Magical Express a mess this morning!

[Brit_Jude]

Perhaps I just read it wrong.

I saw this line: "He also stated that the three hours departure from the hotel to is account for problems."

And read it as:

He stated that the three hour departure time is there to account for problems (such as the one the OP was having.)

As in, this very scenario is the reason why the departure time is three hours.

I got the impression that he was saying this as to say "Well this is why we pick you up extra early" as opposed to "This is why your bus is late."

Our bus wasn't late, based on the information from the driver, our 6:45am bus was never dispatched, this was due to there not being enough buses available to meet the demand that morning. We actually got on the bus that was scheduled for the 7:15 passengers at 7:35.

My assumption for the 3 hour window is to account for traffic back-ups on the roads, long security lines at the airport or unexpected equipment malfuntion. I personally would not include not having enough buses to meet a demand known about ahead of time as part of the criteria for the 3 hour window, unless there was a rash of buses that broke down overnight . To me that is poor management - somewhere. Even if this was the case, not being able to give people waiting correct information or when they would be able to get on a bus was frustrating to everyone waiting.

 

[Brit_Jude]

You should have gotten on that earlier bus. We always get on the first bus that shows up. If you wait and things are backing up, you're asking for trouble..

The 6:15 bus driver would not take us. He stated he would only take the 6:15 passengers. He may have had other pick-ups and also assumed the 6:45 bus was on it's way.

 

[MrRob]

My assumption for the 3 hour window is to account for traffic back-ups on the roads, long security lines at the airport or unexpected equipment malfuntion. I personally would not include not having enough buses to meet a demand known about ahead of time as part of the criteria for the 3 hour window, unless there was a rash of buses that broke down overnight . To me that is poor management - somewhere. Even if this was the case, not being able to give people waiting correct information or when they would be able to get on a bus was frustrating to everyone waiting.

Oh definitely. I didn't mean to come off as defending them. I just figured they were using their 3 hour window setup to shrug off what was ultimately a problem.

 

[nkereina]

OP - I had a similar experience as you back in September, which is low crowd season. We were staying at POR. Our flight was at 5pm so we were scheduled to leave on the 2pm ME bus. We got there at about 1:30 and were sitting on a bench waiting. Around 1:55, a bus pulled up. No one except the driver was around to direct anyone, so we approached the driver and asked if it was the 2pm bus. He said it was the 1:30 bus, but we could get on anyway. So we did. Our bus then made its way over to POFQ where there was a large crowd of people waiting for ME buses. The driver told a few folks it was the 1:30 bus so people started to get on. While watching out the window, I could see the 1:45 bus families getting irritated (by this time it was about 2:15), and I could overhear some conversations through the window. I did hear the bus driver explaining that the buses were running late and no one would be stranded. There were no breakdowns to my knowledge and traffic was fine. It was a Saturday afternoon, fine weather. So, it seems as if bus hang ups may be a recurring theme. I would bet that everyone made their flights but when you have to stand around for 30+ minutes waiting for a late bus and maybe with kids, it's not really acceptable.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

Sounds like you should write a letter/email to Disney letting them know what all happened (especially that manager's indifference).

 

[sb127]

A similar situation happened to us in November of 2010 and it is very frustrating. When our bus arrived he did not have room for the 30 people waiting only about 6 people could board. The driver stated that another bus would follow shortly. We waited as more people arrived for the next bus. I called ME directly several times to inform them of the problem and was transferred to the dispatching dept. They called back to check if a bus had arrived. After about 45 minutes to 1 hour a bus arrived and all passengers were boarded. That was not the end of it. When we arrived at the airport our driver mixed up the airline stops and dropped us at the wrong side. Fortunately we had just enough time to make our flight.
This has been the only time this has happened to us. I would suggest that you have the ME number handy and do not hesitate to call if there is confusion. We were at POFQ on that trip and it was the end of a rather frustrating time at the resort. The rest of our trip was great but we were less than impressed with the staff at this resort. We still use ME and have not had any issues since that trip.

 

[appleorchard]

This happened to us in March at POFQ. A family that had missed their 8:50 bus due to going to the regular bus stop rather than out front for ME was waiting with us for the 9:20 bus. When that bus didn't show up, they started to get very upset(understandably, although it was their own fault they missed the first bus, which they readily admitted.) DME also refused to load any of us onto the 9:50 bus--they sent another bus instead. Sounded like a real mess from what we heard over the bus driver's radio. This has NEVER happened to us in many trips to Disney--this was our first stay at a moderate, and it didn't leave a good last impression!

 

[disneynutz]

I have a few issues here..not with you but with the info you were given. That manager was completely wrong. Yes, Mears operates DME..but Disney contracts it out to them...so, in the end, it is a Disney service.

I don't think that this is true. Disney outsources several functions and services and in any issue that we have had, we are referred to the vendor by Disney.

Valet Parking comes to mind, Disney outsourced to Mears and if you have a issue or claim for damage, it's between you and Mears, not Disney. Removing Disney from the potential liability of damaging someone car was a intentional business move.

Bill

 

[Brit_Jude]

Thinking about this some more. DME works well at the airport when arriving. The representatives in the terminal (at the counter, managing the lines and at the desk as guests exit to get on the bus) all appear to be Disney Cast members. The bus driver seems to be the only Mears personnel at that end and the Disney cast member hands the guests off to the driver. There also apears to be ample personnel making sure it works. There is not the same efficient service when leaving.

So why can't there be a liason at the hotels?

This liason could be in contact with the bus dispatch, managing the number of people waiting, resolving issues of missed buses, have knowledge of delays, working on problems, most of all perform a communications function.

There are also many automated dispatch systems which track vehicles and optimize schedling. The buses must already have some form of this technology as the Disney videos start automatically when reaching a certain point on the journey.

Several places I have visited on my travels you can check when the next bus will arrive by smartphone, or electronic signs at the stop show the wait times for the arriving buses.

If the buses already have smart RIFID technologies an off the shelf dispatch system can't be too much of a leap.

 

[danceintherain]

Thinking about this some more. DME works well at the airport when arriving. The representatives in the terminal (at the counter, managing the lines and at the desk as guests exit to get on the bus) all appear to be Disney Cast members. The bus driver seems to be the only Mears personnel at that end and the Disney cast member hands the guests off to the driver. There also apears to be ample personnel making sure it works. There is not the same efficient service when leaving.

So why can't there be a liason at the hotels?

This liason could be in contact with the bus dispatch, managing the number of people waiting, resolving issues of missed buses, have knowledge of delays, working on problems, most of all perform a communications function.

There are also many automated dispatch systems which track vehicles and optimize schedling. The buses must already have some form of this technology as the Disney videos start automatically when reaching a certain point on the journey.

Several places I have visited on my travels you can check when the next bus will arrive by smartphone, or electronic signs at the stop show the wait times for the arriving buses.

If the buses already have smart RIFID technologies an off the shelf dispatch system can't be too much of a leap.

The reason DME works well at the airport is because the scheduling is not as precise. Yes, they keep track of the number of people coming in at what time when they determine the number of buses they will need on a given day, however, they only "book" you onto a bus once you arrive at the counter. It's much easier to dispatch buses in this manner, because they can simply watch the lines and redirect guests if necessary.

The flaw I can see on the resort end is that they have to balance convenience vs. cost. The most convenient option for the guests would be for Disney to provide a cab or car service to the airport for each guest exactly when they need it. This, of course, would be incredibly expensive for Disney unless they increased hotel prices even more.
The most cost effective option for Disney would be to have one or two full buses go to the airport from each resort in a given day to accommodate ALL the guests traveling that day. This, of course, would be incredibly inconvenient to guests, because it has the potential to send them off to the airport waaaay before their departure time.

It seems that they need to reevaluate the system a bit, but since, for the most part, people are happy with the service, I doubt they will do so unless a large number of people start missing flights and/or complain about close calls. It would help if they had someone at each resort who had a list of passenger departure times and could rebook those with later flights to later buses, but of course it would be difficult to communicate changes to the guests.

 

[mlittig]

Sorry you had such a tough ending to your trip

 

[seashoreCM]

Yes it is reasonable for you to show up 3 or so hours in advance of your flight as stated on the confirmation paper, even though there may be bus delays.

But it is currently my belief (haven't seen any written word or fine print to the contrary) that Magical Express is guaranteed to get you home without added expense assuming you followed the instructions.

Since I have seen no reported instances of missed flights ever since DME began, I take it that Disney has fulfilled these goals excellently.

The instructions have to be easy to describe and follow, such as saying that buses are scheduled about 3 hours before your flight. But it is impossible for all bus trips to take exactly X minutes. (Those with a scientific bent might want to google "bell curve") If we shorten the required time in advance of flight time for your DME bus going home by just a little, the percentage of trips successfully executed could drop profoundly, from say 99.9% to 88.5%.

 

[heather13]

I wasn't trying to offend you all. I don't think there is any shame in taking the bus. I did it for years.

I'm just saying...this is typical. This is how the bus works. Sometimes - often - its great. Other times, it sucks.

Oh goodness! I didn't mean it as a shameful thing at all! More so that Disney should step up and take responsibility / apologize as guests generally pay more to stay on property than elsewhere. Although probably in their minds DME is seen as a free perk versus a money maker...

 

[sephorachick]

Hi All,

Just got back today from a wonderful vacation at Disney staying at Pop Century. We had a great time Loved Star Wars weekend

This morning was frustrating though, you know how you are bumming anway because you are leaving and headed back to reality. Our flights were at 9:50am so I knew when I booked that our Magical Express back to the airport would be in the 6am/7am time frame. We got our envelope on the door a day prior with 6:45am pick up.

We complete our airline check-in at 6:15, grab a quick cup of coffee and are at the bus pick-up area at 6.30am. We were told by the bellman at Airline check in that the 6:15am bus is running late and that the two buses (6.15am and 6.45am) would arrive together.

At 6.40am the 6:15am bus arrives and loads the 6.15am passengers, one of the other couples waiting asks the driver if he is taking the 6.45am passengers as well. The driver informed those waiting that he could only take the 6.15 passengers. No problem we understand and anyway the 6.45 bus should be arriving soon based on what as the bellman had stated at our airline check-in.

7:00am rolls around and a non-uniformed (shirt and slacks) Disney manager comes out and asks if anyone waiting was taking an international flight. The one family who were traveling internationally were put into a taxi to the Airport. No other information was provided to anyone else in the bus pick-up area. We start to get worried and my DH walks over to talk to this Disney manager who had walked back to the hotel enterance. He told DH our bus would be there shortly, he'd called the company. We relayed this information to some of the others waiting with us.

We waited some more and still no bus. DH talks to the Disney guy again and this time the converstation is it's not Disney's fault it's the contracted company and the manager kinda shrugs his shoulders. Information is still only provided to those who walk back to the hotel enterance and ask. Finally the 7.15am bus arrives at 7.35am and they manange to load everyone on to the one bus. The bus driver stated that there were not enough Magical Express buses available to be dispatched this morning and there never was 6.45am bus dispatched. He also stated that the three hours departure from the hotel to is account for problems.

So I have two main problems with what happened this morning:

1. I book my vacation with Disney and if they choose to contract out a service they advertise as a benefit they should not point fingers at each other when it goes wrong. I have written enough contracts to know you can add in avenues to deal with contigencies and problems. I could understand if there was a sudden mechanical failure or traffic problem this morning but this was an issue that could have been predicted or was certainly known about prior to 6:00am this morning. If this was in fact a problem with not enough Magical Expess busses being available this morning - who's fault is that Mears or Disney?

2. I fulfilled my part of the contract I had with Disney and Magical Express this morning by being at the bus pick-up 15 minutes before my scheduled departure time. This was not an accident, bus broke down on the way or traffic back up. My concern is why is there no consistent communication avenue/tool between Mears, who provide the Magical Express transportation, and someone at the hotel who can relay reliable accurate information to those waiting? I can appreciate that problems can and will occur but why is there not someone who could come out and tell us exactly what was going on and what was being done to get us to the airport and when. Instead if fingers being pointed and everyone disowning the problem? That could be written into any contract.

Anyhoo just a small bump in what was a great vacation. We were just glad that security wasn't backed up at the Airport this morning

When I was a disney intern our buses were run by Mears & they were ALWAYS late I hate the company! I wouldnt blame disney personally....

 

[reiella]

Oh goodness! I didn't mean it as a shameful thing at all! More so that Disney should step up and take responsibility / apologize as guests generally pay more to stay on property than elsewhere. Although probably in their minds DME is seen as a free perk versus a money maker...

DME is a perk for Disney. It is a big part of keeping guests from renting a car when they land at MCO. If they don't rent a car, they're not as likely to leave Disney's property on their vacation.

It is definitely in Disney's benefit to have it working well.

With the OP, I keep going back to the international travelers that were in the same group as the OP whom Disney appeared to have arranged for cab fare. So I think/believe they have a plan in place for failure, it's just they prefer [obviously] to send folks on a later bus. International Travelers with the different time-frame needs, shrinks the avenue that they can wait for another bus.

Although, leave complaints with Disney, definitely. It's not called Mears Magic Express, it's Disney Magic Express. You can only arrange for it through Disney, and if their setup isn't providing the security you desire, they should know.

 

[ilovemk76]

We had a similar problem once. It was not a # of bus problem but no driver for the bus. In our case our bus did not make it. The next bus to show up was redirected to us and off we went. We were told the company was working to get more drivers to get back on schedule.

Another time we were traveling with friend. We asked if we could join our friends on the earlier bus and the driver said yes. He had two open seats on the bus and we were a party of two. I have seen others get on the bus early if there were seats.

I have ridden many DME buses to the airport that had empty seats.

 

[MHSweb79]

We only had one bad experience with ME, out of many many trouble-free ones.

About 20 folks line up at POFQ for our assigned bus. The bus shows up. the driver gets out, looks at the crowd and shakes his head sadly. He only has room for 8 people (we were his last stop). There is a woman in a wheelchair ready to board. He then says whoops - the wheelchair takes up 4 seats. It was a mess!

As a party of 2, my DH and I managed to snag the last seats. I don't know what happened to the rest of the people.

It was a little upsetting because I kept saying that they should know EXACTLY how many people are scheduled to be on every bus, so why were 20 people assigned for 8 seats?

But THEN on our next trip, I had signed us up for ME and ended up getting a phenomenal deal on a rental car. I forgot to cancel ME, but figured that if we never checked in, it would take care of itself. Wrong! The night before checkout, we get our ME instructions. I did tell them we didn't need the bus after all, but I'm sure the schedule is already set at that point. Then I understood why ME doesn't have an exact head count- it's from people like me who rent a car & don't cancel, or book ME "just in case" other transportation falls through.

 

[vacationclub]

OP, I did not read this entire thread, but tried to scan through it to find out the missing part of the story. Did you miss your flight? Did you have to run through the airport?

Did something bad happen....other than some drama? You made it to the airport on time, yes? Or not?

Yes, they had issues that day, but they have contingencies in place for that....it's called extra time. It worked.

 

[Maleficent53]

We have used ME exclusively for airport transportation since the service began. We used to get a car and it would sit parked in the lot until time to go home. We ME service! Sure, I am not crazy about getting to the bus stop 3hours early when we go home, but I also appreciate not having to worry about driving in traffic in rush hour or finding a gas station to top off the tank on the rental car. I have gotten on earlier buses than I was scheduled for - we usually stay at AStars and have never been on a bus that was more than half full!

I would be very if they ever stopped this service.....

 

[goofy4tink]

Actually we did have a problem getting on our bus a few years ago. I dont remember the exact situation, but somehow we missed our bus. The next bus could not take us (we were a party of only 2). So we had to take the bus after that. Despite leaving a hour after our scheduled departure time, we still had time to pin trade at the Disney Store in the airport before our flight.

Last month we had the opposite problem of OP. We went to the park in the AM and got back to our resort 20 minutes before our scheduled bus departure. As we were walking up the path to the hotel a ME bus drove away. We just assumed it was the bus before ours. Nope, that was our bus leaving 15 before schedule.

However...you did miss your particular bus.....and the next bus had guests that had to be accommodated, which may not have been possible if you got on. And then you were able to get on the next bus. But...here's the issue...there isn't always a NEXT bus. The buses do not automatically stop at resorts...they stop only if there are guests that need to be picked up..ones that have already booked their ride. So...if there are no guests needing DME for 2 hrs., then there will be no DME buses stopping. And you would have missed your flight.

You should have gotten on that earlier bus. We always get on the first bus that shows up. If you wait and things are backing up, you're asking for trouble..

Technically you aren't allowed to take an early bus unless you reserved it. If they start allowing people to get on any old bus they choose, there won't be room for those who were assigned to a particular bus.

I don't think that this is true. Disney outsources several functions and services and in any issue that we have had, we are referred to the vendor by Disney.

Valet Parking comes to mind, Disney outsourced to Mears and if you have a issue or claim for damage, it's between you and Mears, not Disney. Removing Disney from the potential liability of damaging someone car was a intentional business move.

Bill

Sorry, will disagree with you on this one. Disney touts this, DME, as a wonderful perk of staying onsite. It is in all their advertising, it's all over the place. Mickey is even in the logo. It's called 'Disneys Magical Express'...I don't care if Mears or Siberian Yak Co operates it....Disney provides the service, they get the complaints. It isn't even close to Valet services. Frankly, Disney doesn't care if, or where, you valet park your car. They do care if you take DME though. They like you being 'stranded' at the resort. If you have a rental car, you are now able to head offsite and spend your vacation dollars. Disney pays a per head fee for this service. It is costing them money, which they in turn charge back to us in the form of room costs. So yeah....it's Disney's problem if, and when, something goes wrong.

I love DME...I have used it a lot. And yes, there have been one or two times that I was less than thrilled with the service. And both times I did tell someone, at the resort, about my situation.
But, I have to tell you...if I got to the bus stop 20 mins prior to my designated bus pick up time, and I saw a bus just pulling away, and I was told that that was my bus??? Oh, man...you would be able to hear me miles away. They reserved a time and a spot on the bus for me...they had best keep to that schedule. I tell everyone to get to the bus stop 20 mins prior to the time you are given simply because I know that the time given is the time the bus is scheduled to leave. So, to get there 20 mins early and be told the bus was early in leaving??? Ah,no. Not going to fly with me.