MCO to resort with Disney Express

[aussietravellers]

Our flight is due to arrive at 6.30am at Orlando Airport (MCO). By the time we get off the plane and down to Magical Express (don't remember how long that takes, I remember last time we had to take that monorail thing from an outer terminal to the main one from memory). Then check in at Magical Express and take that to Contemporary (wasn't planning on collecting luggage).

So 6.30am flight arrival to Contemporary Resort with DME
How many hours roughly does this take? I was thinking about 2 hours? Is that realistic? Or would it be less or closer to 3? Just trying to get a vague estimate to get lunch and dinner planned and what we will do the first day.

Thanks

 

[Smittolis]

We usually get to MCO in the early AM too, in our experience from landing and getting to the resort its usually a couple of hours or less. That time in a morning there are much fewer customers and so you should be on your way pretty quickly, around 45-60 mins to the resort from the airport in my experience depending on how many passengers and how many stops etc... We always book a dining reservation for breakfast or somewhere so we have somewhere to go if our room isn't ready!

 

[siskaren]

Normally, I would say you should get to your resort by 8:00 am, but I don't know how Customs figures in. (And you always have to take the monorail to get from the gates to the main part of the terminal.)

 

[nursejackie]

We only did it once and wouldn't use it again. The DME terminal is quite a walk from our arrival terminal, then we queued to check in, then waited for a bus, then sat on the bus for nearly 20 minutes before it set off, then we arrived at OKW (first stop luckily). It took at least 1 hour 30 minutes in total. The following year we went outside and jumped in a cab and saved over an hour. It was worth the taxi fare to us to avoid all the waiting around.

 

[burne99]

Are you flying in from Aus?
What flights are taking to arrive that early? I cant find flights that get me in any earlier than 5pm, going via LAX or DFW.

I find DME takes about 120 mins, but if coming from AUS, you will have to pick up luggage and either take it to DME luggage to give them, or just take it on the bus with you. It adds time I would allow about 2 hours for all that. It has taken me anywhere from 90 mins to 3 hours was the longest.

 

[aussietravellers]

We usually get to MCO in the early AM too, in our experience from landing and getting to the resort its usually a couple of hours or less. That time in a morning there are much fewer customers and so you should be on your way pretty quickly, around 45-60 mins to the resort from the airport in my experience depending on how many passengers and how many stops etc... We always book a dining reservation for breakfast or somewhere so we have somewhere to go if our room isn't ready!

Thank you

Normally, I would say you should get to your resort by 8:00 am, but I don't know how Customs figures in. (And you always have to take the monorail to get from the gates to the main part of the terminal.)

We clear customs at LAX, so just a domestic flight. Haha, ok, I didn't know if there were some gates in the main area and then some in the areas off the main area. I like taking the monorail. Something a little different than walking miles and miles around a large airport.

Are you flying in from Aus?
What flights are taking to arrive that early? I cant find flights that get me in any earlier than 5pm, going via LAX or DFW.

I find DME takes about 120 mins, but if coming from AUS, you will have to pick up luggage and either take it to DME luggage to give them, or just take it on the bus with you. It adds time I would allow about 2 hours for all that. It has taken me anywhere from 90 mins to 3 hours was the longest.

We are flying through LAX so leaving on a red eye out of LAX, direct to MCO (we have the day in LA before flying out to MCO, after arriving early that morning on a QF flight). We are on a QF flight number but operated by American Airlines.

 

[burne99]

We are flying through LAX so leaving on a red eye out of LAX, direct to MCO (we have the day in LA before flying out to MCO, after arriving early that morning on a QF flight). We are on a QF flight number but operated by American Airlines.

Thant explains it Qantas wont let me catch the direct syd-lax, lax-mco, too close to allow times for customs etc. You make a valid argument for spending a couple of days in LAX before MCO.

 

[mousehockey37]

There's the option of the cab, you could also look into a car service as well. We use Florida Tours when we go. Professional, courteous drivers, clean vehicles, great price for being able to go round trip with them and no buses involved!

DME could take quite some time, like others have said, depending on when you catch the bus, who's on it, what order the driver goes in, etc. The route is not consistent like the buses you use to get around AT WDW.

 

[aussietravellers]

Thant explains it Qantas wont let me catch the direct syd-lax, lax-mco, too close to allow times for customs etc. You make a valid argument for spending a couple of days in LAX before MCO.

We are only in LAX for the day. So arrive at LAX at 6am and then fly out of LAX at 10.35pm, same day.

 

[aussietravellers]

There's the option of the cab, you could also look into a car service as well. We use Florida Tours when we go. Professional, courteous drivers, clean vehicles, great price for being able to go round trip with them and no buses involved!

DME could take quite some time, like others have said, depending on when you catch the bus, who's on it, what order the driver goes in, etc. The route is not consistent like the buses you use to get around AT WDW.

Thank you. I will keep that in mind. We are not in any great rush. We won't go to a park that day (or we might pop in after dinner). We are expecting to be a little tired, so day 1 will just be eating, relaxing, pool, have a wander around Disney Springs, eating (did I mention that already, haha). May even do a fireworks dessert party that night. Will maybe make a brunch booking to be sure.

 

[mousehockey37]

Thank you. I will keep that in mind. We are not in any great rush. We won't go to a park that day (or we might pop in after dinner). We are expecting to be a little tired, so day 1 will just be eating, relaxing, pool, have a wander around Disney Springs, eating (did I mention that already, haha). May even do a fireworks dessert party that night. Will maybe make a brunch booking to be sure.

I understand not being in a rush, but coming all that way? Who wants to see the inside of another airport for any longer than you have to? lol.

Also, with FL Tours, they'll keep an eye on your flight status and such and if anything comes up, they'll contact you to make sure everything's on the same page. They also do a grocery stop, so you could go get some MORE things to eat for in the room, then you're not paying as much when at the parks/resorts. And yes, they do have a sign with your name on it. It's a little thing, but fun to see when you are in the baggage area.

 

[Hopefully]

The average time from gate to resort is about 90 minutes.

 

[Shanti]

Our flight is due to arrive at 6.30am at Orlando Airport (MCO). By the time we get off the plane and down to Magical Express (don't remember how long that takes, I remember last time we had to take that monorail thing from an outer terminal to the main one from memory). Then check in at Magical Express and take that to Contemporary (wasn't planning on collecting luggage).

So 6.30am flight arrival to Contemporary Resort with DME
How many hours roughly does this take? I was thinking about 2 hours? Is that realistic? Or would it be less or closer to 3? Just trying to get a vague estimate to get lunch and dinner planned and what we will do the first day.

Thanks

In our experience, we have always been to the resort well within an hour and a half of getting of the airplane.

But that's because we always travel at times that DME will transfer our check-in bags for us. If you have to retrieve them yourself, I would expect to be at the resort within 2 hours of exiting the plane.

 

[kaytieeldr]

We only did it once and wouldn't use it again. The DME terminal is quite a walk from our arrival terminal, then we queued to check in, then waited for a bus, then sat on the bus for nearly 20 minutes before it set off, then we arrived at OKW (first stop luckily). It took at least 1 hour 30 minutes in total. The following year we went outside and jumped in a cab and saved over an hour. It was worth the taxi fare to us to avoid all the waiting around.

Not trying to convince you to change your mind, simply posting for the benefit of others reading this thread, now or later.

There are two sides to the airport, but it's pretty symmetrical. A longer walk from a car gate to the monorail vs a shorter walk depends entirely on which specific gate a plane accesses. This has absolutely nothing to do with DME, or even Disney.

Once in the main terminal, everyone is pretty much at the center - near e escalators and e!evators. Doesn' matter which side you landed.

Yes, DME is at one end of level one. Maybe a football field from the terminal core, but adjacent to one car rental counter.

Typical DME time, from stepping off the jetway to stepping off the bus at your resort is 70-90 minutes.

 

[AngiTN]

There's the option of the cab, you could also look into a car service as well. We use Florida Tours when we go. Professional, courteous drivers, clean vehicles, great price for being able to go round trip with them and no buses involved!

DME could take quite some time, like others have said, depending on when you catch the bus, who's on it, what order the driver goes in, etc. The route is not consistent like the buses you use to get around AT WDW.

And as of yesterday (July 1) you can take regular Uber/Lyft from MCO to Disney too

 

[Smittolis]

Without kids I would definitely Uber or Taxi it to the resort, however, with kids they'd never allow us to travel any other way!? lol

 

[Micca]

however, with kids they'd never allow us to travel any other way!

That's interesting. Our two little DGDs would be like ticking time bombs sitting on a bus for 20 minutes, much less having to make several stops before disembarking. We do rent a car though, and that has several steps involved. Maybe we'll try DME when they get a bit older and are glued to their device screens the entire time

 

[Smittolis]

lol i think the old school tv's, musty smelling fabric, condensation ridden windows and a driver that speaks broken English simply adds to the overall ambience... I think at that point they really feel they are at Disney! ;o)