Magic Express Reactions?????

[Zip-a-dee-dude-da]

Well I would imagine some of the first users of the Magic Express service from MCO to DW have returned from thier trips.

WHAT ARE YOUR REACTIONS?

I heard things did not go very swimmingly yet I have seen no DIS reactions.

 

[mkladypink]

We arrived on the first day that ME was in service and had NO problems! The plane landed at MCO at 12:30 PM. By 1:30 we had gone through the ME check-in and were seated on the bus. We arrived at the WL at 2:15PM (the WL lodge was the first stop on the Deluxe Resort route). We headed out to the parks, and when we arrived in our room at 7:45 PM we found our bags safe and sound!

Return on ME went just as smoothly. We checked our luggage through to home and got our boarding passes at the WL. Left our carry on bags at WL and hit the parks. We were given our choice of a 3:05 or 3:35PM bus to MCO for our 6:15PM flight. We took the earlier bus and arrived at MCO at 4:05PM, with plenty of time for dinner before our flight. When we arrived at our home airport our bags were in baggage claim safe and sound.

We had a great ME experience!

 

[timandlesley]

This is WONDERFUL, I am hopefull our experience will be the same. I assume you received ME luggage tags to make this run smoothly. If so, how long before your trip did you receive them? We will be staying at WL too, can't wait. Did they have a room ready for you that early?

Lesley

 

[mkladypink]

Our TA FedExed them to us. We were able to get into our room as soon as we arrived.

 

[kesha]

Anyone Else on Magic Express? We are going to be staying at CBR and are anxious to hear more about your experience. We are leaving June 1 and haven't received our ME baggage tags yet. I'm not worried about it yet but if they aren't here before we leave I might get a little excited.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

I used it on May 5. I created a post with my experience with it on the Transportation board.

I did get my tags (the day before I left) and there were a lot of ME people at the airport to help.

We held our breath for a while because our luggage did not arrive in our room until a few hours after we checked in - we were under the impression that under normal circumstances, our luggage would beat us to our room.

The return trip to MCO was pretty easy - they told us when to get the bus (9:30 AM for a 12:20 PM flight, which I sort of think is a little too much of a gap) and it was there in front of the hotel. They put our luggage under the bus and we went straight to the airport.

The video screens on the bus were not on when we arrived on 5/5, but they were working when we were taken to the airport.

The only other remark I would have is that in the area where we were dropped off at MCO, there was no curb side check-in of luggage going on. We had to go inside and do it there. And we were flying US Air and their check-in was all the way at the far end of the check-in desks. It was a bit of a hike to get to it.

I don't know if the driver told us to get off at the wrong place or not (because he was making another stop somewhere else at MCO for other airlines - maybe US Air should not have been getting off at the first stop?)

 

[kesha]

Magic Express didn't include UsAir? I thought they would take care of your luggage on the way back also.

 

[timandlesley]

The video screens on the bus were not on when we arrived on 5/5, but they were working when we were taken to the airport.


What video screens are you referring to? Are they on there now?
Lesley

 

[JudicialTyranny]

Magic Express didn't include UsAir? I thought they would take care of your luggage on the way back also.

No, US Air is not a participating airline, so you have to put your luggage on the bus for the return trip.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

What video screens are you referring to? Are they on there now?
Lesley

The ME buses have LCD video screens hanging down (I think one for every 3 or 4 rows).

They were on the bus we took on 5/5, but they were not playing anything.

On our return trip to the airport on 5/11, they were playing a movie (Shark's Tale I think).

 

[timandlesley]

That's AWESOME! My son will love that and it will make an hour bus ride much more manageable. Thanks for sharing this!

Lesley

 

[LittleDino]

We used ME without ever receiving our luggage tags. It was no problem at all though. We just went to baggage claim and picked up our bags and checked in at the Magical Express counter where a helpful CM printed up bus vouchers for us. Our flight arrived at 6:25 PM, and we were at All Star Music by 7:45 PM with 2 stops before us (CSR and All Star Sports). Return trip worked out fine as well. In fact the bus arrived 5 minutes early (pick up time was 7:00 PM) and we were in the airport by 8:00 PM. We'll be using ME again in September.

 

[nutsaboutdis]

We arrived on the 5th, the first day and got home today. Our tags were never sent to us so I was very nervous when we first arrived in Orlando. We stood in a line for about 15 minutes and then a CM took our information, asked for a description of our bags (we were not asked for our claim numbers from the airline, we gave her the numbers on our own) and we were told not to worry. We arrived at the airport at 10:15 a.m. and our bags got to our resort at 8:00 p.m.!! BUT they did get there with everything intact. Leaving today, we flew JetBlue who doesn't participate with their checking, so we brought our own bags on the bus which arrived promptly at the hotel and were transported with now problems to the airport. All in all, things went fairly smooth for us. Good Luck!!

 

[hojo]

My return flight is for 3:00 p.m. Does that mean that the bus will be at the resort (All Star Movie) at noon? I was hoping to get at least a 1/2 day in at AK that moring. Can I ask the front desk to have teh bus get me later say around 12:45 or 1?

 

[LittleDino]

Disney's ME likes to pick you up 2 hours and 45 minutes prior to your flight. The trip from WDW back to the airport takes just under 1 hour, plus they may make a few stops to pick up other guests.

Our flight on 5/11 had a departure time of 9:45 PM, therefore our ME pick up time was scheduled for 7:00 PM. The bus arrived at ASMu at 6:55 PM then went to ASMo to pick up another family. We were at the airport at 8:00 PM, went through security and had a little bit of time to kill before our flight.

With a 3:00 PM departure, ME will want to pick you up at 12:15... I know it sounds too early... but really, they'll be getting you to the airport just under two hours before your flight.

 

[hojo]

Thanks for teh info dino! I just know I wont want to leave!

 

[off to neverland]

Magical Express was an absolute disaster for my family of 10.

1. After three phone calls to CRO and Magical Express to give them our flight info before the trip, they still had no record of us coming. When we arrived at the airport, it took over a half hour to give them all the info, and we sat on the bus well over 40 minutes waiting for it to leave. In total, it took 2.5 hours from our time of arrival at the airport to our hotel.

2. For our departure, part of the group was departing at 4 am in the morning. We were never informed the bus didn't run that early until the night before wehn we went to check our bags. We ended up getting a cab. NO biggie, I guess, but still I wonder why they didn't tell us that when we tediously gave them all the departure info?

3. The night before our departure, my dad spent an hour on the phone with Magical Express, giving them our departing info so that the delay that had happened during arrival wouldn't happen again at departure. He was assured there would be no problem the following day when the group left, and was giving a confirmation number, just in case. Guess what? When the group checked in at the ME desk at the hotel, they once again had no record of our group. Dad gave them the confirmation number, only to be told that it meant nothing, and the ME desk at the hotel can't recognize those numbers. At that point, a ME bus drove up and our group just got on without giving any info and checking any bags.... They had to get to the airport!!!

The bellmen at the hotel told us that so far it had been an absolute disaster, and that Disney really wasn't running it.... Mears was. What a shame that Disney has it's name on that service, as it is the first impression many first time visitors are getting of "Disney."