Magical Express Issue

[Violet Crayon]

I'm not sure if we did something wrong, if I should have been more informed, or if there is an issue I should bring to their attention.

On our departure day (the 6th of January) we had our assignment for the 4:15pm pick-up given to us the night before. We saw no problems with this and assumed (might be the problem) we would arrive at the airport a little before 5pm and have a tiny bit over 2hours before our 7:00pm flight. Perfect. Well, we were picked up by the 4:15pm bus at ASMo and proceeded to go back to ASMu. No sweat, but then we went back to Sports, and it was 4:40pm before we left the All-Star area. We were a little stressed but felt that we would still have time to check our baggage, get our boarding passes, get through security, and to our gate (Midwest Airlines). But our driver pulled into Coronado Springs and loaded more people, left, but turned back around because someone was late and picked that person up, and then finally pulled out at 5:10pm!!! We had been on the bus for nearly an hour and not left property, and now we were cutting into the 2hour time you are supposed to give when going to the airport. I was nearly in tears while my boyfriend started bringing up the "if" questions about missing our flight. We got near the airport a little before six and obviously had to stop at Terminal Side A before B (our side). It was 10minutes to six when we got off the bus. A really nice family let us run off ahead of them and wished us luck. We tried to ask our driver if we could grab our bags but he ignored us and kept asking each person to point out their bag while he hooked it for them. We tried to get his attention and finally climbed in the baggage area and dragged out our own and took off.

The luck came in when nobody seemed to be in line for Midwest and we checked our bags immediately and then ran to the security, which also ran smoothly, and we made it all in 15minutes!!! and had a half hour until our plane started boarding.

But this should not have happened, I would think?

Next time we plan to request, or simply jump on, a much earlier bus.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Please REQUEST an earlier time, don't just jump on an earlier bus. Not, of course, that you will ever have the same experience again.

I keep the DME paperwork, with the phone number, with me. The toll-free number works even at Disney, and you could quietly call and explain the situation. That really IS pushing things - your pickup time is generally arranged to get you to the airport about two hours before your flight. I can understand your panic!

 

[goofy4tink]

Wow, that was unusual!!! Must have been a bit nerve wracking for you. I would contact them and let them know of this experience. It would seem that they wanted to fill that bus up as much as possible even if it made some passengers cut it way to close at the airport. You would think that close to 3 hrs would be more than enough time. Let DME know....won't help you but it may help others in the same situation.

 

[seashoreCM]

Write to them so they will have all the facts sitting there to compose a reply from.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Lewisc]

The current suggested arrival time for MCO is 1.5 hours before your flight. You got to MCO within that window and you had an extra 20 minutes. Many guests complain DME gets them to MCO too early.

You can, and should, write a letter. It sounds like they cut it a little close. The issue is the driver going back to pick up the late passenge. The driver was trying to be nice.

I'm not sure if we did something wrong, if I should have been more informed, or if there is an issue I should bring to their attention.

On our departure day (the 6th of January) we had our assignment for the 4:15pm pick-up given to us the night before. We saw no problems with this and assumed (might be the problem) we would arrive at the airport a little before 5pm and have a tiny bit over 2hours before our 7:00pm flight. Perfect. Well, we were picked up by the 4:15pm bus at ASMo and proceeded to go back to ASMu. No sweat, but then we went back to Sports, and it was 4:40pm before we left the All-Star area. We were a little stressed but felt that we would still have time to check our baggage, get our boarding passes, get through security, and to our gate (Midwest Airlines). But our driver pulled into Coronado Springs and loaded more people, left, but turned back around because someone was late and picked that person up, and then finally pulled out at 5:10pm!!! We had been on the bus for nearly an hour and not left property, and now we were cutting into the 2hour time you are supposed to give when going to the airport. I was nearly in tears while my boyfriend started bringing up the "if" questions about missing our flight. We got near the airport a little before six and obviously had to stop at Terminal Side A before B (our side). It was 10minutes to six when we got off the bus. A really nice family let us run off ahead of them and wished us luck. We tried to ask our driver if we could grab our bags but he ignored us and kept asking each person to point out their bag while he hooked it for them. We tried to get his attention and finally climbed in the baggage area and dragged out our own and took off.

The luck came in when nobody seemed to be in line for Midwest and we checked our bags immediately and then ran to the security, which also ran smoothly, and we made it all in 15minutes!!! and had a half hour until our plane started boarding.

But this should not have happened, I would think?

Next time we plan to request, or simply jump on, a much earlier bus.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The current suggested arrival time for MCO is 1.5 hours before your flight. You got to MCO within that window and you had an extra 20 minutes. Many guests complain DME gets them to MCO too early.

Actually, Violet Crayon wrote that they arrived at 5:50 p.m. ("It was 10 minutes to six when we got off the bus.") That means they arrived 70 minutes before their scheduled 7:00 p.m. departure.

The whole idea of being picked up by DME around 3 hours prior to flight time is to allow enough time for the DME motorcoach to stop at other resorts and to deal with the possibility of traffic delays. Violet Crayon had a longer-than-average DME trip to the airport. Even so, arriving 70 minutes before flight time allowed sufficient time for check-in, security, and getting to the gate before boarding even began.

It's a good idea to try to arrive at the airport 90-120 minutes before flight time, but that's not a requirement. In fact the real reason to plan on 90-120 minutes is to allow for the possibility of delays — and that's true whether using DME, a rental car, or a livery service.

There's no reason to be nearly in tears if the DME motorcoach stops at a few other resorts. The time for that is built into the pick-up time.

Then there are some people think that only have to arrive at the gate by the scheduled flight time. That's a bad idea. For example, American Airlines stops accepting checked bags at Orlando Airport 40 minutes before departure. And American says you must be "ready to board at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure time to retain your reservation and a seat."

If someone wants to be picked up earlier — for example, to plan on dinner at the Outback Steakhouse in the Southwest Airlines airside terminal — there's a phone number on the DME letter that's delivered to the room on the day before check-out. Just arrange an earlier pick-up time.

 

[Lewisc]

I missed that. DME did cut it a little too close. Given the time constraints the driver shouldn't have taken the time to go back to pick up the late passenger.

Actually, Violet Crayon wrote that they arrived at 5:50 p.m. ("It was 10 minutes to six when we got off the bus.") That means they arrived 70 minutes before their scheduled 7:00 p.m. departure.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

DME did cut it a little too close. Given the time constraints the driver shouldn't have taken the time to go back to pick up the late passenger.

I agree.

During the day, there's usually a DME pickup at each resort every 30 minutes. The late guest should have been asked to wait for the next DME pickup (and accommodated on that motorcoach as long at it wasn't 100% booked).

If the guest was late because it was genuinely Disney's fault, and there was no way to accommodate the guest on the next DME motorcoach, then Disney should have put the guest into a taxi at Disney's expense.

If was unfair to delay a whole busload of DME guests to return to a resort at which the motorcoach had already stopped.

 

[Lewisc]

The OP had a 4:15 pickup for a 7:00 flight. That's only 2 hours 45 minutes before their flight. Since All-Stars is generally one of the first pickups DME should have schedule them for the 3:45 pickup which would have been 3 hours 15 minutes before their flight. I thought DME only went below 3 hours for POP and CSR.

Everything went wrong and they still caught their flight.

I agree.

During the day, there's usually a DME pickup at each resort every 30 minutes. The late guest should have been asked to wait for the next DME pickup (and accommodated on that motorcoach as long at it wasn't 100% booked).

If the guest was late because it was genuinely Disney's fault, and there was no way to accommodate the guest on the next DME motorcoach, then Disney should have put the guest into a taxi at Disney's expense.

If was unfair to delay a whole busload of DME guests to return to a resort at which the motorcoach had already stopped.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I thought DME only went below 3 hours for POP and CSR.

My understanding — and I could be mistaken — is that DME pickups are scheduled a minimum of 2 hrs 45 min before flight time, regardless of the resort, and up to 29 minutes more than that because the DME pickups at resorts are scheduled at fixed times every 30 minutes (such as :15 and :45 after the hour, or :20 and :50 after the hour.)

Our recent pickup at BWV was scheduled at 4:20 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. flight. That's 3 hrs 10 min. Presumably, if our flight had been at 7:35 p.m., we would have been scheduled for a 4:50 p.m. pickup, which would have been 2 hrs 45 min.

We made one stop at CBR, and we were then on our way to the airport. We had already checked our bags and obtained our boarding passes at the Resort Airline Check-in desk that morning, so we had plenty of time at the airport.

Everything went wrong and they still caught their flight.

Yep. And that shows that the DME pickup times work well.

I've read most DME threads on this board since the DME program began. I recall reading one post in which guests barely made it to their flight (the flight was already boarding). I don't recall reading a single post in which guests were at their resort for their scheduled DME pickup but missed their flight. (In the early weeks of DME, there were some instances when a DME motorcoach didn't show up at the pickup time, and Disney had to put guests into taxis — but I don't recall any cases in which even those guests missed their flight.)

 

[Violet Crayon]

There's no reason to be nearly in tears if the DME motorcoach stops at a few other resorts. The time for that is built into the pick-up time.

It was our first time ever flying (we were 22yr olds on our first vacation), we had no experience with how long it takes to get through lines and security. Everyone, and everything I read, said to get to the airport two hours before departure. Even the Magical Express information implied we would get to the airport with that time in mind. Of course I was going to be upset (to the point of tears) when things looked like they were going wrong and the 2hour mark was when we were still on Disney property. From what everyone had told me it would take an hour or more to wait to get my baggage checked and to go through security. Yes, it all worked out, but I felt like they put us in a tricky situation. If they put me on a bus in the 3:30ish area and we went through all of the resorts I would have been fine, but I didn't know that was going to happen.

 

[Lewisc]

Three hours is the general rule. I thought the "rounding" varied depending on where your resort was located. 2 hours 45 minutes is fine for POP, usually the last stop before MCO but may be cutting it close for resorts that have multiple resorts.

Looks like you're correct. 2 hours 45 minutes is the minimum for all resorts. and 3 hours 14 minutes is the maximum.

My understanding — and I could be mistaken — is that DME pickups are scheduled a minimum of 2 hrs 45 min before flight time, regardless of the resort, and up to 29 minutes more than that because the DME pickups at resorts are scheduled at fixed times every 30 minutes (such as :15 and :45 after the hour, or :20 and :50 after the hour.)

Our recent pickup at BWV was scheduled at 4:20 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. flight. That's 3 hrs 10 min. Presumably, if our flight had been at 7:35 p.m., we would have been scheduled for a 4:50 p.m. pickup, which would have been 2 hrs 45 min.

We made one stop at CBR, and we were then on our way to the airport. We had already checked our bags and obtained our boarding passes at the Resort Airline Check-in desk that morning, so we had plenty of time at the airport.


Yep. And that shows that the DME pickup times work well.

I've read most DME threads on this board since the DME program began. I recall reading one post in which guests barely made it to their flight (the flight was already boarding). I don't recall reading a single post in which guests were at their resort for their scheduled DME pickup but missed their flight. (In the early weeks of DME, there were some instances when a DME motorcoach didn't show up at the pickup time, and Disney had to put guests into taxis — but I don't recall any cases in which even those guests missed their flight.)

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Okay, so here's my two cents.

Either something is missing from the picture, or the driver was a major tortoise.

The OP had a 4:15 pickup. The standard route is as follows (Note, all times are departure times):
4:15 - Movies
4:25 - Music
4:35 - Movies
4:45 - Coronado Springs

Arrival at Orlando International Airport would then be around 5:15. Drop offs for both side should not take more than 15 minutes total, making it so that even the last person off would have 90 minutes until a 7:00pm flight.


Chances are, one of the following items happened:

• Guests dillydallied, and were not ready for their motorcoach departure time. Many times when I was driving for DME, I'd encounter guests who hadn't even gotten thier luggage out of storage when I was ready to pull out.
• Guest travelling with mobility devices. Usage of the lift can add on a few extra minutes
• Driver was a slow-poke.

The fact that the driver went BACK to get someone... that should NOT have happened. That part should be brought to DME's attention.

 

[clkelley]

Oh speaking of Disney making you late, my 20yo son ran into that in December from Ft. Wilderness. (Part of it was his inexperience at traveling alone, but Disney still made it good). (I was staying longer, he had to get back to school for an exam).

He had a 5:25 am DME pickup for an 8:45 am flight. He called Ft. Wilderness front desk the day before and requested a van pick him up at our site at 4:30 am.

By 5:20 am, the van had still not arrived at our site, so he finally went to the comfort station and called them. (I was still asleep, or I would have been calling the front desk at 4:35 am).

The van showed up at 5:40 and took him to the front desk. The front desk staff then gave him cash for a cab and tip to the airport.

I woke up and called him at about 8:00 am and got the story. I'm so grateful that Disney took care of him. It also probably made him feel good that he handled the situation without consulting me . (He would never tell me that though.)