Magical Express - Is it worth it??????

[ammag]

I've never allowed my kids to ride in a car without their car seat and booster..I feel kind of nervous doing this on the magic express. Am I the only one?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I have thought about having some basic groceries (drinks and maybe some breakfast stuff) delivered to me at POR. My question - will they put the stuff in the room for you before you arrive or do you have to have it delivered to the front desk and take it to the room yourself?

If it's not transported by Magical Express, you need to be in your room to accept delivery. Nothing can be put in your room before you check in; you'll need to call Bell Services.

I've never allowed my kids to ride in a car without their car seat and booster..I feel kind of nervous doing this on the magic express. Am I the only one?

Not the only one, but (a) buses are designed differently from cars; (b) there's no way to fasten carseats or booster seats; and (c) they can't be used in the park/resort buses, either.

 

[scottmel]

We always rent a car. Last summer we rented a car for part of the stay and took ME to the airport for the return flight. Not a fan. Waited a long time at BC/YC parking lot for it to show up. it was very late, we were hurred on board and some people were called cabs b/c they wouldn't make their flight. We called it the MAGICAL DEPRESS and didn't care for it. I like the ease of renting a car

 

[suemom2kay]

I have thought about having some basic groceries (drinks and maybe some breakfast stuff) delivered to me at POR. My question - will they put the stuff in the room for you before you arrive or do you have to have it delivered to the front desk and take it to the room yourself?

Your groceries will be kept in cold storage until your arrival. When you get in your room call Bell Services and they will bring your groceries to your room. We always use Garden Grocer and Bell Services always delivers our groceries after we are all checked in and ready for them.

 

[goofy4tink]

I and my 4 kids will be arriving in Disney in a few weeks on Saturday night (really Sunday morning) at about 12:30 a.m., staying at POR. We used ME last time for the same resort and it took us some time to get there as I think we were the last stop of about 4, but at least they took our bags.

This time, because we are arriving so late I see that we will have to get our own bags from baggage claim. Then I was thinking that we'll be the only ones on the bus, but I read somewhere that they actually take you to more resorts as they still wait to have a full bus before leaving the airport. Then I was wondering, how can you get your luggage so that you can go to sleep? Because it's so late and you've "bussed" it yourself to the bus anyway, do you take it with you off the bus?

I have actually reserved a car after thinking about all this, but of course then I get "buyer's remorse" that I won't actually use the car for anything but going back and forth to the airport. Thanks for any experience or opinion you can provide!

Thanks. I was trying to save money and hit the ground running on Sunday morning, but I'm thinking about those tired kids too. I am probably going to stick with my rental car.

30 mins either way isn't going to make a big difference to the tired kids. I would just get the bags, go to the bus and head to WDW.

I have thought about having some basic groceries (drinks and maybe some breakfast stuff) delivered to me at POR. My question - will they put the stuff in the room for you before you arrive or do you have to have it delivered to the front desk and take it to the room yourself?

If you order groceries (which I do all the time), they will go to the resort and be held at Bell Services/Luggage Assistence until you get there. Then you take it to your room. They will be able to keep it cold for you.

I've never allowed my kids to ride in a car without their car seat and booster..I feel kind of nervous doing this on the magic express. Am I the only one?

Not an issue. Buses do not offer car seat attachments. When you get to WDW, the buses won't handle car seats either. It just isn't an issue.

 

[Bethpremier]

I didnt read through the entire thread but Im sure someone else already said this.

ME is part of the entire Disney experience. We treat it as one of the great "rides" at Disney. My husband and I know we are on vacation when we get on that bus. Ive had to fly into MCO for business trips and cant tell you how sad I am to NOT get on that bus. It means Im going "home".

An example: My husband and I flew in for our last Disney trip, stood in the line and ended up on a Mears coach to Disney. I know it was operated by them but it still put a damper on the start of our vacation because it wasnt the actual ME wrapped bus.

We have always cashed in on this experience. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

 

[jump00]

Thanks for your comments ! Very helpful.
Jump00

 

[ammag]

Oh. Understand we can't bring the car seats, the we will have to lug them for the return trip in nyc, I just feel nervous about it! Generally yur kids should always have the right harnesses etc. regardless of vehicle, RVs, etc. but I am sure it's deemed safe by disneys insurance company so I will let to of my anxiety. I also remember people drive less insane then they do in nyc....

 

[canopynut66]

Hello everyone!!

We are thinking of using the Magical Express bus to get from the airport to our resort (either AKL or Beach club). How long does it typically take to these resorts? (August) We usually use Tiffany Town cars and love their service. So my question is does it take more than 45 minutes to get to either of these resorts? Is it worth it?

Thanks,
Jump00

We use it every time takes less time seems to us than when we used Mears shuttle and is more relaxing. Price is oncluded in your room reservations for ME

 

[OThopeful35]

I didnt read through the entire thread but Im sure someone else already said this.

ME is part of the entire Disney experience. We treat it as one of the great "rides" at Disney. My husband and I know we are on vacation when we get on that bus. Ive had to fly into MCO for business trips and cant tell you how sad I am to NOT get on that bus. It means Im going "home".

An example: My husband and I flew in for our last Disney trip, stood in the line and ended up on a Mears coach to Disney. I know it was operated by them but it still put a damper on the start of our vacation because it wasnt the actual ME wrapped bus.

We have always cashed in on this experience. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

I totally agree with this!! It is part of the experience for us as well. I love the anticipation on my DS face when we are walking toward the bus. He would not be a happy camper if I rented a car at the airport

 

[msjprincess]

I would recommend not using them as I have used them twice and both times have been woken up at 3/4 am for my luggage to be delivered.This is usually after arriving at 2/3 pm..We use fl magical tours to get from mco to the GF.Its great value,friendly service and I don't have to worry about my luggage taking a magical trip of its own

Are you saying that both times you used ME it took them over 12 hours to get the bags to your room? That's very odd.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

If luggage is a problem why not just take the luggage back to the bus yourself. We do then we get one of those golf carts at reception and bell hop to take us and the luggage back to room when we get there. Much quicker!

 

[goofy4tink]

I would recommend not using them as I have used them twice and both times have been woken up at 3/4 am for my luggage to be delivered.This is usually after arriving at 2/3 pm..We use fl magical tours to get from mco to the GF.Its great value,friendly service and I don't have to worry about my luggage taking a magical trip of its own

Did you do anything when you realized you had no bags delivered? If you arrive at the resort between 2 and 3pm, your bags should be in your room by 5 or 6. I can only imagine that one would start looking for the bags by that time.
A wait like you seem to have experienced would be very unusual once, but twice? Unheard of.
If I checked in mid-afternoon, and when I got back to my room later in the evening and my bags weren't there? I would be at Bell Services, chatting with them. Then, I would instruct them not to disturb me that night. They could deliver the bags in the morning. I would then hang out the 'privacy' please sign on my door. And usually, phone calls late at night, from Disney, are on silent...they don't actually ring. You wake up to a message in the morning.
It would seem that you had some very bad luck, twice!!

 

[All Things Simba]

I don't like it. I am too impatient. We waited in line for like 30 mins for a bus then had to wait for the bus to fill up and then we were the last stop. It took almost 2 hours. On the way home you have to be ready for the bus 3 hours in advance

Last time we put the luggage tags on our bags( was told by DME this was fine ) and took a towncar. From gate to resort it was 30 mins. We then get picked up 1 hour 45 min before our flight on the way home.

I love town car services

I agree with this. DH is very impatient. And I don't like stopping at a ton of resorts before we get to ours. Time on any vacation is very precious to us. We've used Tiffany Town car many times and it's the one splurge my DH does for us. I am using the ME this coming trip on Saturday (4/20) with my sister-in-law, but only because we don't want to spend the extra money. However, when we come down this October for 2 nights before our Disney cruise, DH and I will use Tiffany Towncar again. They have a $5 off coupon for a roundtrip ride on their website and the drivers have all been great. We love getting to our resort as soon as possible and the town cars drive faster than the buses too!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I agree with this. DH is very impatient. And I don't like stopping at a ton of resorts before we get to ours. Time on any vacation is very precious to us. We've used Tiffany Town car many times and it's the one splurge my DH does for us. I am using the ME this coming trip on Saturday (4/20) with my sister-in-law, but only because we don't want to spend the extra money. However, when we come down this October for 2 nights before our Disney cruise, DH and I will use Tiffany Towncar again. They have a $5 off coupon for a roundtrip ride on their website and the drivers have all been great. We love getting to our resort as soon as possible and the town cars drive faster than the buses too!

How much does it cost to go to your resort with Tiffany if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Missytara]

How much does it cost to go to your resort with Tiffany if you don't mind me asking?

The prices for various modes of transportation are on the transportation board; there is a sticky at the top of the board.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

The prices for various modes of transportation are on the transportation board; there is a sticky at the top of the board.

Thanks!

 

[gwynne]

How much does it cost to go to your resort with Tiffany if you don't mind me asking?

We like Tiffany Towncar. Currently it's 115.00 round trip for a towncar. I am always amazed at how quickly we depart MCO and arrive at our resort. (If you need a bigger vehicle, they have options for that at different prices.)

 

[All Things Simba]

How much does it cost to go to your resort with Tiffany if you don't mind me asking?

About $110 round trip to any of the WDW resorts with the $5 off coupon.
We've used it to Port Orleans French Quarter and will use it this year to the new Art of Animation resort. This is for their town car and will take 4 pieces of luggage.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We like Tiffany Towncar. Currently it's 115.00 round trip for a towncar. I am always amazed at how quickly we depart MCO and arrive at our resort. (If you need a bigger vehicle, they have options for that at different prices.)

Thanks. I just looked at their website. I like the 30 minute grocery stop option