Magical Express to Yacht Club

[Katy Belle]

Hi All!

Our plane is scheduled to land at 4:45 p.m. on a Thursday in March. We plan to take the Magical Express to our resort, The Yacht Club. We then want to have dinner somewhere in the Boardwalk area...maybe Swan or Dolphin, somewhere in the walk-able area. What time is a safe time for the dinner reservation? Is 7:30 too early?

Thanks!
Katy

 

[kaytieeldr]

7:30 might be pushing things. DME takes 60-90 minutes from stepping into tge terminal to resort. You have to allow for getting off the plane, which could take 15-20 minutes, or more if you're at the back of the plane. You might want to look at 8 or 8:30, and see about booking through a source that doesn't charge a fee for late cancellation. Maybe directly with the restaurant, or Open Table?

 

[goofy4tink]

If you land, on-time, at 4:45, you should be at the gate and off the plane by 5:00. That gets you to YC around 6:30...possibly earlier. We recommend figuring on it taking up to 90 mins from gate to resort. Then, figure on 15-20 mins to get checked in and to your room. Freshen up and it's about 7ish. I would probably try for something around 8pm...that way you won't be all stressed. Or, just head over to the Dolphin and eat at Picabu....a very nice cafeteria style restaurant. The food is good and it's open 24 hrs. On the ground level.

 

[wdwrich]

Hi All!

Our plane is scheduled to land at 4:45 p.m. on a Thursday in March. We plan to take the Magical Express to our resort, The Yacht Club. We then want to have dinner somewhere in the Boardwalk area...maybe Swan or Dolphin, somewhere in the walk-able area. What time is a safe time for the dinner reservation? Is 7:30 too early?

Thanks!
Katy

Personally, I wouldn't chance making a dinner ADR at all when arriving that late in the day due to the $10 no-show fee. Flight delays happen too often to make me comfortable even for an ADR at 8pm given your scheduled arrival time.

What I would do is not make an ADR ahead of time. Then, when I arrive at MCO I would get on MDE on my phone and see if I could get an ADR in the EPCOT resort area for say, 2.5 to 3 hours later. If nothing is available, get counter service or head to Picabu as previously suggested.

 

[goofy4tink]

Something to keep in mind. You should e able to walk up to many spots in this area. You should be okay without an ADR...unless there is a spot you have your heart set on.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Our plane is scheduled to land at 4:45 p.m. on a Thursday in March.

The "scheduled" time and actual arrival time are two different things.

If your scheduled arrival time is 4:45 p.m., you could be at the gate as early as 4:30 p.m. because the airlines build in a fudge factor to account for the possibilities of departure delays and/or indirect routing. However, delays are always possible. I've arrived in Orlando up to 4 hours late with a nonstop fight. And when I have flights anywhere involving connections, I tend to miss those connections around 10% of the time.

DME will take you to your resort regardless of any delay. But when making a dining reservation with a "no show" penalty, be aware that your actual arrival time at your resort depends on factors beyond your control. So you might have to eat the penalty.

That said, I would personally be comfortable making a reservation with a $10 penalty three hours after scheduled arrival if the restaurant is in walking distance or four hours after scheduled arrival if we would need to take buses.

 

[nkereina]

Our plane landed on a Friday around 4:45 and DME was a ghost town. We sat on a nearly empty bus for about 35 minutes waiting for more people to trickle in. We then got caught up in rush hour traffic and construction. We then had to sit through two other stops before our resort. We finally checked in around 7:15 and got our room. There's a lot of variables so I would either make a very late ADR - 8:30-9pm or later, or take your chances without an ADR. Most of the restaurants at Swan & Dolphin should be fine without an ADR, but worst case, you could eat at ESPN Club or Big River Grille - neither place accepts ADRs.

 

[Katy Belle]

Thanks all! Much to think about.
I appreciate your help!
Katy