Magic Bus?

[betterbutter]

We are going to Disney for the first time in August. My husband thought we would rent a minivan with the built-in car seat for our daughter but the lady I booked our room with told me that we'll have the Magic Bus service for free from the airport to Port Orleans Hotel. But I'm really confused how this all works? She said we'll get luggage tags in the mail and that they will take our luggage from the airport, but what about our stroller and the car seat? Our children will be 5 and 8 months when we go. Do we need to bring our daughters car seat as well? We'll have the seat for the baby for the plane but our daughter won't need her seat on the plane.

How do we get our suitcases when we get to the hotel?

This is very confusing. Sorry for the questions.

BB

 

[zurgswife]

Here's a copy of the info from Deb's site...We have used Magical Express about 5 times and absolutely love it. We will use it again in July...no more care rentals for us.

How Disney's Magical Express ARRIVAL service works:

* Disney's Magical Express must be booked at least 10 days prior to arrival through disneyworld.com, Disney Reservation Center by calling 407-W-DISNEY or a travel agent. Be sure to have your Arriving Flight Number and time into the Orlando International Airport as well as your Departing Flight Number and time out of the Orlando International Airport as well as the name of the airlines you are flying. We HIGHLY recommend booking this service a minimum of 6 weeks in advance!

* Approximately 21 days before you arrive, you will receive in the mail an Airport Transportation Booklet containing general information and special Disney's Magical Express luggage tags for your bags.

* Check your specially tagged luggage at your departure airport.

* Upon arrival in Orlando, bypass airport baggage claim and go directly to the Disney Airport Welcome Center (Level 1, "B" Side).

* Car seats are not permitted on the motorcoaches and must be stowed underneath the motorcoach.

* You will board state-of-the-art motor coaches that will take you to your Disney hotel. A video is shown during the ride. Your motor coach may make up to FOUR different stops at various Disney resorts.

* A team of Disney representatives at the airport will pick up your luggage and transport it to your Disney hotel room.

* International Visitors - If the Orlando International Airport is your first point of entry into the United States, you will follow the U.S. Customs & Border Protection process and claim your luggage upon disembarking the airplane. Once you have completed this process you will proceed to the main Terminal building where you will be met by a Disney Representative. Your luggage will be transferred to the Baggage Claim area, where Disney will collect it if tagged with Disney's Magical Express luggage tags. If you have already completed the US Customs & Border Protection process in another US city or before entering the US, you will proceed directly to the main Terminal building; and Disney will claim your luggage.

How Disney's Magical Express DEPARTURE service works (from your Disney hotel):

* You will be notified of your motorcoach pick-up time and location the day prior to checkout.

* Motorcoach pickup time is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes prior to your flight departure.

* The motorcoach has 4 drop-off locations in all four quadrants of the airport (Gates 1-29, 30-59, 60-99, and 100-129).

* The service also assists you when it's time to depart. If you are flying one of the participating airlines, you can avoid airport check-in lines by checking your luggage and receiving your boarding pass before you leave your Disney hotel as described in the Resort Airline Check-In Service section below.

Resort Airline Check-In Service

* Resort Airline Check-In Service at your Disney resort is only available if you are flying domestically (includes Puerto Rico) on the following airlines: AirTran (as of May 2007), Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, and United (including TED). It is a complimentary (free) service.


* This service allows you to check your luggage and receive your airline boarding passes right at your resort on the day of your departure.

* This service is separate from Magical Express. You do not have to participate in Magical Express to utilize the Resort Airline Check-in Service.

* Each Disney resort has a dedicated Check-In Desk located in or near the Lobby or near the outside entrance to the resort. If you can't locate the Resort Airline Check-in Desk, ask at the Front Desk. Some examples:

The Polynesian's check-in desk is outside just pass the valet stand on the right as you exit the hotel.

The Port Orleans Riverside check-in desk.

The Port Orleans French Quarter check-in desk.

* The desks are open every day from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can check in no more than 12 hours and no less than 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight departure time.

* To check in, your entire party must be present with your government issued photo I.D. (e.g., driver's license, passport, Military ID) and your Key to the World card to verify that you are a guest of a Disney hotel

* The Resort Airline Check-In desks can provide some of the same services and information as the airline ticket counters at the airport, including checking seat assignments, and verifying flight information and status. The Resort Airline Check-In Desks cannot make any changes to flight arrangements or make new flight reservations.

* This service is not provided by Disney. A third-party company approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates the Resort Airline Check-In on behalf of the participating airlines.

* Some persons have reported a wait of over 30 minutes at the Resort Airline check-in desk during peak times. If you are within 3 hours of your departure time, you should bypass this service and get your boarding passes at the airport.

 

[CleveRocks]

We are going to Disney for the first time in August. My husband thought we would rent a minivan with the built-in car seat for our daughter but the lady I booked our room with told me that we'll have the Magic Bus service for free from the airport to Port Orleans Hotel. But I'm really confused how this all works? She said we'll get luggage tags in the mail and that they will take our luggage from the airport, but what about our stroller and the car seat? Our children will be 5 and 8 months when we go. Do we need to bring our daughters car seat as well? We'll have the seat for the baby for the plane but our daughter won't need her seat on the plane.

How do we get our suitcases when we get to the hotel?

This is very confusing. Sorry for the questions.

BB

I'll try to boil it down for you ....

Disney's Magical Express (DME) is free. It is 2 things:

• round-trip motorcoach rides between the airport and your resort

• one-way automatic luggage delivery between the airplane and the inside of your resort room (you put special bar-coded luggage tags on your suitcases at home, you check them in at your home airport like normal, but then you won't see them again until they're inside your resort room -- you get to totally skip baggage claim!)

If you are using the car seat on the airplane, and if you are gate-checking the stroller (i.e., using the stroller in the airport), then you carry those yourself.

After deplaning, you go the DME Welcome Center at the airport. You check-in, they show you which line to get in, and then you are escorted to your bus when the bus is ready to board. The driver will load the stroller and the car seat in the cargo bay of the bus, and you'll get them back as soon as you arrive at your resort. The car seat can't be used on the bus because motorcoaches don't have seatbelts (so there's no way to secure it).

DME buses stop at a maximum of 4 resorts. Three is pretty common. You get off at your resort. Like I said, anything you have under the bus, the driver will unload for you. Your carry-ons could have been inside the bus with you, or could have been loaded underneath by the driver.

You check-in at your resort. Your checked luggage should arrive in about 3 hours or so. It will be brought into the room whether you're in there or not, so you SHOULDN'T feel the need to sit there and wait for it, wasting time. pack a carry-on with your immediate needs (diapers/wipes, formula, changes of clothes/bathing suits for the whole family, etc.). Go out and play!!! Like I said, your luggage will be delivered whether you're in your room or not. The DME luggage tags have barcodes, and those barcodes are scanned 5 different times during the luggage's journey ... Disney knows where your things are at all times.

I hope this answers your questions.

By the way, if you are uncomfortable with the idea of your baby riding without a car seat, then your only viable option is to rent the minivan at the airport. This is because Disney Transport buses, the buses you will take to get to all 4 theme parks, don't have seatbelts and thus can't accommodate car seats, either.

By the way, for the record, my wife is a pediartrician and I work in brain trauma, and we have no qualms about taking our little ones on LARGE BUSES without restraints. It's a personal choice.

If you have any more questions, there are a lot of us here who will answer them for you.

HAVE FUN!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

(Saw the thread title, and the first thought that came to mind was "The Who")

 

[briar_rose_59]

(Saw the thread title, and the first thought that came to mind was "The Who")

I thought of the Magic School Bus! Man, I was addicted to that show when I was little, I actually saw it once in real life though! And now back to your regularly scheduled thread.