Magical Express Questions

[noahdove]

Even doing online checkin , you will need your room key/ticket to gain entry into the park..If you have requested ME, they will take care of your luggage and you can either take the bus or get a private car. Even if you take the bus, you won't miss too much in the park..I'd stick with ME and pray for great connections Good luck. I know all about school districts and attendance policies..I did attendance for years at the elementary school and all I can say is...I couldn't and didn't take my children out for any reason..

 

[nkereina]

FWIW - you don't HAVE to check-in before the party unless you are on DDP and plan to use credits. Since the party is a separate ticketed event, you won't need your KTTW cards or anything. So if you take ME, you could just drop your carry on bags with bell services and walk right over. If you rent a car, not sure how parking would work at Contemporary if you have not yet checked in, but you could also park at TTC I suppose. Not sure how much time not checking in would actually save, but it might be good to remember if the line is long.

Also, if possible, eat on the go while you're at the party or before you get there if you can. We got to the party around 5:30 and stopped around 8 to eat and with the limited QS options available, it was very crowded and time consuming. Because we lost time eating, we didn't get to do all the party things we wanted. Next time, we will eat before we get there.

 

[RMulieri]

What ADR? They are going to MVMCP. Tickets already purchased.

Actually it is MNSSHP and November 2nd is the LAST night of the party .

 

[saskdw]

Actually it is MNSSHP and November 2nd is the LAST night of the party .

I stand corrected!!

 

[goofy4tink]

If you land ontime at 5:30, you should be at the CR within 90 mins. BUT....your flight may have a delay. I would just book a car service, one way for about $60, get the checked bags at baggage claim and head directly to the CR. Your driver should meet you right beside baggage claim and help you out with your bags. This should get you to the CR in about an hour...at least that has been my experience. When using DME, you really need to allow up to 90 mins from gate to resort.
If you book the car service, you could very possibly make it over to MK for the start of the party.

 

[Yellosno]

Last year we got off our plane went to the magical express area and we were the hurried on to our bus we were the last people on we were the 3rd or 4 resorts that the Bus stopped at and by the time we checked in and got the AK it had been about 2 and a half hours.

 

[nemofans]

When we stayed at CR, we were also dropped off last after GF, Poly, WL. It took a long time. I would do the car service so you don't have the stress.

 

[P00H1010]

Hello,

We have a trip scheduled to Disneyworld in November and had some questions about Magical Express. I appreciate any help anyone can offer.

First question is once you arrive at the Magical Express lounge at the airport, about how long is the wait to get a bus and about how long is it once you board the bus before it leaves for the resorts? Reason I ask is we bought tickets for the last Mickey's Not-So-Scarey Halloween Party on November 2? Our flight gets in at 5:30pm and the party starts at 7:00pm so we were hoping to get to the resorts as early as possible in order to be at the party when it starts. We're hoping that Magical Express will get us there in time but we may just have to rent a car if there's any chance that it might take a long time.

Second question is can you do Magical Express only one way, meaning can I use it when we arrive at the airport but use another means of transportation to get back to the airport at the end of our trip?

Third and final question, about how much would be considered a standard tip for the driver? Thanks all.

Question 1) Times vary when it comes to ME. Upon arriving at the ME section at the airport your info gets scanned and "checked in" and then you stand in a designated line (based on your resort) to wait for your bus. ME buses are shared between resorts, I believe it is up to 3 different resorts per bus. And depending on the route the bus driver takes your resort may be 1st or you could have a stop or stops before arriving at your resort. In our experiences we waited roughly 15-25 minutes for the ME bus to arrive at MCO. The bus ride from MCO to our resort (as we have been the first stop) was roughly 30 minutes. So that would be roughly 55 minutes all together, but it could take longer as others have said. My honest opinion is that it would be possible to accomplish what you want but I wouldn't chance it. There are too many what ifs that might give you little to no time. What if your flight is late? What is ME take 90 minutes or so to get your to your resort because you are not the first stop? What if check it at the resort takes a while? How long will it take you to get from your resort to MK? Lets say it takes you 60 minutes from MCO to your resort...that puts you at your resort at 6:30. You still have to check in, go to your room, and get to MK...all in a half hour. I think your pushing it myself.

Question 2) Yes, you can use ME both ways or one way. When setting up ME only give the flight information for which ever way you need.

Question 3) Tipping is really all up to you. I see some people tip the driver and I see people not tipping the driver. We generally tip I believe $5 when we arrive at our resort.

 

[nkereina]

If you land ontime at 5:30, you should be at the CR within 90 mins. BUT....your flight may have a delay. I would just book a car service, one way for about $60, get the checked bags at baggage claim and head directly to the CR. Your driver should meet you right beside baggage claim and help you out with your bags. This should get you to the CR in about an hour...at least that has been my experience. When using DME, you really need to allow up to 90 mins from gate to resort.
If you book the car service, you could very possibly make it over to MK for the start of the party.

True but also wanted to point out you could experience delays at baggage claim as well. We opt to get our own bags off the baggage carousel even when taking ME, and last time it took a good 20-30 minutes before the carousel even started turning by the time we got down there... and we even stopped to use the restroom (and waited in line!) before we got down there! Not sure what the hold up was...

In OPs situation, I might risk ME for the fact that the bags will be delivered to your resort and you won't have to waste time at the baggage carousel and then waste time either lugging them to your room or storing at bell services, if you decide not to check in first.

 

[cavepig]

We found arriving later in the day that I don't think they run Magical Express buses as often as say mid-day when more flights are coming in. So, you may have to wait 20+ min for a bus and 15+ on the bus while they wait for it to fillup, as was our case. Depending on your resort you may have other stops before yours, so it easily can take 90+ minutes like PP have said to get to your resort after landing. Plus later in the day flights have more delays than earlier.

As long as you don't care what time you actually get to the park than yo should be fine, but getting there at 7:00 would be pushing it, but hey you could get lucky and time things just right. Good luck!