Magical express... or not?

[ktbugsmom]

We are not going until January - but I have been debating using Magical Express. First of all - our flight does not get in until 10:10pm on a Friday. The whole "no luggage" thing until morning has me wondering... Yes - I can go get my bags - but to me, that defeats the one of greatest benefits of the service - not waiting around for my bags!

So - my other issue is that I want to get some food for the room. (Studio villa at BWV). Here are my options:

1) rent a car for one day (drop it at Swan/Dolphin the next morning)- stop at a grocery store on the way to the resort and get some food/adult beverages etc.
2) Hire a town car - they can drive and stop at the grocery store where I can run in and get some food etc.
3) Take Magical express, have them take my bags (bring appropriate necessities in a carry on for the night) and order food/beverages from wegoshop.com or gardengrocer.com - thus avoiding that late night stop and the rental car fees...

What would you do?

 

[Baltazar]

If you're comfortable driving around, renting a car seems to be the best. You can stay at the store as long as you like.

I would still do ME and get my own bags and take them to the bus. I'm cheap.

 

[ktbugsmom]

We have rented a car before. Once for the entire stay - and it sat in the parking lot! Waste of money! Then two other times, we have rented a car for one day - that was easy. Emerald Club at National - walk out, pick a car, drive off. I print off directions from one of the other web sites- and it is quite easy. Drop it off at Swan/Dolphin the next morning.

But - I guess I am being cheap (ME is free!) and thinking we might be tired - so shopping that night would be a pain. I am SO torn. I love the idea of walking off the plane and over to ME - and letting them grab my bags.

I have used ME on 1.5 trips - one trip - we used it both ways. Another trip - we just used it back to the airport. However, my experience on each of those rides has been LONG - so not so happy with it. Waited about 30 minutes for a bus. Going to the Contemporary we stopped at 2 resorts before being dropped off LAST. From the Contemporary - first picked up - then stopped at 2 resorts... From BWV, first picked up, then stopped at 2 resorts. The sitting on the bus part took about 90 minutes for each of those trips - so literally a 2 hour adventure on 3 different trips.

Maybe late at night they are faster!

 

[CleveRocks]

3) Take Magical express, have them take my bags (bring appropriate necessities in a carry on for the night) and order food/beverages from wegoshop.com or gardengrocer.com - thus avoiding that late night stop and the rental car fees...

I did it this way.

We arrived around 10:00 p.m., at resort by about 11:00 p.m. (56 minutes later). We packed carry-ons so that we wouldn't need our bags for the night or even the next morning (2 parents, and a 6 and 4 year old).

We got a grocery delivery from Gooding's. Their procedure is they ALWAYS deliver directly to Bell Services, so it didn't matter that Gooding's delivered my groceries to my resort about 9 hours before I got there. Bell Services held onto it, even keeping the cold stuff cold. I had it brought to my room within 10 minutes of our checking in.

So we got directly to our resort. We didn't need to wait at baggage claim for our luggage, and we didn't need to delay ourselves by going into a strange supermarket and trying to find what we needed at 11 p.m.

By the way, I forgot to ask at the front desk to have our bags held 'til morning ... our phone rang at 1:16 a.m. asking if we wantred our bags now or later.

I've read that the probable cut-off for lugagge delivery involves FLIGHTS that land after 11 p.m., not that no luggage gets delivered to rooms after 11 p.m.

 

[ktbugsmom]

Thanks CleveRocks!

How does Goodings deliver work? Do they have a web site to place an order? Will they deliver "adult beverages"? The thought of getting to my room and having a nice cold beverage while sitting on my balcony for a few minutes before going to bed sounds very pleasant - especially if someone else delivers it that night! Cool!

I think my experiences with the "transit time" on Magical express were just a couple flukes. In all three cases - we were the last dropped off - or first picked up. Funny odds - but that happens sometimes, right? I think I am leaning towards letting Disney come and get me and letting someone else get my groceries! Lazy and cheap... I guess that is me.

 

[CleveRocks]

Thanks CleveRocks!

How does Goodings deliver work? Do they have a web site to place an order? Will they deliver "adult beverages"? The thought of getting to my room and having a nice cold beverage while sitting on my balcony for a few minutes before going to bed sounds very pleasant - especially if someone else delivers it that night! Cool!

I think my experiences with the "transit time" on Magical express were just a couple flukes. In all three cases - we were the last dropped off - or first picked up. Funny odds - but that happens sometimes, right? I think I am leaning towards letting Disney come and get me and letting someone else get my groceries! Lazy and cheap... I guess that is me.

Gooding's (www.goodings.com) will NOT deliver alcohol, period.

Garden Grocer (www.gardengrocer.com) can deliver alcohol. If you request in advance, they will operate like Gooding's does (deliver to Bell Services). However, you'd be wise to call/e-mail them to find out if they can deliver alcohol if they deliver to Bell Services (since they won't be able to "card" you) ... I wonder if you could fax them a copy of your driver's license to prove you are of age.

 

[ktbugsmom]

CleveRocks -
Great suggestions. Thanks. Pathetic that I want my "adult beverages" delivered - but paying $5-8 per beer at Epcot adds up. And since I can't carry on a bottle of wine anymore... I would like something delivered.

I heard wegoshop also delivers alcohol. I have 92 more days... so still time, but when work gets me down - I go to my "happy place" and plan my trip. I guess work has been a pain lately!

Also some friends are meeting us at BWV (we got them a studio). They have never been to Disney. The husband of the couple will not appreciate Disney pricing on beer - so I thought I would make sure I had a "stash" all ready for him when they get there - so somehow, I need to get from the airport to the resort and get my groceries as well...

The good news is, I have options!