Magic express or car service??

[saraheli]

Our flight lands at 4:45pm and we are staying at BLT at the contemporary. We want to dine at chef Mickey our first night. We are only in disney for 4 nights so I'm trying to squeeze everything in. If you were in my situation would you take ME to the resort or grab a cab or car service? I hear that the contemporary is the 4th stop on the shuttle and it takes a while to get to the hotel.

 

[lklasing]

I know that many people love ME, but we always take a town car service. It allows us a quick trip to the grocery store, and then directly to the resort. They meet us in baggage claim, help with our bags and take us straight there. They also pick us up 2 hours before our flight leaves on our last day, compared with 3 (by my understanding) hours with ME. I like that extra hour too.

If it were me, I'd definitely take a towncar service. But I'm sure others will suggest that ME is the better choice. Go with whichever makes more sense for you.

Have fun!

 

[jade1]

Cab will stop for groceries and wait if you want. App 30 minutes direct so maybe 5:30 to CR.

 

[KeroKero]

I know that many people love ME, but we always take a town car service. It allows us a quick trip to the grocery store, and then directly to the resort. They meet us in baggage claim, help with our bags and take us straight there. They also pick us up 2 hours before our flight leaves on our last day, compared with 3 (by my understanding) hours with ME. I like that extra hour too.

If it were me, I'd definitely take a towncar service. But I'm sure others will suggest that ME is the better choice. Go with whichever makes more sense for you.

Have fun!

Which town car service do you recommend?

 

[This is Pickles]

Especially when your time is so tight, I would DEFINITELY skip the ME. It isn't just the slower departure and the stops before your resort, but also the fact that by definition, when the ME does roll up in front of your resort, you'll arrive at the front desk with a (partial) bus load of people.

We've done different things different years, but only did the ME once. For car service, we used Mears and they were outstanding. You don't miss any magic by skipping Magic Express -- when we got in the Mears vehicle, the driver had an array of Disney movies and popped in the one my kids chose.

We've rented a car twice and both times said let's not do this again, since the car just sat in the parking lot unvisited most days.

Have a great visit!

 

[TwizzleMouse]

Skip ME, take a town car service. We love FLTours which is a sponsor of this board. They will even do a 1/2 hr grocery stop for you!

http://www.fltours.com/

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

We did Happy Limo first and then tried the ME. H said "no more ME!"

We have 3 small kids. After being stuck on a plane for 2.5 hours they are not content to then be stuck sitting quietly on a bus -- we need a place to ourselves Plus, it's nice not to race off the ME to get in line for check in. And we have our luggage right away. All around it's a win for us. And for less than $300 round trip including tip for a stretch limo, it's well worth it.

We'll be using Happy Limo again in November.

 

[dixiegirl]

Which town car service do you recommend?

We've used FL Tours and Tiffany Towncar in the past - have not a problem with either. Have also heard good things about Happy Limo as well.

We only do towncar service now - we find the convenience and time saved well worth the additional money. Plus we are always travelling with DH's golf clubs and they are his babies so as thrifty as DH is, he is more than willing to spend the money to protect them!

 

[saraheli]

Thanks everyone! Its unanimous! Car Service it is!

 

[skateshome]

Towncar round trip should run about $127.
It's the only way I'll ever do it from now on.

Took us 3 hrs on ME last week. It only took 2 1/2 hours to get to the airport
1 hour before our flight to Orlando and then an 1 1/2 flight.

 

[jade1]

Is the car service the same as a cab/taxi? I know DD said there were cabs just waiting-was wondering if the service is the same thing? It's the same price anyway.

 

[lklasing]

Which town car service do you recommend?

I had a great service that I used over and over again, but sadly they went out of business. I'm now looking for the one that will be my next favorite.

Is the car service the same as a cab/taxi? I know DD said there were cabs just waiting-was wondering if the service is the same thing? It's the same price anyway.

Car service is different from a taxi. Most posters above have been talking about getting a towncar service. Google "towncar orlando" and a bunch will pop up. I would read reviews here and on tripadvisor before booking. Don't just go for the cheapest. Like someone else said, it should be around $130 round trip, plus or minus $10-20.

 

[boltfan]

We always use Belagio. Cars are nice and clean and the drivers are great. It's $110 round trip for a town car to Disney hotels.

 

[lucyddr]

We've always used Happy Limo and LOVE them! For us, the grocery stop alone is worth the extra money. They are so professional, helpful with luggage, efficient, and sometimes...you even get amazing limo upgrades! Our best memory of our last Universal Trip was meeting our driver in the lobby and walking out to a Lincoln Navigator stretch limo (just two of us and paid for a town car). Let's just say we got LOTS of attention!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

We've always used Happy Limo and LOVE them! For us, the grocery stop alone is worth the extra money. They are so professional, helpful with luggage, efficient, and sometimes...you even get amazing limo upgrades! Our best memory of our last Universal Trip was meeting our driver in the lobby and walking out to a Lincoln Navigator stretch limo (just two of us and paid for a town car). Let's just say we got LOTS of attention!

The same thing happened to us! We paid for a stretch limo for the 5 of us and we ended up in the stratch Nav with 2 TVs. Our girls thought they were rockstars

 

[nkereina]

Never used the car service but do remember to factor in the time it will take to retrieve any checked bags. Last time we had to get our own bags, it took 25 minutes for them to start coming out and another 15 minutes for us to locate our bags since our carousel was combined with multiple flights

As far as the DME route, it really varies. In three stays at POR, we have been dropped off first and dropped off last. It's up the driver's discretion and the volume/needs for the day.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

When we fly down, we go with the ME. We pay so much for our vacation - another $300 shouldn't break the bank, but we'd much rather take advantage of the free bus ride.

The past few times we have used the ME, it has left once we boarded. The trip has been seamless and quick.

I do hate the three-hour boarding. We leave every NYE day morning and it's dreadful going to bed around 2am and waking up 3 hours later. This year, we're staying on the 1st and leaving on the 2nd. We won't make that mistake again!