ME for departing flight less than 3 hours out?

[Little MerGirl]

Okay, so we like to live on the edge. We have never gotten to the airport more than 1 1/2 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart.

So I'm thinking if ME picks us up 3 hours before our flight (which is at 7:30 PM), and it takes an hour tops to get to MCO (usually 20-25 minutes via towncar), what on earth could we possibly be doing for 2 hours at the airport? Even at its busiest, it's never taken us more than an hour to get through check-in and security.

Can we hop on a ME bus 2 hours before our flight instead? Do they even care?

Call me crazy, but I kind of like running to the gate just as they're closing the doors to the plane. (Kidding, of course, but that really did happen to us.)

 

[kaytieeldr]

Of course they care, they don't want anybody bad-mouthing DME because of a missed plane when it was entirely the passengers' fault.
You could be at a park or DTD and plan to get back to catch the DME by 5:30, but maybe you just missed the bus and have a twenty or thirty minute wait for the next one.
Your bus may have to pick up passengers at one or two other resorts.
You may hit traffic - whether general or (knock wood) there's an accident.
If your airline is not a DME participant, you may face a long line to check in for your flight.
You could be departing at a peak time and encounter LONNNG security lines.

It's up to you, but why not just stick with your assigned time and have dinner at the airport.

 

[jiminy14]

Also take into consideration that you are not the only hotel where DME is picking up passengers. We stayed at the AKL and our bus stopped at all three AS resorts after picking us up. That took about another half an hour. CSR is also supposed to be on that route but we did not stop there. It is possible, however, that the bus stopped there before the AKL.
Our bus driver took the I-4 to the Beeline route which was quite congested with traffic. I think it took us 30 minutes to get to MCO using this route. From AKL to MCO. it took us a total of one hour and fifteen minutes.
If you are not flying on a DME participating airline, you will have to tote your luggage up to the check-in counter from the bus stop which is on the rental car level. We flew Southwest and the line to check-in was very long. I went outside and used the skycaps where I waited about a third of the time that I would have inside.
Security was taking about 25 minutes to go through and that was early afternoon on a Thursday. By the time we finally got to the gate, we had about 20 minutes before boarding.
DME picked us up two hours and 45 minutes before our flight and we needed every one of those minutes.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Okay, so we like to live on the edge. We have never gotten to the airport more than 1 1/2 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart.

So I'm thinking if ME picks us up 3 hours before our flight (which is at 7:30 PM), and it takes an hour tops to get to MCO (usually 20-25 minutes via towncar), what on earth could we possibly be doing for 2 hours at the airport? Even at its busiest, it's never taken us more than an hour to get through check-in and security.

Can we hop on a ME bus 2 hours before our flight instead? Do they even care?

Call me crazy, but I kind of like running to the gate just as they're closing the doors to the plane. (Kidding, of course, but that really did happen to us.)

20 minutes to the airport via towncar? How fast was the driver going, 90? I had to drive some guests to the airport from Pop Century, which is at the closest edge of property. Safely doing the speed limit, it took me slightly over 30 minutes. Other resorts will take longer, as they are further into property.

Regardless of how long it has taken you to get to the airport in the past, it's best to arrive there 2 hours prior to departure anyway. Why? Murphy loves to vacation in Orlando, and he brings his Law with him too. You never know just what kind of back up will be at security... or if you might get pulled for a random check. Also, some airlines are known to close gates well before departure time. With a late flight like that, it would not be fun to miss the flight, and have to leave the next day.

 

[localdriver]

Can we hop on a ME bus 2 hours before our flight instead? Do they even care?

Call me crazy, but I kind of like running to the gate just as they're closing the doors to the plane. (Kidding, of course, but that really did happen to us.)

No and yes we care. You need to go when scheduled.

Mears is sent #'s 24 hours in advance to allow proper scheduling. This type of stuff IS EXACTLY the reason that the following happens. "an example " a 2pm route pick up is scheduled for 50 but only 30 are actually picked up. An hour later at 3pm 46 are scheduled, but 65 are there waiting. Now the scramble to get another bus there to get all transported. (WHY? because some folks wanted to go a bit later, sleep in, breakfast, and so on, have had them tell me these things).

You, the guest need to do "your part" for this to work smoothly. If you are riding DME you can't name your own departure time.

The average timeframe from first pick up to last stop at OIA is around 1:10 to 1:20.

If you want to choose a specific departure time closer to your flight time, you need to arrange your own transportation.

 

[seashoreCM]

YOu can ask for a bus scheduled more than 3 hours in advance of your flight (make the request at least the day before) but never ask for a tighter time schedule. If a glitch occurs usually it can be fixed with the 3 hour scheduling but if you only planned 2 hours, just the time it takes to notice the glitch and take corrective action will cause you to miss your plane.

Also always ask for a bus departure time written down on your vouchers (bus tickets) or accompanying documents if you did not get such an assigned time.

THe system is supposed to work on a reservation basis for the trips back to the airport. If you miss your reservation you become a stand by. I have heard hearsay about guests being told nothing more than, "the buses run every half hour" but with a system run that way the system has to take all comers when they come, time being of the essence.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/magicx.htm

Years ago, some airlines stamped your baggage claim check "LATE" if you checked in after a certain time before flight departure. That meant the airline was not responsible for delivering your bag if the bag did not arrive when you did.

 

[CarolA]

I am actually planning to rent a car to return to the airport just to avoid all this. I NEVER get to the airport more then 1 hour in advance and have NEVER missed a flight out of MCO. Don't plan to change my travel style now (And yes, I have hit the cruise departures... still made it with plenty of time.)