's picking up her own luggage?

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

She would just prefer to get it herself. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the timing will work out.

 

[CleveRocks]

Here's the deal...

I am taking a 2 week trip to WDW in Aug/Sept 2007. At the end of the first week my parents are leaving and my best friend is flying down.

Her flight gets in to MCO around 5:15pm. She will be getting her own luggage from Baggage Claim A, then going to Terminal B to catch Magical Express.

On average, how long does it take to get from MCO to your resort?

She and I are hoping that she will arrive at CSR by 7:00pm. Is that realistic?

Thanks!

The average time from airplane to DME drop-off is 70 minutes. But that time assumes using the luggage delivery system rather than waiting for your own. The other thing that will cost her time is lugging her luggage from Side A to Side B. To give you an idea of that distance, in an empty airport around 10:00 p.m. with just our carry-ons it took us a full 10 minutes to walk from Side A (from the monorail) to the DME Welcome Center at the end of Side B.

If her flight is exactly on-time and it takes her an extra 20 minutes to wait for her luggage and her DME experience is "average," then you can expect her to arrive at CSR at 6:45 p.m. But again, that's if everything runs perfectly. If her flight is late, if her baggage takes longer to appear on the carousel, if there are any DME-related delays, then expect her later than that.

IMHO, cutting it too close.

 

[goofy4tink]

It has routinely taken me, on average, about 70 minutes from deplaning to my resort checkin. But, I don't have to go to baggage claim and get my bags. In your friends case, as was just said, she will have to go from level 3 Side A, down to level 2, Side A to get her luggage. Then back up to level 3 Side A, cross over to Side B and then go back down to level 1 where the ground transport is. Between waiting for her luggage which will take upwards of 20 minutes, it will add another 10-15 minutes trucking from one level on one side to a lower level on the other side, especially since she will be lugging her bags. So...I would add another 30 minutes to that 70 mins just to be safe.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And all the timing estimated above assumes that her luggage will arrive on the same flight she does. That doesn't always happen (airlines misdirect upwards of three million bags a year, and permanently lose over 250,000). If she's one of the unlucky passengers, she'll have to first wait for all the bags from her flight to appear on the carousel, and then for it to be turned off indicating there's no more luggage coming. Then she'll have to go to the Lost Luggage office and fill out forms. Then, finally, she can proceed to the DME counter.
On the other hand, if she lets Magical Express handle her luggage, and it's not on her flight, THEY will take responsibility for tracking it down and delivering it to her resort when it does get to Orlando.