Magical express last minute

[jessicalynn88]

If I book a trip less than a two months in advance can I use magical express? What's the cutoff?

 

[annmorr]

There is no real cut-off for using Magical Express from MCO to WDW, as long as you are a resort guest.

My grandaughter decided very last minute to join me half-way through my solo trip, and she was eligible to take magical express on the same day - she just needed a valid reservation number.

She only had carry-on luggage, so no problem there.

 

[cmrdgrs]

Even if you don't call and register for the Magical Express you can still show up at the desk with a valid confirmation number for a Disney room reservation and get on the bus. I have done this several times with no issue. Since we don't check bags we don't bother registering for the ME.

 

[jessicalynn88]

Thank you! My friend asked me today if we would need to take a nears shuttle or rent a car and I had no idea.

 

[goofy4tink]

Technically, you can call and be added the day before you travel. But, you won't get any paperwork or luggage tags. DME tells us that they need a 10 day lead time to get that stuff to us. So, booking two months in advance is no big deal.

Here's the issue with just walking up, with no advance reservation. Disney/DME is under contract with MCO to allow only those with a standing DME reservation to ride the bus. They aren't supposed to allow a guest, even one with a resort reservation on file, to just walk up and ride the bus is they haven't reserved in advance. Now, does it happen? Evidently it does. BUT...I would be prepared to have a different experience, just in case. You could get a CM who is a stickler for the rules....and you're going to be paying Mears to ride the bus!

 

[annmorr]

Technically, you can call and be added the day before you travel. But, you won't get any paperwork or luggage tags. DME tells us that they need a 10 day lead time to get that stuff to us. So, booking two months in advance is no big deal.

Here's the issue with just walking up, with no advance reservation. Disney/DME is under contract with MCO to allow only those with a standing DME reservation to ride the bus. They aren't supposed to allow a guest, even one with a resort reservation on file, to just walk up and ride the bus is they haven't reserved in advance. Now, does it happen? Evidently it does. BUT...I would be prepared to have a different experience, just in case. You could get a CM who is a stickler for the rules....and you're going to be paying Mears to ride the bus!

Yes, I do agree that you do need a valid reservation at a WDW resort in order to ride Magical Express.

To clarify: I was staying at POFQ, and halfway through my vacation my grandaughter decided that she'd like to come as well. I booked her room at POFQ front desk at 9 a.m., and she arrived at MCO at 4 p.m... since she had no paperwork all she did was go to the ME desk at MCO and they were able to confirm her reservation / confirmation number and she was eligible to ride without any documentation at all.

 

[disneydude365]

I'm personally not sure when the cut off is

however our last trip my friend decided to fly down and meet us, this decision was made about two weeks before the trip and all i had to do was call and make a reservation. all you need is reservation number, name of who will be needing the ride, and the flight information

 

[ludari]

No cut off. I once traveled to Orlando from Los Angeles to meet a friend who added me to their reservation. When I arrived at Magical Express I just showed them my friends reservation number, they looked me up and I was on a bus to the resort.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you (or a friend) are not sure whether you will be going up to the last minute, try to make the advance Magical Express reservation anyway. Those ultimately not going can cancel their reservations.

 

[JasonDeyoung30]

You can call anytime and set up reservations, just call (866) 599-0951 and they'll get your info and you'll be all set. They'll ask for your hotel reservation number, your inboand and outbound flight numbers

 

[sky13]

I booked my upcoming trip less than 2 months in advance, have had no issues adding on DME (although did have to wait a couple of weeks between submitting my online DME request and getting a confirmation!).

As I'm in the UK I didn't get any documentation or tags through the post for my trip last year - just had to collect my bags and go to the DME counter at MCO where they checked my reservation and directed me to a waiting bus!

 

[morninglemon]

Just wanted to share that I made my hotel reservation through Orbitz. My friends decided to come at the last minute and to stay only a portion of my trip, so I didn't want to change the number on my hotel reservation because I was informed that I'd be charged the extra person fees for the entire stay, not just the days my friends would be there. Because I didn't change the number of my hotel reservation, I couldn't get DME reservations for my friends. They were strict about the number of DME reservations corresponding to the number of ppl in my hotel reservation, which is understandable (but sucks because 1 of my friends is arriving the same time as me but we can't be on the DME together! he'll have to pay for a cab all by himself).

 

[mamie71430]

I've forgotten to give them my flight info on a couple of occasions - if you're greater than 2 weeks from the trip, they'll still be able to send you the luggage tag so that you can skip baggage claim. Otherwise, you'll just go to baggage claim and then head straight to the Magical Express desk. They'll still accommodate you! Other than my own forgetfulness, I've had nothing but great things to say about the Magical Express process. Sure beats having to rent a car, too or overpay for a shuttle

 

[dis_guy]

In 2013, we booked on Friday, flew overnight Saturday, arrived MCO at 10:30 AM Sunday, and got on Magical Express. Didn't have luggage tags, of course, (just did carry-on) and had no problem at all. They had our reservation, no worries.

 

[njpyro]

I was in orlando with a friend and my husband had to go to orlando for work. He only had one day notice, but it was just supposed to be a day trip. He was able to switch his flight after arriving at MCO to stay over and do disney with us, we went down to the front desk, added him to our room while he was waiting at the ME desk. As soon as the reservation was updated, they let him on the bus.

 

[morninglemon]

An update to my post: My friend and I, who had made our DME reservations weeks ago, got on our bus. A 2nd friend, who came on the trip last-minute and was not on our Orbitz hotel reservation for ASMu, arrived on the same flight as my friend. He came to see us board the DME and then went off to find a taxi to ASMu. The DME folks called him back, asked for my permission to let him take the DME, and our 2nd friend got to hop on the next DME for free! DME folks said something about how he could be at ASMu on a day pass (??) for free so that means he also could take DME for free. Never heard of it before, but on our return trip, as he was on my friend's flight reservation, his name was also on her DME voucher so all three of us were able to take DME. Still have no idea how Disney did that, but it was great!