Magical Express - Two resort conundrum

[LittleKittyMarie]

I have a strange situation and I hoping someone can offer some advice or a suggestion.

On my upcoming trip I will be checking into the Boardwalk Inn. A few days later my aunt and uncle will be checking into the Caribbean Beach resort and travelling with them will be my cousin who will be actually staying as a guest in my room at Boardwalk. In the most ideal situation, it would be best for my cousin to travel on Magical Express with my aunt and uncle to Caribbean Beach (we don't want him taking ME all alone to Boardwalk and then being forced to wait alone for even longer at Boardwalk because we may not be at the resort to meet him when he arrives). However, his name will be associated with a Boardwalk reservation.

Has anyone ever encountered anything like this before? Or, even better, does anyone know how I can make this work? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

If your cousin is on your reservation all you have to do is tell DME the arrival date and flight #. He can get off with your aunt and uncle and his luggage will be delivered to your room as long as the correct tags are on the luggage.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

If your cousin is on your reservation all you have to do is tell DME the arrival date and flight #. He can get off with your aunt and uncle and his luggage will be delivered to your room as long as the correct tags are on the luggage.

Thank you for your response.

Does the same ME bus make stops at Boardwalk and CB? I'm more worried he would be prevented from going to CB with them if the Boardwalk was associated with a separate bus altogether.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Thank you for your response.

Does the same ME bus make stops at Boardwalk and CB? I'm more worried he would be prevented from going to CB with them if the Boardwalk was associated with a separate bus altogether.

I don't see why they would prevent him from getting on the bus with your aunt and uncle as long as he has a ticket. I would ask when you call to modify his arrival date. The most important thing is that he puts the tags for your resort on his bags so that they get delivered to the correct room. He doesn't go to baggage claim they load the bags onto the truck right off the plane.

 

[sam_gordon]

If your cousin is on your reservation all you have to do is tell DME the arrival date and flight #. He can get off with your aunt and uncle and his luggage will be delivered to your room as long as the correct tags are on the luggage.

I would not count on this at all. If the cousin is listed on the reservation for BW, that's where his ME ticket will show him going to. I don't know that he'd just be able to board the Caribbean Beach bus.

The simple solution (IMO) is to have his parents add him to their CB reservation for one night. Then he takes ME with them, and at some point later switches to BW. Of course, this won't work if his parents are on some kind of package that the price would change by adding an additional person.

The other option would be to call ME NOW, explain the situation, and see what they suggest. You don't say how old the cousin is. That would affect whether he's allowed to take ME by himself.

 

[sam_gordon]

I don't see why they would prevent him from getting on the bus with your aunt and uncle as long as he has a ticket. I would ask when you call to modify his arrival date. The most important thing is that he put the tags fro your resort on his bags so that they get delivered to the correct room. He doesn't go to baggage claim they load the bags onto the truck right off the plane.

Because the ticket is going to ID him as going to BW. Which, as long as the BW & Caribbean Beach share a ME bus, you're fine, but I wouldn't count on it.

Either have his parents add him to their reservation for one night or call DME and see what they say is possible. If DME says he'll be able to ride with his parents, I'd ask for an email confirmation. Do NOT just show up expecting this to work.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't see why they would prevent him from getting on the bus with your aunt and uncle as long as he has a ticket. I would ask when you call to modify his arrival date. The most important thing is that he puts the tags for your resort on his bags so that they get delivered to the correct room. He doesn't go to baggage claim they load the bags onto the truck right off the plane.

Each Magical Express reservation is resort specific. You don't just board any bus you wish, they put you into a line that is specific for your resort (and the other resorts that are on the same bus loop at that time). You can't just jump on whatever bus you want to.

If your cousin is a minor just add him to your Aunt and Uncle's resort reservation. Then make sure your Magical Express info reflects that reservation for the flight down.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Thank you everyone for your assistance. My cousin is 19, so there should not be a problem for him to ride the ME alone, my aunt and uncle are just pretty protective and might have concerns with him being alone for that period of time (none of them have been to WDW before, they don't really understand the system and it's difficult for me to explain the situation).

I will call DME and see if they can assist us with the situation, or as suggested, try to add him to the CB resort reservation for that night to just guarantee there are no unexpected issues at the airport.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Information
For modifications or questions about your Disney's Magical Express
reservation please contact the Disney's Magical Express Service Center
at 1-866-599-0951.


The problem with adding him to the CBR reservation is getting his luggage to your resort unless you give him your tags.

 

[LittleKittyMarie]

Information
For modifications or questions about your Disney's Magical Express
reservation please contact the Disney's Magical Express Service Center
at 1-866-599-0951.

Thank you!

 

[sam_gordon]

Thank you everyone for your assistance. My cousin is 19, so there should not be a problem for him to ride the ME alone, my aunt and uncle are just pretty protective and might have concerns with him being alone for that period of time (none of them have been to WDW before, they don't really understand the system and it's difficult for me to explain the situation).

I will call DME and see if they can assist us with the situation, or as suggested, try to add him to the CB resort reservation for that night to just guarantee there are no unexpected issues at the airport.

19? I think that qualifies as an 'added adult', so adding him to the CB reservation (even for a night) may cost $$.

As far as transferring luggage... a cab is about the only way to do it (assuming a car isn't available). So, that costs money too. But, if he's checked into the CB for the first night, "transfer" him to the BW for subsequent nights, you can let baggage services move the bags between resorts while you're at the parks. Set this up with the CB front desk/luggage services.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thank you everyone for your assistance. My cousin is 19, so there should not be a problem for him to ride the ME alone, my aunt and uncle are just pretty protective and might have concerns with him being alone for that period of time (none of them have been to WDW before, they don't really understand the system and it's difficult for me to explain the situation).

I will call DME and see if they can assist us with the situation, or as suggested, try to add him to the CB resort reservation for that night to just guarantee there are no unexpected issues at the airport.

I am going to put this the most delicately way I know...is there some other reason that your aunt and uncle would need to be with your cousin, on the bus?? Does he have any issues that would prevent him from riding alone?
He is going to have to be added to someone's resort reservation. And DME will send the bags to that resort. Could he get on a different bus? Maybe.
Is there a reason that you can't be there to meet him, at BW?

You could call DME and talk to them, but....here's a possible issue. Sure, you might get someone on the phone, that says oh, sure, he can ride the bus to CBR, no problem. BUT, when he gets to MCO, with his parents, and his voucher says BW? He may be told that he has to ride that bus, not the CBR resort bus.

Really...he's old enough to get on a bus, ride it for 30 mins, get off and find you guys....unless there are some other 'issues' that we don't know about. And that's fine.

 

[chartle]

Yes even if its just that he is not an experienced traveler, its Disney, they deal with inexperienced travelers all the time.

Again unless there is some other issue I see no reason he can't go to the BW check his luggage, get on a bus to whatever park you are in and meet you at the gate with his ticket. I'm assuming he has a cell phone but also notice that you from Canada and may not be able to use it without huge roaming fees.

Somewhere around here you should be able to find a thread concerning getting pay as you go cell phones for use in WDW.

Probably here http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=19