Magical Express

[tink_n_pooh]

I'm sorry if this has already been answered but what kind of things can go wrong with ME that would cause panic about it before your trip?

We have used it several times and the biggest annoyance we've ever encountered is having to wait in line for about 40 minutes to get on a bus due to a busy arrival time. We get our luggage from baggage claim ourselves and bring them to the bus because we hate waiting, so this is always an option for anyone who doesn't want to wait or is nervous about it.

Shy of the bus breaking down or getting into an accident (heaven forbid), what else is there to fear?

Panic? I can't imagine DME causing nearly as much panic as flying or travel in general. I suppose the bus could be hijacked, some kid could puke all over, or the driver could tell bad jokes the entire ride

 

[BlackMagicWoman]

Love DME, it is a big factor in my decision to stay on site. Who really wants to lug all that luggage and kids around the airport?

Edited to say: I always bring a small carry on that one change of clothes for dd and myself in case my luggage gets lost.

 

[AuroraRora]

I love DME and it's a huge factor for us staying onsite too. If we had to take a cab to an off-site hotel, it would totally eat up any savings we'd have made, so for the price we can use DME and stay on-property. I've never had any issues either with being late, it taking forever, or lost luggage. Once the bus was 45mins late to take us back to the airport, but since it's meant to pick you up 3hrs in advance, it was no problem. Apparently that issue was caused by a bus breaking down, and Disney was really helpful with it all.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

By Chance does anyone happen to know just how the bags magically appearing thing works?

For instance, with the tag on the luggage does it still go to carosell in Bagage claim or does it get pulled out prior for Disney.

Call me squirlly but the idea of my bag sitting around the airport for a while till disney finds it makes me nervous.

 

[Jestocost]

By Chance does anyone happen to know just how the bags magically appearing thing works?

For instance, with the tag on the luggage does it still go to carosell in Bagage claim or does it get pulled out prior for Disney.

Call me squirlly but the idea of my bag sitting around the airport for a while till disney finds it makes me nervous.

Bags with the DME luggage tags are pulled from the internal luggage system at MCO before they ever get to the luggage carousels. The are sorted and loaded on trucks for delivery to the various resorts. Once they are delivered to the resort bell services or luggage services delivers them to the guests' rooms.

Of course bags occassionaly slip through and make it to the carousels, but DME also has people stationed to watch for those bags and to get them back into the system for delivery to the resort.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Bags with the DME luggage tags are pulled from the internal luggage system at MCO before they ever get to the luggage carousels. The are sorted and loaded on trucks for delivery to the various resorts. Once they are delivered to the resort bell services or luggage services delivers them to the guests' rooms.

Of course bags occassionaly slip through and make it to the carousels, but DME also has people stationed to watch for those bags and to get them back into the system for delivery to the resort.

Thanks! I feel better knowing how it works.

 

[Vincent405]

I'm sorry if this has already been answered but what kind of things can go wrong with ME that would cause panic about it before your trip?

We have used it several times and the biggest annoyance we've ever encountered is having to wait in line for about 40 minutes to get on a bus due to a busy arrival time. We get our luggage from baggage claim ourselves and bring them to the bus because we hate waiting, so this is always an option for anyone who doesn't want to wait or is nervous about it.

Shy of the bus breaking down or getting into an accident (heaven forbid), what else is there to fear?

I think this will be our plan next time, getting our own luggage. Our luggage did take a bit before it was delivered, (more than 5 hours) and when I asked at the desk, they let me know that a bunch of luggage had been dropped out front for delivery by the resort and if I wanted to come down and pick ours out I could and they'd golf cart us over to our room. We did that and it was ok, but worse was the fact that a bag was missing. When it eventually got to our room later that night, the bag was trashed. We had to over fill other luggage and carry more than we wanted to get our stuff home. Decided not pay the huge price for new luggage when onsite and the old bag had to be thrown away.

I do not feel it was the airlines doing because the bag had 1 other resort name and 2 other different room numbers on it that had been crossed off and ours finally written in. My guess was that it got mishandled and misplaced. So, I am thinking that we will get our own luggage and head to the bus next time. Wonder how much a cab costs

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

I love love love DME. I hate dealing with our luggage. It's a big reason why we stay on site.

We only had one slight problem last time, we waited about 40 min to an hour for a bus to Disney. When it came we had to take a taxi instead of the bus. My youngest son was kinda looking forward to the little Disney movie, but it wasn't a big deal. I think since it was later in the day around 8 p.m. it was some sort of backup with DME. Next time I'm flying early, so I won't have this problem again. We love the little movie, it puts us in such a good Disney mood.

 

[seashoreCM]

I think this will be our plan next time, getting our own luggage. Our luggage did take a bit before it was delivered, (more than 5 hours) and when I asked at the desk, they let me know that a bunch of luggage had been dropped out front for delivery by the resort and if I wanted to come down and pick ours out I could and they'd golf cart us over to our room. We did that and it was ok, but worse was the fact that a bag was missing. When it eventually got to our room later that night, the bag was trashed. We had to over fill other luggage and carry more than we wanted to get our stuff home. Decided not pay the huge price for new luggage when onsite and the old bag had to be thrown away.

I do not feel it was the airlines doing because the bag had 1 other resort name and 2 other different room numbers on it that had been crossed off and ours finally written in. My guess was that it got mishandled and misplaced. So, I am thinking that we will get our own luggage and head to the bus next time. Wonder how much a cab costs

Note: You can file baggage claims with Magical Express (at your resort front desk) and it works the same way as if you were at the airport filing the claim with your airline.

 

[bear_mom]

We have only used ME once and for that trip we checked in to the bus at 12pm and didn't get our bags until after 8pm. Called many times but no luck.

It completely ruin our day as my wife didn't pack our dinner clothes. We had packed our swimsuits and figured after a few hours in the pool we could get our clothes and change for a late dinner. Didn't happen and we were forced to change back into our airplane outfits and had to cancel our dinner adr for that night.

My wife said we would never use ME again. EVER!

Funny thing is we are going to try again this trip coming in September and will have all of our clothes needed for dinner in our carry-on luggage. Hopefully it works out better this time.

Could have been the airline and not DME. If you bags were misdirected by the airline then DME would start looking for them and start the lost luggage process (if needed).

Emily

 

[MrToad1345]

I have a friend who is going on her first trip at the end of this month. She is scheduled to use ME, but now is suddenly having a panic attack over some bad experiences she has read about. I have never used ME and would like to give her some feedback from some of you who have. So tell me - good or bad - what was your ME experience like?

Been so many times I have lost count and had used ME for most of them, without a hitch, issue or anything. Takes the stress out for both ends of the trip.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation board.

 

[lovesdumbo]

We used ME on our last trip, and everything turned out fine. The flight in was great with no problems. However, the transportation for the flight out made us a little nervous. The bus was late arriving at our resort. Things would have been fine if we were the last pickup. Unfortunately, we had to stop at several other resorts before heading to the airport. We arrived only 45 minutes before our flight. Luckily, there was no wait at security and we were on an airline that allowed us to check in at the Disney desk. It all worked out though, so I figured ME must know what they are doing. The short time at the airport made me a bit anxious though. Next time I will definitely check with Disney when the bus isn't there on time.

I have had the same issue with return to MCO. I now find it is worth it to me hire a town car. I get to do a grocery stop on the way to WDW, have someone waiting for me at baggage claim to help with my bags, short walk to parked town car, and direct return to MCO when going home.

The last time I took DME there was a sick family on the bus with multiple family members vomiting on the ride back to MCO.

 

[goofy4tink]

Having 'too little time' at MCO when returning there for your flight home is seldom an issue!! At least it's not when using DME!! The vast majority of people complain about having too much time!!
DME picks you up that 3 hrs prior to flight departure simply because they do have to make other stops. And that's why you can get a time of 3 hrs. 15 mins prior to departure, or 2 hrs 45 mins prior. Depends on where you are along the route. Usually, you get to the aiport about 2 hrs.30 mins before your flight. That is only 30 mins earlier than the airport suggests you arrive.

Have there been issues with guests arriving too close to departure? Yes. But they are few and far between. DME is very good for what it is. If your family wants to leave later, or just isn't comfortable sharing transportation, then a car service is the way to go. No one service is going to fit the bill for 100% of the people, 100% of the time. You have to decide, for yourself, what works best for you, on each trip.

 

[Vincent405]

I have had the same issue with return to MCO. I now find it is worth it to me hire a town car. I get to do a grocery stop on the way to WDW, have someone waiting for me at baggage claim to help with my bags, short walk to parked town car, and direct return to MCO when going home. :

Curious on the grocery stop. I saw this on their website. Did you have to tell them the store you wanted to stop at or did they have a set place picked out? Wondering on selection/quality. Thanks.

 

[goofy4tink]

Curious on the grocery stop. I saw this on their website. Did you have to tell them the store you wanted to stop at or did they have a set place picked out? Wondering on selection/quality. Thanks.

I have found that most car services have particular stores they stop at. If you want something specific, you can always ask. We've stopped at a Publix for the most part. It's a regular grocery store...one I use whenever I'm in Florida.

 

[mlain]

For the trip home, being able to check bags in while still at the hotel is one of my favorite perks!

We are planning our first trip in September and we are still trying to work out the minute details! Are you able to leave your carry-on items at the resort? Our flight is at 6 p.m., so we wanted to get in several hours at the parks after our check-out time before heading back to the resort. How does this work for carry-on items? Is there a place we can leave them while we enjoy our last day?

 

[Jestocost]

For the trip home, being able to check bags in while still at the hotel is one of my favorite perks!

We are planning our first trip in September and we are still trying to work out the minute details! Are you able to leave your carry-on items at the resort? Our flight is at 6 p.m., so we wanted to get in several hours at the parks after our check-out time before heading back to the resort. How does this work for carry-on items? Is there a place we can leave them while we enjoy our last day?

Yes. You can leave your carry-on bags with bell services and collect them when you return to your resort to catch the DME bus. Just be certain to leave enough time to get your bags back and still be able to be at the DME pick-up location 10-15 minutes before your scheduled bus.

 

[Martyap]

We are meeting our daughter's family at PORFQ. They reserved DME for their arrival next week and received their yellow luggage tags.

Originally we thought we would drive them to MCO after our stay but our plans have changed.

My question is: Should she make the return reservation now, before we leave next week or could she simply reserve the DME back to the airport with a CM at PORFQ?

Thanks

 

[Jestocost]

We are meeting our daughter's family at PORFQ. They reserved DME for their arrival next week and received their yellow luggage tags.

Originally we thought we would drive them to MCO after our stay but our plans have changed.

My question is: Should she make the return reservation now, before we leave next week or could she simply reserve the DME back to the airport with a CM at PORFQ?

Thanks

Either way will work, so do what is most convenient.