Magical Express let us down AGAIN

[Redbudlover]

I am so done with ME! The past two trips I used a towncar as the trips were short and I wanted to maximize my time at WDW. This last time I used ME again and was so disappointed I did. There was nothing magical or express about it. It was free - and you get what you pay for. The lines were incredibly long - and this the end of Sept! We waited for two buses before we were allowed on ours. Standing in line for over 30 minutes with a tired 3 year old is no fun. Then of coiurse our luggage didn't arrive for 5 hours. I hated being picked up 3 hours in advance of our flight and missing a park that day. I still had to fight my luggage as I fly SWA and alone with a 3 year old had to hire someone to help. And then we drove around to four resorts before finally leaving for the airport.

I know none of the above is unexpected or unusual. I also know how different it was to be picked up with my luggage and swooped over directly to my resort - and then back again at the end of the trip. Yes it is more expensive, but if you can afford it, boy what a nice change!

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

We took Magical Express from the airport to the resort as well on Saturday 9/26 and the lines were really long but I thought they moved well. It took 20 minutes then we had a nice comfy ride with a cute movie.

On the way back 10/3 there was a short wait but it was reasonable.

My DW and DD who went in March '09 (on a Tuesday) had no problems whatsoever (no waiting).

I was more frustrated with the bus service at the POR to the parks than the ME. I too would have rented a car but figured this way it saved me a lot of $$$ for a rental van.

 

[Lewisc]

A car service is probably around $125 with tip R/T. Some people like the personal service. Some people think the extra money is insignificant, considering how much their vacation costs. Other guests think the money saved can pay for an extra TS meal. There is no right answer.

You knew, in advance, DME would pick you up around 3 hours before your flight. Knowing you wanted to squeeze every minute of your vacation I don't know why you didn't at least use a car service for your trip back to MCO. What time do you schedule your return pickup? MCO suggests arriving at the airport 2 hours before your flight, which suggests a pickup 2.5 hours before your flight. Some people want the extra 30-60 minutes and others would rather save the money.

It would be helpful to people reading this thread if you indicate what time of day (and what day of the week) you arrived at MCO. The average time to go to your resort is a little over an hour. That doesn't change the fact that some people have to wait longer.

I'm not sure why you waited in your room for your luggage. DME luggage delivery is "pre-tipped", you don't have to be in your room. Most of us don't know exactly how long it took to deliver our luggage. We're having lunch, swimming or in a park when our luggage is delivered.

Luggage delivery is such a good service that guests who use a car service or rent a car ask if they can use DME for luggage only.

 

[Jestocost]

Your post is very reasonable, but I think your headline is misleading. DME did what it is supposed to do (with maybe the exception of extra time in getting your luggage to your room, but that could have been the fault of baggage services at the resort too), so I can't see how you could be "let down."

DME just doesn't fit your style or preferences, which is perfectly fine and a completely valid reason not to use the service. I wouldn't want anyone to think that your experience reflected a break down in what DME is designed to do, however, which is just fine for many others.

 

[TheWog]

Sorry you had a bad experience. We too enjoyed the car service aspect of the trip.

 

[Candy30]

I am sorry that you had a bad experience. I had a great experience with ME. It must have been our timing as I said on my trip report. We got their checked in and walked through the line and got right on. We went to a park so by the time we got back our luggage and our groceries was in our room.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Never had a problem with ME. Last trip Aug 19 was a Wednesday and no one was in line; well it was 9:30am too. Got to the resort in no time. We took a bus to DTD to eat at Wolfgang puck and did some shopping etc until our room was ready.

Now since you have a 3 year old and need more personal service hire a towncar.

 

[PSUGuy]

Ditto Lewisc on this one. We have DME for next week but a few weeks ago I found a code here that lowered our resort bill by $100 and I immediately booked Tiffany with the savings.

Bill From PA

 

[Cee]

I love the convenience of ME and usually use it whenever I travel alone or with my adult DD. We usually rent a car when it's DH and myself or the entire family.
The first time we used ME when DH was along we unfortunately were sitting on the bus quite awhile before leaving. After about 20 min. DH walked to the front of the bus and yelled out to the driver, "When does the convenience start?!?!"

 

[mainemouselover]

My daughter and I used Magical Express last week for our trip and couldn't have been happier with the service. Did we wait for a bus before leaving the airport? Yes, but it was alot easier on my wallet waiting for the bus then paying for a rental or limo service. Did we leave 3 hours early for the airport - yes we did and I appreaciated it as it made us be on time at the airport and the lines to thru security were terrible! So again glad I used the Magical Express to get me there so that I didn't stress about not making the flight....

 

[n2mm]

OP, I understand your pain and agree DME or as my daughter refers to it as "Tragical Express" is not for everyone. Not our family. My daughter used it a couple of years ago with 2 littles ones under 3 and after it took 2+ hours to get to the AKL she said never again. Actually her luggage arrived before she did. We are a rental car family and when the kids arrive after us, we now just drive to the airport and pick them up. Picking them up at luggage claim and driving the 30 minutes to the resort works much better for us. Some people are comfortable renting a car (like us) and some are not and I'm glad that Disney offers DME for those folks. We all have different priorities and having our own car is a priority for us.

 

[CleveRocks]

Then of coiurse our luggage didn't arrive for 5 hours.

5 hours after you landed, or 5 hours after you checked-in at your resort? I ask this because Disney clearly says in the DME booklet to expect your bags within 3 hours of resort check-in, NOT within 3 hours of your arrival at the airport.

I hated being picked up 3 hours in advance of our flight and missing a park that day.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I do feel badly for you that all parts of your trip weren't everything you hoped they would be. However, overstating something or adding a flair of drama tends to weaken an argument rather than strengthen it. To wit, your saying that you had to miss a park day due to being picked up 3 hours before your flight. Are you saying that if you had been picked up 2 or 2.5 hours before your flight that you would have been at a park all day??? That extra 30 to 60 minutes made all the difference between a "park day" and no "park day?" REALLY?

 

[RMAMom]

I love the convenience of ME and usually use it whenever I travel alone or with my adult DD. We usually rent a car when it's DH and myself or the entire family.
The first time we used ME when DH was along we unfortunately were sitting on the bus quite awhile before leaving. After about 20 min. DH walked to the front of the bus and yelled out to the driver, "When does the convenience start?!?!"

 

[Redbudlover]

A car service is probably around $125 with tip R/T. Some people like the personal service. Some people think the extra money is insignificant, considering how much their vacation costs. Other guests think the money saved can pay for an extra TS meal. There is no right answer.

You knew, in advance, DME would pick you up around 3 hours before your flight. Knowing you wanted to squeeze every minute of your vacation I don't know why you didn't at least use a car service for your trip back to MCO. What time do you schedule your return pickup? MCO suggests arriving at the airport 2 hours before your flight, which suggests a pickup 2.5 hours before your flight. Some people want the extra 30-60 minutes and others would rather save the money.

It would be helpful to people reading this thread if you indicate what time of day (and what day of the week) you arrived at MCO. The average time to go to your resort is a little over an hour. That doesn't change the fact that some people have to wait longer.

I'm not sure why you waited in your room for your luggage. DME luggage delivery is "pre-tipped", you don't have to be in your room. Most of us don't know exactly how long it took to deliver our luggage. We're having lunch, swimming or in a park when our luggage is delivered.

Luggage delivery is such a good service that guests who use a car service or rent a car ask if they can use DME for luggage only.

Hi, well I don't remember saying we waited in our room for our luggage. We didn't. We went to the pool, had a snack and returned to change for dinner. No luggage. It had been over three hours. We called down and they said call DME. We did - it was on a truck we were told. We had to leave for ADR in our traveling clothes and when we got back our luggage was finally there, though half our clothes were soaking wet - and I do mean soaking, not just damp. That is not such good service.

We arrived at the airport on a Sunday afternoon at 1;30 p.m. We arrived at BWV around 3:30. We left on Friday afternoon at 4 pm. Didn't get to the airport until almost 5 pm.

I said in my post I understood how DME works. I do. And it is not magical and it is not express. It is free - and there will be more room for other people when I travel again because I will not stand in those lines with a tired child and I will not have to dry clothing all over my room because my suitcase got soaked sitting in the rain. Nope, no more - will pay for something magical and express....

 

[Lewisc]

An hour from WDW to MCO sounds about right. About a 30 minute drive and another 30 minutes for stops at other resorts.

Two hours is longer then average for a the trip to WDW. You should have complained to Disney about your wet luggage. I would have asked for complimentary laundry service.

DME is "magical" in that you skip baggage claim and your luggage "magically" appears in your room while you're enjoying your vacation.

You're one of the guests who are willing to pay for personal service. I don't think DME let you down, service wasn't that much below normal. DME doesn't fulfill your needs. I don't understand why you used DME for your trip back to MCO. You knew DME schedules your pickup 3 hours before your flight, you wanted a later pickup yet you used DME.

DME is free. Provides a level of service that's acceptable to many guests.

Hi, well I don't remember saying we waited in our room for our luggage. We didn't. We went to the pool, had a snack and returned to change for dinner. No luggage. It had been over three hours. We called down and they said call DME. We did - it was on a truck we were told. We had to leave for ADR in our traveling clothes and when we got back our luggage was finally there, though half our clothes were soaking wet - and I do mean soaking, not just damp. That is not such good service.

We arrived at the airport on a Sunday afternoon at 1;30 p.m. We arrived at BWV around 3:30. We left on Friday afternoon at 4 pm. Didn't get to the airport until almost 5 pm.

I said in my post I understood how DME works. I do. And it is not magical and it is not express. It is free - and there will be more room for other people when I travel again because I will not stand in those lines with a tired child and I will not have to dry clothing all over my room because my suitcase got soaked sitting in the rain. Nope, no more - will pay for something magical and express....

 

[2binak]

When it was just DH & I traveling, we used ME and never worried about delays with ME or Disney internal buses. Now that we have a baby, we are opting for a rental car because we've found that ME & Disney internal buses don't fit our lifestyle anymore.

 

[monarchsfan16]

The wet luggage likely had nothing to do with DME. It likely had to do with airport baggage handlers at one of the airports you flew through. This has happened to me many times while traveling. The tarmac is not covered. If there is bad weather, your luggage WILL get wet.

 

[Lewisc]

The wet luggage likely had nothing to do with DME. It likely had to do with airport baggage handlers at one of the airports you flew through. This has happened to me many times while traveling. The tarmac is not covered. If there is bad weather, your luggage WILL get wet.

Maybe yes and maybe no. More then one poster observed carts of DME tagged luggage on carts outside (in the elements) waiting to be delivered to guest rooms.

 

[chwgmjay]

I had a minor issue with DME. Not to the hotel, but back to the airport.

At first they'd scheduled me for a 11:00 am bus, when my flight out wasn't 'til 4:10. When I went to the front desk, they switched me to a 1:15 coach. The motorcoach showed up 15 mins late, and then took 25 mins to load a wheelchair (it seemed as if he didn't know what he was doing.) As we were on our way to the airport, the video about how convenient DME is, etc. played. The coach driver got multiple calls on the radio asking where he was/why he was running late and was not pleasant about it, basically yelling about how there was a wheelchair and wheelchairs take time to load, etc. As we were pulling up to the airport, he got on the pa system and announced that we would be disembarking soon, and don't forget "TIPS ARE MORE THAN ACCEPTABLE." As we got off the bus, he had his tips in one hand, flipping through them with his thumb, and was holding out his other hand waiting for you to pony up. This seemed not very professional to me.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

My daughter used DME on the morning of 9/26 from MCO to WDW. Her flight landed around 9:15 am. She walked right onto the bus after checking in and arrived at our resort less than an hour from the time she landed. We happened to be switching rooms at the resort that morning so when we returned that afternoon her luggage was already in our new room.

We typically rent a car so this is the only time we've used DME and had no issues.