ME and minor

[OhMickey]

Because of scheduling conflicts my daughter will be unable to fly down with the rest of family. She is a minor and will be flying to Orlando the following day unaccompanied.

I talked to ME and they said that they would transport an adult back to the airport to greet her. Then both of us can board the ME again to return to the hotel.

Has anyone ever done this? I'm debating on renting a car to pick her up but because money is scarce, I kind of like the ME idea.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Each registered Guest is entitled to one airport-to-Disney trip and one Disney-to-airport trip. If Magical Express allowed the adult to make two trips each way, that would be an extremely rare exception and can't be verified on this forum. One person, somewhere on the DIS, was able to do what you want to do. If the CMs at Magical Express (the 866 number, not CMs in resort/dining reservations) said you can, then it's likely you can. You will need to confirm when you check in at the Welcome Center (and if given the option to bypass the counter and head directly to the bus line, REFUSE IT. Go to the counter.

 

[seashoreCM]

Make copies of the DME materials and give DD the originals while you take the copies.

When most of the family gets there, go to the counter and modify DD's DME reservation to be the next day.

Instruct DD to try to board DME, not mentioning her age. Aside from that, have her follow any and all instructions not involving paying any money. (She may be able to bypass the counter line and proceed directly to the bus lines also.)

Be at your resort at the time DD is expected to arrive at the airport.

(Cell phones needed) If DD runs into any problems, then she should call you. You in proximity with the resort concierge (not necessarily in the queue on deck circle) and she in proximity with the welcoming area CM should be able to formulate some ad-hoc impromptu resolution which might consist of your making a complimentary second DME trip to fetch her.

 

[JerJan]

Do you mind if I ask how old your daughter is? My daughter is 17 and on July19th she will be taking the ME (alone) from MCO to THV .....it never crossed my mind that this might be a problem because she is a minor!?

 

[crashbb]

Make copies of the DME materials and give DD the originals while you take the copies.

When most of the family gets there, go to the counter and modify DD's DME reservation to be the next day.

Instruct DD to try to board DME, not mentioning her age. Aside from that, have her follow any and all instructions not involving paying any money. (She may be able to bypass the counter line and proceed directly to the bus lines also.)

Be at your resort at the time DD is expected to arrive at the airport.

(Cell phones needed) If DD runs into any problems, then she should call you. You in proximity with the resort concierge (not necessarily in the queue on deck circle) and she in proximity with the welcoming area CM should be able to formulate some ad-hoc impromptu resolution which might consist of your making a complimentary second DME trip to fetch her.

If she is a minor (and flying as such) she is going to need someone to pick her at the airport, since the airline is going to need to "hand her off" to someone.

 

[chartle]

Do you mind if I ask how old your daughter is? My daughter is 17 and on July19th she will be taking the ME (alone) from MCO to THV .....it never crossed my mind that this might be a problem because she is a minor!?

I don't think its a problem. The OP was talking about an unaccompanied minor (under 12 to 15?) which generally means someone under a certain age who must be met by someone at the destination airport.

Its not an issue of getting them on ME as much as getting back to the airport to pick the minor up.

 

[castleri]

Has she flown into Orlando before and is she old enough to be able to make her way to ME on her own. and then both ride back. You can put her date of arrival on the original ME reservation - I have done that in the past when my son came down later than we did. He was old enough to be on his own at the airport but we did keep in touch by cell phone just in case of any problems. As long as she has her paperwork she should have no trouble getting on the bus. If not then contact the ME people directly and confirm that you will be able to go on an ME bus to greet her at the airport and then both ride back.

When we had a friend of my son come down one time as an unaccompanied minor he could not leave the gate area until one of us was there so be certain what the rules are for her. We had to get a pass from the ticket agents to get to the gate. His mother had set it up and everything went smoothly. If by unaccompanied you just mean that no one else in the family is with her then that is a different situation.

If you decide to rent a car we have had very good luck with Dollar at the Regal Sun Resort which is across from DTD and they have been the cheapest the last few times we rented. They do have limited hours so you need to be sure about that so you can get the car when you need it.

Good luck - I have had both my son and my granddaughter get ME by themselves on separate occasions and it worked out but they were in their late teens at the time (they are only 8 months difference in age) and had been to Disney just about every year since they were infants so knew the Orlando airport fairly well.

 

[castleri]

Do you mind if I ask how old your daughter is? My daughter is 17 and on July19th she will be taking the ME (alone) from MCO to THV .....it never crossed my mind that this might be a problem because she is a minor!?

My son took ME at that age and there was no problem. He had his ME paperwork and no one questioned it. Just stamped it and let him on the bus. If you are concerned you might call the ME number listed above.

 

[Jestocost]

Do you mind if I ask how old your daughter is? My daughter is 17 and on July19th she will be taking the ME (alone) from MCO to THV .....it never crossed my mind that this might be a problem because she is a minor!?

For DME purposes, the policy is that minors under the age of 16 can't travel on the busses alone. Guests 16 and older are fine by themselves without any special arrangements. The policy does not take into consideration what the airline's unaccompanied minor policies might be.

 

[OhMickey]

To clarify what I was told I can do by DME on the 866 number-

Arrive at MCO on Saturday with family (minus daughter).
Take DME to hotel.
Go to parks with family on Sunday.
Sunday night board DME to greet daughter at airport.
Daughter and I take DME back to hotel.

My daughter isnt travel savvy enough to be at the airport alone..