How much time? ME - airport to resort

[MNfamilycruiser]

I am trying to get an idea of how long it might take us to get from the airport to our resort. We will be using ME, and staying at the Poly (I hope!), and arriving the Sat. after Thanksgiving in the afternoon.

Will it be closer to 1 hour? 2 hours? Anyone have any "typical" travel times or experiences to share?

 

[Lewisc]

It generally takes between 60-90 minutes. It's been posted that the average is 70 minutes. POLY is a longer drive than most of the other resorts so I'd think it might be closer to 90 minutes. You may get lucky and board a bus just as it's leaving, happened to me or you may have to wait 20 minutes.

 

[Minnesota!]

We arrive at 230, so is it reasonable for me to think we will be IN our room and getting settled by 430? I was planning on doing Chef Mickey's first night, but wanted a little lull between arriving and heading out to dinner...


ETA - we are staying at CBR

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

We arrive at 230, so is it reasonable for me to think we will be IN our room and getting settled by 430?

Yes it's reasonable, if your flight arrives on time, and if check-in at your resort doesn't take to long (and your room is ready).

 

[Lewisc]

We arrive at 230, so is it reasonable for me to think we will be IN our room and getting settled by 430? I was planning on doing Chef Mickey's first night, but wanted a little lull between arriving and heading out to dinner...


ETA - we are staying at CBR

I think it's reasonable to assume you'll be in your resort 90 minutes after landing. You might have airline delays and there might be a line to checkin at your resort. Just make sure your carryon bags have whatever you'll need for dinner. Let Disney get your bags and just go to the DME welcome desk.

edited to note Horace gave almost the exact same reply while I was typing my post.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

WE didn't stay at the Poly, but I'd say it took us over 90 minutes from plane landing to getting to the resort. Maybe 90 minutes on ME, but don't forget, you've got to get though the airport, check in for ME (there could be a considerable line there), wait in a queue to board the bus, wait for the bus to load, and wait for the bus to maybe make other stops (someone may have better info on getting to the POLY. POR was the fourth stop on our bus! It took quite a while! At each stop, guests had to unload all their luggage.) While I think it is a way to save money, I think next time we'd prefer to have our own car.

Also, on leaving, you have to go to allow three hours before your flight leaves to take ME. Not a huge difference over what I'd normally do, but the extra hour could make a difference for some people.

I'd guess that you'll get to your rooms around 4:30, but I wouldn't hope for any earlier than that. It also depends how long the line is at check-in.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ah, but if all those people were using Magical Express the way it was intended (check luggage through from one's home airport straight to your resort and have it magically appear in the room within a few hours after arrival), that would have cut down on the length of time the bus took at each resort on its way to POR Just for the record, it took me 59 minutes from when I entered the terminal (from the jetway) to when I entered the Pop lobby.
As for the three hours in advance pickup, well, while some people might be happier leaving Disney only two hours before their flight there's an active thread about how long the security lines are at MCO and how it took the original poster 45 minutes to get through (nothing to do with DME, as far as I could tell) and he or she ended up missing the plane! So arriving at the airport two to two and a half hours before the flight is sensible. Not to mention, probably MCO advises arriving two hours early.

 

[Paticake]

In January we landed at 10:50 am. We were at WL by 12 noon. We are also arriving the Sat. after Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will be just as smooth. I am thinking there will be more people leaving than arriving!

 

[ccw]

In November, I was in my villa at OKW just under an hour after my plane touched down! ME service was great from airport to resort but from resort to airport, we had lots of time to kill in the airport. But, hey, it was free and, as others have said, sometimes you need the extra time to get thru security (we didn't...5 minutes max!) The real problem is if your return flight leaves early in the a.m. For a 7 am flight, my friend was picked up at 3:30 AM!!!!! She had to wait about an hour at the airport before the security line even opened!!!!