Magical Epress question (no luggage, just transportation)?

[pat fan]

Hi all! We are a party of 7 (really 12, but 5 are driving from N.C.) going in July. We are renting a minivan from Dollar (got a good deal) and my DH is going to transport himself, one kid to help with the luggage, and all the luggage to the hotel. The rest of us are planning to take Magical Express because there is no way 7 people, 7 people's luggage and a wheelchair will fit in the van! Is this doable? I mean, I know it's legal, but I've heard so many horrer stories about ME that I'm nervous! All we're doing is going from airport to hotel though, no luggage involved. What do you think?

Also, time frame-wise do you think DH can rent the van, get the luggage, make a grocery stop and still be arriving at the resort about the same time we will? Pipe dream, I know, but one can dream, can't one?

 

[simonkodousek]

I absolutely hated ME. I'd try to rent two cars instead. ME was really bad. It was about 45 minutes late at the airport, and it was jam packed with people, which made getting off a four hour plane ride just that much more 'enjoyable'.

 

[CanadianGuy]

So much of what your ME experience will be like - depends on the time of year you're going and what day of the week you arrive and what time of DAY you arrive even.

You're going in June or July... But without luggage to worry about .. I can't imagine it would be that difficult.

You and your DH should arrive at the resort within 90 minutes of each other.. If that's not acceptable consider a second rental.

J

 

[simonkodousek]

Yes, CanadianGuy, it really depends on when you're going. I'll be there in June, but we're renting a minivan for my family to take because we had ever so many problems with ME.

 

[pat fan]

Hmmmm......renting a second car is really not an option. Besides the expense, there is the matter of another driver. My DH is the only one really comfortable driving in unfamiliar places. My mom & dad sure can't,I won't, my sister won't, my son would, but he's not old enough for a rental (21, right).

It's really that bad, just to get from the airport to the hotel?

You and your DH should arrive at the resort within 90 minutes of each other..

With him arriving first and waiting for us, or would ME beat the van?

So another question would be, would 7 people, 7 people's luggage and a wheelchair fit in a van? Just thought I'd ask.

 

[Gary M]

I have taken DME 5 times and each time it has been great. Four times were during the slower periods in the winter and the other was Christmas day 2005 to Dec. 30. Each time my flight arrived at MCO a little before noon.

 

[SueM in MN]

So much of what your ME experience will be like - depends on the time of year you're going and what day of the week you arrive and what time of DAY you arrive even.

You're going in June or July... But without luggage to worry about .. I can't imagine it would be that difficult.

You and your DH should arrive at the resort within 90 minutes of each other.. If that's not acceptable consider a second rental.

J

I'd agree.
DH, youngest DD and I used ME on Dec 29, this past year. We expected it to be really busy AND we expected a wait because DD is in a wheelchair.

The longest wait was in the line to check in - and that was comparable to waiting in line for a rental car. Since we had a wheelchair and not all the buses are wheelchair accessible, we were not put into the lines waiting to go on the buses. The lines are assigned depending on which resort people are going to; the CM tell people which line to get into depending on how they are routing the buses for that trip. They had us wait in a separate area closer to where the buses loaded. We saw 3 or 4 groups get into buses before they called us, but it was maybe a matter of 15 minutes or so. When they called us, they already had the bus lift down and ready to be used.
We were lucky and our bus went to our resort first, but our particular bus (at least what I remember) was only going to 2 resorts.

 

[Hopefully]

We have used ME 3 times and had very postive experiences. Our wait was, as Sue said, comparable to a rental care line wait, we were the second stop and our luggage was always in our room when we returned from the park on check in day.
We travelled in October, arriving at mid day.
I think you will be able to get 7 peoples luggage in the van. Of course that does depend on how many bags each person packs.
Based on our experiences, you would beat your DH to the hotel. He will have to wait for baggage, gather 7 peoples worth of baggage (ugh!), wait in line to get the van, do a grocery stop and drive to WDW. I think ME will be much quicker.
JMHO.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Hi all! We are a party of 7 (really 12, but 5 are driving from N.C.) going in July. We are renting a minivan from Dollar (got a good deal) and my DH is going to transport himself, one kid to help with the luggage, and all the luggage to the hotel. The rest of us are planning to take Magical Express because there is no way 7 people, 7 people's luggage and a wheelchair will fit in the van! Is this doable? I mean, I know it's legal, but I've heard so many horrer stories about ME that I'm nervous! All we're doing is going from airport to hotel though, no luggage involved. What do you think?

Also, time frame-wise do you think DH can rent the van, get the luggage, make a grocery stop and still be arriving at the resort about the same time we will? Pipe dream, I know, but one can dream, can't one?

We did this last June but a bit different.

2 of us went to the rental van (with no luggage).

The 3 girls went to ME and we had all the luggage with the ME tags on them taken care of by ME.

We arrived with-in 5 minutes of each other at SSR. With a grocery stop you will beat them there on ME.

We have used ME about 4 times now and have never had a problem ,This was to POP ,SSR 2times and POFQ.We travel during Peak time July 2nd, Oct 31st and Dec 22nd this year alone
,
I now use ME then rent a car from one of the DTD hotel locations to shave off a day or so and the prices have been cheaper.

 

[goofy4tink]

I still can't understand why people say they have heard 'so many horror' stories about DME. Sure, there have been some less than terrific reports, but horror stories? I don't think so. Now, if you want to go back to the days of the Mears shuttle buses, then I can give you thousands of horror stories . Anyway...you have a good plan set up there. It should take you about 70-90 minutes to get to the resort after deplaning. The only time it took me the 90 mins was when my resort was number three stop...all other times it has been 60-70 mins total time from plane to resort checkin.
The DME buses come on a regular basis...there is no set schedule. You may wait in the checkin line for 5-10 mins, unless it is really crowded, but even then, when I was about the 50th person in the line it took me only 13 mins to get through and out to the bus line. If you get to the bus line and a bus for your resort group has just left, you may have to wait about 15-20 mins for the next one. And then, it's about 30 mins to the first resort, and there could be three stops in all...possibly four but that doesn't seem to happen very often.

So....10 minutes from plane to DME checkin desk
10 mins in line to checkin
15 mins bus line wait
10 mins wait on the bus
30 mins to resorts
+ 15 mins if you are the third stop= 90 mins tops, but more like 70

 

[aubriee]

I've used DME seven times (including May '05 about a week after it started) and have never had a problem with it. More than once they were loading just as we arrived to get in line and have just walked straight from DME check in onto the bus. Our resort thus far has always been the first stop (POP and POFQ), so from the time the plane lands until we get to the resort has never been even close to 90 minutes. I guess we've been lucky. Anyway, my point is that the people using DME will easily beat your husband in the rental van to the resort.

 

[pat fan]

Thank you so much for the positive replies! I was starting to freak out a bit!

I don't think we will be using the wheelchair to get on ME, so that shouldn't be a problem. Exactly (round-a-bout) how far is the ME desk from where you disembark the plane? My mom can't walk long distances (hence the wheelchair) but she can walk some. I just thought it would be easier for her to walk to ME than hassle with the chair, unless it's a good distance, then we'll have no choice. I need to let them know ahead of time if we have the wheelchair, correct?

BTW, what a great way to spend a snow day off from school...planning my WDW trip!

 

[CanadianGuy]

I was giving the 90 minute estimate to see if it scared you.

It could very well be that long.. but I suspect 60-75 minutes is more likely.

Wrangling luggage for 7 and getting all that into a rental vehicle.. Hmm.. I'd say -- get the luggage together. Leave the son with the luggage, send dad to go get the rental and pick son and luggage up outside the terminal by the luggage carousels....

He'll be at LEAST 90 minutes doing that.. nevermind a grocery stop.

J

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Thank you so much for the positive replies! I was starting to freak out a bit!

I don't think we will be using the wheelchair to get on ME, so that shouldn't be a problem. Exactly (round-a-bout) how far is the ME desk from where you disembark the plane? My mom can't walk long distances (hence the wheelchair) but she can walk some. I just thought it would be easier for her to walk to ME than hassle with the chair, unless it's a good distance, then we'll have no choice. I need to let them know ahead of time if we have the wheelchair, correct?

BTW, what a great way to spend a snow day off from school...planning my WDW trip!

Depending on what gate you come into it could be from a very long walk to a long walk. I would have a wheelchair ready through the Airlines.

The main Airport area is about a bit bigger then a football feild . The 4 gate areas are at the corners and you have to take a small monorail type to get to the main area as well. It's down a few flights and then all the way at the one end of that section as well.

 

[CleveRocks]

I'm still waiting to read all of the supposed DME "horror stories" ... they just never seem to appear. Out of more than 4 million users I'm sure there's a few out there, but I've never seen rampant problems reported, certainly not enough to make anyone reaslitically scared of using it. I'm not talking about people who don't want to use DME because they prefer a different level of service, I'm talking about people who would otherwise be open to it but supposedly read lots of "horror stories" so that they are actually nervous about using DME.

What is more common are posts saying they've heard horror stories. I think people hear that other people have heard horror stories, and that grows on its own without the collection of actual first-person anecdotes to back them up. People assume that where there's smoke there's fire, but at least here on the DIS we haven't seen any fire.

 

[goofy4tink]

After you deplane, you will have a walk to the trams, which take you to the main terminal, then a walk through the terminal, down from level 3 to level 1 and then walk to DME desk. I would say it can take up to 10 mins of walking. Now, that may be lengthened if you have to use the elevator rather than stairs/escalators.

 

[jls886]

Just to add another positive vote for ME! We went in May 2006 and used ME from the airport to POP and also back to the airport. We had absolutely no problems getting to our resort, and we did have them get our luggage. I would think it would be even easier with no luggage! Its a FREE service so you can't expect a perfect experience. Our trip back to the airport was fine too. I recommend it and it saves you money on renting a car!

 

[seashoreCM]

You'll probably want more than one DS gathering the luggage although only one has to wait for DH and the car to load up. Also be sure to keep your signals straight on which roadway level (there are three) DH will come in on.

The Magical Express area is on the B side, lowest level, at the stores end (not the Hyatt hotel end).

From any gate, after you get off the trams in the main terminal area, to use the football field analogy, you are quite near the goalpost as opposed to at the sideline.

 

[zurgswife]

4 DME trips here at various times of year and they all have been positive experiences.

I would get your mom a wheel chair it is a bit of a hike.


We head back in July also and will be taking a DME bus also to our resort.

 

[zurgswife]

Hey looks like we arrive the same day....see ya soon....