How magical is the Magical Express?

[Jennykerty]

I read a blurb on the web that said the Magical Express might not be so magical. Long wait for bus, long bus rides, many stops, very frustrating.

Having never used it, I wanted to hear what it was like from the folks who have. In theory, it sounds like a wonderful thing...

thanks
Jenny

 

[srfrgrl07]

You may want to jump over to the transportation board...lots of info there.

 

[CleveRocks]

There have been only a small handful of problems reported here, but seemingly hundreds of glowing reviews. It's not perfect, but it's wonderful and it's free. Go check out the Transportation part of the DISboards, or do a search -- there's a huge wealth of info and opinions about DME on the DISboards.

 

[jerseyjenny]

We used it in December. We waited about 15 minutes for a motorcoach to All-Star Music. We almost missed the bus because the woman in front of us was totally oblivious and wasn't moving when the line started to move in front of her. There was no room to pass her (they have tension barriers separating the different bus lines) and we had to wait for her to pack up all of her stuff before we could get past her and onto the bus.

We made a stop at Caribbean Beach, then All-Star Sports, and then Music. It wasn't a bad trip. The driver was chatty and friendly and asked Disney trivia questions. We watched a little promotional video, and then we were at the resort! Pretty painless.

 

[dlzcbarber]

We loved the Magic Express but we did have a little problem. Don't plan on getting your luggage for 3 to 5 hours. Ours was closer to 5. We flew into Fl late because of snow in Dec. We were the first stop at Wilderness Lodge. We got all checked in. It was around 10pm. We didn't get our luggage until 2:45. We would have taken our luggage ourselves if we realized it would have taken that long. Other than that there were no problems. On the return just be prepared for a full bus. Ours filled up and they had to send another bus for the people. I guess it's common to fill the bus. Anyways they do a great job just wanted to give you the heads up about the luggage.

 

[MessyJ]

We loved the Magic Express but we did have a little problem. Don't plan on getting your luggage for 3 to 5 hours. Ours was closer to 5. We flew into Fl late... We got all checked in. It was around 10pm. We didn't get our luggage until 2:45.

Same thing happened to us going to All Star Movies. We were told that bell services would bring our bags to our room. However, at about midnight, I called the front desk, and they were the first people to tell us about the 3-5 hour rule. In Disney's defense, they'd only been doing ME for about a week and a half when we went. Finally, the front desk called us at about 3am to let us know that our luggage was there, but bell services was closed for the night, and we could come get our own luggage if we wanted. I opted to roll over and go back to sleep.

Even with these problems, though, we feel that ME is still worth it. Even if it cost a bit, we would still do it. All you need to remember is that if your flight is getting in late, you'll need to pack the stuff you need for that first night in your carry-on bags.

 

[seashoreCM]

Thread closed to divert further replies to another thread in the Transportation forum with the same title and subject.

Apparently this thread was originally posted in a different forum. If you came upon it via a link from said forum, please go to the Transportation forum to find the aforementioned other thread with continued discussion.