Magical Express

[cdrom610]

for people who have used the new magical express, would you say it is worth it in terms of the overall experience you had using it? i've heard mostly negative feedback about it...

feel free to comment on your experience.. i'm trying to decide whether or not to use it for my upcoming vacation.. any feedback would be great!

thanks

 

[ILoveDisney-Angie]

bumping this one up...

I'm interested to see how everyone, that has used DME, votes.

 

[festivedaisy]

Copied from another post of mine:

Hi! We just got back yesterday and Magical Express worked great for us.

We arrived Thursday around 6pm at the Orlando airport, followed the CMs with the Mickey hands, checked in for the bus and waited less than 5 minutes to board. (We did have the booklet and luggage tags, but other people around us didn't and they didn't seem to be having any problems.)

Our bus went to AKL and then on to CBR. We were at the resort, checked in, and in our rooms about an hour and a half after we got off our plane. We headed out to DTD and by the time we got back, our luggage was in our room.

For the return Monday, our flight left MCO at 3pm. We took the 12pm ME bus from CBR with no problems. We flew Southwest and the driver put our luggage under the bus and we checked in with it at the airport. The check-in line was long, about 30 minutes. We overheard one of the workers saying that things were really bad when the cruises came in on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and often it would take almost 2 hours for checkin! So, if you have the chance, I'd suggest checking in online if you can.

We will definitely use ME again if we can.

 

[DisneyDreamer2]

Our ME experience was positive. We had no line at the ME check in desk and were put directly on a bus which left within 5 minutes, even with only a dozen people on it. We were at our resort within an hour and 5 minutes of deplaning. Our luggage arrived safely as well. Dont know how long it took since we went to Epcot for the evening, but it was in our room when we returned.

We used airport check in for united. We were told to be at the bus pick up by 215 for a 536 flight. The bus was late, arrived at 250. But they sent 2 buses, one for side A and one for side B to make it quicker. They also put 2 families in a mears van since the bus was late and they were cutting it close. We never got videos, but our luggage made it home safely. I'd definately use it again.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I'm curious if anyone has used magical express arriving LATE at night and if so- how long it took to get your luggage? We'll be arriving around 10pm and ofcourse that means getting to the resort later than that. Will I end up waiting up hours for my luggage to arrive? I'm pretty sure I can't pack up enough for all 4 of us in carryon for valuables on carryon, clothes/etc. to wear to bed, all toiletries needed, clothes to wear the next morning/etc. It's me and 3 kids.. I'll be carrying the carryon for all of us. Wondering when we'd get our luggage.....

 

[lsteadman]

I used Magical Express and liked it alot!

 

[Nuchi15697]

Bump

 

[cdrn1]

It was a good experience for us. No tags but everything went very smoothly. The only bad thing was our luggage took about 7 hours to get to our room (after checkin) but we were prepared for that so no big deal.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

We used it (on the first day, 5/5) and did not have any significant problems. I agree with the other post that a downside is the (current) delay in receiving your luggage - Disney says that your luggage may beat you to your hotel, but they were not even close on that. You have to hold your breath for a few hours until you see your luggage, then you can relax, knowing that you will have clothes.

My biggest fear with it is the luggage on arrival. If somehow your luggage does not show up, it would seem to me that you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If Disney says they can't find it, it's not like you can drive back to the airport - you don't have a car. How far will Disney go to find it? Maybe I just worry too much... or I just like to be in control of things...

 

[eileenkeeney]

I recommend using M.E.; however I do not necessarily recommend letting them retrieve your bags at the Orlando airport.

After hearing stories, of bags taking up to 6 hours (maybe more) I decided to claim my own bags, and then check into the Magical Express.
This process went very well. The M.E. had my reservation in their computer (although I had no paperwork stating I had such a reservation).
The bus was waiting, and I was seated on the bus within minutes of checking in. The bus sat there, for about 20 minutes, before departing for WDW.
This was about the same amount of time I spent waiting for the Mears shuttle on my past trips.

The Bus stopped at one resort prior to stopping at the Boardwalk (where I was staying). The stop was quick and efficient. The driver took about the same amount of time to unload passengers and luggage as I have experienced with the Mears shuttles on my prior trips.

For my return trip, I did check my bags with M.E.
I had concerns, and did stress a little as I watched for my bags, among the bags circling in the baggage claim area for my return flight.
My bags showed up quickly, relieving the stress, and leaving me content with my M.E. experience.

I checked my bags, with M.E. (at my hotel) about 4 hours before my flight departure time. I think that having the bags checked, at least 3 hours before flight time, is more important then having yourself on the bus 3 hours prior to flight time.

I will use the M.E. service again.
However, unless I arrive at least 10 hours before the time I plan to go to sleep, or the reputation of the service to deliver bags in a more timely manner improves, I will claim my own bags in Orlando.

 

[*Fantasia*]

It was a good experience for us. No tags but everything went very smoothly. The only bad thing was our luggage took about 7 hours to get to our room (after checkin) but we were prepared for that so no big deal.

SEVEN HOURS!! That's a looong time to wait for the luggages. Last time I read it took 5 hours before they recieved their bags in their room... now 7?

If you retrieve your own bags from the baggage claim, they can't store the bags underneath the bus you'll be riding in right? They have a seperate bus for just the bags only, am I correct?

 

[bytheblood]

Actually, they can and will store your luggage under the bus if you claim it yourself.

 

[WDW_DV]

Read a report elsewhere on Dis from someone whose luggage followed them into the room only 15 minutes later. Seems to be a lot of variation in the luggage part. Presumably they're working on that. I'll be using ME on Sunday and the following Saturday, so I'll report in after we get home.

 

[LittleDino]

ME worked great for us! We didn't receive luggage tags, so we claimed our own bags and were able to bring them on the same bus with us (stored underneath.) We'll be using this service again in September.

 

[vwilburn]

Magical Express Experience:
Here are my experiences with Magical Express. We booked our package with Southwest Vacations travel agency. We never received our luggage tags. But the travel agency gave us good instructions on how to use Magical Express without the tags (proceed to the ME podium). We flew Southwest Air (SWA), which is not a participating airline. We arrived on May 14, but had a friend pick us up from the airport. So we did not use Magical Express that day, nor had our luggage expedited by ME. We did see the ME employee with big white hands very easily after deplaning and proceeding towards baggage claim.
On returning home, we scheduled our ME bus to pick us up. We were surprised that it would arrive 3 hours before our departure! This was on a Wednesday afternoon, so we did not understand why we had to leave so early. ME insisted on that time (see SWA experience below). We had bought an extra day ticket to spend a morning in the park, but we could only spend 2 hours in the park because of the early pick-up by ME. ME arrived on time at AKL. We took our bags on the bus. We then went to Coronado Springs and filled up the bus. Because most people did not have luggage, they loaded fairly quickly. We left AKL at 11:50 and arrived at the airport by 12:45ish. So overall, I would say ME is an overall positive experience, especially cos it's free.

Southwest Experience:
On the way back home on Wednesday May 18, we had to check our own luggage in at the counter with Southwest. Southwest check-in is awful at Orlando airport. I wish Southwest would have been part of the ME program and we would not have had to wait an HOUR! to check-in. This wait was only to check our luggage. The wait to go through security and the metal detectors was only 5 minutes. We asked Southwest if this was a regular occurence, and they said it was all the time. Moreover, only about 1/2 of the counters were staffed. I'm in the process of writing Southwest to complain about the terrible service. On top of that the Southwest skycaps were soliciting bribes (I saw 2 families pay $20 and $50 respectively) to be bumped to the front of the line.
Suggestions: Do not check luggage with Southwest. Then, you can check yourself in at the self-service check-in computer (no lines for self-service). Also, use Southwest Airlines's web site to "check-in" and print a boarding pass before going to the Orlando Airport. I don't know where you can do that in Disney, but it would mean you don't have to stand in line.

Thanks to all who posted before I left on my trip. It helped me understand how Magical Express (ME) was working.

 

[Nuchi15697]

Bump