ME Experience - May 29-June 4

[luvdisney999]

Sorry I am late in posting this, but here is our experience:

We landed at MCO early at 9:15 AM and proceeded straight to baggage claim to look for the Magical Express people. I was pleased that we had landed early, since I was still VERY apprehensive with Magical Express and everything that I had read thus far about delays here on the disboards.

Anyway, these concerns were truly unjustified, as we certainly had what the name implies. Our trip was both Magical and Express! We checked in at the M.E. counter at 9:20 and were directed straight to a bus. We sat down and I was pleased that the bus was ¾ full already and suspected we would be leaving shortly.

However, this was not the case. We sat on the bus for almost ½ hour and the butterflies in my stomach were shouting “We should have rented a car!!” They quickly shut up, though, as the rest of the trip went on.

Anyway, they filled the bus FULL and we proceeded on our way at approximately 9:50. I believe there were only 2 stops, as most of the people that I surveyed were only going to Pop Century. We settled in and watched the movie. It’s definitely entertaining and I even stopped watching the time for awhile. (Believe me – that’s a big deal for me! I like to have a clear-cut plan and stay as closely with it as possible.)

At about 10:20, the bus pulled into the Pop Century – it’s first stop! I was quite impressed at this point because this was WAY AHEAD of my schedule! My parents gathered all the carry-on luggage from the M.E. bus and I headed into the Pop to check-in. I had beaten everyone else off the bus and was checked-in in a matter of minutes.

I had hoped to be in MGM by 11:30. We were there at about 10:45, well ahead of schedule. I could not have been more pleased with this service and highly recommend it to everyone. Hopefully, Disney will keep the service free, but believe me - it's worth it!

On our return trip, we were scheduled to leave at 5:10 PM and the bus pulled in literally, right then. They whisked us straight to the airport - no stops! We were there well over 2 hours before our flight. This was great for us, since we had to check our own bags. If I had to make one critique, I'd say that they need more stops at the airport. They only made one and MCO is so large that it took us about 30 minutes to walk all the way to our airline. The driver had just dropped us off in the middle and that was it.

Anyway, this was our ME experience. If anyone has any questions, feel free to let me know. Wishing everyone else a magical Disney trip and a great ME experience too!

 

[Suzanne74]

glad to hear it went well. how many others were on the bus w/ you? I am nervous about that trip back because my mother doesn't have the best of knees and I hate for her to walk all over the airport. did they play the good-by disney video on the way to MCO?

 

[luvdisney999]

On the way back, the bus had maybe 5-6 families on it - anywhere from 2-4 people per family. We were disappointed with the walk, as we were all tired of walking and several body parts ached. I also didn't have my walking shoes on anymore, which made matters worse.

Yes, they played the video to the hotel and to the airport. Both are really quite entertaining and kids will love spotting their favorite Disney characters. Wishing you luck on your upcoming trip!

Nancy

 

[Purrrrfecta]

Luvdisney999,

I just wanted to know where it is they dropped you off at the airport when you were returning home, and on what airlines were your traveling?

 

[disneyjunkie]

What time was your flight home?

I'm planning to book an 8:30pm flight out of MCO. Trying to get an idea of time we'll need to be back at PC to get the bus.

 

[Tissa]

The bus picks you up at the resort 3 hours before your flight time. The bus stops at both terminals a & b. We got off at the wrong terminal and had to walk to the other side and it still only took us about 15min total to get to our gate. We were on Continental.

 

[brynnsandra]

We arrived Friday June 3 around 7:40pm. There was someone waiting for us to direct us to the Magical Express loading area. First floor very easy to find. We checked in and waited about 15 minutes for our bus. Only one stop before dropping us at the Poly. Buses were nice and clean. Just a reminder it does take about 3 hours to get your luggage to your resort room. If you are coming in late at night, you may want to bring pjs in your carry on for small children. The second to the last day they left a card under the door to tell us when pick up time was. The bus came promptly and dropped us off at the Airtran terminal. We did have to take our on luggage in because my airline was not one of the airlines associated with Magic Express. I highly recommend this service to anyone. We had no problems. It was wonder to leave your luggage at the airport and not see it again until you are in your room. Especially someone like me who over packs

 

[luvdisney999]

"I just wanted to know where it is they dropped you off at the airport when you were returning home, and on what airlines were your traveling?"

We flew on Southwest. Not sure which gate they dropped us off, but the driver said that all our airlines were there where we stopped. Of course, Southwest was like the last airlines all the way down at the left end. Anyway, still a GREAT service!

 

[luvdisney999]

"What time was your flight home? I'm planning to book an 8:30pm flight out of MCO. Trying to get an idea of time we'll need to be back at PC to get the bus."

We had a 7:55 pm flight, which ended up getting delayed until 8:20. No big deal, we were there in plenty of time. The ME bus picked us up at 5:10, so you can probably estimate that yours will be about a 1/2 hour later. It picks you up 2 hours, 45 minutes prior to your flight.

We went to MK for the day and wanted to be back in plenty of time. We left MK at 3:30, rode the bus, got our luggage, and still had time for a snack. Worked really well. And MK was the farthest park from POP.

 

[localdriver]

"I just wanted to know where it is they dropped you off at the airport when you were returning home, and on what airlines were your traveling?"

We flew on Southwest. Not sure which gate they dropped us off, but the driver said that all our airlines were there where we stopped. Of course, Southwest was like the last airlines all the way down at the left end. Anyway, still a GREAT service!

We are to drop off as close to the center of each side as possible, to try to compromise the walk involved to airline check in. Sometimes it just doesn't workout because spaces are occupied, and going around is more time consuming than walking. We do the best we can with this, but sometimes it just isn't possible due to spaces being used.

Recently, LYNX, the City Bus Service has moved to "B" side, which has helped balance it out. "A" side was a nightmare to find an open spot in the middle.

So this is a help, which will benefit everyone.

 

[DebbieB]

Do they leave you off on the lower level (1) or on the ticketing level (3)?

 

[CleveRocks]

Do they leave you off on the lower level (1) or on the ticketing level (3)?

Lower level. We used a skycap to help with our luggage. We had a long walk, and had to go upstairs, but I loved DME (used it May 8 and 14) and highly recommend it. Smooth sailing

-- Eric