Magical Express and hotel departure

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Do you HAVE to leave 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight? Do they make multiple stops before heading to the airport? 3 hours just seems like an awfully long time especially if you have your boarding passes and checked your bags. I never leave for LAX that early and I still have to check in and check bags when I get there.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Yes. MCO is a very busy airport and the security lines can get very long, especially filled with families, some who are not frequent travelers. There are also two terminals the Disney buses have to visit.

There are also multiple hotel stops scheduled and they have to allow for traffic.

All of this adds up to a lengthy process.

I normally have around 30 spare minutes at MCO after the bus drops us off.

It becomes a choice of free and 3 hours prior to flight or a cab and 2 hours prior to flight (recommended by the airport as minimal arrival time.)

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Yes. MCO is a very busy airport and the security lines can get very long, especially filled with families, some who are not frequent travelers. There are also two terminals the Disney buses have to visit.

There are also multiple hotel stops scheduled and they have to allow for traffic.

All of this adds up to a lengthy process.

I normally have around 30 spare minutes at MCO after the bus drops us off.

It becomes a choice of free and 3 hours prior to flight or a cab and 2 hours prior to flight (recommended by the airport as minimal arrival time.)

Thanks for the info. When we fly out of LAX (which is an equally busy airport if not more) we leave about 2 1/2 hours beforehand since its a further airport for us but that still leaves us with about 45 minutes to spare while waking to board.

But if that's the free/recommended way to do it we'll stick with it.

 

[TDC Nala]

You can call DME and arrange to leave earlier if you like, but you cannot arrange to leave later.

If you miss your assigned time, then DME waives any responsibility to get you to the airport in time for your flight. You can try and ask if you will be put on a later bus, but there's no guarantee they can get you one, and if they can, no guarantees that you'll get there for your flight.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Yes if you plan to make it to your flight in time. The DME bus makes several stops at various resorts before heading to the airport. Then the wait for security can be 30 minutes. So you need the 3 hrs.

 

[sam_gordon]

DME will start pickups at 3:15 before flight.
By the time they stop at 2-3 hotels, they're leaving Disney property ~2:45 before flight.
It's at least 30 minutes to MCO, probably a little longer on the bus. So you're getting to MCO just over 2 hours before the flight.
Even with no bags to check, allow 30-45 minutes to get off the bus, through the lobby, and through security. That gets you to the gate ~1:15 before your flight.
Most flights will start boarding ~30 minutes before, so you'll have 45 minutes to "kill".

That 45 minutes is perfect in case of: some kind of delay leaving a resort, traffic slow down, or security slowdown.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Thanks for the information everyone. I'll take your word for it and assume that there could be delays/traffic. I appreciate it

 

[shocker]

My experience is...it is FAR too early. But that's the ME way. I'm not sure anyone has mentioned but you really need to plan for 3.25-3.5 hours ahead for a bus pickup because sometimes your pick up time is slightly more than 3 hours in advance AND the letter you get will ask you to be at the bus stop 15 min. BEFORE pickup time. So, we like to fill up our mugs before heading out. We plan to change clothes at the airport from our carry-ons and we always plan to eat at the airport to fill the time. It is a LONG wait for the flight.

 

[maxiesmom]

My experience is...it is FAR too early. But that's the ME way. I'm not sure anyone has mentioned but you really need to plan for 3.25-3.5 hours ahead for a bus pickup because sometimes your pick up time is slightly more than 3 hours in advance AND the letter you get will ask you to be at the bus stop 15 min. BEFORE pickup time. So, we like to fill up our mugs before heading out. We plan to change clothes at the airport from our carry-ons and we always plan to eat at the airport to fill the time. It is a LONG wait for the flight.

You must be very lucky because I have never had a long wait at the airport. Usually I'm a little panicked trying to clear security.

My trip this past December we spent over an hour driving to other resorts and picking people up before even leaving for the airport! By the time we cleared security and made it to our gate we had less than a 20 minute wait.

That is the bad thing about DME back to the airport: You don't know which scenario you will have--a long wait, or hardly any time at all.

 

[sam_gordon]

My experience is...it is FAR too early. But that's the ME way. I'm not sure anyone has mentioned but you really need to plan for 3.25-3.5 hours ahead for a bus pickup because sometimes your pick up time is slightly more than 3 hours in advance AND the letter you get will ask you to be at the bus stop 15 min. BEFORE pickup time. So, we like to fill up our mugs before heading out. We plan to change clothes at the airport from our carry-ons and we always plan to eat at the airport to fill the time. It is a LONG wait for the flight.

IMO, it's better to be sitting at the airport for an hour than to be walking up to the gate 1 minute after they've closed the doors.

I'm curious how long your wait was.

And yes, you will be assigned a pickup time 3 hours before your flight +/- 15 minutes. And yes, you are expected to be at the bus stop, ready to board 15 minutes before your assigned pickup time. You will be notified what your pickup time is the day before your departure.

 

[Allison]

Yes if you plan to make it to your flight in time. The DME bus makes several stops at various resorts before heading to the airport. Then the wait for security can be 30 minutes. So you need the 3 hrs.

Definitely. I have never had to wait very long at the gate at MCO due to the time it takes to get through security.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I remember grousing about the 3 hours on our first trip, but when we got to MCO, I saw why. The security lines are the longest and slowest I have encountered anywhere. You have to consider that you have mostly families with children traveling together, many (most?) of which are not frequent travelers. LAX is a busy airport, but a good number of people who travel to/from/through there are frequent business travelers who know how to get through security in an efficient manner.

I think the longest we've had to wait once we got through security is around 45 minutes, and that was with a super early flight.

 

[herbert1994]

I have a magical express question as well...
I booked DME separately from my Magic Your Way Package, I didn't include the flight in my package so I had to call later. I gave them my info and my flight info, she said I'd get a packet in the mail. Should I have gotten an email or should it show up on MDE? It's only been 5 days since I booked but I would expect an automatic email when I booked it that day. Anyone?

 

[lovesdumbo]

You must be very lucky because I have never had a long wait at the airport. Usually I'm a little panicked trying to clear security.

My trip this past December we spent over an hour driving to other resorts and picking people up before even leaving for the airport! By the time we cleared security and made it to our gate we had less than a 20 minute wait.

That is the bad thing about DME back to the airport: You don't know which scenario you will have--a long wait, or hardly any time at all.

This has been my experience too! I no longer use ME. I had been using a town car service for a grocery stop and personalized service but the person I was using close his business so now I rent a car. I loved having the freedom of a rental car my last two trips and was surprised just how easy it was to get around. And how close everything is-some of the bus rides seem so much longer.

I have a magical express question as well...
I booked DME separately from my Magic Your Way Package, I didn't include the flight in my package so I had to call later. I gave them my info and my flight info, she said I'd get a packet in the mail. Should I have gotten an email or should it show up on MDE? It's only been 5 days since I booked but I would expect an automatic email when I booked it that day. Anyone?

You won't get an email. Don't know about MDE because I haven't looked. I signed up for ME for my next trip, my first solo trip, because I wasn't sure if I would rent a car. I arrive 4/30 and just got my ME packet yesterday. The packet generally arrives about 45 days out.

 

[herbert1994]

That's surprising hearing you get your packet that close to the trip, I was told when I reserved ME that I would get the packet in 7-10 business days for my August 18th trip. Hmmmm

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Yes the packets come any time after you have booked the DME. Some folks have gotten months in advance other not until a week before. I came home in Feb and found an envelope from UPS where Disney had over nighted a 2nd set to me while I was already at WDW.

 

[beccasmom]

The time actually goes by pretty quickly, which always surprises me. The security lines at MCO are often very long, although organized and efficient. We normally stay at OKW and there are always folks on the bus when we board and then the bus generally stops at SSR and the stops do eat up some time. Depending on time of day, traffic is another variable to factor in.

 

[georgina]

I was wondering about that. I have a 7:40 PM flight home on a Friday night. Traffic could definitely be a factor, and although I suspect not many vacationing families would be leaving then, the security lines could have regular business types.

 

[Kandi76]

I have a magical express question as well... I booked DME separately from my Magic Your Way Package, I didn't include the flight in my package so I had to call later. I gave them my info and my flight info, she said I'd get a packet in the mail. Should I have gotten an email or should it show up on MDE? It's only been 5 days since I booked but I would expect an automatic email when I booked it that day. Anyone?

I had done the same as you, I booked my flight after paying for my Magic Your Way Package. I actually booked with them before I had my flight info and was told to call once I got it and I did. I never got an email but if you go to your account on the Disney website and review your reservation it should say you have a ME reservation.

 

[rbrbnd]

I never leave for LAX that early and I still have to check in and check bags when I get there.

I fly out of LAX as well and my experience is that LAX security actually takes about half the time of Orlando.