Late arrival ?--need "family" input

[jeeperwy]

We are arriving at 10:45 p.m. with me, DH, DS10, DS4. It won't be too bad since we are coming from Wyoming and will have the 2 hour time difference, but my question is

Would you use Magical Express for this trip or would you get a town car (approximately $80 round trip)?

If we use ME, then we either have to get our bags and haul them to the ME counter (at 11pm) or have them delivered the next morning (because I am NOT waking up in the middle of the night to have them delivered ). If we use the town car, then we have the additional expense, but we have all our stuff that night.

What do you think?

Thanks!!!
Kari

 

[bopper]

10:45 is kind of late...and that is assuming everything goes well. Do you want to be driving later? One thing you can do is pack your pajamas and toiletries in a knapsack and then let the luggage come later.

 

[Ariel8676]

I think you should just get the luggage and take ME..i mean you would have to take your luggage and get it to the towncar anyway.....It may be a little bit of a PIA, but it would save some $$ ...thats what i would do anyway...good luck with your decision...

 

[hilaryjudsong]

Here's my 2 cents-
We are arriving at 10:30pm on May4- DH, DD8, DD3. We have secured a room at the Sheraton Suites near the airport for $99. We are then getting up early the next morning and taking limo service to the AKL.

Personally, from past experience, luggage through ME is a nightmare!!!! I would either pack a carry on with your nighttime necessities or use the Town car service.

Good luck!!!

 

[Princess Roo]

If you can pack light, I would actually pack everything for the night and next day in carry-ons and use ME. Then they can drop off the bags in your room while you are at the parks the next day.

 

[Windy City Heather]

I second taking the ME and having your bags delivered the next morning. We did this and it worked out nicely. We packed our pj's, toileties and next day clothes in our carry on. At check in one of us checked in and the other went to bell hop to inform them of what time we would like the bags delivered. All went well, excpet we got in so late they were running town cars and vans instead of the buses. We did not have a car seat for my 3 year old.

 

[Julylady]

We stayed the first night at the Hyatt inside the airport and took ME the next morning. Yes, we had to collect our luggage and then it came on the bus with us. The night at the Hyatt was less expensive than our hotel at WDW so it worked out cheaper for us and we were tucked in our beds about 20 minutes after landing!

Donna

 

[CleveRocks]

My wife and I, and our 6 year old and 4 year old ....

We landed around 10:00 p.m. and had DME handle our luggage. We intended to ASK at our resort to have the luggage held 'til morning. We packed our carry-ons with everything we'd need for the 1st 24 hours, which I always do no matter where I fly just in case the AIRLINE delays my luggage.

Anyway, everything worked out great. We got from airplane to POFQ in 56 minutes using DME (which is lightning fast!), around 11:00 p.m. The only problem was a mistake that I made. I meant to ask to have the luggage held, but I totally forgot. At 1:16 a.m., we got a call from Bell Services asking if we wanted our luggage delivered now or held 'til morning. I asked to have it held 'til morning. It was MY fault we got the call.

We were so exhausted from a day of travel late in the day, that I don't remember seeing the clock read 1:17.

I've used DME twice, loved it both times. I can see people deciding to choose a car service based on level of service (private ride, personalized service), but I can't see spending the money based on speed, since on average a car service and DME will get you to your resort around the same time.

 

[TheDizMom]

I'd go with the ME and either get your bags yourself or pack what you need for the night and ask the front desk to hold your luggage till morning. That's a long day of flying with young kids and to me not having to hassle with baggage and just be able to get to the resort would be a much more appealing option for me.

 

[WDWFAN9]

In Jan DD and I arrived in Orlando about 10:45PM and used ME. We picked up our own luggage because we didn't want to have it delivered to our resort in the middle of the night. Not a problem! I would rather save the money it costs for a limo and use it for something fun in WDW!

 

[cedmonds]

we have arrived several times late almost 1:00 0r 2:00 in the morning...check in is a breeze! We take the ME which is great and we pack an overnight bag with pjs , toothbrush, essential stuff like meds etc... and take that as carry on. When we wake up in the morning we call and our bags have arrived within 15 minutes. We have done this several times with no problems.

 

[taximomfor4]

I just arrived RIGHT at 11pm last Tuesday (was supposed to arrive at 8:30pm). DME counter informed me that you MUST haul your own luggage to the DME bus, if your plane gets in at 11pm or after. So if you take DME, you are close to that cutoff and may have to retrieve your own bags. If your plane gets in just a few minutes after its scheduled arrival time, you won't be able to have DME retrieve your bags for you.

Last week, I was exhausted (cancelled flight, rebooked on a roundabout, Loooonng trip!) I was wishing I had just gotten a towncar.

Beth

 

[mom2alix]

We had a late arrival flight last trip too. We used ME and got our own luggage. It wasn't that big of a deal - there are rental carts for the luggage right there and they were only a couple of bucks. It was actually pretty easy.

Depending on your towncar service you could be hauling your own bags as much as ME would require anyway. I had some that met us at the gate and were really helpful and others that waited in their cars until we had retrieved our luggage and hunted them down. (Guess who got the bigger tip? )

Anyway, I'd save the money and use ME. Get your own luggage and take it on the bus with you. That way you can get a good nights sleep and have all your stuff to get ready the next morning to have a fun day!

 

[cedmonds]

I just arrived RIGHT at 11pm last Tuesday (was supposed to arrive at 8:30pm). DME counter informed me that you MUST haul your own luggage to the DME bus, if your plane gets in at 11pm or after. So if you take DME, you are close to that cutoff and may have to retrieve your own bags. If your plane gets in just a few minutes after its scheduled arrival time, you won't be able to have DME retrieve your bags for you.

Last week, I was exhausted (cancelled flight, rebooked on a roundabout, Loooonng trip!) I was wishing I had just gotten a towncar.

Beth

I am so surprised , we never experienced anything like that and like I stated earlier we have arrived at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. They have so many international people coming at all times. I would double check with DME about the luggage. we always just got ours in the AM when we woke up

 

[CowboyCO]

Hey JeeperWY! Wyoming Ex-patriot here!

Have a great time on your trip!!!

We had a similar problem our first trip to WDW from Laramie. Our flight got in after 9:00pm

Here's what we did:

Packed two carry-on size bags with everything we would need for the first night and the first day in the parks and then checked them.

We put the ME tags on those we wouldn't need right away and regular tags on the other two. We then claimed the two small bags at baggage claim and walked down to ME. The nice thing is that at that time of night, ME is a Breeze! You blow right through and go straight to your hotel. IMO it was as fast as geting a cab or limo. No wait at all!

We're leaving in 6 days for a week in DisneyLand, but wish we were going to WDW!

Have fun!

 

[SqueakyMouse]

If the cost of a towncar is not too much of an issue, go for the towncar. The one time DH and I used the ME, we flew in late at night and had quite a wait just for our shuttle. We were tired from traveling already, so this was not fun. Admittedly, we were used to either using a towncar service or having a car. Using a service, you will have a driver right there to greet you and help you with your luggage. You'll walk a few steps out the door, climb into your car, and be at your resort in under 30 minutes. Additionally, you can grill your driver on any recent WDW-related news.