My mom and I will be arriving at MCO at 11am on a Friday, with plans to spend the rest of the day at Epcot. We're worried that ME will take a long time in getting us to Pop Century, especially since our trip is so short.
In your experience, has renting a car been a quicker method than using ME?
No, from reports over the past few years, you will not consistently get there quicker by rental car than by DME.
With DME, you skip baggage claim, and that's a major plus. Yes, you may have to wait to board your bus (or it could be sitting there waiting for you). Yes, you will likely have some wait on the bus until it leaves. But by policy, the bus must leave within a certain amount of time of when the first passenger boards, there is no truth to the assumption that the bus waits to be filled up (I've been on a DME bus with as few as 11 other passengers). Once the bus starts moving, I can tell you that although there are no pre-set routes and no pre-set order of drop-offs, most drivers choose to drop-off starting with the resort closest to the airport, and regardless of which other resorts are on your bus, Pop Century is often the closest on the route from the airport, and therefore is commonly the first resort dropped off at.
If you rent a car, you'll be waiting at baggage claim. Then waiting in line at the rental car counter and then reviewing documents and dealing with the customer service rep, etc.
The waits to board the bus and for the bus to leave are comparable with the waits at baggage claim and at the rental car counter ... they usually cancel each other out.
Overall, DME isn't substantially slower than a rental car or car service. But some people like personal service (car service), some people like to be in control (rental car), and some people like a private ride (both). I recommend choosing your airport transfer based on the list in this paragraph, rather than on time, since the time is just about the same, on average. If you really want a private ride and/or personalized service and/or you want to be in control AND you are willing to pay for it, then DME isn't a good choice for you. But if you want efficient and FREE transportation to your resort, then DME is a fine choice.
