Magical Express......

[kkhworth]

I want the good, the bad, and the ugly . DH and I are flying next summer, and I am just curious if this works as smoothly as it seems. We will be staying at POP, if that matters for anything. THANKS!!!

 

[JAG]

Just came back, and it worked like a charm. Got to MCO, and checked in with ME, was on a bus 10 minutes later. Got a note on my door, the day before we left telling what time to be ready. We were able to check in for the flight at the airport at 8 am and did not see the bags till the airport at home.

 

[Perditamarie]

We have always had excellent service w/ME. It seems it has never taken longer than 30 minutes to check-in, wait in line and get loaded on a bus and go. Our luggage has been delivered complete and intact. Just plan on waiting about 4 hours or so to meet up again w/your luggage, so pack carry-ons, like swim gear or pjs, accordingly.

I would also expect that wait times would be increased w/a busy summer Saturday as well.

 

[ColleenLovesMinnie]

We used ME for the first time last week and we thought it worked very well. We were at the front door of the POFQ about an hour after landing at MCO. We arrived at the resort at 3:45, checked in, and then headed out to the PPP party. When we got back that evening our bags were in our room. The night before our check out they left a note on our door with the time they would pick us up. We checked the bags and printed our boarding passes at the desk. They were right on time picking us up and had us at MCO in plenty of time for the flight. It was great not having to deal with dragging our luggage through the airport! We would definitely use them again.

 

[kkhworth]

You all are fast! So, no horror stories of not getting your stuff the next day or anything....sounds good so far! I am just paranoid~I have never even flown before

 

[mcrabeck]

We have used ME twice before and had great results both time- we are hoping for a 3rd good time next month!

 

[PudgetteD]

Just came back, and it worked like a charm. Got to MCO, and checked in with ME, was on a bus 10 minutes later. Got a note on my door, the day before we left telling what time to be ready. We were able to check in for the flight at the airport at 8 am and did not see the bags till the airport at home.

No problems here either. Our luggage was in our room within the hour! (suprised me 'cause I'd read horror stories about delayed luggage) On check-out day, we checked our luggage and received boarding passes at Pop (Delta) so we didn't even have to worry about luggage at MCO.

 

[PudgetteD]

Oh, we did have one little problem. Our ME tags wouldn't stick. I just taped over them with some scotch tape and problem solved!

 

[mickeys friend]

We have used magical express twice. No problems whatsoever. Last year our bus only had about 20 people on it (to Animal Kingdom Lodge and I think Pop Century) and the driver was able to interact a lot with people who had questions and just doing some Disney trivia type things. He also played Leroy and Stitch for the kids to enjoy.

 

[simonkodousek]

We have used ME two times. In 2004 it was an absolute disaster with slow bus service, lost luggage, etc. This year our luggage was very late to our room, but the bus was on time and the driver was friendly.

 

[jcc0621]

We had a problem but it wasn't Disney or ME's fault. We arrived on Tuesday 8/14 and my son's suitcase and my suitcase arrived no problem. My husband's suitcase did not arrive until around 4:00 the next day. When we got it we found out why. Dh's bag was pulled by the TSA for inspection (HAd a big neon orange TSA inpected sticker on it) and when they did the inspection they took off the ME tag and our luggage tag. Luckily they had left the Airline tag, which also had his name on it, so Disney was able to track it down.

I am definitely going to use it again next trip, but I will make sure to pack one extra change of clothes for each person, just in case

 

[Jimmyyar1]

We just returned from our 1st disney vacation and the magical express was awesome. Very easy to find at the airport and they take care of your bags for you. This service as well as the disney transit makes it well worth the money to stay on site.

Have a great trip

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Used it 4 or 5 times now and have never had a problem . Thats from POP,POFQ,SSR a few times and BCV

 

[kkhworth]

You all have made me feel very comfortable using ME.....THANK YOU!!!! Anyone wanna prepare me for my first airport experience?

 

[Familyof6]

We have been to WDW 3 times with our kids. The first two times, Disney didn't offer ME service. Transportation was provided by Mears, for a fee. It was just a little more for us to get a limo, so that's what we did. (6 of us)
Last month, we stayed at CSR while dh attended a conference. Since he was on business and WDW now provides transportation without an extra fee, we decided to use DME.
We found the check in desk without too much trouble. They only allowed one person to check in while the rest were asked to wait in a nice seating area. Dh checked us in within about 10 mins. We were told to go to a specific lane to get the bus to our resort. As we walked through, our lane was fairly clear, but many lanes were lined with people. I mentioned to my husband that I sort of felt like cattle being led to slaughter. It was fine though.
We were called to load our bus within 5 mins. As we boarded, a CM was there welcoming us. He saw dd's shirt that said, "Swoosh! Basketball" He asked, "Do you play ball?" She shyly said, "ya". He then said, "fast or slow pitch?" She didn't really know what to say. I just thought it was so funny! All vacation I'd ask her, "fast or slow pitch?"
The guy who was taking the head count was nice and very funny. I thought it was our driver, but it wasn't. (I wish he had been)
Our driver was fine...no problems, but there was really nothing going on. Even though there were video screens, there was just static on the screen. I thought it would have been nice if there had been a video of the parks or even just any Disney video playing. I'm not sure if it was not working or what. The driver didn't say anything one way or another.
We stopped at POP Century on our way to CSR. There were others on our bus going to AKL. Ours was the second of three stops. Not bad.
As for luggage...it was wonderful to not have to worry about it at all. Since we had a non-stop flight and we arrived at our home airport plenty early, I didn't worry that it would get lost. We had packed bathing suits in our carry on. Well...3 hrs after we had checked in came and went..no luggage. About 4 to 4 1/2 hrs passed before the first bag arrived in our room. We did get all our bags within 6 hrs after checking in.
The return trip was interesting. It ended up fine...but our resort was the last one picked up. With 6 of us, there were not enough seats together. We had to put some of our kids seated next to strangers. Not a big deal, but a little uncomfortable. (no one offered to move so we could stay together.) They had actually overbooked that bus by one passenger. Someone ended up having to hold one of their older children so a man would have a seat. We got to the airport with plenty of time to check in...which was lucky because the line was at least a 1/2 hr to 45 mins long to check in bags. (we were on Southwest Airlines...so we couldn't check the bags at the resort.)
Would I use them again? Yes...as long as it's included in the price.
Would I pay to use them? No...I'd prefer the more personal service of a limo. (since it truly only cost us about $20 more than the old Disney transportation that you had to pay for)

I think using DME, you'll have nothing to worry about. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine. It is a very helpful service. There will always be snags once in a while, but you will be fine.
Enjoy your trip!

Familyof6

 

[I'mNoPrince]

You all have made me feel very comfortable using ME.....THANK YOU!!!! Anyone wanna prepare me for my first airport experience?

Just one thing it's better to be early and explore the Airport then rushing and just making a flight.

Time is whats gives you peice of mind at the airport.

But other then that no big deal at all. we fly 3 to 5 times a year for the past 4 or 5 years with mininium problems from delays or plane maintence. these are things out of your controll so don't sweat them.

Mommyof6 They normally show a very nice welcome video with all the characters going through the different areas of check-in.

 

[lovesdumbo]

We had a problem but it wasn't Disney or ME's fault. We arrived on Tuesday 8/14 and my son's suitcase and my suitcase arrived no problem. My husband's suitcase did not arrive until around 4:00 the next day. When we got it we found out why. Dh's bag was pulled by the TSA for inspection (HAd a big neon orange TSA inpected sticker on it) and when they did the inspection they took off the ME tag and our luggage tag. Luckily they had left the Airline tag, which also had his name on it, so Disney was able to track it down.

I am definitely going to use it again next trip, but I will make sure to pack one extra change of clothes for each person, just in case

I always split up our clothes so that they aren't all in one bag. I usually have just 2 checked bags so I put 1/2 of everyone's clothes in each bag.

Glad you found his bag eventually!

 

[Tess'smom]

I always split up our clothes so that they aren't all in one bag. I usually have just 2 checked bags so I put 1/2 of everyone's clothes in each bag.

Glad you found his bag eventually!

What a smart idea! I am going to use your idea the next time we travel. Thank you!

 

[lovesdumbo]

I've used DME 7 times and never had any problems. The hardest thing for a first timer is finding the checkin desk as the airport won't allow signs. After you get off your plane in Orlando you need to follow the signs to baggage claim-which will lead you to a monorail. DME is located on the B side of the airport. If you arrive on the A side there are no signs for B baggage claim but you just follow the signs for A baggage claim until you get on the monorail. After you get off the monorail you find the signs for B baggage claim and go to level 1 side B. If you take the escelator down to level 1 you would go to your right and walk a little while (very few if any signs) until you find the DME check in desk.

 

[clkelley]

I've used DME 7 times and never had any problems. The hardest thing for a first timer is finding the checkin desk as the airport won't allow signs. After you get off your plane in Orlando you need to follow the signs to baggage claim-which will lead you to a monorail. DME is located on the B side of the airport. If you arrive on the A side there are no signs for B baggage claim but you just follow the signs for A baggage claim until you get on the monorail. After you get off the monorail you find the signs for B baggage claim and go to level 1 side B. If you take the escelator down to level 1 you would go to your right and walk a little while (very few if any signs) until you find the DME check in desk.

That's interesting. On our last flight into MCO on Southwest, there was actually a sign right in our jetway that said "Disney's Magical Express is on Side B, Lower Level"