Magical Express opinion from Happy Limo

[LeftCoaster]

The next logical step is to bypass resort check-in. Either have a desk in the airport or mail the guests their resort cards and have the guests call call a number that will give them their room number when it's ready. If necessary have a kiosh where the guests swipe the card so the computer knows the guest has arrived. Bus the guests directly to a park. Disney might have to add some larger lockers at the park entrances so guests can check their carry on stuff.

Brilliant idea. You pre-arrange your information with Disney. i.e. if you want room charges, the credit card information would already be stored, etc. The, Disney mails you a card or a code. When you arrive at the airport, you swipe the card / enter the code at a kiosk, and you're all checked in, ready to go.

 

[OKSTATE99]

Brilliant idea. You pre-arrange your information with Disney. i.e. if you want room charges, the credit card information would already be stored, etc. The, Disney mails you a card or a code. When you arrive at the airport, you swipe the card / enter the code at a kiosk, and you're all checked in, ready to go.

Left Coaster I make you CEO for one day to get this started.. ok make it a week and you get to keep the salary. As they say on the beer commerials "BRILLIANT!!!"

 

[bytheblood]

On the way to your resort at the most it will take you an extra hour. At pick up any towncar service asks you to be ready for pick up 2 hour before departure time. So your wasting 2 hours of your vacation. Cost of that time? Most towncar services charge about $90.00 so is your time worth $45.00 a hour is the question? And that doesnt include tips for the driver. Plus you dont have to mess with your luggage till you get to your room.

If Magical Express didnt offer the luggage service I would probly do towncar. Since I just go welcome area then on to my resort, that makes a difference to me. Each to their own.

Yeah, everything you said!!

 

[Lewisc]

On the way to your resort at the most it will take you an extra hour. At pick up any towncar service asks you to be ready for pick up 2 hour before departure time. So your wasting 2 hours of your vacation. Cost of that time? Most towncar services charge about $90.00 so is your time worth $45.00 a hour is the question? And that doesnt include tips for the driver. Plus you dont have to mess with your luggage till you get to your room.

If Magical Express didnt offer the luggage service I would probly do towncar. Since I just go welcome area then on to my resort, that makes a difference to me. Each to their own.

Not to quibble but if you have a party of 4 you'd be wasting 8 man hours or about $12 /hour using your numbers.

You're really only looking at 45 minutes on the return and I don't think ME will add more than 30 minutes on the way to your resort but we won't know unitl the service starts. You probably have to add a few dollars in bellhop tips to the cost of your limo service.

 

[lsteadman]

they must be feelin g a strong drop in reservations starting in May because of Magical Express.

I made the mistake of booking Not-So-Happy Limo for my first Disney Cruise. BIGGGGGG BIGGG Mistake. I would have save a ton using Disney's Mears transportation and not had all of the problems that I did with service and the driver.

I would rather ride Mears...take a taxi....take the public transportation...before booking with Not-So-Happy Limo. I had to file a compliant with the BBB before they would give my money back.

Save yourself the hassle. If you decide not to go with Mears....book any...and I mean ANY towncar.....but DO NOT BOOK NOT-SO-HAPPY HORRIBLE Towncar Service.

 

[jennz]

I must be reading the quote from the town car differently because I don't see it as doom and gloom, just a good question (although I agree it is tacky to do it like that!!)...is "free" worth your time? We are a family of three on a budget, and like other posters take a towncar because it's cheaper than Mears, faster than Mears, more comfortable than Mears, we have help with our luggage, and we stop at the grocery and save more money on food. For us taking the ME doesn't make sense - sure skipping the luggage pic-up is appealing, but MCO is pretty quick getting the luggage out, we haven't waited there longer than 20 minutes for it so that's not that big of a deal. With ME you still have to stop at other hotels, right? And the poster who brought up the issue of multiple guests arriving at the same time to check in (I'm sure this happens with Mears but since we don't use them it's not an issue ) seems to have brought up a very valid point. Check-in, while always smooth, is seldom quick and this seems like it would definitely lengthen the wait. It seems to me that the vast majority (not everyone, just many) of the ME users would be Mears riders anyway.

Just my opinions!

 

[goofy4tink]

I must be reading the quote from the town car differently because I don't see it as doom and gloom, just a good question (although I agree it is tacky to do it like that!!)...is "free" worth your time? We are a family of three on a budget, and like other posters take a towncar because it's cheaper than Mears, faster than Mears, more comfortable than Mears, we have help with our luggage, and we stop at the grocery and save more money on food. For us taking the ME doesn't make sense - sure skipping the luggage pic-up is appealing, but MCO is pretty quick getting the luggage out, we haven't waited there longer than 20 minutes for it so that's not that big of a deal. With ME you still have to stop at other hotels, right? And the poster who brought up the issue of multiple guests arriving at the same time to check in (I'm sure this happens with Mears but since we don't use them it's not an issue ) seems to have brought up a very valid point. Check-in, while always smooth, is seldom quick and this seems like it would definitely lengthen the wait. It seems to me that the vast majority (not everyone, just many) of the ME users would be Mears riders anyway.

Just my opinions!

While everything you say is basically true, we will still use ME rather than a towncar this June. I figure that we spend, for 3 of us, about $120 r/t for a towncar service. That's what we paid for the last two trips. Then we add on the tip of $25. Now we're up to almost $150. I would much rather spend that on a nice meal in WDW. I have no issue with it taking me an extra 1/2 hr. to get to my resort. I'm sure the buses will also have transponders on them so they don't have to stop at the toll booths. Every time we used a towncar service they have had to stop and get a receipt!! I know it doesn't take up that much time but still... It used to take me about 30 minutes total to get my luggage and have the driver go get the car (sometimes that took about 10 minutes of standing around, waiting for him!!), then 30 minutes to WDW. So there's an hour. It shouldn't be more than 30 minutes more with ME. They will most likely make up to 3 stops, people will just hop off the bus, just like they are getting off at a park. It's not as if they have to wait to have their luggage unloaded from the belly of the bus! Yes, there could be a bit longer wait at the check-in desk. But I would think that if Disney knows there will be 30 people coming to check into the Polynesian at 12:30, they will put extra people on the desk for that hour or so!! We'll see what happens in May.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

This is why we are planning to come in late the night before we start touring as opposed to early the day of. If I am not trying to get to the park then I don't CARE if we sit at the airport or on a bus or whatever. When we get to the resort I don't CARE if I have to stand in line to check in, get our keys and passes and dining plan etc. The one night of extra hotel is still not more than a Town Car, and we start fresh the next morning.

That's not to say if there are tons of bad reviews between now and October that I won't change my mind. I can still book a Town Car if I think we need one. Glad I'm not arriving the first part of May...

 

[jenelope]

Guests who take towncars because it winds up being cheaper than Mears for 3 or 4 guests will probably go to ME. Guests who rent a car because it isn't much more expensive than Mears or a towncar for a family of 4 might take ME.

To that list, I would add another category. Guests who take Mears because they travel solo and renting a car or taking a towncar just doesn't make financial sense might take ME.

It's almost as if Disney made up a new service just for me!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

When doing the comparison math, also take into account that, according to the Magical Express FAQ, the service includes bellman gratuities to your resort hotel room. So, for a family with one or two bags per person, that's another $10 in savings.

My vacation time is valuable, but what really matters is what I'm doing during that time. I happen to hate waiting at baggage. I would much rather bypass baggage claim and go straight to the Magical Express motor coach that serves my WDW resort. If I'm really lucky, the motor coach will depart very soon after I get on -- while others on my flight are still waiting for their luggage. But I recognize that I might have to wait for the Magical Express coach to depart.

The coach ride should be pleasant. The snazzy new coaches will be equipped with flat-panel video screens showing Disney "edutainment." It remains to be seen whether they will show clever, entertaining programming, or just a rehash of the WDW planning DVD.

Each coach will go to only 3 or 4 WDW resorts. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get off at the first stop. If I'm not as lucky, I might have to wait until the last stop. But each stop should be fast because the luggage will be on a truck, so it won't have to be unloaded from the coach.

I've gotta admit, I like the idea of Magical Express, and I assume it will be a well run service. Disney wants to make a great first and last impression on WDW guests who use the service.

In the past, I never used Mears. I've either rented a car or used a towncar service. But Magical Express isn't the same as the current Mears service. The plane-to-room luggage transfers, the new coaches, the frequency of service (due to higher volumes of guests), the single departure point at MCO, the limited number of stops per coach -- and the price of zero -- all make Magical Express very promising.

 

[jennz]

Oops - I meant to add to my post that given everything I said, if WDW adds resort check-in at the airport we're taking ME!!

 

[clkelley]

I just realized, this may also help keep some of the airlines popular Orlando routes closer to schedule, because in order to use the ME luggage transfer service they have to "check" their bags. There won't be as many carry-ons on the airlines.

However, does anyone know how they are going to handle carry-on luggage on the busses?? Will there be overhead bins and under the seat storage, or will it go under the busses?? I'm talking about gate checked strollers, etc.

Carol

 

[sgause]

Doesn't it also make sense that the number of parties per bus will be around 15 (buses hold 60 people, assume an average of 4 people per party). If the bus stops at 3 resorts you would be in line at check-in with 4 other parties on average, so the lines at check-in shouldn't be that big of a deal - am I doing the math correctly?

 

[CarolA]

I don't think we know what is going to happen. My impression is that you won't stop at a lot of other hotels, but....

However, just to play "Devils Advocate".... If your towncar gets you to the resort at the same time the bus does you will still be in line. There is no way to gurantee an arrival when the lines are short. (If there was someone would be offering it!)

As a single person I normally rent a car. For my Oct trip I may very well to ME if the reports are decent by then. I really don't like towncars. I like to "in control" LOL!

 

[goofy4tink]

Doesn't it also make sense that the number of parties per bus will be around 15 (buses hold 60 people, assume an average of 4 people per party). If the bus stops at 3 resorts you would be in line at check-in with 4 other parties on average, so the lines at check-in shouldn't be that big of a deal - am I doing the math correctly?

Excellent point. I hadn't thought of that but it would almost certainly have to be true. Some parties will be smaller and some larger..I think 4 would a good average. I think we all got caught up in the whole '25 people checking in at each of the 3 resort stops' mentality.