Magical Express for cheapos!?!?!?

[aggie_girl]

OK!......I am going to Disney with my husband, kids, and my mom. We were planning on getting there on Sunday, May 30th , BUT we ran across cheap plane tickets from AirTran and decided to up our trip one day due to the great $ on airline tickets. I called to add an extra night to our package but there were no more value resorts available on that night. So they booked us for Port Orleans for $200 that night, but I only booked one room. Our plane doesn't even get it until after midnight. We will only be there for a few hours that night, so I figured pallets for the kids and we would hit it hard and heavy in the morning. BUT......I called to get our transfer and they said that even though we were technically getting there the day of package date she was not sure if they would let my mom and 1 of my kids ride to the hotel since they were not on the reservation. She said that they may but I will have to talk to the manager when I get there.

You guys that have used the Magical Express, do you think they will let that slide or are they stickler for the rules?

 

[LidoDeck]

OK!......I am going to Disney with my husband, kids, and my mom. We were planning on getting there on Sunday, May 30th , BUT we ran across cheap plane tickets from AirTran and decided to up our trip one day due to the great $ on airline tickets. I called to add an extra night to our package but there were no more value resorts available on that night. So they booked us for Port Orleans for $200 that night, but I only booked one room. Our plane doesn't even get it until after midnight. We will only be there for a few hours that night, so I figured pallets for the kids and we would hit it hard and heavy in the morning. BUT......I called to get our transfer and they said that even though we were technically getting there the day of package date she was not sure if they would let my mom and 1 of my kids ride to the hotel since they were not on the reservation. She said that they may but I will have to talk to the manager when I get there.

You guys that have used the Magical Express, do you think they will let that slide or are they stickler for the rules?

I don't believe you'd get the extra guests on ME and you'd have issues if they knew you had more people in the room. I'd book a hotel near the airport with free shuttle for that one night. Then take the shuttle to the airport and transfer to Disney. Since you have to change hotels anyway, why not spend those few hours off property?

 

[seashoreCM]

The act of using Magical Express ferrets out many instances of too many people snuck into a resort room.

For a really late arrival into Orlando and the dilemma of booking a single night before your main resort check in the next day, I second the idea of staying that first night near the airport. Easier to get over your jet lag using that method too.

 

[aggie_girl]

The act of using Magical Express ferrets out many instances of too many people snuck into a resort room.

For a really late arrival into Orlando and the dilemma of booking a single night before your main resort check in the next day, I second the idea of staying that first night near the airport. Easier to get over your jet lag using that method too.

REALLY wished I would have asked you guys earlier. They now say it is too late to cancel our Port Orleans room since we are due to arrive Sat. night. I guess now the only option I have is getting my mom and child to take a taxi to the Port Orleans and meet us there.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Cheaper - excuse me - slightly more cost-effective method of getting two non-Magical Express eligible Guests to Port Orleans: At airport, on way to Welcome Center, stop at Mears counter. Purchase two one-way tickets to Port Orleans, one for mom, one for one child. Cost is about $19 per adult, not sure of child rate.

It's even possible they'll be put on the Magical Express bus with you, or they may be placed on a Mears shuttle.

To answer your other question: yes, Walt Disney World is a 'stickler' when it comes to allowing Guests on the Magical Express buses. Only Guests with resort reservations are allowed to reserve DME transport, and advance bus reservations are required due to WDW's contract with the airport.

 

[seashoreCM]

Once there, two of you don't have a place to stay. Would it help if two of you got a room near the airport and then took Magical Express the next morning to go with one of your resort rooms whose check in starts that next day?

Walt Disney World is also a stickler when it comes to allowing extra or unregistered guests in rooms.

OT for those eavesdropping and renting cars. Florida (and also WDW) do not permit sleeping in a car or recreational vehicle, or camping, other than at an approved campground or RV park.

 

[alwaysdisney]

You may want to think about staying at the Hyatt, right inside the Orlando Airport. On our trip, we don't land into Orlando until 11:00pm, so we booked a room at the Hyatt right inside the airport and then we would start off early the next morning on Disney's Magical Express. If you belong to AAA they offer great discounts as well.

 

[simzac]

Which reservation are your mom and 1 child not on? The package at the resort or ME? If it's the resort package, how do you expect to get them into the room and the parks? If it's ME, you can still add them at this point I believe.

 

[bookwormde]

How any in your party? if it is only 5 (or 6 with one under the age of 3) then there are rooms that allow that many at POR/POFQ.

2 of your party could get dropped of at the value and cab or bus if the parks are still open to POR.

If you are beyond the occupancy limit of the room that is the real issues unless someone want to say up an "explore" the resorts all night.

bookwormde

 

[WildGrits]

If your kid is 18 or under they are free in the room unless you have already hit the max amount of 5 in a POR room. If that is your case, just call and add them to the reservation, then you are only one down.

I am no ME professional by any means. I only used them once in 2007. But unless they changed things, the line to sign in for ME and the line you wait in for the bus are too separate entities. With the amount of folks in each line, it would be hard for a Cast Memeber to actually keep tabs on who is in what group. When I signed my family in, I was the only one waiting in that line (for my family) so there is no way they could have know who was in my party of 12.

Of course it was about noon when I used it, but they don't take you like luggage.

 

[LidoDeck]

REALLY wished I would have asked you guys earlier. They now say it is too late to cancel our Port Orleans room since we are due to arrive Sat. night. I guess now the only option I have is getting my mom and child to take a taxi to the Port Orleans and meet us there.

I would call them again and ask for special consideration to cancel your arrival night. But before you do that, make sure you can get an airport-area hotel for the night as it is a holiday weekend.

 

[lorac4disney]

I would call again to see if they couldn't make an exception to the cancellation fee at POR since you are still going to keep your original reservation. Either way, I would contact the Hyatt to see about getting a room there.

I can't imagine splitting the group. If it were me, I'd take the loss if WDW will not make an exception and book a room at the Hyatt for the night (if one is available). This way you can all catch ME in the morning and head to your original resort.

 

[aubriee]

I am no ME professional by any means. I only used them once in 2007. But unless they changed things, the line to sign in for ME and the line you wait in for the bus are too separate entities. With the amount of folks in each line, it would be hard for a Cast Memeber to actually keep tabs on who is in what group. When I signed my family in, I was the only one waiting in that line (for my family) so there is no way they could have know who was in my party of 12.

Of course it was about noon when I used it, but they don't take you like luggage.

That will no longer work. Now everyone stands in one line (parties must be together). As long as you have your DME pkt, you no longer go to the DME desk at all. There will simply be one long line that will turn into two lines as you get to the podium. Then there will be a CM with a little hand held scanner at both podiums. They will scan your voucher and ask how many bags you checked. They then enter the number of bags you checked and have you walk past them to get into the lines for the different resorts. At that time they check how many people are in your party and that many people go past the CM. Once you get to the DME bus there will be two Mears people. One puts any baggage under the bus and the other stands at the bus door and scans each of your vouchers. If you don't have the right number vouchers for the number of people getting on then someone is not getting on.

 

[WildGrits]

That will no longer work. Now everyone stands in one line (parties must be together). As long as you have your DME pkt, you no longer go to the DME desk at all. There will simply be one long line that will turn into two lines as you get to the podium. Then there will be a CM with a little hand held scanner at both podiums. They will scan your voucher and ask how many bags you checked. They then enter the number of bags you checked and have you walk past them to get into the lines for the different resorts. At that time they check how many people are in your party and that many people go past the CM. Once you get to the DME bus there will be two Mears people. One puts any baggage under the bus and the other stands at the bus door and scans each of your vouchers. If you don't have the right number vouchers for the number of people getting on then someone is not getting on.

That's good to know.

The old way was a lot of queueing up.

I would agree with other posters here and ask to remove the one night. It seems a waste to pay so much for a room you really are not getting much out of.