Magical Express return trip

[jjpenguin]

I have used ME a few times now and I really like it. Usually I have a return flight out at 1pm so I can't do anything in the morning anyway.

This trip I have a 3pm flight out. ME will pick up at 12.00.
This would give me a couple of hours in the park in the morning, but of course I would like to have even more time.

Can I request a later pick up. And what would happen if I don't get my scheduled ME and just go to the resort later and wait for the next ME bus??

I will be at SSR.

 

[kaytieeldr]

They will likely not allow you to schedule a later pickup. Three hours allows your bus to pick up at your resort and up to two others if necessary and get you to the airport two hours prior to your flight so you do not miss it.

If you just show up late, there may be no room on that bus for you - there'll be people assigned to whatever bus you're trying to board, plus again it may be picking up at other resorts.

And no, you cannot board Magical Express at another resort.

Suggestions:

- Go to the EMH park (if there is one that day) at opening. Stay for 2.5 - 2.75 hours. Go back to resort. Collect carry-on luggage.
- Be at park of choice at opening. Stay @ 1.75 hours.
- Go to any park. Use some other mode of (paid) transportation to airport.

 

[Kimberle]

Don't forget, the bus makes multiple stops. It took us a good hour to arrive at our airport drop off spot.

 

[PlutoPony]

PLEASE PLEASE take your scheduled bus so the rest of us don't end up cutting it close getting to the airport. We had a 7:35 am pick-up for a 10:20 flight. Bus came at 7:35 with a few people on it from the Contemporary. OK, we're on quickly and move on to the Poly. No one's there to be picked up (driver said it's not unusual for people to not show up for early buses) so moved on to last stop at GF. Reached there at 7:45. People get on that were supposed to. Fine. Then some people walk up saying they were supposed to be on a later bus but could they get on - Ok but it takes a while. There's plenty of room on the bus. THEN a person comes running up and they were supposed to be on the 7:20 bus and had just gotten in line to check in their luggage... big group of 6. So we wait for them. At this point I'm getting worried about catching my flight - we have luggage to check (SW) and who knows what security lines are like on a Saturday am. We finally leave GF with a full bus at 8:15 and we get to the airport about 90 minutes before flight time. The good news is we got there in time and on top of that our SW flight was half hour late. But those last people who slept in and didn't catch their specified bus COULD have caused us a problem. So please catch your correct bus AND there's a reason they give you the p/u time they do!

 

[goofy4tink]

If you feel that strongly, the call DME and tell them your flight times have changed. Then, give them a flight that leaves an hour later than the flight you are truly on. That will give you an extra hour. BUT....you run the chance of missing your flight if there is a hold up. Let's say the bus picks you up at 1:00 instead of noon. WHat happens if the bus has to make 2 other stops, and there are a ton of people getting on, with luggage to be stowed underneath? That could add about 20 mins or more to your time..so now it's close to 1:30. The ride to MCO is about a half hour...now it's 2:00. You get to security, find a hugely long line....you get through security by 2:30, giving you just 30 mins to get to your gate. That's too close for me..others will say go for it. Your choice.
Do NOT just decide for your self that you can wait and grab the next bus. You could very well be told there is no room for you. I watched several people being denied boarding. They had missed their bus 30 mins before, and thought they could just hop on the next bus. But, there was no room...bus was full. They were not happy campers. Had to call a cab to get them to the airport in time. You could get lucky and find the next bus to have room for you but do you want to take that chance?

 

[CleveRocks]

And what would happen if I don't get my scheduled ME and just go to the resort later and wait for the next ME bus??

A totally unintended consequence of such an action could be that there won't be room for other guests who legitimately belong on that bus.

Also, DME buses don't just "make the rounds." They do pick-ups twice an hour (every 30 minutes) but only if there are reservations for pick-ups at those times. In other words, let's say the SSR pick-ups are scheduled for :10 and :40 after the hour. Let's say your pick-up was scheduled for 12:10 p.m. and you chose to skip it and catch the 12:40 p.m. DME bus. Unfortunately, there won't be a 12:40 p.m. bus if no one has reservations for a return ride around that time. It's possible one won't come at 1:10 p.m., either, for the same reason. Big gamble, plus the first problem I mentioned.

 

[KimAshton]

You do NOT want to miss your flight. You have no idea how crowded the airport will be and how long it will to check in and security. I have seen people miss their flights at my airport cause they got there too late and the check in line just to check bags was too long and then they have a hiss fit.

 

[pixidust1976]

One piece of advice... DO NOT go to Down Town Disney on the morning you have to catch ME.

We walked out of DDT at 10:00 am and didn't get to our resort until 11:20 am. THREE busses stopped and wouldn't allow us on, because they were drop off only busses. The one that let us on, stopped at Pleasure Island, and Typhoon Lagoon, and Allstar Sports and then Allstar Music, loading and unloading at every stop.

We ended up missing our 11:55 ME bus because we hadn't eaten all day, and it took too long at luggage to get our bags to make it to the bus.

 

[seashoreCM]

You should aim to be back at the resort an hour before your DME bus leaves! Even sooner if you have to get luggage from teh bellhop.

So for a noon DME departure you should be at the park bus stop in the 10:30 time frame.

You need to be at the bus 10 minutes before departure. Being at the baggage check stand or the bellhop baggage area doe snot count.

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

>>> hadn't eaten all day

This is another area where you could (and did) get in trouble. You can grab food during the hour minus the 10 minutes' bus boarding time you got back to the resort early for provided your aim was accurate, otherwise grab something at the airport.

 

[clkelley]

One piece of advice... DO NOT go to Down Town Disney on the morning you have to catch ME.

We walked out of DDT at 10:00 am and didn't get to our resort until 11:20 am. THREE busses stopped and wouldn't allow us on, because they were drop off only busses. The one that let us on, stopped at Pleasure Island, and Typhoon Lagoon, and Allstar Sports and then Allstar Music, loading and unloading at every stop.

We ended up missing our 11:55 ME bus because we hadn't eaten all day, and it took too long at luggage to get our bags to make it to the bus.

Actually, since they are at SSR, Downtown Disney is a great place for them to go that morning, since they can WALK back to SSR and don't have to rely on buses

 

[budbeerlady]

We have seen people left at Pop when we were on DME going back to the airport. We were staying at AKL and then stopped at POP for a Friday afternoon flight back, it was a mess. There were so many people and only so many seats. I dont know if there were people not booked for this ME bus or what happened but there were almost a dozen people who didnt get on that bus. If that were me I would be panicking and finding a taxi fast.

We had a forever wait at mco to do the luggage thing before and arrived at our gate 10 min before our row boarding call. We had arrive 2hrs and 15min early, there were bags everywhere. Security lines took forever, and actually my bag didnt make it home that day when Dh and DD;s did. I was impressed theirs made it with the mad house at bag screening! Since that we always give ourselves lots of time, better the extra time than missing a flight!