magical express questions

[nicoleakr]

We are using magical express for the first time. (it took a lot of convincing to get my dh to do this) When it said expect luggage to arrive late how late is late? We are arriving at mco around 10:24am on a tuesday so how long do you think it will take? Also if there is any other advice I would love to hear. I have been kinda of second guessing my self.

 

[marciemouse]

If you're worried about waiting for your luggage, just don't put the tags on your bags! When you arrive in Orlando, go to Baggage Claim and get your own luggage as you normally would. The bus driver will just put it under with all the other carry-on luggage, and then give it to you once you arrive at your resort. We have always done this when using DME.

 

[MickeynMinnie]

We are using magical express for the first time. (it took a lot of convincing to get my dh to do this) When it said expect luggage to arrive late how late is late? We are arriving at mco around 10:24am on a tuesday so how long do you think it will take? Also if there is any other advice I would love to hear. I have been kinda of second guessing my self.

When we went in May I'm gonna say that it took us about and hour and a half to get our luggage after we got to the resort. We checked in... went to the room... dropped off our carryons and took a tour of the resort. We got back to the room and went to get ready for dinner.. no luggage. We waited for about 10 more minutes and then the luggage arrived! Perffect timing!! i LOVED ME!!! i didn't have to lug and luggage anywhere!! do it and have fun!! The bus ride is fun too!!

 

[lntsmom]

We went to DTD, and by the time we got back around 10, everything was there. We'd packed our basic toiletries and swimsuits as carry-on items, but could have easily packed them in our checked luggage.

Going to our resort was no problem at all...everything went very smoothly. The lines I'd been warned about didn't exist, and the bus left within 15 minutes of our boarding it. It was much easier than the old Mears system (yes, I know they're really the same company!).

But, going back to the airport we almost missed our bus. We were sitting at the ME bay at Movies about 15 minutes prior to our boarding time. We waited and waited. A cruise bus pulled up down at the corner...by the luggage area. And we waited. Finally, about 10 minutes after our bus had left the Cruise Line bus driver asked another family who was sitting at the luggage desk if they were supposed to be on the 1:45 ME. Turns out, you can't count on the ME beingmarked ME, nor can you count on it using an assigned ME bay for boarding.

Had we missed the bus I would have been fighting to get Disney to pay for a cab for us to the airport. I think they should warn passangers somewhere in the ME literature that your ME bus could be a Disney Cruise or Mears bus, too!

Don't let this discourage you, though, ME worked fine for us. I hope it works fine for you, too!

 

[nicoleakr]

wow thanks for the ideas!!!!

 

[storzo]

Last August we landed at MCO from Newark at about the same time you will be arriving and our luggage was in room between 2 and 3 pm, I'd say. Just pack a change of clothes, swim suit or whatever you may need (depending on what you plan to do first) in your carry on.

We have never had a problem with ME and it is one of our top reasons for staying on-site. I know all that Disney resorts have to offer but there's just something about not having to lug bags around that appeals to me.

We've never had a bag get lost, never had the bags arrive later than 3-4 hours after arriving. It really is a wonderful service, don't second guess!

 

[mpetti]

Back in 2005 arrived at All Star Sports and had a 3 years old DS needed luggage. People near our room told us it took over night to receive their luggage. We waited about 5 hours and DH finally gave up waiting. No one at the resort would even tell us where to find the luggage. DH went in search of and finally found the building. So the next time we go back in Aug of 09 we plan on not using the ME tags and putting the luggage on the bus overself. I heard from TA you can do that. When you get to the resort if they can't bring it to the room within normal time I would just borrow a cart & bring it myself. Good Luck & enjoy your trip.

 

[futureman]

Yeah, I would go do something instead of just sitting and worrying about your luggage, if that is possible.

 

[noahdove]

We used ME in 2005 and had no problems..I am using it again in a few days I can sit back and let the luggage come to me

 

[hammie59]

For us, the beauty of ME is the fact that you don't even have to think about your luggage. My DH was skeptical about taking it until I told him they get it for you. After that he was sold. We had no problems and our bags were in the room after we got home from the park that night. I'm not sure how long it took since we were gone for about 6 hours.

 

[qman]

We arrived at MCO on the Friday before President's Day this past February.

The Good News: Our trip through the airport was quite quick, I estimate it was only 20-25 minutes between leaving the plane and the bus pulled out and was heading to WDW.

The Bad News: Our plane landed at 4:30 pm however when we went to bed (at 11:00 pm) our bags has still not arrived. Given we planned to be at Epcot for the rope drop the next morning I was note pleased. At 12:30 pm we got a knock on the door and one (of our four) bags arrived. Fifteen minutes later the rest of our bags appeared.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

Last summer when we stayed at POP we used Magical Express. We landed around 9:00 am and checked into our resort about 10:30, we were not able to get our room until after 4:00pm, by that time we really wanted to freshen up and need our luggage. At 5:00pm my dh finally went to the front desk and asked where he could pick up our luggage they said they would send it to our room, at that point we were all kind of irritated and just wanted our bags. They had dh go to the luggage claim room and get a cart and bring the luggage to our room himself
I really don't think it was the fault of those working with the luggage on Magical Express, but rather the young boys that were working with the luggage in the luggage claim room at POP. This year we will be using Magical Express however I will collect my own bags at baggage claim and carry them on Magical Express myself.

 

[Ktharee]

I've used it twice, once we had long lines, the next time no line to speak of. Luggage arrived about an hour or so after we did both instances. It's fabulous not to have to go to baggage claim, especially with a child or children. No worries, it's Disney!

 

[aussietravellers]

We had an unusual experience with Magical Express (but good unusual).

We did not have the luggage tags on our bags (as they didn't arrive in time before we left, booked late). We arrived mid morning, so we went to claim the bags ourselves and take them on the Magical Express Bus. Much to our joy (NOT), our luggage did not arrive. So we headed to the lost baggage counter and were told our bags did not make the flight and would be on the next flight later in the day (around 1 or 2pm). Fabulous! , we were already delayed a day in arriving at WDW (due to flight cancellations and being rerouted halfway around the USA to get to Orlando due to national flight cancellations). So we were given a lost baggage claim number and told the bags would be delivered to us, whenever! Great! So off we went, down to Magical Express and checked in there. Told them the problem with the bags, gave them a description of the bags also, but told them they did not have the disney express tags on them. They were SO helpful and said not to worry, they would get the bags off the next flight and bring them to the hotel. So off we went and hopped on the bus to AKL.

So I phoned later in the afternoon (once I knew the next flight had arrived) to make sure the bags had been found, and sure enough, disney had found the bags and they were on their way to the hotel. They arrived late in the afternoon (around 4 or 5pm), which I thought was pretty good, considering they didnt have luggage tags, so had to be found and delivered.

So we had a good experience with Magical Express, yes the bags took a while to be delivered but that was the airlines fault. Once the bags were found, they didn't take very long at all to be delivered.

Just wanted to share my experience.

 

[melancholywings]

We were told it would take 3 hours - CSR in '07. We arrived very late that night and had to stay up for it (except little miss Sleeping DD Beauty who was all Zzz's). This year we'll get in a bit earlier and will each have a change of clothes in our carry ons.

 

[nicoleakr]

We had an unusual experience with Magical Express (but good unusual).

We did not have the luggage tags on our bags (as they didn't arrive in time before we left, booked late). We arrived mid morning, so we went to claim the bags ourselves and take them on the Magical Express Bus. Much to our joy (NOT), our luggage did not arrive. So we headed to the lost baggage counter and were told our bags did not make the flight and would be on the next flight later in the day (around 1 or 2pm). Fabulous! , we were already delayed a day in arriving at WDW (due to flight cancellations and being rerouted halfway around the USA to get to Orlando due to national flight cancellations). So we were given a lost baggage claim number and told the bags would be delivered to us, whenever! Great! So off we went, down to Magical Express and checked in there. Told them the problem with the bags, gave them a description of the bags also, but told them they did not have the disney express tags on them. They were SO helpful and said not to worry, they would get the bags off the next flight and bring them to the hotel. So off we went and hopped on the bus to AKL.

So I phoned later in the afternoon (once I knew the next flight had arrived) to make sure the bags had been found, and sure enough, disney had found the bags and they were on their way to the hotel. They arrived late in the afternoon (around 4 or 5pm), which I thought was pretty good, considering they didnt have luggage tags, so had to be found and delivered.

So we had a good experience with Magical Express, yes the bags took a while to be delivered but that was the airlines fault. Once the bags were found, they didn't take very long at all to be delivered.

Just wanted to share my experience.

Wow this speaks to wonderful customer service. This alone makes me feel better.I hope my husband likes using ME and disney transportation. The first time we went it took us about a 1/2 an hour to get our luggage(getting off the plane and going to baggage claim) and then it took 1 1/2 to finally get our rental car. So I am looking forward to this.

 

[kaytieeldr]

"How late is late"? Well, the literature that comes with your Magical Express packet (vouchers, tags, instructions) states that it can take up to three hours after you check into your room for your luggage to arrive there.

That timeline does not, of course, apply when the airline has misdirected your luggage (DME can't deliver luggage it hasn't been able to take possession of yet),, airlines being far more likely to be involved in misdirected/late/delayed luggage than DME.

Guests who choose to wait for their luggage at the airport and bring it to the bus should remember it is customary to tip any service person who handles your luggage (and that Magical Express will take care of tipping the CMs involved in DME luggage delivery to your room - you don't even need to be there when your luggage arrives).

Even iif Magical Express never existed, it is alwaysalwaysalways advisable to include in one's carry-on luggage whatever items will be needed during the first 24 hours at the destination - again, to avoid aggravation when the airline sends your luggage on a later flight, or to a different airport, or (as in my case) sends the passenger to the correct destination but keeps the luggage at the originating airport...

 

[tinkbyday]

We had a great experience with ME - we went spring break - no lines to WL - from the time the flight came in to our delivery to the resort was very short - I want to say 30 minutes (give or take).

We checked in, went to dinner and when we went to the room, baggage was there!

The only tip would be to pack any essentials you think you will need in your carryon - we packed bathing suits, sunscreen, change of clothes and jammies. This way we were covered if something happened.