Magical Express Late Arrival -- Experiences??

[beckyd13]

We will be arriving at MCO at 11:40pm and taking the Magical Express to the Beach Club Resort in mid-October.

What is it like travelling this late via the Magical Express? Will there be many people waiting with us, do you think? Will we have a bus to ourselves, or will another form of transportation (like MEARS) pick us up? Will we arrive at the resort fairly quick?

I already know how the luggage system works... I'm looking mostly for other people's experiences with late arrivals. What will the ride to the most magical place on Earth be like late at night?

 

[EskiLvr]

Our first trip using DME was in Oct 2009. We were scheduled to get into Orlando at 11:30, so we were prepared to pick up our bags and go to the pick up zone. What we *didn't* bargain on was a 3 hour delay out of our home city due to a groundstop in Atlanta (which at least resulted in all of the last flights out of Atlanta for the night also being delayed). We finally landed at 1:15 am with two incredibly whupped boys in tow. I was worried that DME might be shut down - but when we finally straggled down there, we practically got hugs from the staff. "We've been expecting you! We knew you were having flight issues!"

Our DME driver was just incredible. We were the only ones on our bus (we were going to Wilderness Lodge), and he asked if we wanted the sound for the videos or if we just wanted to sleep. Our poor kiddos did pass out on the way there, and he told us that we could have as long as we needed to roust them and get them off the bus. We checked in at about 2:15, if I remember correctly - I have pictures showing the boys toppling into their beds at 2:30 AM.

It's hard to say how many other people you might have on the bus with you - but Disney really does seem to try to keep the buses moving so that you're not waiting for an overly long amount of time.

 

[wdwrich]

It's hard to say how many other people you might have on the bus with you - but Disney really does seem to try to keep the buses moving so that you're not waiting for an overly long amount of time.

Just a small correction- Disney does not operate DME. It is contracted and actually run by Mears. Your point is valid though- they do try to keep things moving so guests don't experience long waits.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just a small correction- Disney does not operate DME. It is contracted and actually run by Mears. Your point is valid though- they do try to keep things moving so guests don't experience long waits.

While this is true, the buck pretty much stops with Disney. If someone has an issue with their DME experience, they are going to contact Disney. And Disney should be the one to deal with it....not Mears. The Disney name is all over the DME system...from buses to CMs. So, while 'technically' operates by Mears, Disney takes responsibility.

 

[WDWFan06]

This past January my sister opted to take a later flight than the rest of the family because she wanted to work that day. I think her arrival time was 11pm ish. From what she said their was only one other family on the bus and they took off for the resort soon after she boarded.

 

[beckyd13]

Thank you for sharing these experiences! I hope our ride there is peaceful... I think it would be neat to be the only people on the bus!

 

[maxiesmom]

I've had one late night experience with DME and I won't have another.

Our flight landed at 11pm and we didn't get to our resort until 1 am. We sat on the bus at the airport for quite a while before heading out. Then we were the 4th stop.

If we ever fly in that late again we will be using a car service.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Our flight gets in close to midnight as well. I can't swallow paying Disney prices for what will be a very short sleep. We're staying at a hotel close to the airport that has a free shuttle service. I already confirmed with ME that we can ride the bus in the morning since it is connected with our check-in date NOT flight. RETURN trip is connected to your flight. We actually have enough "hotel loyalty" points for that night's stay to be free so we're happy.

Just thought i should put that point out there for consideration

 

[yoopergirl]

We have used DME late at night many times. Crowd size varies and some of the waits have been a little long but overall not a terrible experience. We always claim our luggage ourselves because we don't want to wait for it to catch up with us especially at night.

 

[Elitravelor]

We-4 of us/ 2 adult children-- don't arrive until 10:40 and are heading to the Beach Club. We are planning to use DME but now I am worrying about how long it will take us. We are taking such a late flight for DS who had to do a special presentation at work...which was moved up to before departure day. Now we are looking at switching to an earlier flight....day of only for minimal cost switch.

Anyone ever do a taxi? How far in advance do you have to reserve a car service?

Any advice?

 

[goofy4tink]

We-4 of us/ 2 adult children-- don't arrive until 10:40 and are heading to the Beach Club. We are planning to use DME but now I am worrying about how long it will take us. We are taking such a late flight for DS who had to do a special presentation at work...which was moved up to before departure day. Now we are looking at switching to an earlier flight....day of only for minimal cost switch.

Anyone ever do a taxi? How far in advance do you have to reserve a car service?

Any advice?

You can reserve a car service fairly close to travel dates. There are busy times when you might not find someone though. If that's the route you choose, I would reserve something now. You can always get a cab when you get to MCO.

 

[Elitravelor]

I don't want to reserve a car service because our arrival time could change--if we are lucky.

I wonder how much a cab would cost?

 

[Mkrop]

I've had one late night experience with DME and I won't have another.

Our flight landed at 11pm and we didn't get to our resort until 1 am. We sat on the bus at the airport for quite a while before heading out. Then we were the 4th stop.

If we ever fly in that late again we will be using a car service.

Same here...I think it we ever arrive that late again we will take a cab.

Two times we arrived late...once was by choice and We waited on the bus and went to 2 different hotels, ours being the last.

In Dec our flight was delayed, we were suppose to land at 9pm, instead we landed at midnight. We then boarded the DME, it was empty except for a few families, we waited and waited until more got on. It was a full bus that made MANY stops once again AKL being the last stop. We checkin at AKL at 2:30am and got to our room at 3am.

I sooooo wished we had taken a cab, we were really dragging the next day.

 

[Dacky619]

We arrived late once. Our flight was delayed over and over again and we finally landed maybe 11:45 or so. There were a few other families waiting at DME but it didn't take us long to get loaded up and over to SSR. We expect 70-90 minutes to get to the resort and we actually checked in at 1:30 am, so not far off. There were maybe 4 or 5 families on the bus and we enjoyed the quiet ride in.

 

[disney is my life]

We also arrived at MCO at 11:40pm on our trip in November. The Magic Express area of the airport was empty except for us and 3 CM's. We were with a few other groups of people. One thing I did notice was my dd's were the only kids on the bus. It was a really quite ride. By the time we had left the airport, gotten to CBR, checked in, made it to our room and unpacked it was about 2:30am. From what I remember I flight got in about 15 minutes early too.

 

[bumbershoot]

Our flight gets in close to midnight as well. I can't swallow paying Disney prices for what will be a very short sleep. We're staying at a hotel close to the airport that has a free shuttle service. I already confirmed with ME that we can ride the bus in the morning since it is connected with our check-in date NOT flight. RETURN trip is connected to your flight. We actually have enough "hotel loyalty" points for that night's stay to be free so we're happy.

Just thought i should put that point out there for consideration

Return trip isn't even totally linked to YOUR flight. You can take the return trip whenever you want to, as long as it's before or on your WDW checkout date. Some CMs want to put a flight in there; other CMs don't need it.



It's been 1.5 years so I don't really remember, but we got a late-arriving flight in. I don't remember waiting long at all for the bus. I believe there were three or four groups of people on the bus; we were the second stop out of 3 stops. The longest part was, apparently, waking up the lone bell services guy at POR to help us with our bags.

FWIW, it never seems like a great bargain, to pay for a few hours of sleep, but you're actually getting that sleep AND all the time up until checkin time when you can expect your room to be ready. You are getting the ability to wake up in YOUR room. That has value in it, though it generally only shows itself once you've made the decision and are waking up there.

 

[Elitravelor]

Thanks so much for the advice. We really wanted to fly in earlier but that is what happens when the kids grow up and work!!

If we do not get to change to an earlier flight--we will probably take a cab just to be sure. Although the kids love the whole DME going to the resort...the are in the Disney Magic!!

 

[sgfgrover15]

We typically use a car service rather than DME. Car service in Orlando is really not expensive at all. The driver meets you at baggage claim, takes care of luggage, and you are the only stop rather than being half a dozen stops away. Then to get back to the airport you get picked up when you are supposed to and don't sit nervously watching your watch because the bus is late. Orlando security is never fun to get through.

And you can book it last minute last minute as well. There are several services that track the flights and if your flight is late the driver meets you when you land.

We never had a horrific experience with DME but I do enjoy that only guest feeling I get when a car service greets us and for the kids it is a BIG deal to have someone holding a sign with their name on it at the bottom of the escalator.

 

[Elitravelor]

I just researched car services-Mouse Savers recommends Happy Limo which looks fine. We will just call that morning to book it to keep it flexible. I will check with them if you can book it that morning--but I think it should be fine.

Late arrival---just don't want to chance an even later check-in. Just looking for some pixie dust to get on an earlier flight!

Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[maxiesmom]

We typically use a car service rather than DME. Car service in Orlando is really not expensive at all. The driver meets you at baggage claim, takes care of luggage, and you are the only stop rather than being half a dozen stops away. Then to get back to the airport you get picked up when you are supposed to and don't sit nervously watching your watch because the bus is late. Orlando security is never fun to get through.

And you can book it last minute last minute as well. There are several services that track the flights and if your flight is late the driver meets you when you land.

We never had a horrific experience with DME but I do enjoy that only guest feeling I get when a car service greets us and for the kids it is a BIG deal to have someone holding a sign with their name on it at the bottom of the escalator.

I'm doing a combo for our next trip--DME on the way to the resort, and a car service back to the airport. My nephew is bringing a friend along, and I want him to get the DME experience heading to the resort. But I don't want to be sitting nervously waiting for the bus back to the airport to show, and then wondering how many more stops we are making and how long I will have to get through that nightmare of a security line.