Magical Express Pick-Up after Staying at Airport Hotel

[famy27]

We check into OKW on Friday, March 23rd. However, the Friday flights are ridiculously high right now, so we are looking at booking a late Thursday flight and staying on points at the airport Sheraton. It has a shuttle (which we have used before). We'd like to have the shuttle drop us back off at MCO first thing Friday morning and then take ME to save the rental car/shuttle costs to WDW. Has anyone done this before? What did you put on your flight number info for ME?

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes people do this.

Just put whatever flight works for you, whenever you plan on being back at the airport.

 

[DonnaL]

Actually, we've done the reverse.......stayed at WDW until mid-evening, maybe 9 p.m. or so, and then taken ME to MCO, stay overnight at the Hyatt and catch an early A.M. flight home. I didn't even need to give ME my flight info.....they did ask me and I simply told them the truth....we were staying overnight at the airport and catching an early A.M. flight.....didn't want to get up that early at WDW in order to catch the bus at 4:00 a.m. for a 7:00 a.m. flight.

 

[kt_mom]

We did this in October. I just looked for the earliest flight I could find arriving at MCO and used that number. We had no problems. We chose to get our luggage ourselves when we arrived at the airport and then bring it with us the next morning.

 

[DonnaL]

I notice another poster stated they chose to get their own luggage and take it with them the next morning.....please keep in mind if you do arrive in the evening and not take ME until next morning or vice versa....leave WDW later in evening and not catch a flight until early next morning.....you will need to carry with you to/from airport any bags you have and check them yourself......you will not be able to utilize the yellow ME bag tags or check your bags with ME at your hotel for return to MCO since you will not be flying on the date you're utilizing ME......if you do indeed check your bags at your home airport with your yellow ME tags, but, do not have a reservation at any WDW resort until the following day.....you are taking the chance of your bags getting lost since ME will have no record of a hotel reservation at WDW on the day your bags arrive for transport to a WDW hotel...that same goes for your day of departure....you cannot check the bag at a WDW hotel since you do not have flight info for departure on day of checkout and the airline will not accept your bags the day before your departure. If, however, you choose to stay at WDW after checkout and take a later in day ME to MCO you can simply leave your bags with bell services and then pick them up before getting on the ME bus.

 

[DVC California]

We check into OKW on Friday, March 23rd. However, the Friday flights are ridiculously high right now, so we are looking at booking a late Thursday flight and staying on points at the airport Sheraton. It has a shuttle (which we have used before). We'd like to have the shuttle drop us back off at MCO first thing Friday morning and then take ME to save the rental car/shuttle costs to WDW. Has anyone done this before? What did you put on your flight number info for ME?

We did the same thing a couple of years ago. We were flying in late and didn't want to waste DVC points just to sleep. We bid MCO 3* on Priceline and received Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport for $50 bucks - I didn't want to waste our Starwood points either.

I actually put the yellow tags on my bags as I didn't want to schlep them back and forth (DW and kids kept their bags as they didn't want to risk losing them).

I pulled their bags from the carousel but left my bags with yellow tags. As a precaution, I hung back until all the other bags were picked up and watched my bags circle sadly. After a few minutes later, a DME worker saw my bags, scanned my tags, scratched his head, then placed them on his cart for transfer to WDW!

FYI - YMMV

Sheraton Suites was a nice hotel. We used the courtesy white phones in the airport and requested a shuttle pick-up. We met the driver about 10 mins later at the far end of 1st floor ground transfers.

I don't recall too many restaurants within 5 min walking distance of the Sheraton but there are plenty within 15 mins. There is a restaurant in the hotel or you can ask the shuttle driver if they can do a local drop off after you check-in.

Shuttle back to MCO was easy and on a set schedule. I can't remember if they dropped us at the same side as DME. Just tell the driver and he'll get you there.

HTH, Steve

PS - After I checked into our resort, I stopped by bell services to see if my bags were there. Bellman confirmed they were and was just waiting for room assignment to be delivered.

 

[DonnaL]

Wow.....that's really weird about your bags even making it out to the baggage area at the airport. Yellow tagged ME bags are not even supposed to make it to baggage claim, but, are pulled by employees in the back and loaded onto the BAGS trucks before they even make the baggage turnstile.