Magical Express vs. Car Rental - opinions?

[nhdisnut]

We are staying at SSR in April and have already signed up for Magical Express but have some reservations -

Has the service with the Magical Express improved? I read when it started that it was quite inconvenient and had lots of bugs in the system.

We have rarely relied on Disney Transportation to get from our resort to the parks (or anywhere else, for that matter - with the exception of an occasional bus or monorail trip). I like the idea of being in charge of my own schedule. Can anyone tell me if the Disney transportation system works well for them? Any direct experience with Saratoga Springs would be helpful as well.

Will I be able to have my luggage transferred from SSR to CSR? Even though we are DVC members now, we still have a goal to stay at all of the Disney Resorts . If we stay with Magical Express, we will need to get our things taken to CSR for us.

Thanks for any help!!

 

[gigi1313]

we were quite pleased w/DME and internal wdw transport... don't see a need to rent a car at all...

that being said, you might get more opinions/input if you post this over on the transportation board

 

[can]

We just returned today from Disney after a week long stay. We stayed at CBR and usually rely on Disney transportation to get around, but decided to rent a car this time. Best decision we ever made. With the amount of people this week, some resort area people waited an awful long time for transportation. We overheard several guests "complaining" that they were using Magical Express and had to be ready to leave approx. 3 hours prior to when there flight was leaving. They found this to be an inconvience.

Things were much quicker and easier using a rental car, even going from resort to park to park. Didn't have to wait so much. Hope this helps.

 

[ccw]

Magical Express TO THE RESORTworked great for my group who stayed at OKW a few weeks ago. Flawless and very quick! The return to the airport though was not so great...a little hassle with lugage and resort check-in but the biggest problem was having to board the bus MORE than 3 hours before our flight time! I know that sometimes it is necessary and it might be hard even for the Diney folks to predict security wait time, traffic, etc. but we had over two hours to just sit in the airport and wait for our flight. Next time I might just take a cab. By the way, I ahve always loved using Disney transportation and once again it worked out fine...we did have a car for the first two days so we could go to the grocery store and get to Calif. Grill for dinner (Disney transportation is NOT very efficient in getting you from resort to resort, but from park to park or resort to park, you should be fine)

 

[jtopp]

Have heard both good and bad about DME. I usually rent a car(have relatives nearby) so back and forth to the airport is no problem. Have never had a problem with transportation at the resorts or the parks. They drop you off closer then the parking lots, and far more timely.

 

[CleveRocks]

Has the service with the Magical Express improved? I read when it started that it was quite inconvenient and had lots of bugs in the system.

I don't recall reading a lot of complaints about the DME system. What I DO recall is reading a lot of posts just like yours, questioning the quality of the DME system without ever having experienced an actual problem with it. A lot of people have expressed a lot of caution, trepidation, and confusion, but VERY few people have related first-person accounts of actual problems. I think "problems with DME" are becoming like some sort of urban legend.

DME averages about 5,000 users a day. It's been running for about seven-and-a-half months (it started May 5, and BTW I used it May 8 and 14 with no problems), and 200 days times 5,000 users equals 1 MILLION. So I'm not exaggerating when I say ONE MILLION PEOPLE HAVE USED DME, AND HOW MANY ACTUAL COMPLAINTS HAVE YOU READ? I rest my case....

Now, as for the other part of your post, about being used to driving yourself to and from parks -- if you do decide to use Disney Transport (which I've always used and loved, because I love the idea of letting go and letting someone else have the responsibility for a change), then you'll also have to decide to be OK with it even if you experience some waits, and chalk it up to experience. Otherwise, just rent a car and be done with it and be relaxed. I'd hate to see your vacation tarnished by your feeling anxious and annoyed over some waits for buses -- it's just not worth taking Disney Transport, IMHO, if the experience will mar your otherwise magical WDW vacation. Either way, ENJOY! And know those of us without our next trip planned are JEALOUS .

-- Eric

 

[Brian Noble]

My sense from reading this board is that DME had some early hiccups in the first month or two, but has been running very well since then. Luggage transfer will be no problem---just call bell services and they'll move it for you---I'd probably do this even with a rental car, as it's just more pleasant. You might want to carry a few things with you in a backpack if you can't live without them between breakfast and late afternoon/early evening.

On the broader issue of Disney transport vs. car: either you're a car person, or you're not. Which sounds more like a vacation---letting someone else do all the driving, or having complete control over your own schedule? For some people, the idea that the car keys can be left in the side table for the entire vacation more than makes up for the infrequent waits/crowds. For others, even waiting the 5-10 minutes for the next bus is aggravating to no end.

We've found that---for us---we'd rather do the driving ourselves most of the time. I almost always find driving myself to be less "hassle" than taking busses when there is a choice. But, I wouldn't necessarily expect anyone else to come to that same conclusion.