Magical Express wait and travel times at different times of day

[DVCSunDevil]

We are arriving into MCO at 9:00am on Saturday, April 3rd. That is also the day before Easter. For those tenured in utilizing Magical Express, how busy is it at that time of day during a historically busy week for WDW? We currently have DME reservations, but we also booked a van service and are considering an Uber XL. We will narrow down what mode of transportation works best and cancel the others once we get a little more info. I have heard nightmare stories about DME (how the wait and travel times can be REALLY long, and how the crowds can sometimes be overwhelming). Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[teawar]

Currently expect a wait time of 30-45 minutes to get on your bus, but that can vary based off of the number of people that also need your same bus route and when they actually get to the ME at the airport. Expect 30-45 minutes to get on property and anywhere from 10-30 minutes for the drop off at the different resorts. If you’re the first ones dropped off, awesome, if not it can be a grand tour of the Disney property. Just manage your expectations.

 

[Sandisw]

In October, we waited almost an hour to get on a bus, A week ago, even though it said a 45 minute wait, I was on the bus in about 6 minutrs,

What I did notice both times, is that they did not always stick to the resorts listed on the signs for each line, in order to get more people out if they needed to do it.

Honestly, I’d plan on 90 minutes at a minimum and hope for the best.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Thank you for the feedback. We decided to take a van service. Much easier.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Thank you for the feedback. We decided to take a van service. Much easier.

I would still make plans to use DME even if you skip the ride to your hotel upon arrival. That will set you up to use the return service and you will only have to pay for the van service one way.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I would still make plans to use MDE even if you skip the ride to your hotel upon arrival. That will set you up to use the return service and you will only have to pay for the van service one way.

Thank you for the advice! I really don’t have much interest in ME, however. Especially right now during Covid. I would prefer not to be confined an a crowded bus for an extended period of time.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Thank you for the advice! I really don’t have much interest in ME, however. Especially right now during Covid. I would prefer not to be confined an a crowded bus for an extended period of time.

Probably should have just excluded DME from the original question then.
We used it in December and I have to tell you that we were spaced out way better than on the plane with all the seats full. Three legs of our trip were perfect as the planes were not full. However the short trip from Orlando to our layover in Atlanta was packed full. We all came home with no signs of covid though thank goodness. Both to and from the airport on DME we were not within 6 foot of anyone.

 

[Sandisw]

I would still make plans to use DME even if you skip the ride to your hotel upon arrival. That will set you up to use the return service and you will only have to pay for the van service one way.

You can set it up just for return if that is all you need. And, it can easily be set up at the hotel when there too..for anyone who is using it only for return trips and not for going to the resort.

 

[Tigger's ally]

You can set it up just for return if that is all you need. And, it can easily be set up at the hotel when there too..for anyone who is using it only for return trips and not for going to the resort.

We always do both. Reason why is one time we turned the corner to see a mass of waiting people. After 20 minuets where the line wasn't moving, I called a cab to get us to our resort. I don't mind keeping the option open to ride it because I feel options are good for both the traveler and ME if lines become long or something else happens. Us getting out of line helped them and us having the initial reservation helped us have options.

 

[Sandisw]

We always do both. Reason why is one time we turned the corner to see a mass of waiting people. After 20 minuets where the line wasn't moving, I called a cab to get us to our resort. I don't mind keeping the option open to ride it because I feel options are good for both the traveler and ME if lines become long or something else happens. Us getting out of line helped them and us having the initial reservation helped us have options.

Absolutely. I just didn’t know if you realized one does not have to schedule an arrival trip to use it back to airport.

I did not until a few years ago!!!!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Absolutely. I just didn’t know if you realized one does not have to schedule an arrival trip to use it back to airport.

I did not until a few years ago!!!!

Yeah, I knew it could be done because we did only a return for one of my sons when he was dropped off there.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Probably should have just excluded DME from the original question then.
We used it in December and I have to tell you that we were spaced out way better than on the plane with all the seats full. Three legs of our trip were perfect as the planes were not full. However the short trip from Orlando to our layover in Atlanta was packed full. We all came home with no signs of covid though thank goodness. Both to and from the airport on DME we were not within 6 foot of anyone.

The reason I included DME was to get feedback on how busy it would be at that time of day. If it is usually not busy (ie only a few people on it) then maybe I would take it. But it wasn’t sounding like that is the case, and I don’t want to ride a busy bus. The entire concern/question is how busy it would be upon arrival. I heard that almost every departure bus going from the resorts back to the airport in the morning are full, so I didn’t even ask that option on here. We already came to the conclusion that taking the DME wasn’t an option going back to MCO.

 

[famgel]

We always do both. Reason why is one time we turned the corner to see a mass of waiting people. After 20 minuets where the line wasn't moving, I called a cab to get us to our resort. I don't mind keeping the option open to ride it because I feel options are good for both the traveler and ME if lines become long or something else happens. Us getting out of line helped them and us having the initial reservation helped us have options.

Just curious how much a cab or Uber cost u from MCO? We r going to the Beach club ty!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Just curious how much a cab or Uber cost u from MCO? We r going to the Beach club ty!

My wife and I took a cab in fall 2018 so roughly 2.5 years ago and it wasn't too bad. He did drive fast though! We were staying at the BWI and tip included was $60.00. Probably would have waited except for we had a late lunch ressie that we didn't want to miss.