Magical Express from airport or use car service?

[KellyNY]

We are arriving late afternoon end of September and I was wondering if the Magical Express takes a long time to get us and get to the resort?

I know some transportation companies will even stop at a grocery store is it worth it?

Thanks

you do not have to wait for your bags and it is as fast as taxi. The wait time may be different, but we never waited more then 15 min to get on the bus.

However if you want to stop at grocery store then take taxi, but do not forget DME is free service and money you will spent on taxi, you can spend on groceries delivered to your resort.

 

[dotcomguy]

My shortest trip, from deplaning to resort checkin, was 45 mins. That was with a towncar service and only carryon luggage. The longest was 85 mins, using DME and being the last of three stops with huge amounts of luggage to be disbursed at the first two stops.
My average time, 5 trips at least with DME, is about 70 mins.
Here is a breakdown, as best as I can remember, of the different times I have had...
1. DME....50-85 mins, most around 65 mins
2. Towncar...no checked luggage, only carryon, 45 mins
3. Towncar...with checked bags, 55-70 mins, depending on time at baggage claim.
4. Mears shuttle...last Sept, so not the 'old' Mears shuttle...75 mins.

Just so that everyone is on the same page.....being able to check your luggage at your resort, for your return trip, and get your boarding passes, has nothing to do with DME. It is RAC...remote airline checkin...and is available to anyone who is flying home on an airline that participates in the RAC program at WDW. You could take the DME bus back to MCO, or you could go back in a towncar, or in a rental car...you can still use RAC if you are on the right airline.

Any experience with ME and arriving at 11:00 PM? I would imagine they have fewer buses and wait a little bit longer at that time of night. We love ME and think it's great but we're worried that it will take a long time that late.

 

[cpdwiz]

We are arriving late afternoon end of September and I was wondering if the Magical Express takes a long time to get us and get to the resort?

I know some transportation companies will even stop at a grocery store is it worth it?

Thanks

That we found was a Disboards Sponsor...100x better than Magical Express...Comfortable, quiet, easy and right to YOUR front door....Worth the $100 it cost...Then we use ME for the ride back....

 

[Pirates life for me]

Thank you all once again for informing me and helping me with our first family trip

 

[nic100308]

We've never used ME before, Dec will be out first time. We land early, 9:20am but we won't take off till 7:30pm. What time do you think we will have to leave the resort with ME. We booked a late flight so we could have an almost full day in the parks.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation board.

 

[goofy4tink]

Any experience with ME and arriving at 11:00 PM? I would imagine they have fewer buses and wait a little bit longer at that time of night. We love ME and think it's great but we're worried that it will take a long time that late.

I would imagine that there would be fewer buses, but also fewer guests waiting to board. And there will probably be one or two more resorts added to the route, but I can't imagine it taking more than 90 mins at the most.

We've never used ME before, Dec will be out first time. We land early, 9:20am but we won't take off till 7:30pm. What time do you think we will have to leave the resort with ME. We booked a late flight so we could have an almost full day in the parks.

You will most likely be given a pickup time of around 4:30..give or take 15 mins either way. Be back at your resort an hour before you are due at the DME bus stop. The time you are given is the time the bus leaves..NOT when you should get there. Be sure you have all your carryon bags with you, as well as your entire party....all ready to go about 15 mins before departure time, at the bus stop.

 

[CleveRocks]

Any experience with ME and arriving at 11:00 PM? I would imagine they have fewer buses and wait a little bit longer at that time of night. We love ME and think it's great but we're worried that it will take a long time that late.

We've landed at 10 p.m. There were only about 12 of us on the bus. It was my shortest time from airplane exit to resort drop-off ... 56 minutes.

By policy/procedure, a DME bus will not wait to fill up. Once the first guest boards, the bus is to leave no later than 20-30 minutes later. If you are the "last" guest to board the bus, then you will have waited only a minute or two.